What I Ate: 8.19.14

I haven’t done one of these “Food Diary” posts in awhile, so I thought I’d share a day in the life of my mouth…wait, is that creepy? That sounds totally creepy, doesn’t it?

In other news, here’s what I ate:

Breakfast

For breakfast, I warmed up some quinoa with almond milk, chopped apples, 2 dates and cinnamon. Topped with hemp seeds,shredded coconut and sliced almonds.

Lunch

Lunch was leftovers from yesterday’s dinner – Lentil-a-roni from Isa Does It. I used a quinoa-based pasta and added kale. This is total comfort food with a healthier twist. Yum!

Snack

Pixie Retreat is a local company that specializes in making raw to-go food. This L’il Puddin’ Cup is in their Vanilla Kreem Salted Karmal version and it’s ridiculously good. Creamy, sweet, salty perfection.Pixie just opened up a storefront and I’m so excited to check it out asap!

Dinner

These nachos are kind of ruling my life right now. The ground beef is made from sauteed quinoa and a ton of spices – genius! Topped with green onions, olives, salsa, homemade nacho cheese and a side of sliced avocado. Recipe via VegNews.

Not Pictured: I also snacked on some blueberries and a small smoothie (raspberries, coconut water, Amazing Grass powder) mid-morning as well as some lightly salted, non-gmo popcorn in the afternoon. 

I think that about covers it. Do you enjoy these posts? I know I’ve always enjoyed similar food diaries by other bloggers. Let me know in the comments and/or share your own “What I Ate” photos and let me know where to find them!

Local Love: Harlow Restaurant

I’m not going to sugarcoat it people – being a vegan in Portland is exactly like being a kid in a candy store. The possibilities are endless and there are very few restaurants that don’t want to cater to you.  This city has spoiled me rotten.

If I could, I would eat out 5 times a week and share all of my delicious food experiences with you. Maybe in the future I’ll make restaurant reviews more of a regular thing, but cost and time kind of get in the way of that at the moment. Oh, real life…

The good news is that I had an absolutely delicious meal at Harlow this weekend and I wanted to share my experience.

Harlow is located at 3632 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Rustic tables, mason jars and shiny chandeliers give the space a welcoming yet chic ambience that I just loved. With a completely vegetarian and vegan menu, their focus is on clean and nutritious food for every meal. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and everything sounds amazing!

That’s the one thing about being a vegan who is so used to having just one or two options when going into most restaurants – indecisiveness rears its ugly head when I’m overwhelmed with choices. One of everything, please!

I started off with their Super Green Lemonade. Harlow starts off with fresh, house-made lemonade and adds in a healthy twist: cucumbers, spinach, kale and chlorophyll, giving this beauty its vibrant green color.

Look at that ombre effect! This was so refreshing and delicious and it gave me a great energy boost. This was so much better than a plain ol’ cup of joe.

For my main course, I decided to go raw and try out The Lone Star salad: shredded collards and spinach topped with dehydrated tomatoes, chili lime walnuts, guacamole, house-made jalapeno cashew cheese, almond  parmesan and chipotle hot sauce.

Oh. My. Yes. This was of one of the best salads I’ve ever had. Like ever. Filled with so much flavor and texture, I could have devoured two of these entrees. Even though I’m not a raw vegan by any stretch, I absolutely love trying raw dishes at home as well as when they’re offered at restaurants. As a foodie, nothing is more exciting than realizing how much you can do with bare bones, all-natural ingredients. This salad was a great testament that raw food is anything but boring.

Keeping it classy, as always.

I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. Vegan/vegetarian or not, I guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself. I can’t wait to go back to try one of their breakfast entrees!

Would you like to see more restaurant/food reviews? I love trying new places and products and sharing them with everyone – let me know what you think!

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Protein Packed Parmesan

Craving something cheesy? Looking to sprinkle some goodness onto avocado toast, a lacking pasta dish or the best heirloom tomatoes you’ve ever had?

So. Good.

Fear not. I have a super easy and incredibly nutritious spin on an old favorite for you today.

Hemp seeds.
Nutritional yeast.
Pink Himalayan Salt.

That’s it. No joke.

So what makes this recipe so protein packed and nutritious? Here’s a quick rundown of all the benefits these 3 ingredients provide:

First up? Hemp seeds. I put hemp seeds on just about everything these days. The texture is great and they give any dish a nice and subtle nutty flavor. Hemp seeds also happen to be full of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Full of essential amino acids, hemp seeds are considered a complete source of protein, adding roughly 10 grams of protein per serving to your meals. So sprinkle that stuff on all the food!

Oh, nutritional yeast – it’s kind of the holy grail for all of us former cheese-loving vegans out there. On top of being perfect as a cheese substitute, nutritional yeast also happens to be full of B vitamins and amino acids. Oh, and another complete protein! Nutritional yeast is winning at life, guys.

And lastly, pink himalayan salt. Not only is it super pretty, but pink salt contains all of those wonderful minerals that are stripped out of basic table salt. If you feel like totally nerding out, feel free to check out this in-depth chart listing all of the minerals packed into these tiny crystals. Flavor-wise, it adds just the right amount of bite without being too overpowering.

3-Ingredient Protein Packed Parmesan

1/4 cup hemp seeds

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt crystals or 1/4 teaspoon if it’s pre-ground

Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Blend until fully combined. 

Enjoy!