Guest Post: Ethical Deal

If you don't follow me on twitter or facebook then you may not be aware that I did a guest blog post on Ethical Deal's blog last week. I feel very honoured to have been asked. You can check it out here. You can also sign up with them for daily deals you can feel good about. They have various criteria for companies they work with such as promoting wellness, cares for the planet, respect animal rights or benefits the community. So when you purchase a deal with them, you know you're supporting a business who is doing something good for the planet/community in at least one of these ways. I've been a subscriber and customer for some time now. Check them out! And my guest blog post. I hope there is more to come!

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

Cheers

xoxo

K

NEW Drink alert at Cultured Coffee and Tea

I love iced coffee. Its my Summer drink....well my Summer coffee. My usual iced coffee comes from the big green giant but my new fave is over at Cultured Coffee and Tea! Its located in the Granville tunnel to the sky train. Right next to the new pay stations. Check them out!

They have recently added a new drink to their menu, Iced Coffee. Its not made like a traditional iced coffee which is typically coffee brewed with less water and chilled. The reason they use less water is because they fill your cup up with ice so it gets a little diluted. I always ask for easy ice because I like my coffee strong.....same as how I like my men ;)

So this iced coffee is actually dripped through this contraption with cold water which retains more of the acidicness of the coffee beans and therefore the flavour. The particular beans are from Brazil I believe and have a nutty flavour with a chocolate undertone. It was quite pleasurable. Man, do I sound like a coffee snob or what?! LOL I'm a little bit of a conniseur but nothing in comparison to my Dad, Al, who by the way is the owner of this shop. (Dad, please disregard the man comment above, lol)

In the coming weeks they will be trying out some different varieties of beans so that should be fun. I will of course report back.

Just a side note, they have some great food here too. Some vegan and gluten free muffins, veggie sandwiches, veggie burritos, fruit, fruit cups and tons of other sandwiches that are made in house. They also have specials/combos for them. I have yet to try any of the sammy's or burritos because of the cheese factor but I heard from a good source that they might be testing out Daiya!!! How amazing would that be?

Anyways, if you're an iced coffee lover or in need of a good cup of coffee then head on over to Cultured Coffee and Tea. Honestly, their americano's are the best I've had. I'm really not being biased. They are smooth, got good crema and not bitter.

Peace

xoxo

K

Super Food Green Salad with Tahini Dressing

I was just whipping up a quick salad for lunch the other day, nothing special. When all of a sudden it turned into the most delish, creamy dressing I've made yet!! OMG I could not get enough of this Tahini dressing. Its a spin off of an earlier one that I created, which you can check out here.  I added a few extra things to make it even better!

And I didn't even take a pic of the finished product cuz I gobbled it up so fast. But here's the recipe anyways.

Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

1/4 cup raw tahini

1/4 cup water

1 lemon

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp Gluten Free Tamari

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust spices if you want it hotter or not at all. This wasn't spicy at all. Well, according to me. :)

This is the tahini I used. You can definitely use a roasted version. But this is the BEST tahini I've ever tried. SO good!

For the salad part, I wanted to do a lot of green leafy veggies, but didn't want them to be raw. So I steamed them for 4 minutes. Should have been 3 but it was still good. But a little crunch would have been better.

Super Food Green Salad

Ingredients

1 head broccoli, chopped

1/2 bunch kale, chopped

6 cups spinach

1 cup shelled edamame

2 green onions

10 mushrooms, sliced

2 cups black beans

Hemp seeds

Sunflower seeds

Directions:

Steam broccoli, kale and spinach for 4 minutes. If using frozen edamame (like most) then throw those in there too. Let cool before adding the remaining ingredients. I put mine in a big bowl and into the fridge for 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, toss with dressing and remaining ingredients. ENJOY!!

This will make a lot. Enough for a couple salads or a side to any meal for 4 people. I ate mine for lunch and with my dinner. Its creamy and satisfying. :)

Here was a little snack I ate the other day. Like I've said before, I often boil up a couple different types of legumes at the beginning of the week so I can easily incorporate them into my meals. I had this as a late night snack the other night and it packed a good protein punch and satisfied me.

It is 1 cup of black beans, sprinkle of Daiya cheese, some guacamole and salsa. Of course hot sauce. That goes without saying. lol

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Bandidas Tacqueria

I had the pleasure of going to Bandidas Tacqueria for breakfast again. LOVE this place. The food is fresh, healthy, affordable and portion size is awesome! Basically any breakfast can be made vegan by substituting scrambled tofu and squash. I love this because usually there is one vegan breaky option.

I got a benny this time. They looked so yummy and boy were they! I got both sauces, one of each. They were the salsa verde and roasted red tomato salsa.

Hick's Benny

I got the Hick's Benny cuz I really wanted the guacamole. The benny's are done with homemade cornbread muffins instead of english muffins, pinto beans, roasted yams and potatoes, and red cabbage. Then I added a side of veggie sausages. :)

My Aunt Elaine LOVES squash so she always makes her breaky vegan but this time she got the chili. OMG its HUGE and is amazing. I'd like that next time actually. Never thought to have chili with tofu scramble for breaky. GREAT idea.

It also came with a side of homemade cornbread muffins and avocado. They have vegan cheese here so if you wanted to make it totally vegan just tell them and they will leave out the butter and cheese. I can't remember if she made hers all vegan or not.

My Uncle Brian's was not vegan but looked just as yummy.

He got one of the benny's too but with the salsa verde sauce and veggie sausage. I love how saucy it is!

Another fantastic meal at Bandidas. If you haven't gone you should but I hear its crazy busy there. We always go early on Saturday mornings so we just miss the rush of the brunch crowd.

Peace

xoxo

K

Restaurant Review: Vegan Pizza House

I have had the pleasure of eating pizza from the Vegan Pizza House on Kingsway about 3 times now. One of the luxuries that vegan's have had to give up in the pasta is delivery pizza. Or dollar slice for that matter (late night pizza for those of you who don't know). Not sure if dollar slice is still around a dollar but in my day it was. ;) Anyways, nowadays there are more and more options like the Loving Hut food truck to provide us with burgers and the Vegan Pizza House to deliver us pizza so we don't have to starve on those Sunday evenings when ur just too lazy to cook.

I know I know, me not want to cook? But it happens. I am constantly cooking so once and a while its nice to order delivery, get take out or have someone cook for me. My FAVE is when a man cooks for me. I guess since I've been cooking since I was 9, its SO nice to have a night off.

One of the best things about the Vegan Pizza House is that even though they are on Kingsway near Victoria, they deliver downtown and the West End!!! Seriously amazing! That's a long way to go and I tip my hat (if I ever wore hats) off to them. Thank you for not cutting us downtown vegans off. :) And they are SUPER friendly.

I got combo 5 which is a medium 3 topping pizza, lasagna, green salad, and garlic toast. HUGE. But I'm a pig. And I didn't eat it all.......in one night. :) I got ham, mushrooms and green peppers. I wanted to get a combo because A) I wanted to try the pasta and B) I wanted the price to be over $20 for them to deliver all the way down here.

I freaking love daiya, and that's the cheese they use. Glorious taste it is. A friend of mine said sometimes there is too much daiya and its an overload but I have yet to experience that. I thought the cheese proportion was pretty bang on. Enough for the cheesy ooey goodness but not too much that you get overwhelmed by it and not taste the rest.

I did have a pic of the lasagna but it won't load. I dunno what the problem is. But it just looks like a normal take out lasagna. Not sure what's in it. But it was pretty simple. I like it enough but I wouldn't get it again. It was nothing special, barely any veggies. Just noodles, sauce and cheese. Meh. A little disappointing but the pizza is SO good that I actually didn't think much about it till now.

So check out their menu on their FB page and order away or check them out in their shop on Kingsway. Its nothing special by any means. A little dive but the best food comes from places like this. Stick to the pizza and you will be mucho happy.

Peace

xoxo

K

Raw Banana Coconut Cream Pie

OMG! I made my first RAW dessert! Raw desserts I think are my new fave. Because...wait for it..............you don't have to bake them!! lol I'm not a very skilled baker. But I'm def getting better at it. Anyways, I recently had some raw desserts from Gorilla Food, some pie in fact. SUPER yummy! I cannot wait to make one with avocado. I wanted to this time, but alas, I made guac and ate it all. lol One of my favorite ingredients to cook with is coconut. I have an addiction to it. Any recipe that says coconut milk catches my attention and owns my heart. It makes food so yummy!

So I looked around at various raw recipes to get the lay of the land. I had an idea about the crust already from eating similar desserts. And then came up with this:

PS I used all raw ingredients, but if you don't have them, roasted will do just fine.

Raw Banana Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1/2 cup almonds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

3 tbsp agave nectar

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

Filling

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

2 tbsp agave nectar

1 tbsp lime juice

1 banana

Directions:

Pie Crust: Add almonds to a food processor and processor for 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and process until well combined and chopped very small, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Press in a pie plate or like I used a loaf pan. This recipe didn't make a lot, thank god, cuz I ate it all. lol So double it to fill a pie plate. Place in the freezer while you make the filling.

Filling: Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Use a little coconut milk/water if needed. I found that I didn't need to. If doubling the crust, double the filling, duh. ;)

Remove crust from freezer and pour the filling mixture over top. Spread lightly so it covers the crust evenly. Put back in the freezer for 2-3 hours before serving. I couldn't wait and ate it after 1 hour. It was goooooooooooood. :)

This is just one tiny piece but dayum! So yummy! I will def make this again. In an actual pie plate. Maybe I'll do that when I have company so I dont' eat it all myself......nah that's just crazy talk.

I also went to Gourmet Warehouse again and got a few goodies that I'm loving! I juice about 2 lemons or limes a day so I'm not sure why I never got a citrus juicer before. But I am digging it!

Action shot!

It makes it like crazy easy for me to juice my lemon for the morning, to add to smoothies, and to add to my cooking. :) Pick one up and make ur life easier. lol

Peace

xoxo

K



Restaurant Review: Patron Tacos & Cantina

I love Mexican food and trying new restaurants so when Patron Tacos and Cantina opened up almost across the street from Kevin's it was obvious that we would check it out. There isn't a huge veggie or vegan options but what I ate was AMAZING!!! Like omg, I'm in love amazing! I mean, I can't stop thinking and dreaming about these tacos. I can't wait to go back and to make them myself. YUM!

I wanted to get the veggie enchiladas, but was informed that it was made with poblano stew which is cream based. So that was a  no go. So I went with the garlic mushroom tacos, 3 of them. I added a side of guacamole because, well guac is awesome. I don't know how much I have to tell you that I LOVE garlic mushrooms. I actually make them as a snack at home. I just sautee up some sliced mushrooms, garlic, garlic powder and a little sea salt. MMmmmmm. OK back to the food.

Garlic Mushroom Tacos

Sorry about the quality. I tried to fix it but then the pictures wouldn't load. So I dunno, but it doesn't change how tasty these tacos were! I want them again!

Chicken enchiladas

Kevin got the chicken enchiladas. He very much enjoyed them. Looked good. I was jealous that he was able to get enchiladas cuz that's what I originally ordered, veg obvs, but alas I could not.

Pretty much licked it clean

I ate every last bite.

Check it out folks! Yummy Mexican in downtown Van. Not very many vegan options, but if you still eat dairy, then there are some vegetarian options. But I'll be back for those garlic mushrooms tacos. And maybe they can make me up some veggie enchiladas using those mushrooms.... :)

Peace

xoxo

K