North End Caffe, Manhattan Beach

Every time I drive by North End Caffe in Manhattan Beach there is a huge crowd waiting outside. I looked over the menu the other day and fell in love! North End Caffe is a casual beach cafe with 5 star homemade food. Even though they are known for their delicious Panini’s, burgers & fancy bacon wrapped hot dogs (as seen on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives) no need to worry they have plenty of vegetarian options. They serve breakfast, lunch, & dinner and the menu has a little bit of everything to choose from.  I went to North End for lunch today with my foodie sidekick Chrissie and my little Aiden. There were so many things I wanted to try (I will definitely be going back) I ended up getting the Greeko sandwich which has goat cheese, pesto, olive tapenade, carmelized onion, pickle, cucumber, tomato, & greens on a homemade baguette & Chrissie had the California panini which has cheddar, pepper jack, avocado, pesto, green salsa, corn, tomato, & onion. We also shared the fries with chipotle mojo dipping sauce (I wanted all 8 dipping sauces by the way)  I enjoyed my food so much and can’t wait to go back and try out there breakfast!

California Panini

Greeko Sandwich

Cafix

I am not a huge coffee person (I am a tea girl) but I am trying to cut out caffeine as much as I can. Lately I have been drinking Cafix wich is an instant beverage with a coffee-like flavor yet none of the caffeine or acidity found in coffee or tea.  Only 5 calories, no fat, no sodium and it taste great. Cafix has barley,chicory, malted barley, figs & extract of red beets. Such a healthy alternative and I wanted to spread the word.

Cafix

M Street Kitchen, Santa Monica

Fresh, Organic, & Seasonal……. that is M Street Kitchen in a nutshell!

My boyfriend Chris introduced me to La Grande Orange in Pasadena when we first started dating (this is the sister restaurant to M Street Kitchen) , I immediately fell in love with their vegetarian grain and nut burger and of course the house made, fresh juice margarita is a must. After moving to the west side we still made the drive out to Pasadena for our weekly LGO fix! (that is how good this place is) when M Street Kitchen opened in Santa Monica we were enthused and we immediately became regular diners. Although the menu is slightly different both restaurants are wonderful.

We had brunch at M Street Kitchen with a friend over the weekend, I usually stick to my spicy commuter  sandwich or Venice beach burrito but something else on the menu caught my eye! The Root vegetable hash which has butternut squash, fennel, celery root, beets, tarragon aioli, and poached eggs. For a vegetarian dish I must say it was so rich and filling. I was definitely full and satisfied! I highly recommend trying this dish if you have not already!

Venice Beach Burrito- whole wheat tortilla, tofu "chorizo", corn, spinach and egg whites

Healthy Hostess Cupcakes From Babycakes

For Valentines Day I decided to take a healthy route and bake the Healthy Hostess Cupcakes from Babycakes Bakery. Here is the recipe! ENJOY!!!!

The ingredient list may be overwhelming but I encourage you to dash off to the market to try a new way of baking.

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup garbanzo-fava bean flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup arrowroot
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups agave nectar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot water
• vanilla and chocolate frosting

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until you have a thick batter. Pour in the hot water and continue mixing until the batter is smooth.

Pour 1/3 cup batter into each prepared cup, almost filling it. Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for 24 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 14 minutes. The finished cupcakes will bounce back when pressure is applied gently to the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the cupcakes stand in the tins for 20 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely. Cut each cupcake horizontally in the center. Using a frosting knife, spread 1 tablespoon vanilla frosting on the bottom layer and set the top of the cupcake back on it. Frost the top of the cupcake with another tablespoon of frosting and then fill a pastry bag with chocolate frosting and pipe chocolate curlicues onto each cupcake.

Light & Delicious

The Green Temple Vegetarian Restaurant

Last week my friend Chrissie invited me to lunch at  The Green Temple Vegetarian Restaurant in Redondo Beach. I had heard about this place from my friend Andrea so I was very excited to try it out! I am always excited to hear about successful vegetarian restaurants. The Green Temple is a cute serene restaurant in the Riviera Village .  In this six block radius you’ll find a unique collection of clothing and gift shops, restaurants and cafes! There are great views of the Pacific Ocean and the golden green dramatic cliffs of the Palos Verdes peninsula.

My meal at The Green Temple was fresh and relaxing. I started with peach green tea and Chrissie had the Jamaica (Organic hibiscus flower water sweetened with maple syrup, served on ice). Chrissie and I both had the Avocado Melt made with whole wheat walnut bread (contains honey), tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts, and soy mozzarella cheese, served with a side of garden mix vegetables topped with organic tofu sauce.

We also had the Simple Dinner Salad made with Organic hand torn green leaf lettuce topped with shredded carrots and beets, seasoned sprouts and micro-greens. The dressing Chrissie recommended and now I will highly recommend it to you all because It was scrumptious! Cold Creamed Tofu Sauce: Organic tofu, cold pressed safflower oil, lemon juice, organic tamari, liquid amino, nutritional yeast, garlic granules and other organic spices. My little healthy munchkin had Veggie Quesadilla!

Enjoy the photos!

Peach Green Tea

Organic hibiscus flower water sweetened with maple syrup, served on ice.

Avocado Melt

Simple Dinner Salad

Two organic sprouted whole-wheat tortillas filled with white cheddar cheese and garden mix vegetables. Served with a side of salsa and guacamole.

The Green Temple works with local farmers to bring you seasonal produce. All of the lettuce, grains, legumes, soy products, nuts and spices are organic. The rest depends on the season and availability. This restaurant is affordable and appetizing. Definitely go check it out! www.greentemple.net/themenu

CHOCO VIVO

Over the holidays I received the most thoughtful “California” gift. It was a box filled with items from local vendors. One of the items in the box was hot chocolate & a chocolate candy bar by ChocoVivo. The “Drinking Chocolate” came with a glass jar filled with Cacao Nibs. (A Cacao Nib is the remaining part of the cocoa bean, often referred to as the kernel, once the husk has been removed after roasting).  The chocolate “bar” was actually little thin sheets of chocolate in a bag. Chris and I were craving chocolate the other night so we cheated on our cleanse and had some ChocoVivo. The ChocoVivo was no ordinary chocolate, after eating a piece the first words that came to mind were rustic & raw, the chocolate just taste so good and pure. Chris instantly fell in love and we immediately looked ChocoVivo up on-line. We were so excited to read how they make their chocolate from bean-to-bar. We were also so excited to read that our favorite restaurant Rustic Canyon & our favorite coffee place Intelligentsia both use this stone ground chocolate.

Here is what ChocoVivo says makes their chocolate unique:

-The chocolate is stone-ground using traditional grinding methods dating back 2000 years.

-It’s stone ground fresh on a weekly basis so it hasn’t been sitting on the shelf for an extended period of time.

-It is less processed than typical chocolate and because the chocolate is minimally processed, you can taste real the complexity of the chocolate.

-This is 100% WHOLE BEAN chocolate. There are no fillers, colors, flavorings, soy lecithin, milk powder, or additional cacao butter. They use whole beans and whole ingredients. They believe that ” Simple is Better.”

-The beans are specially fermented, & organically grown. The work directly with the grower.

-You can eat it, drink it, or bake with it.

I have found my new favorite chocolate and I highly recommend that everyone buy this chocolate. The chocolate is mainly sold at farmers markets so please check the web-site and see if there is a farmers market near you. www.chocovivo.com

ChocoVivo Drinking Chocolate

Vegan Lunch Box…… Get your children to eat healthy

I have been vegetarian for 13 years and for this past year I have been Vegan-ish (I heard that term on Oprah yesterday when she spoke about her 1 week vegan challenge). I care so much about what I put in my body and now that I am a mom I want to make sure that I do my best to encourage my son to make healthy choices and live a healthy lifestyle. I truly believe we should start this process when our kids are young. I encourage all parents to take their children to Farmers Markets, plant a garden and have your kids pick their own veggies for their meals, and visit farms and make sure your kids know where their food is coming from.

Now I know this is difficult, my son Aiden has been eating healthy since birth but recently it has been extremely hard to get him to eat anything at all. I have had quiet a few sandwiches thrown in my face over the last couple weeks. I got frustrated and I found myself making fish sticks one night and then the next night I made box mac-n-cheese ( so bad I know ) I did not want to get in the habit of whipping up processed foods so I started to search around for kids cookbooks. I recently ordered a book called Vegan Lunch Box. Now I am not raising Aiden as a vegan (I don’t want to force that on him) But I do want him to grow up having vegan and vegetarian meals. This book has 130 animal-free lunches that are all quite creative. Yesterday I made a sandwich with Sprouted grain bread, vegan cream cheese, vegetable hummus, sprouts and carrots. Aiden ate it right up and he wanted more. I highly suggest getting this book just to have some healthy ideas to through in the mix.

Aiden's friend Dylan