We’ve made it halfway through the first week back to work! Annnnd it’s “cheese night.” If you remember, I’m trying to reduce the amount of cheese we eat since having given up meat on the weekdays and TONIGHT is the night for some added parm on my pasta!
This dinner is super easy and fast to make (as I believe most weeknight dinners should be). We paired the pasta with some roasted green beans and slivered almonds for some added veg power.
Happy hump day, y’all!
Ingredients
1 c pasta
1 bag spinach
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
3 cloves garlic – minced
1/4 c onion – chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions
Cook pasta according to package
Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until translucent
Add can of fire roasted tomatoes and package of spinach – bring to a boil and then simmer until pasta is ready
Drain pasta and top with sauce
Sprinkle on parmesan, if desired
Easy peasy, right!?
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
A few years ago our good friends Gary and April moved to Los Angeles. I still haven’t gotten used to not seeing them every week and miss them terribly. One of my favorite things we used to do was bi-weekly Wednesday dinners, where we alternated going to one couple’s house and the host cooked / the guest brought dessert. These dinners were casual and lovely. Plus, it was nice to have something to look forward to in the middle of the work week.
If you have friends that live nearby, I definitely recommend starting this tradition with them!
Now (sadly!!) to see Gary and April we have to put in effort and planning. Waaah, wah, wahhh. Happily, we started a tradition of visiting them in LA every year for 4th of July – which certainly doesn’t make up for all of the time we don’t see them but at least we have one weekend a year where we know the four of us will get together again.
During our first 4th of July visit, Gary woke up early and reserved us a perfect spot at their pool, complete with umbrellas and couches to lounge on in between dips. We spent the whole day outside, alternating between lazily laying around and splashing in the pool. We ate, drank, laughed, and played. It was perfect. But, after all of that time in the sun (and all of those beers!), we were beat and opted out of plans to go to a nearby street fair.
Instead we stayed in and April made this AMAZING pasta dish that inspired my dinner tonight. In short, she added cooked bell peppers, garlic, onions, zucchini, asparagus and grilled chicken to pasta and tossed everything in olive oil and cilantro. So simple and so good! I love recipes that you can easily add and subtract to and from which is exactly what I did tonight.
You’ll notice I used the left over black beans and corn from yesterday’s dinner and I’m sticking with my Herb of the Week, cilantro. Also, no cheese!!
I hope you try this dish and maybe even have it at your own bi-weekly dinner with friends 🙂
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 c black beans
1/2 c corn
2 garlic cloves – minced
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs cilantro (garnish)
2 Tbs green chilies (optional)
Directions
Cut spaghetti squash in half, scoop out seeds, bake hallow side down* for 35 minutes at 350 degrees
While squash is baking, sauté garlic in olive oil until translucent
Add black beans, corn, and green chilies – stir
Keep on low heat until squash is ready (you can also prep the spaghetti squash before and heat it back up in the sauce to save on time)
When squash is tender to forks touch, “shred” it
Incorporate squash into beans and corn
Top with cilantro
Enjoy!
Note I usually put a little bit of water in my baking dish to keep the squash from crisping up
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
Since Mike and I have been trying our hand at being weekatarians (which we did a pretty good job at maintaining over the holidays) I’ve noticed I have been relying heavily on cheese to supplement the flavor meat used to bring our dinners. Last year at least 3 out of our 5 dinners had cheese as a main ingredient so I decided to try really hard to limit our cheese intake in 2016. We aren’t completely cutting out dairy (yet) so I think it will be fine to have cheese once or twice a week at dinner but certainly not as much as we used to. So we don’t miss out on flavorful and satisfying dinners, I will use a lot of beans and herbs in dinners this year. I love cooking with fresh herbs but find that I don’t use all of them quick enough. This is why I will be buying one fresh herb a week and basically building most of our dinners around it. This week? Cilantro!
No cheese for me, please
Tonight we had vegan sweet potato burritos with cauliflower cilantro lime rice and because of a HUGE demand for some recipes on this blog (ok, ok, one person has suggested I add a few veg recipes…), I’ve provided the ingredients and instructions for you below 🙂
Ingredients:
1 – 2 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup corn
1/2 cup guac
1/2 cup salsa
6 flour tortillas
Directions:
Peel and steam sweet potatoes until tender enough to mash
Once SPs are mashed up, layer the mash, black beans, corn, guac, and then salsa on each tortilla
Wrap, serve, and enjoy!
Note: I froze the extra 4 burritos we made for a quick lunch or dinner in the future
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
Oh, 2016, you are about to bring on a whole new way for me…
You are going to change me. You are going to make me better. More pleasant and more present. You are going to be filled with light, balance, and restoration. Your clean slate will allow me to grow, to forgive, and to learn. I will love, laugh, swim, jump, dance, create, read, downward dog, namaste, live, jam, and vibe with authenticity in your days.
At your end, I will have evolved. During your allotted days, you will give me time and space to stretch and touch new things; physically and mentally. I hope to gain flexibility to touch my head to my knees, as well as the patience to be more flexible with day to day life. I will also flirt with new hobbies, new thoughts, and new parts of my mind. We are already three days into your 366 twenty-four hour time blocks we judge time by. In the past, this timeline would make me anxious. Seventy two hours spent getting to know you and I haven’t even tried a little bit to start on my resolutions for you…
Some of my resolutions are the same as they always are – to eat better (I’ve devoured fried appetizers and pizza during your past 3 days), to drink less (I started the first day of 2016 – your birthday, friend – with a mimosa …in celebration of you, of course;), to exercise more (I’m already 2 days behind in my yoga challenge) – but there are new resolutions, too. Resolutions that I’ve never made before, like giving myself a stress-free grace period before I dive deep into your pockets of time.
I have decided not count any days as the “new year” until tomorrow, January 4th, 2016. A Monday. When I will go back to work, when my travels for the year are complete, when the parties are over, and when I can pass on the morning champagne without feeling like I’m missing out on the festivities.
Tomorrow will be the official start of our relationship. You will remind me to be grateful of pleasures – big and small – everyday. I will take in the smells of my morning espresso. I will enjoy both the rain of the winter and the heat of the summer. I will recycle and reuse and keep mother nature close to me. I will work on remembering that Earth loves – and needs – me as much as I do her. I will treasure time spent with friends and family.
I will visit the beach more often because I know it’s hard to be upset with the ocean breeze blowing in my hair and the salt and sand on my skin.
This year I do resolve to eat better, drink less, and exercise more (all very physical driven resolutions) but I will also make a conscious effort to nurture my mind and spirit as well. I will read books that make me think about big things and books that let me escape reality for a while. I will dedicate more time to my blog, endlessly documenting my efforts of living a compassionate life and eating a compassionate diet. I will create and cultivate every day with your months as my maps and your seasons serving as my milestones.
You’re going to be a whole new way for me, 2016, and I can hardly wait to start the voyage.
As always, stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
Let’s take a step back. A weekatarian is someone who only eats meat on the weekend but, during the week, is a vegetarian. I encourage you to give it a try via the following, if only for a few weeks! Besides, who doesn’t love a challenge, right?
Commit: Watch some of the documentaries I’ve mentioned on this blog (Forks Over Knives, Vegucated and Cowspiracy, to name a few) and get angry! Get angry about how animals are being treated or how our government doesn’t care about our health or how agriculture is destroying the planet. I promise you, if you’re angry about even one of these things, it will make committing to this cause a lot easier.
Prepare: Go online and on Pinterest to find veg recipes that look good to you. Make a list of all the ingredients you will need and then go shopping! (Don’t be scared to buy new spices and herbs that you haven’t tried before – smoked paprika is my new go-to.)
Execute: This is simple, just don’t eat meat during the week! You are armed with a new attitude (of wanting a better life for yourself, the animals, the globe, or all three) and a kitchen full of ingredients to start cooking your non-meat meals.
Re-commit: You might not need this step but it’s possible that on Thursday night, when that slice of pepperoni pizza is calling your name and you don’t think you’ll be satisfied until you eat it, you have to re-commit. I’ve found adding spice (chili flakes on my pizza) gives me that little something extra when I feel like eating meat. Besides, being a weekatarian means you still get meat on the weekends, remember? Surely you can hold off for a few more days. Just think of all the good you’re doing for your girl, Planet Earth.
Dive Deeper: This step could also be optional for you and one I am flirting with taking. Instead of just giving up meat during the week, also give up cheese and other dairy products. This will be particularly hard for me because I love a good splash of half and half in my morning coffee and a piece of fruit with a few slices of cheese is a popular snack for me but the more I learn about a diet that is mostly plant based and how good it is, the more animal products I am prepared to give up.
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
As mentioned in my post about our weekend in Washington, I came home less impressed with the food when I traveled to New York City over the summer.
Towards the end of August, my mom, grandma and I took a girls’ trip to the Big Apple. We flew east on a Wednesday and came home that Sunday. My mom and I went to New York a few years ago but it was a short trip so I was excited to be there longer and to show my grandma around.
As to be expected, the food at SFO and on the flight to New York weren’t anything to write home (or blog!) about. We arrived at our hotel in Tribeca around 11pm ET and, being that we were in the city that supposedly never sleeps, I didn’t think it would be much trouble to find a place to eat so late. Sadly, I was mistaken. After a walk around the block we realized there weren’t many eateries in the area. We also had a suspicion that our hotel wasn’t located in best neighborhood and it was probably better to stay in for the night*
Despite the hotels sketchy location, it was really nice. We somehow booked with VIP lounge status, which was conveniently located right across the hall from us. The lounge had rooftop access, snazzy chairs and tables to dine (or social media lurk) at, free snacks, waters and sodas throughout the day, plus complimentary breakfast in the morning, and fresh baked cookies in the afternoon. Not mad about it!
On our first night, since we couldn’t find anywhere to eat, we ended up ordering room service and eating it right there in the lounge. In theory, I can end this post here because this was actually (disappointingly!) the best meal we had in NYC…! We ordered a salad and spaghetti to split 3 ways with a side of bread. Full, but mildly disappointed in our first night of the trip, we went to bed right after in anticipation of the next day ahead.
On Thursday we woke up early, grabbed a quick breakfast at the lounge, and headed out into the crowded, congested, annoying, amazing streets of New York City!
Our first stop was Gramercy Park via Starbucks for iced teas because of the heat and humidity. We walked to Chelsea Market after for some exploring (and more iced tea!) and then to Tortilla Flats for lunch. All three of us love Mexican food so I thought Tortilla Flats would be a hit. The restaurant was cool and I’m glad we went but I think living in California and having access to authentic Mexican food sets a standard that the east coast just can’t compete with. I got the cheese enchiladas with rice and beans; it was too greasy for my taste and lacked flavor but we chatted with the owner and got free shots of tequila so overall not a complete waste. 😉
Outside of Gramercy Park
All of the shops in Chelsea Market
Tortilla Flats!
Free shots of tequilaaaa
Next we did a bunch of touristy things including finding Carrie Bradshaw’s “apartment,” the Friends building, and grabbing cupcakes at Magnolia’s Bakery, as featured on Sex in the City. I’ve been to NYC three times and every time**, I’ve gotten a cupcake here! Sometimes there is a reason things are touristy (because they’re good!).
The “Friends” building
Magnolia’s
Outside Carrie Bradshaw’s
After enjoying our cupcakes in a nearby park, we stopped at The Spotted Pig for a drink. Our drinks were insanely overpriced (as to be expected in New York) and, in my opinion, horrible (!) but we were still in Greenwich Village, which is by far my favorite NYC neighborhood so the location (location, location, location!) made up for it.
Girls’ (walking) tour of Greenwich Village!
After lunch, cupcakes and drinks it was time for a walk to work off all of those calories. We walked the 1.5 miles back to our hotel where we relaxed for a while before going to a Broadway show. We saw BEAUTIFUL The Carole King Musical and it was ah-mazing! Before the show we split a margarita pizza in Times Square and after, we met the star of the show, Chilina Kennedy.
Meet and greet with the cast
The next day we had a carriage ride through central park scheduled first thing in the morning, so after a quick breakfast at the hotel we were on our way. The carriage ride was (also) expensive but I think worth doing if you’re in New York City. We explored Central Park after, seeing the memorial for John Lennon, and a few other things while walking to the upper east side for lunch. Word to the wise, do NOT go to Madison Avenue hungry and without a designated eating spot. We ended up at a place called EAT and I should have Yelped it before because all of the one star reviews are spot on. I ended up ordering a $20 Cesar salad that came with romaine lettuce and dressing and that’s it! Not even a single crouton or sliver of parm…
Us and our horse, Cody
At EAT (but don’t eat here!)
Money bags
Unimpressed with lunch, we moved on to the museums. We explored the Metropolitan Museum and The Guggenheim (and when I say “explored” I mean walk by and take a few pictures) with more iced beverages in hand! It was so hot, having something to drink was a necessity while walking around. I splurged for an iced mocha (usually sticking with iced coffee) while my grandma and mom got lemonades. We also bought a few bags of those famous NYC roasted nuts to snack on while walking and, let me just say, well worth the $9 spent.
Exploring Central Park and neighboring areas
I had made reservations at Serendipity months before our trip for dinner on Friday night and regretted it. The food was sub par and their legendary frozen hot chocolate wasn’t anything special. Beyond that, the restaurant is tacky (in my opinion) and the service was terrible… Oh, well. At least we’ve tried it.
Overall though, day two turned out to be another disappointing day, food wise. (If you don’t count the roasted nuts!)
HUGE menus
The “famous” frozen hot chocolate
On our final day in New York, we had essentially done everything we planned to do so, last minute, decided to take a harbor tour.
After another breakfast at the hotel, we took the subway to Times Square with the intention to walk to the harbor from there to catch the 12pm tour. We were doing great on timing …until I realized I had accidentally lead us in the exact opposite direction of where we needed to be going. We could have quickly turned around and hustled to the harbor, but there was another tour leaving at 2pm so we took our time righting the wrong.
Which turned out to be a good decision because we were able to visit the New York City Public Library, something that I wanted to see but didn’t want to go out of the way for it (on purpose). The library is as beautiful and grand as you expect. The security guard gave us a map (a map of the library!) and pointed out where Carrie B. was supposed to get married in the SATC movie (can you tell I’m a fan?). Interesting side note: he also had to check my backpack and my grandma’s purse as we were leaving to be sure we didn’t take any books! I guess there is a demand for NYC library books online… who would have thought?
After exploring the library we walked to the harbor where we had a quick lunch before the tour. I didn’t expect this meal to be anything special, which could be why it didn’t disappoint. (Expectations! …they’ll get ya every time.) We ate at a small concession stand nearby that basically sold “theme park food;” burgers, chicken tenders, fries, etc. I ordered a veggie burger (because I much rather not know where my soy beans are coming from than my meat!) and split an order of fries with my grandma and mom. As mentioned, my burger wasn’t that bad and kept me full during the 3 hour harbor tour.
The tour was a great last day activity for us. It was nice to get a history of Manhattan and see the Statue of Liberty – plus some other cool sights that we likely wouldn’t have seen – all the while sitting down and enjoying the breeze! We walked back to Times Square to get on the subway to go to the hotel but, by this point, we were hungry again. Having had bad luck with NYC eateries so far, we decided to eat dinner at Chevy’s in Time Square. Typically I much rather dine at a hole in the wall than a chain restaurant, especially when traveling, but honestly, I just wanted something I knew I was going to like at that point. So, another round of cheese enchiladas it was!
We got back to our hotel and a friend from college met me for a drink on the rooftop of our hotel. It was so good to see her and another great thing about traveling; having the opportunity to see old friends and make new memories.
Overall, our trip was great but not because of the food! It was so much fun to experience New York City again with my mom and grandma. I truly do love that city and recommend going if you ever get the chance to, just don’t expect every meal to be as amazing as the city.
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
*Later, my friend who lives in NYC confirmed that we definitely should not have been walking around that area late at night.
**For your viewing pleasure, a picture of the first time I visited New York/Magnolia’s …Back when bleached blonde hair, fake nails, and dangling earrings were all.the.range.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe. **
In February Mike’s mom told me about saving vegetable scraps in your freezer to make broth. I love anything veg and homemade so as soon as we got home, I dedicated a big zip-lock bag in my freezer for the ends of carrots, tops of bell peppers, outer layers of onions, and any other vegetable pieces that would otherwise go in the trash.
My bag filled up within a couple months but it sat there – frozen and dormant – until tonight! I finally cut up a few onions that were on the verge, some celery and garlic that I had on hand, and started to make my veg broth. While I was in my kitchen, putting things away and taking in the savory smells of my scraps boiling, I started thinking about a post to show what food I have in my kitchen on a random Monday.
So, here we are… Below are pictures (upstaged and not the greatest…) of what is currently in my kitchen.
Starting from the top left and moving clock-wise:
Do you see all of that tea we have? (Shelves 1 and 4- 9!) My boyfriend is clearly an addict 😉 We also have our spices, oils, and pastas stored here.
Our cabinet is tiny so I think it looks like we have more food than we actually do (or I’m in denial and have a problem buying/stocking up on organic noshes). On the top shelf we have our flour, sugar, etc. – things we don’t use very often. On the middle shelf we have snacks and treats (in the basket) like crackers, bars, and popcorn + all of our “extras” we keep on hand like salsa, mustard, and olive oil spray. On the last shelf we store “everyday” items like granola, soups, dried onions (SO good on salads), etc. (Note, I am using the pasta sauce for dinner tomorrow hence it’s front and center location.)
An overall snap of our refrigerator. I know it looks like I haven’t gone shopping in a while but that isn’t the case at all. I just went to the farmers market and Trader Joe’s yesterday – expect most of the food I buy for the week is stored in the drawers. #vegetables #fruit (You will also spot hummus, eggs, almond milk and half&half, which are regular guests in our fridge among a few other random things like the apple cider, that I’m pretty sure has been there since last Thanksgiving.)
Our veg drawer. This week we have peppers, spinach, onions, mushrooms (brown paper bag), carrots, celery, sprouts and broccoli (both stored in the blue glass containers to keep fresh longer).
[Fruit drawer not photographed] Since it’s winter, we aren’t eating too much fruit but apples are a stable and tangerines are good for a boost of vitamin C during flu season.
What we buy and have is the house doesn’t vary a lot from week to week. We have our staples and rotate through them. Although, most weekends we eat out a lot and get more … experimental.
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
We celebrated my birthday a little later this year with a weekend getaway to Monterey Bay. Growing up in the Bay Area I’ve taken many day trips to Monterey to visit the aquarium, eat at Bubba Gumps, and then grab a cookie at the Nestle Toll House bakery before going home. But now that I’m older the aquarium (sadly) is less exciting, Bubba Gumps is just another chain restaurant and, most of the time, I would rather “use” my carbs on a beer than a cookie.
Suffice to say, my relationship with Monterey has changed over the years.
Mike and I have gone down a few times to ride our bikes along a path leading to Cannery Row. We also stayed at Hotel 1110 two years ago for my birthday, where we went on an incredible hike followed by a food crawl (our standard).
This time around we stayed at Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa and had a great, very grown up (so different from my trips as a kid!) weekend.
We left Friday night after work and, while listening to Adele’s new album and driving south on 101, got a flat tire. I’ve had flat tires before but never on the freeway. This was actually an awakening experience that made me realize how helpless I would have been if I wasn’t with Mike. Luckily Mike knows how to change a flat (there’s something sexy about watching your man change a tire, right?!) and we were on the road again within a half hour. …Going a slow 55mph with the spare on our last stretch of the journey.
After we dropped off our bags in the room (haven already eaten dinner at home) we headed down to the bar for a drink. Our hotel was right on the water and outside there was a fire pit with couches around it; here we sat and sipped our drinks (wine for me, a Manhattan for Mike). Sadly they turned off the fire shortly after we got there but since it wasn’t too cold we decided to stay outside chatting and listening to the waves crash. I’m a sucker for ocean views, long conversations and Mike soooooo the 3 combined made for an exceptional evening.
After we finished our drinks, I was hungry and everything in the hotel was closed except …room service! We went back to our room and ordered a $12 side of fries (!!!), appropriately eating them in bed in our pajamas.
On Saturday morning Mike surprised me with Manresa pumpkin bread for breakfast and, after sleeping in, I lazily indulged in coffee and (more) carbs (in bed). The life!
After our splurge breakfast we decided to go to the gym which was AMAZING. (A sentence I never expected to write.) The Vista Blue Spa is the most indulgent place I’ve been to and I thoroughly loved every minute of it. …even working out. The spa has a small gym with big windows overlooking the ocean, a rooftop hot tub, steam room and lounge chairs to relax in, and services from pedicures to massages.
When we got there we spent a little over a hour working out/enjoying the view. We were the only ones in the gym for most of the time and it was actually a lot of fun chatting in between reps. (Plus, I got Mike to do a few sun salutations with me!) After our workout we went to change into our bathing suits and grab a quick bite to eat before our appointment for the couples bubbly package!
In between the spa and our hotel there is a cute little patio with a cafe where we grabbed a salad and wrap. It was a really nice day so we ate outside on a bench near the beach. Recently we’ve naturally fallen into a “weekatarian” lifestyle. Meaning we don’t eat meat during the week. Even though it was the weekend, I stuck with a meat free Cesar salad. Nevertheless, this was still an indulgence because of that creamy dressing and little nutritional value in the romaine but it hit the spot for a light lunch before heading back to the spa.
Since our appointment wasn’t until 2pm, we were able to enjoy the rooftop hot tub and catch a few rays while reading for a bit. Around 1:45 we checked in for our package, that included a 45 minute bath with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries followed by a 80 minute (!) massage. But first, we were sent to our respective lounges.
The female lounge was dimly lit with strawberry spa water, fruit, nuts, and organic tea. It was slightly awkward for me to be just sitting in the room with other women who were all strangers and I instantly became aware of how reliant I am on my cell phone as a social crutch. But, with no Instagram or Facebook to busy my fingers, I just sat there trying to figure out the relationships between the other women waiting in the lounge. (Were they friends? Sisters? Strangers with less social anxiety than me?) After about 10 minutes someone called my name and lead me and Mike (who had easily made conversation with the other guys in the lounge) to the room where our bath was.
Forty five minutes later and we were back in our lounges waiting to be taken to the massage portion of our package. I settled in more this time and felt relaxed as a sipped my spa water and waited. A short while later we were on our way to the massages where we 100% bliss-ed out for the next 80 minutes.
We left the spa completely relaxed and ready for happy hour! There was a place with good reviews within walking distance called Chart House. We ordered drinks (more wine for me and another Manhattan for Mike) and split coconut shrimp and a trio of hummus. I joke that my blood might actually have hummus in it with the amount I consume. I #love hummus and this batch did not disappoint. There were scoops of regular, edamame, and roasted red bell pepper hummus served with pita and fried plantain chips. I was a little hesitant about the plantain chips at first but they turned out to be really good with the hummus.
After getting my fix of chickpeas and tahini we took a Uber to Pacific Grove for dinner at a place called Jeninni Kitchen and Wine Bar. This place was a gem and I’m so happy we found it. Mike and I are a bit of atmosphere snobs, judging a eatery equally on the quality of the food and the ambiance of the restaurant. This place was trendy with a good selection of food and drinks. I ordered the chicken mac and cheese and Mike got a lamb burger with eggplant fries. Both dishes tasted fresh and delicious.
After dinner, we went back to the fire pit outside our hotel for a nightcap and then took a stroll down to Cannery Row (where there is already a Christmas tree up – too early!). We stopped at The C Restaurant + Bar to split a hot chocolate, which might have been a mistake because we both ended up feeling terrible after! (I should mention that we had previously been here after a bike ride and shared AMAZING appetizers so, I would still recommend this place if you’re in Monterey.)
On Sunday we woke up and Mike still wasn’t feeling well so we packed our things, checked out and walked to CVS for cough drops and theraflu. Having only had tea for breakfast, we were pretty hungry and stopped at Cannery Row Brewing Company for lunch but I wasn’t very impressed with the food (or possibly just wasn’t in the mood for pub style food).
Before we headed home (70 miles at 55mph on a spare!) we stopped back at the cafe for an iced latte (for me) and hot water (for theraflu for Mike). It was another gorgeous day in Monterey and having a coffee by the ocean was the perfect ending to the weekend. There really is something about being near the ocean, isn’t there?
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
If you want a real blast from the past, you can read all about our stay at Hotel 1110 on my old blog here.
Monday was particularly hard today because we spent the weekend away in Washington and had such a good time visiting our friends Morgan and Joe, who moved to Bellevue last year. Because life is so busy, Mike and I were finally able to make it up there for a visit (10 months later). We flew out Friday evening and, to tide us over for the flight, split a beer and a small order of potato skins at the airport. Yum, airport food. Said no one, ever.
We arrived in Seattle around 9pm, a little cold (California is in a serious drought and I haven’t experienced life under 70 degrees in a while…) but mostly just really excited to be there! MoJo got engaged this year (!) and Morgan just started a new job so there was a lot to catch up on.
Bellevue is this perfect little city (that amazingly isn’t too crowded or dirty) about 10 minutes from Seattle. We stopped at one of Morgan and Joe’s favorite restaurant Lot No. 3 before going back to their apartment. We started the night with drinks (wine for the ladies and beer for the men) while waiting for our table. I expected to be starving by this point but wasn’t actually too hungry when we sat down for dinner. Instead of ordering a full meal I stuck with veg sliders and a side of fries.
After dinner we headed to MoJo’s for a few brews and glasses of wine before bed. Which was after 2am… Which is really late for us now… ( Or, at least for me!)
The next morning was pretty lazy with a late wake up call and a decadent brunch. (My favorite kind of morning!) We went to the Hyatt for unlimited fresh squeezed orange juice(!), eggs Benedict and apple + almond waffles. The food was delicious even in the midst of a lightweight hangover (pun intended?).
After brunch we drove around Lake Washington to look at all of the nice houses that surround the area. (Bill Gates lives here, to give you an idea of the houses there…. $$$$$$$$$$$) After a short tour, I was in some serious need of caffeine so we made a pit stop at Cafe Cesura, a trendy little cafe. Hello, Washington!
I’m in the middle of a 30 day yoga challenge so before we headed out again Morgan and I did a quick yoga sesh. After we namaste’d, it was time to go WINE TASTING. We drove a few miles from Bellevue to Woodinville, which is a super cute little town with a lot different places to wine taste. Our first stop was a smaller place where we snagged a corner table and sipped on rosés, whites, and reds. Next we went to Mark Ryan, an open tasting room recommended to Morgan by a friend. This place had cool high ceilings and a more trendier vibe than our first tasting. I’m not a wine expert by any means (I order the cheapest glass on the menu!) but Morgan knows a lot about different flavors, grapes, etc.
Slightly buzzed we decided it was time for some quick appetizers at Purple Cafe. The menu here was amazing and, if it was later, I would have loved to eat dinner here. But since it was barely five, we stuck to small plates to share. We ordered a fig and goat cheese flat bread and an order of spicy prawns and frites. After we chowed down (and sobered up), we recognized this combination was a little strange but does it really matter when you’re on vacation? #no
When we got back to Bellevue, we headed to Earls for dinner. Mike and I had been to Earls a few years ago when we did a trip to B.C. and since most of the locations are in Canada, we were happy to be able to go back!
After dinner we went back to MoJo’s where we were planning on calling it a night until we googled a bar recommended to us from some frequent Seattle visitors and realized it wouldn’t be open the next day before our flight. So we headed back out for a nightcap at Zigzag, a speakeasy type bar with old school cocktails. I was already showered and in my pajamas when we decided to go and, typically, I would have wanted to stay in but since Sunday was our last day, I figured why not?! You can sleep on the weekdays, after all.
On Sundy, our flight wasn’t until 8pm so we still had an entire day left to explore the PNW. After another late-start morning, we walked to a nearby cafe for croissants and lattes. Mike and I split the chocolate + almond and ham + cheese croissants. One savory and one sweet to satisfy both of our cravings. And then we were off to explore Pike Place Market, a major tourist spot in Seattle. We walked around the farmer’s market while sampling chocolates and sipping on organic apple cider.
Since California hasn’t gotten the memo that it’s fall now, it was nice to enjoy some cooler weather and cozier activities. (We’re still swimming on the weekends at home.)
After Pike Place we went to Capitol Hill, which is the equivalent to the Castro in San Francisco for Seattle. It was fun to explore another new neighborhood and proves that visiting locals in the best way to travel. In sticking with the theme of local-favorites, we headed to Paseo (pronounced PAAAA-SSSSAAAAAAYY-OOOOOOOO, by us and probably only us) next. Word to the wise? IF YOU EVER VISIT SEATTLE YOU NEED TO GO TO PASEO! Mike and I split a Caribbean Roast and Paseo Press while Morgan and Joe stuck to veggie options and got the Onion Obsessed Sandwich and Tofu Delight. In between big bites, messy hands, and giant sauteed onion slices, the four of us raved about Paseo’s food the entire meal.
After our massive, marvelous, sandwiches, it was time to go to the airport. Washington was so much fun with some of the best food I’ve had this year! (Which reminded me of how underwhelmed I was with the food when I was in New York a few months ago… Stay tuned for the post!)
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
We had our third annual Canadian Thanksgiving celebration this weekend (although Canadian Thanksgiving was actually last week) and, aside from a slight hangover this morning, everything was great!
My guy, Mike, is Canadian and I really love that our friends come out year after year to spend the day with us and enjoy some Great North favorites. (Even after an almost-house fire the first year….) We have a pretty nice BBQ pit area in our apartment complex, where we held Thanksgiving last year and again this year.
In September we met Mike’s mom and dad in Tahoe and they brought candies, chips, and decorations for the party. (Thanks, Barb and Dan!) Canada has flavored chips that aren’t sold in the states like dill pickle and ketchup. (I’m personally not a fan of the ketchup because I think they’re sweet, which, in my opinion, is weird for a potato chip but other people love them so, to each his own!) We had a wide variety of chips this year including – of course – dill and ketchup, as well as poutine, PEI roasted scalloped potatoes and Montreal smoked meat. We also had Smarties (my favorite!), CoffeeCrips, Wonder Bar, Aero, Mr. Big and Karamilk candies. (By the way, I never said this was the healthiest of celebrations but what’s life without a little indulgence now and again?)
For the main meal, we served burgers with maple bacon (SOOO good, and I’m not typically one of those people who believes bacon rules the world), poutine, KRAFT Dinner (mac n’ cheese) and nanaimo bars for dessert.
In the hours leading up to Canadian Thanksgiving the plan was to sous vide the burgers but we realized there was just too much water to heat up in time for this to be a success.So, last minute, we decided to grill the burgers instead. This was mine (and all of the ladies at the party!) cue to head back to our apartment and start cooking everything else. Making bacon, mac n’ cheese, gravy and 3 bags of fries in one tiny kitchen (in one 20 minute window) can be pretty stressful but I had a drink in my hand and my girls there ready to help out, so, in short, we handled it (#OliviaPope).
Weekends are typically more indulgent for me but, even so, I try not to swim in the deep end for too long. Every meal is an opportunity to make another (better!) decision and while I’m all for living in the moment and eating what is being served to fully be a part of the experience (what fun would it be to only eat salad at a pizza and cupcake party?!), I still try to make mostly sensible decisions.
A trick I use practically every time bread is a mealtime contender is to simply ditch the top bun (or slice) and add some extra lettuce instead! This slashes your carb intake in half and, honestly, I enjoy my burgers more this way. You can actually taste everything with equal portions in each bite instead of a double does of bun. ((It’s also helpful to use a plate when appetizers are being served (in this case, the chips and candy!) instead of grazing. This way you know how much you’re eating and don’t accidentally consume a whole bag of chips from fifty small handfuls.)) Another tip I love is nixing the ketchup (which usually has added sugar!) for a real live slice of tomato.
(Disclaimer: These picture were taken after a few drinks. My advance apologies for their sloppy vibe… We also tried to “hide” our wine in a box because I don’t know the rules for open bottles of alcohol at the BBQ pits.)
After everyone ate, we all hung out, kept the beer, whiskey, and wine flowing and listened to a mix of Bare Naked Ladies and Avril Lavigne (Canadian artists, if you didn’t know!). Mostly everyone left around 5:30pm and, since the party was outside with paper plates, cups and plastic silverware, we just threw everything in garage bags and headed home.
Stay tuned and eat your greens.
** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **
VEG VIBES 