A New Smoothie, So Delish!

I haven't been drinking that morning smoothie lately (I ran out of hemp protein powder and still need to go grocery shopping) but I DID make another smoothie that was pretty great, it was even easier to make and delicious! I made it for a coworker too and he really liked it! It's just banana, spinach, and almond milk.

I didn't invent this smoothie though, I totally got the recipe from my friend's favorite yoga teacher, Tara Stiles.  She has a whole blog of stuff she eats (Tara Eats) and I'm pretty sure most of the stuff is vegan or at least... Wannabegan!  I'm hoping one day I'll actually make it to one of Tara's classes, if I do I'll write about it here!

I'm on Foursquare, Eating Vegan Ice Cream!

I'm telling you because I'm going to start checking in at all my fave places and leaving tips about the all the vegan friendly things to enjoy!  For example, last night we (my husband and I) were walking home from meditation class (when I was meditating, thoughts kept creeping in about how I need to update this blog!) and I had always looked in the window across the street at Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and thought how warm and cozy it looks in there, and on the window there was a big poster for vegan ice cream!  It was below freezing outside, but for some perverse reason that makes me really want ice cream (and hot tea).  My husband is super easy to convince we should eat anything sweet, so we went in even though I don't like to eat too late at night.  Look at all these flavors!!!!

The cashier said that their vegan ice cream is cashew-nut based, along with some other nut-milks.  Amazing!  The texture and the flavor were both fantastic.  I consider non-dairy ice cream a completely solved problem- My husband is lactose intolerant, but looooves ice cream (I don't mind the his farts, but I think it makes him uncomfortable) so vegan ice cream it is!  Between this and the coconut sorbet, I feel totally fine never eating dairy ice cream again.

So if you're on foursquare, look for me, my screen name is....  Wannabegan!

New Foods: Prickly Pear Fruit

I love cactus!  Isn't this prickly pear fruit sooooo pretty?  The color is amazing!

Nopales salad is one of my favorite foods, but I had never eaten the fruit of the cactus before! (I had been tempted to when I saw one growing on my neighbor's cactus when I used to live in California, but my husband was like, "Keep moving!")

I forgot to take a picture of this  BEFORE I started eating it, but the picture above is the very last slice (sitting in the dish) and the peels.  The flavor was actually quite subtle, not that sweet, and not that distinctive.  There are round black seeds embedded in the fruit which I swallowed (I hope that is OK) and those give the fruit an interesting texture.  When I picked up this fruit, I saw some directions that said cut off both ends of the fruit, cut it in half lengthwise and then peel the skin off.  I didn't know if I was supposed to peel the skin off with a knife like you do with an apple, but then I quickly realized there is a softer layer between the center and the peel where you can separate the peel and the fruit quite easily by just pulling.



I ate the whole thing by myself as a snack, but I think most people use them in recipes, and it seems that most people like to use the fresh juice in things.

What are this?

Answer: Delicious!

So we've been hanging out around Lincoln Center a lot lately, and the concession stand of the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center had these little chocolate brownie/cupcake things that were vegan and gluten free!  I'm not sure what I was eating, but it was very rich, velvety, and deeply chocolate.  I had trouble finding more info about Doe Dough Bakery, there was a bakery called Dough, but not "Doe Dough."  Does anyone know what the deal is with them?

Soundtrack to this post:
PS if you didn't know already, chocolate is poisonous to dogs, I only mention because this post is about chooclatey things and there is a dog in the video, people might get confused. Side note, Jenna Marbles is a Wannabegan!

This makes me FEEL ALIVE

The Kale Kolada is one of the few things that gives me a giddy, optimisitc, and energetic feeling after I have it.   (I don't do drugs, smoke cigarettes, or drink alcohol, caffeine, or soda... not that I have anything against those things, I just have no desire to consume them).  The first few times I had it, I wondered if there was some vital nutrient in it that I've been missing my whole life.  I try to have one every weekend, and  I wonder what my life would be like if I had one every day.  The ingredients are:

• kale
• spinach
• banana
• young coconut
• Served in the coconut shell

I think it is the fresh, young coconut that must give it that extra "oomph!" because I eat kale, spinach, and banana all the time.  Oh, I also love drinking it out of the coconut shell because I feel so glamorous for having an exotic drink.  There is usually a little extra that doesn't fit back in the shell after they blend everything together, so they put it aside in a small paper cup for you to drink separately, and if you want they will pour the whole thing into a normal looking plastic to-go cup.  Here's the guy today making my Kale Kolada:

They have all kinds of other prepared raw, vegan foods and juices as well- here's a shot of their cooler:

Definitely a place to check out if you are in one of their many neighborhoods!

Juice Generation 
Multiple locations in NY

Late NIght Snack

After dinner last night, I was still feeling munchy, and I wanted something a little sweet but not too sugary (I don't like the way I feel after eating sugar).

My home is practically empty of food because we usually eat out (again, living in NY!) but I scoured the cabinets and the fridge and found two items that go together REALLY well! First, Biscoff Spread is amazing, because it's basically cookie butter. It tastes like Delta cookies in spreadable form!  I don't know how they do it, but it is vegan (it specifically says so on the label).

So I'll admit, even though I've eaten it straight out of the jar with a spoon (and I've even double dipped! Whatever, my husband are grown ups we can do whatever we want in our own home), it is EVEN BETTER when spread on Trader Joe's Crunchy Peanut Butter Granola Bars! The granola bars contain honey, so they aren't vegan by everyone's standards, but folks who are OK with honey should try them out!

The two together are really great, my husband ate one and I ate the other and we both agreed they are brilliant together.

Those granola bars are super cheap - I think they are $1.99 for 6 packs, and each pack has 2 granola bars in it.  Best deal I've ever seen for granola bars!