Cutting out the extra calories @ Veggie Grill...

As many of you know, I enjoy Veggie Grill when I'm craving a meaty-substitutey meal. However, the calories can really add up when eating there. So here are my suggestions when eating at VG:

1. Instead of the Crispy Chik'in offerings, opt for Grilled or Blackened Chik'in (saves you about 220 kcals).

2. When ordering a sandwich, ask for it to be KALE STYLE, which delivers the sub meat on a bed of steamed kale instead. Still meaty, still yummy, but cuts you back about 200 kcals!

3. Ask for dressings/sauces/gravy on the side or without it completely. Those suckers can add up to 100 kcals for just ONE OUNCE!

Here's a pic of my lunch today. The Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ (Blackened, non-fried) w/lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado and a side of Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (sans gravy). All of this added up to just 340 kcals and was delicious and oh-so-filling!

Bon appétit!

Veggie Grill.....again

I love the service at all Veggie Grills, especially the Hollywood one! Such amazing ppl working there. Here's some of the yum grub:
Burger and lentil soup! 

Love hearing about progress in the Veg World!

Hi there.....
So, I'm doing some research and finalizing my Dietetic Internship application, and I stumbled upon this vegetarian food service distribution company: http://www.vegadvantage.com/

I got so excited, I had to post it on here! If you or anyone you know is interested in adding vegetarian options at their food facility, have them contact Veg Advantage.  Or, if you yourself would like to see more vegetarian options at your work or school, mention Veg Advantage to your food service dept! They use products from Follow Your Heart, Gardein, and Turtle Island's Tofurky. Not only are these options better for your health, but they are DELISH!

Veggie Jamaican grub in DT LA — Birdsong's Veggietaria

If you're going to be in downtown Los Angeles during lunch time, make sure to stop by this place! It is entirely vegetarian, possible vegan and the food is delishhhhhhhhh!  Keep in mind, most of its offerings are not healthy eating, but they do offer a great salad bar! Check it out!

Mac and Cheese, BBQ Drumsticks, Orange Beef over Brown Rice

Stop by Shine Cafe (in Morro Bay) if you're ever heading up North!

Great food, for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike! Trust me!

The vegetable spring rolls were my BF and my favorite! Yummmmm

Check out the menu:

http://www.sunshinehealthfoods-shinecafe.com/pages/shinecafe.html

I'm backkkkkk....Well, for now anyways!

Hello All-

Happy New Year! I know it's been over a year since I posted anything, but I had a legitimate reason: I met an amazing man last August and have been having the time of my life with him! But don't fret, I haven't stopped being a "veggiehiddentreasure" afficianado! As it happens, my boyfriend is also a foodie, a decadent-foods foodie, but a foodie nonetheless. So, needless to say we eat A LOT!

There's been a lot of change on the vegan/vegetarian scene in LA the past year and a half....Some great stuff, some not so great, so let's get to it...

1. CROSSROADS.  Yup, this gets the number one spot.  The opening of LA's first high-end entirely vegan menu is nothing short of AMAZING! On top of that, it doesn't hurt that the food is remarkably delicious. I've been there several times, and each time I enjoyed every single dish I tried (with the exception of the lasagna that seemed to have some rancid cheese action going on.) Here are some of my faves at Crossroads:

Pappardelle Bolognese

Scaloppini

Flatbread

Okra

Dessert

Scaloppini

If you haven't been to Crossroads yet, call and book a reservation IMMEDIATELY! You will be grateful you did...

Leonor's Vegetarian Restaurant in North Hollywood

First, go here: Leonor's Vegetarian Restaurant.
Looks good, huh? This place is truly a Veggie Hidden Treasure... Delicious, healthy, vegetarian grub tucked away in a shopping center in North Hollywood.  Tujunga & Victory, to be exact.  So, let me preface by saying that not everything at Leonor's is vegan, but everything, to my knowledge, is vegetarian.  So, if you're a vegan, stay away from the cheese and several meat substitutes on the menu.  Just ask the lady at the front, she's very helpful and friendly! So, I ordered the Vegan Chicken Tostada (pictured here) and it was good.  A baked corn tortilla topped with pinto beans, vegan chicken, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, and 2 salsas on the side (pico and spicy green).  Soooo, Leonor's doesn't use salt BUT they do supply a yummy spice substitute in a salt shaker that does the trick! They had me fooled! So, all in all, this place is great, lots of options (pizza, mexican, sandwiches, salads, soups, .....

  Oh, one last thing! The lady in front also recommended I try their specialty: Flax Seed Iced Tea! This thing is YUMMMMMMMM!!! If you go here, GET THIS and try to hold back from downing it in the first 5 seconds! Made with prune juice, flax seeds, and honey (so technically, not vegan)...

Enjoy!

Went to Seed Bistro in West LA last week....

Ok, so Seed Bistro is high-end vegan food.  But, let me tell you something, this place is FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD! The salad was amazing and the seitan was even better.  I could have done without the penne and the risotto (slightly heavy/oily).  This place has an amazing wine/beer selection, including GF beers! Desserts looked great too.  Make your significant other take you there for date night ASAP!

arugula, green bean, crunch walnuts, soy blue cheese dressing

seitan pepper steak, watercress,
fork mash potatoes

gluten-free penne bolognese á la ruška, lentil, oregano

risotto

Native Foods HAPPY HOUR?!

Cheap Vegan Food....That's actually DELICIOUS????

YESSSSS, PLEASE!

Saigon Rolls

Fridays, 3-6pm, half off all appetizers.....GO!

VINH LOI TOFU is BOMBBBBBBBB!

 First, check out the website.

Then, drive there IMMEDIATELY!

Third, try EVERYTHING on the menu! They have vegan desserts too : )))

Vinh Loi Tofu

Veggie Grill WeHo

I had the Carne Asada on a Bed of Kale

Took Moms here for her b-day lunch.... 

Mom had the All American Stack Burger

She's not a vegetarian and she loved it...So maybe you will too.

They have several locations in the LA area: WeHo, Farmer's Market, SaMo, and a few more.  Make your way out and give it a shot! One of my personal favs there is the All Hail Kale Salad!

M Cafe - Beverly Hills

So, just to clarify: M Cafe is NOT VEGAN. Ok, now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about the food.  It's famous for its Big Macro burger (a play off McDonald's Big Mac) with a side of Kale with Spicy Peanut Dressing Salad:

The Kale Salad is one of my favs...The burger was good, but a bit dry. 

We also ordered 2 of the Deli Case Selections: 

Sesame Soba Noodles and Quinoa Salad with Beets

Loved the Soba Noodle Salad, the Quinoa was so-so.  All in all, M Cafe is yummy and has great options for pescatarian vegetarians (fish eaters) and vegans, alike.  Just found out they are also carrying Babycakes treats! YUM!

PS: I hear the Vegan Benedict is great here! Next on my list!

NEW Fresh Corn Grill - West Hollywood!

Fresh Corn Grill has been a favorite among Westsiders for the past few years since it opened in Westwood and now, to many people's (including myself's) excitement, they have opened their second location here in my neck of the woods: WEST HOLLYWOOD! Fresh Corn Grill boasts an awesome, clean, fresh American-style menu stocked with pizza, pasta (gluten-free option), salads, bowls, soups, veggie side dishes, ....

The food tastes great, and as a vegetarian you have MANY OPTIONS.  Here's a looksie at the menu:

VEGAN Options: BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP, FRESH CORN GRILL SALAD,  FRESH CORN TOSTADA SALAD (no cheese), GREEK SALAD (no cheese), GREEN SALAD, ALL SIDE DISHES, FRESH CORN VEGETABLE BOWL WITH TOFU, GRILLED VEGETABLE PASTA (GLUTEN FREE OPTION)

Went there yesterday and ordered some vegan stuff for myself, while my non-vegan fam ordered non-vegan, which they seemed to love (Sundried Tomato Pizza, Grilled Chicken Tacos, Grilled Chicken Sandwich).  Here are some pics:

Butternut Squash Soup

Fresh Corn Grill Salad

The soup was a bit too sweet for my taste, but still good enough to eat.  The salad WAS BOMB! Yummy, charred, smokey vegetables in a crisp salad with DELICIOUS DRESSING.... VERY GOOD! Also, my sister's side order of cabbage salad WAS DELISH! Cabbage with Grilled corn and basil...Great Combo!

All in all, great place for omnivores and herbivores...Definite Recommendation!

Mrs. Winston's Green Grocery

 Two locations in Santa Monica & one in Century City, MRS. WINSTON'S GREEN GROCERY is truly LA'S BEST!  What a gem!  Here are pics of the one in CC...

It has a Sandwich Bar, a Salad Bar AND a Soup Bar! And all three ARE UNREAL! Amazing selection (especially for VEGETARIANS!) and meat-eaters alike! Fresh, clean, abundant, yummy, organic, hormone free meats, and did I say VEGAN???? They offer at least 10 different vegan meat-like options ( Vegan Pastrami is viewed in pic, Vegan chicken salad, etc).
You can make your own sandwich with different kinds of breads, meats, cheeses, spreads, etc.

They also have a soup bar with 4-5 different options, of which half are VEGAN! And DELISH!

Salad bar is amazing too, they have a Vegan Chocolate Pudding too!

Can't wait to go back for more!!

Fig & Olive Los Angeles - Review

Fig & Olive (a NYC restaurant) opened up their flagship West Coast location in Weho last week (off of La Cienega/Melrose Place).  Checked it out Wednesday night...

Variety of Crostinis (some half eaten...)
TOP FAVS: 1. Mushroom, Truffled Artichoke, Parmesan
2. Manchego, Fig, Marcona Almond

Fig & Olive Salad: Lettuces, Fig, Apple, Manchego, Gorgonzola, Walnut, etc.
UMMM....ONE OF THE BEST SALADS I'VE HAD...EVER!

Provence Vegetables & Burrata
GOOD, NOT GREAT. PESTO RICOTTA WAS INTERESTING...

They start out your night by bringing a trio of olive oils and some delicious pastry-like foccacia bread to your table. 

In addition to the things shown above, we also ordered the PENNE FUNGHI TARTUFO and it was pretty darn good. But, then again, you could put Truffle oil on the bumper of a car and it would be BOMB so...

Other things were ordered, but weren't good enough for a mention here so if you do go make sure to order the Crostinis I mentioned and the salad.  All the desserts are AMAZING too!

BTW, Vegans: some of the crostinis are vegan, as are some of the Vegetable and Soup dishes.

Organic Japanese-Style CREPES in Bev Hills...SO GOOD!

So, my cousin has been raving about this place for months now and today, finally, I had a chance to give it a try.  It's called Harajuku and here's the website: http://www.harajukucrepe.us/.

I was curious what made them Japanese instead of French and the owner explained to me that Japanese-style crepes are much simpler, thinner, and healthier (with use of fresh, natural, simple ingredients).  They don't overstuff and overdo their crepes - Making them deliciously light and perfect for on-the-go munching! What's more, Harajuku Crepe strives to use seasonal, organic ingredients in their dishes!


Here's a pic of my Earl Grey Tea flavored crepe batter filled with organic peanut butter and bananas and strawberries!

They offer lots of options, from breakfast crepes to savory crepes and yummy decadent dessert crepes....

During my chat with the owner, I kept pushing for the addition of a VEGAN crepe on the menu and he said he was trying to come up with one and should have one available SOON! SO EXCITING!

Friday Funday....Cafe Muse in Hollywood!

So, since I had one of the toughest school weeks yet this semester, and because one of my best friends is visiting from Israel, I decided to make today a Friday Funday.  "What is that?" you may be wondering. It's exactly as it sounds, a day of FUN.  My girlfriend and I (aiming at the whole two birds/one stone concept) got our cardio by walking from weho to hollywood and then eating some bomb food at Cafe Muse (off of Santa Monica Blvd., few blocks after Highland).  Here's the website:http://www.cafemusela.com/.  It's a cute little cafe with some organic/mostly vegan/vegetarian (they have tuna and cheese) foods.  We tried some of the vegan chili and it WAS BOMB.  Full of beans and I think some soy beef.  Started off with some iced coffees and iced teas.  They have a good menu with lots of options: from veggie sandwiches and mock meat sandwiches, to salads, nachos, wraps and egg dishes (or tofu).  We ended up ordering the Grilled Tofu wrap with Sweet Potato fries on the side. It was a YUMMY asian-style wrap...the tofu was grilled with onions and soy sauce. IT WAS VERY GOOD. My friend said the sweet potato fries were bomb too, and so was the BBQ sauce it came with!

An hr later, my other girlfriend joined us and she ordered the Mexican wrap.  She liked it, although she is a meat-eater and complained that it was "kinda boring."  I think she just said that because she would hate to admit to having actually liked anything vegan. LOL. Anyways, it looked good, crisp and yummy to me! Here are some pics:

My Vegan Grilled Tofu Whole Wheat Wrap:

My Friend's Vegan Mexican Wrap with Whole Wheat:

My vegan-phobic friends also ordered the chocolate chip cookie for dessert and said it was moist and chewy! One complaint is I wish they had home-made vegan sweet treats to choose from (they only had the vegan prepared cookies/cakes) :(

Everything else on the menu looked GREAT and really sparked my interest...I wish I had more of an appetite!  I will DEF be making my way there again, to try some of the other sandwiches and wraps!

PS: They also have live entertainment here at night! And offer wine and beer!