Restaurant Review "GreenFare"

Last weekend I went to Reston Town Center to grab a drink with some friends.  We had no idea that Taste of Reston was going on at the same time.  It turned out to be a great coincidence. We didn't actually sample anything, we just walked around.  I did get a few cards from some of the vendors there, one of which turned out to be GreenFare.  I had not heard of it so on Thursday I "Googled" it.

They are a vegan restaurant, they don't use oil or salt in their food (there is salt on the table so you can season to taste), they use whole foods, use local ingredients and the food is great!

I posted on FB asking if anyone wanted to go check it out with me.  My friend C agreed to go check it out that night.  We got there a little after 6:30pm, there were about 3 other tables in there.  Our server asked if we had been there before and then explained more about the restaurant to us.  The decor was cozy and fun, bright red walls, book and other items for sale about plant based eating, etc.


We ordered tea (Sweet Rose) while we looked at the menu.  C ordered the spinach and sweet potato lasagna and I had the spinach alfredo pasta.

Spinach Alfredo Pasta

Magical Tea

Our food arrived quickly and we went for it.  I will warn you that even though onions and tomatoes are NOT listed as ingredients in my food, they definitely were on there.  I first tried to pick them out thinking they were just on the top for garnishment, but they were mixed into the pasta as well.  I do not like raw onions so I did send mine back to have it made without onions.  I felt a little bad about that but was very polite as was the server.  She came back not long after with a replacement meal at which time I was able to eat.  And eat it all!  I did add pepper and salt to it.  We did not get dessert so next time I will try that and let you all know!

If you are in the Herndon area or even if you are not, go check this place out!  

As a fun bonus it is in the same shopping center as Mom's Organic Market.  C and I went before dinner and I was introduced to this yummy delight:

Get in my belly!

If you have not had this YOU ARE MISSING OUT.  Yes they are pricy, but you only need 1 and it is superb.  The mint is just right, not too minty, the chocolate is also just right.  Go get this. 

Where should I go next?  Comment below!

XO-Mo

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms and single Dad's out there!  You do your thing!

My family and I went to Grafton Street in Gainesville for brunch.  It was lovely!  They had a great layout and variety of foods.  The always popular omelette bar had quite the line but was worth it.  Two different kinds of breakfast potatoes, spinach salad, pasta salad, fruit skewers, chicken, fish, grilled veggies and a glorious dessert area.  We naturally had Guinness with our brunch :) 

We first discovered Grafton Street a few months ago when we were looking for a place to meet up with my sister so that none of us would have to drive as far, a sort of half way point (but still actually it is further for her).  I found it online and we figured, let's give it a try. We first went on a Saturday and we were there right when they opened at 11am.  The food was great (I had lemon blueberry pancakes and a Guinness).  We then realized that they offered a Sunday brunch and we knew we wanted to come back soon for that.  

If you are in that area and need a good pub to go to, please check them out!

A little throwback of my Mom and I 

The Brunch Crew

Thoughts on Veganuary

How did I do?:

Overall, I did really well with Veganuary.  I did totally cheat on Saturday 1/30 and had a burger with cheese and bacon.  I also cheated one day during the snow storm, I was at work and the cafe salad bar was not open so I bought a chicken sandwich.  Could I have just had snacks and had an early dinner, sure, but I chose to eat the sandwich.

In all honesty after eating the burger, I went and walked around Target for an hour because I was beyond full and feeling groggy.

While participating in Veganuary, I noticed that after lunch I didn't get that afternoon slump.  I can really only attribute that to eating better and more nutritious food.  Does being vegan take some serious planning and food prep? Yes, it sure does.  You basically will cut out all processed food.  Imagine that? A lifestyle where you don't eat processed foods.  That HAS to be better for us.  

Lifestyle Changes:

Yes.  From this experiment, I will be eating mainly vegan, but if I truly WANT a burger or something like a warm goat cheese salad, I will eat it.  I will be more thoughtful with the food I am eating.  As a cheese lover, giving up cheese was the hardest part for me, BUT, I got over it.

This has helped to realize that I need to view food as nutrition first, taste second.  I think often we miss that aspect of it and we do not eat for nutrition.  I will be much more mindful about eating for nutrition from now on.

Take a chance and challenge yourself!  You can do this challenge for any month during the year.  

Final Thoughts:

I will be more mindful of the food I'm eating and will treat meat and cheese as special items to have only occasionally.  Food = Nutrition and Fuel

What is the next challenge?

Discussing with the ladies at work this week!  We are a little thrown off by the snow days last week so we are behind. 

What I'm eating this week

Breakfast:

Oatmeal (not quick oats) with chia seeds/hemp seeds pomegranate/blueberry.  Pick 1 seed and 1 fruit.  Also add 1 scoop of almond butter. Very filling!

Stuffed Shells:

I found this recipe on Pinterest for stuffed shells.  I did add marinara sauce on the top because the cashew sauce really dried up when baking.  Alternatively, you could make extra cashew sauce to put on top after baking is done.  Also don't be afraid to add some seasoning to this, especially the spinach and tofu.  This could be really bland if you make as listed.

Quesadilla:
Roasted Sweet Potato and Bean Quesadilla - I opted to use black beans because I have tons of them at home and want to use them.  I made a mash, by cooking them with seasoning and then using a potato masher.  Works for me!  Lol :)

Snack Attack:
Roasted Cauliflower
Avocado with balsamic vinegar
Crispy Broccoli Florets (a dried item sort of like kale chips from Trader Joe's)
Trek Mix (Trader Joe's - cashews, macadamia nuts, dried cranberries and dried pineapple)

Sweets:
Star Crunch (clean) 

The biggest trend I'm coming to terms with is that I have to make most of my food myself.  This requires meal planning, shopping lists and prep time.  I am super lucky that Joe is so into this and he is into helping me food prep.  We were talking about our weekend plans and he brought up meal prepping on Sunday.  He is the BEST.  

Massage Time!

Back in November I had purchased a Groupon for a Thai Massage.  The promo was going to expire later in January so I decided I had better get on that!

I made an appointment with Thai Healing House in Herndon for Sunday afternoon (yes during the Skins game).  You guys...I have only ever had table massage and this was a whole different experience.  You check in and then they take you to the room and give you pants and a t-shirt to wear.  There is a large mat on the ground you they tell you to lay on your back.  I would seriously sleep on this thing, it was so comfy.  Then June my massage lady comes in and she starts with my feet and legs.  The whole time we are talking and she is explaining to me how this massage is different and really focuses on stretching and pressure points.  She is really into the philosophy of it and explaining how it is different from a table massage.  She is AMAZING.

At one point, June is standing on my hamstrings.  FOR SERIOUS!  She was really able to get into the tension areas.  I was all kinds of stretched out and felt amazing afterwards.   If you get a Thai Message, be prepared for some serious close contact with your massage person.

I highly recommend the Thai Healing House  and if you go, please name drop so that I can get a $20 credit.

I plan to book a 2 hour session in March to really get in there and get relaxed.

Restaurants Week 2

Going out to eat while vegan can be challenging at mainstream restaurants.  This weekend I went to the Olive Garden and 701.

Olive Garden:
I had the make your own pasta with cavatapi pasta and primavera.  I also had some salad b.c OG (I just looked at the ingredients and realized the dressing is NOT vegan...my bad). The pasta dish was a large portion (of course it is OG).  The veggies were crisp and crunchy and the sauce had a little flair to it.

701:
Appetizer: Savory Funnel Cake.  FOR SERIOUS!!!!!! This was glorious.  There was a spicy carrot sauce on it along with roasted cherry tomatoes.  So good.

Dinner: Cauliflower Shawarma with hummus and tomato.  YASSSSS.  So filling and delicious!  I did avoid the white sauce as it looked creamy and probably dairy.

Cauliflower Shawarma

I was truly full after eating at 701.  They have a small menu, but the food is excellent.  Worth the trip to DC!

Where are the Veggies?

Veggie Love

Food Tracking:

Just a few days into tracking my food and I'm realizing that I turn to fruit as a snack but not veggies.  As a result, I'm eating WAY more sugar than I should.  My focus for the next few days will be to incorporate more veggies and less fruit so that my sugar intake can be reduced.

I am going to the grocery store tonight with a new game plan and more recipes to try.

Today at work is our Vegan Potluck, I will share the results later on!



Do you have some favorite veggie snacks?  Please share if you do!

I Get By with a Little Help

I need to mention some people that are great resources to me on this journey.  This whole thing would be much more difficult without help.

Lisa - a friend and vegan.  She has emailed me some great resources such as cookbooks, documentaries, easy recipes etc (and she is a resource too!)

Joe - The Chef!  He is helping me so much by playing along when we are on dates.  He has made two different types of hummus for me, dinner etc.  This would be much more difficult without him.

My Lady Loves! -  asking me questions, sending me encouraging notes, planning walks with me etc.  I really appreciate all of that.  You ladies rock my world!

The Ladies at work - we are certainly in this together!  Excited for our upcoming potluck.

Chugging Along

MyFitnessPal

I made sure to eat enough food and am also now using myfitnesspal (mingomo9, if you want to be friendly) to track my food, not my exercise though.  I hate when you enter in your exercise and they give you more calories to consume.  Ummm I'm trying to have a deficit here. So I skip that part of it completely but am using it for food. 

I didn't track food yesterday but I made sure to EAT more food so I did not get a headache. 

Food for the day:

Breakfast: coconut yogurt with blueberries (make sure to get the kind that is dairy free!), 16 oz coffee with coconut creamer from Trader Joe's and no sugar

Snack peanuts, chia bar, chamomile tea (plain, no sugar or "milk"

Lunch: Broccoli Soup, avocado with balsamic vinegar

Snack: none

Dinner: whole wheat rotini with veggie ratatouille 

Dessert: 2 cookies, vegan

For most meals I drink water, I do have coffee in the AM though.  I had extra food today, an apple and an orange.  Just holding onto those for another day at my desk.  

Overall, feeling so good!  I haven't done a really  hard workout yet though.  I'm saving that joy for Thursday evening.  I will make sure to add an afternoon snack in for that day. I have lost 5lbs so far.  Crazy since I have done nothing other than walk and change my food. 

Drinking More Water:

The best thing about drinking water is that I had switched to this years ago.  I drink water as soon as I wake up and then I have a large stadium cup from the Nationals 2012 season that I keep at my desk.  I drink 3 of those each day while I'm at work.  I have water with my dinner so no empty calories or sugar.  

When I'm at a restaurant I usually get unsweetened tea (occasionally sweet tea).  I just feel blah when I consume too much sugar.  I also rarely have a soda.  It should be a treat, not a daily item.  

Day 3: Headache Madness

Today was not good.  It started ok but then as the day wore on, I got a raging headache.  I mean I thought I was going to hurl at one point.  Is this dairy withdrawal?  Is this not eating enough calories?  Is this a combo of these items?  I know that I was not dehydrated so I can eliminate that  from the possibilities.

me: yesterday

I had dinner plans with my parents, I took some Aleve got on the road to meet them.  I had a large dinner, bread, salad, roasted squash.  I felt so much better after that.  Perhaps I needed a snack before dinner.  I'm not really sure.  There will be some experimenting going on this week for sure though.

PS. Non dairy coconut creamer from Trader Joe's is a decent sub for half and half.  You need to use a lot though.  I don't sugar my coffee so I need a good amount of cream in there.

Gotta getcha some!

Veganuary!

The Beginning:

The lovely ladies I work with set up a challenge to go vegan for the month of January.  I was all in for it!  I love to challenge myself with things such as this so I signed up to join them.

At work we have Yammer, and a Veggie page for those of use that are into that kind of thing.  We are using that to post recipes talk strategy for dealing with longing for certain foods etc.  One of the ladies has set up a potluck for Friday so that we can share foods and try new recipes.

I have created a Veganuary Pinterest board, which you are welcome to follow me on.  I am getting many recipes from there.  I am also following www.veganuary.com, they post basic shopping lists, recipes and support.

Grocery Shopping:

On Saturday afternoon, my Mom and I went out shopping for some basics.  I brought 3 recipes with me so that I would make sure to get all of the ingredients for those plus a ton of basics for vegan lifestyle.

3 grocery stores and about $150 later, I was ready.  I am not expecting to spend that much on a weekly basis, but I had to buy things that will be used multiple times such as nutritional yeast, mirin, corn starch, and other items that will be used many many times in the future.


What have I made so far?

Vegan Cheese: ughh - I followed recipe as written, BUT it was WAY too much garlic....like so bad on the garlic, could not even really eat it.  I will try again with 1/4 of the garlic.

Broccoli Soup: pretty good!  Joe really did all of the cooking and I did the dishes.  Definitely had to had more spice and flavor to it, but a great recipe overall.  I am having that as part of my lunch this week.

Restaurants:

Let's be real, you are not going to be at home for every meal.  Here are the restaurants I have been to so far:
The Sunflower Cafe - a vegetarian restaurant that also has many vegan options
Clydes - a few options such as salads, beet "burger" and roasted squash

Roasted Squash from Clydes

Are you vegan?  Send me some tips!