Tag Archives: vegan

Vegas Veggie House

I confess I hate Las Vegas.  It is not the town for the pragmatic or the vegetarian, so there are two strikes against me right there.   However, after recently seeking out Veggie House, I now have a reason to look forward to refueling in the (cultural) desert.

In the ancient tradition of vegetarian Chinese cooking, Veggie House serves some of the best mock meat for miles.  Veggie House offers an extensive menu of cruelty-free seafood, beef, and chicken.  Enjoy the crispy “beef” and save the sweetfaced cow.  

Veggie House is truly a vegetarian oasis in one of the world’s most unrelentingly carnivorous cities.  Located in Chinatown, it will also get your uncultured ass off that gawd awful soul-less strip.

sweet taters

I’m not going to pretend that Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips are any healthier than regular corn chips, but I will say they are quite scrumptiously munchy.Personally, the sweet-salty oblong chip stands alone in its deliciousness.  Some may prefer some sort of salsa or dip.  I trust you can navigate this profound choice on your own.   Prepare to take down an entire (somewhat diminutive) bag of Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips.  Just don’t let the packaging, propaganda, or rhetoric convince you doing so is a healthy decision.

 

spices, girl

Cumin imbues deeply warm flavor to beans and soup.

Auspicious Turmeric possesses major health benefits and is currently the subject of a number of studies.  Sprinkle the yellow spice on almost anything for pleasing color and miraculous anti-inflammatory properties.

Paprika spikes dishes with antioxidants and color.  Try it on homemade mac-n-cheese to create a mysterious smokiness.

Pair Black Pepper with all the aforementioned spices.  It dramatically increases the bio-availability and absorption of other nutrients and minerals like selenium, vitamin B, beta-carotene and curcumin and also amplifies serotonin and beta-endorphin production in the brain.

it’s hot. do you stink?

Many of us want to get away from chemically-laden traditional antiperspirants, but how do we do this without sweating and stanking like some unwashed dready on Phish tour.  The 90′s are mercifully over.  It’s not a good look.  Or odor.At Coachella, my friend Annie told me this long-winded story about this great all-natural deodorant.  When she got to the end of her description of this magical product, she couldn’t remember the name of it.  Like porn without a money shot, I frustratingly informed her that such a build up without a climax is the conversational equivalent of blue balls.  A few days after we got home, she emailed me the name of her beloved mystery anti-stink – Herban Cowboy. Herban Cowboy makes natural deodorants aimed at men and women, but I prefer the version marketed to men.  It smells earthy and fresh and seems to incidentally mellow the sweat.  I wouldn’t trust it for a job interview or anything, but if you are looking to get away from controversial aluminum-based products consider Herban Cowboy’s vegan, natural deodorant. Why not unleash your natural funk?  Cover up all your pheromones with chemical blockers and you’ll never get laid.

fluff

Don’t forget about the Marshmallow Fluff.  It’s a great alternative to using marshmallows which contain gelatin.  Use marshmallow creme to make vegetarian-friendly rice treats and s’mores.  Ricemellow for the vegans.

Marshmallow-in-a-jar makes a delicious icing too and is much lighter than many other options based in butter or cheese.

Seattle Veg

Don’t fucking tell me it doesn’t rain “that much” in Seattle all you darling Pacific Northwest lying-ass bitches.   Seriously, it’s like living in a puddle.  I’ll forgive the shitty constant drizzle only due to the excellent array of plant-based food options.  What Seattle lacks in sunshine, it makes up for in an abundance of vegetarian friendly dining establishments.  I’m a homing pigeon for crunchy, granola, hippy, super specific vegetarian food, and this city provides more than a few dope places for an herbivore to land. At Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe the lentil burger looked like a turd, but tasted delightful.  Casual and unpretentious, come prepared to place an order at the counter and bus your own mess.  Come equally prepared to chow down on filling fresh veggie goodness.  A respectable B+.Next up, the adorably odd Star Life on the Oasis Café, step into a cute little house, decorated with quirky found furniture, and manned by “Wings,” a super nice guy with killer knife skills.  The beautifully fresh veggie sandwich filled my tummy full for the whole day, and the self-serve loose tea bar is a tea drinker’s dream.  A-We waffled on whether or not to hit up Araya’s Vegetarian Place, an all vegetarian Thai restaurant.  I like my food to punish me and Araya’s served up the 4 star spicy all right.  We were sweating balls after the delicious and impressively presented Tom Yum soup.  My dinner companion over estimated his spice tolerance and struggled to finish his meal, but that was his own damn fault for writing a spicy check his non-Thai ass couldn’t cash.  Amateur.  Overall, a solid B.

Cinco de Salsa

cherry tomatoes +white onion +bell pepper +jalapeño +the juice of 3 limes +optional cilantro

= fresca cinco de salsa ++=

tidy little mango moment

I enjoy mango, but rarely achieve the magical cross hatch slice like the pros.  Fresh mangoes are so messy.  I confess sometimes I avoid the stickiness and hassle.  Today I went looking for a cherry danish, but ended up with package of organic dried mango slices instead.  I enjoyed my dried mango slices with this delightful Bigelow Green Tea with Mango; the two enhanced the best qualities in each other.  This might be my new movie snack.

Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps

This will not be a gluten-fee post, so tribe Hasselbeck can scroll on through.  For those of you who still enjoy wheat, have you tried these Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps?  They are truly delightful. Let’s not front like these are nutritious or anything, but they could be an excellent vehicle for a tasty and nourishing topper.  I particularly enjoy the sesame variety.  Just thought I’d let you know.  Have a super day.