Restaurant Spotlight: Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille

Snack Time!

I love onion rings and this vegan recipe was excellent! Super crispy and crunchy and very east to make.

Tofu Hash

One of my favorite ways to prepare tofu is for breakfast.  This tofu hash is very filling and quick to prepare.  I usually eat this dish with a slice of toast and fruit and it keeps me satisfied until lunch.  I always use extra firm tofu for tofu hash and press out the excess water on a dishtowel before cooking.  I like to use a cast iron skillet because it gives tofu a nice golden brown color and slight crispy texture. I use the food processor to shred the carrots, zucchini, and potato for a consistent size and a fast cooking time.

Ingredients:
Extra frim tofu
diced onion and green pepper
Seasonings: braggs liquid aminos, garlic powder, s and p
Shredded carrots, zuchinni, and potato

-Put all ingredients in the skillet and cook until golden brown ( It's just that simple!)

Restaurant Spotlight: Continental Midtown

Philadelphia has great restaurants and The Continental Midtown has a decent selection of vegetarian options.  I ordered the spinach ravioli with toasted pine nuts, tomatoes and fresh basil and it was awesome.  I thought the serving size was perfect if you are in the mood for a "heavy snack" because after I finished my dish and scraped the plate clean with my fork I really wanted more. It was just that good.

Hummus and Vegetable Plate

If you feel like a light and healthy meal have a plate of  hummus with assorted vegetables.  I like the fact that hummus can be used in may different dishes so I am sure to make enough to last the week.  I also make many different varieties which I will post about later.  This hummus is just a simple plain hummus seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon juice,tahini and paprika.






Sometimes I eat this dish with pita chips or toast points but today I just had it with vegetables and it was very filling.

Broccoli Omelet and Skillet Potatoes

It's time for breakfast and you want an easy meal to prepare. This omelet is your answer to a satisfying and simple meal.

Ingredients:
Omelet
2 eggs
1 cup of lightly steamed broccoli florets
diced onions
diced green pepper
cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
butter or oil to coat the pan

Skillet Potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes diced
diced onion
diced green pepper
seasonings:salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, anything that you like
Canola oil  to coat the pan

Sauté diced onions and peppers in a pan with oil then add  two eggs ( whisk first)
and broccoli

Cook until edges are firm and flip to cook the other side.  Sprinkle cheese on cooked
top side and fold omelet in half once bottom is light brown,

Add potatoes to a pan with oil, onion, green pepper,
and seasonings.  Cook until potatoes are tender.

ENJOY!

Today is World Vegetarian Day!

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month.  I will acknowledge this by posting a vegetarian dish or restaurant experience every day until November 1st (which begins World Vegan Month).   I am going to start with a simple lunch I call the 10 minute wrap. This is a hummus and vegetable filled wrap which is both nutritious and filling.  I usually make it when pressed for time but want a healthy and tasty lunch.  Although it takes about 10 minutes to grill the vegetables and assemble the wrap its more like a 15 minute wrap when you include washing all of the produce and cleaning up afterwards.  This is a very flexible wrap and many different combinations of vegetables, spreads and seasonings can be used. I decided to use this combination because kale is in season here in the Northeast and I found some tender baby kale at the market which is great for eating raw.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat wrap
1Avocado
1 Carrot
1 Zucchini
2 cups of fresh kale
homemade or store bought hummus
flaxseed oil
pickled peppers

Ingredients

Sliced vegetables

------------------->
Cook in a skillet lightly coated with olive oil until golden brown. Add salt, pepper, or any seasoning you like

      Let vegetables cool a bit while you spread the hummus on the wrap 

Start building your wrap layer by layer

The final touch is a large handful of baby kale and a sprinkle of flaxseed oil

ENJOY!

Vegetarian Travel: Orlando and Miami day 2-6

 Orlando day 2

After shopping at a huge outlet mall we stopped at the food court which had the usual fast food places such as pizza, steak, chinese and sandwich spots but tucked in the corner was a place called freshens which served fresh salads, wraps and healthy smoothies. 

The Acai energy smoothie was great!

I ordered a garden veggie wrap on whole wheat.  This was filled with lettuce, sprouts, carrots, tomato, avocado, and hummus.  It was great having a healthy option among all of the junk that was in this food court.

Orlando day 3

After a busy afternoon and a movie we ordered Chipolte for lunch. This Mexican inspired fast food restaurant is known for using organic and local produce and dairy products without synthetic hormones.  

All I have is the napkin.  I was so ready to eat that I forgot to take pictures.  I ordered a bean burrito with tomato, lettuce, rice, and guacamole.

For dinner we went to a Mediterranean restaurant called Taverna Opa...It was a crazy place. People were dancing on the tables and the servers were throwing napkins in the air which landed all over the floor.  

                                      

   

The pita bread was great and so was the hummus which we made at the table by crushing chick peas

       

I ordered a vegetarian platter which had grilled vegetables, french fries, and served on pita bread.

The floor of the restaurant

Miami Beach day 4


We took a bus from Orlando to Miami which was about a 4 hour ride.  We went to Subway for a sandwich to eat on the bus.  This was my first time eating a Subway sandwich and I really did not like it at all.  I thought the bread was yeasty-doughy and tasted under baked which for me ruined the sandwich.  


Dinner was in Miami Beach a a Mexican restaurant.  Unfortunately dinner was not that great.

This version of Chile  Relleno was extremely bland.  The service was really bad as well which didn't help.

Miami Beach day 5

Usually I would have cereal and fruit or granola and yogurt for breakfast on this trip but I had a real breakfast on this day.

I have had better pancakes...

Since we were going to the beach we decided to get a lunch to take with us and found something to eat at Whole Foods.

Honey Sesame Tofu Sticks

These were good.  The black specks are black sesame seeds. The tofu was marinated in a soy ginger sauce.

Sesame noodles

These noodles were very bland 

Kale Salad

Lightly seasoned but hit the spot

Fruit salad

Miami Beach day 6

For breakfast I got a protein shake from a local juice shop.

We took a ride to Coconut Grove and ate at a chain restaurant (Cheesecake factory) for lunch. I had a salad and pizza.  The salad was great but the pizza was not.

While on vacation I had a few treats:

 Onion rings 

These were from Serendipity and were excellent

Gelato- Hazelnut and pistachio

Passion fruit iced tea from Starbucks

Vegetarian Travel: Orlando Florida day 1

In February I went on a little vacation with my dear friend to Florida and I wanted to document the eating options I had as a vegetarian while traveling with non-vegetarians. It is important to be flexible when you are the only vegetarian in a group of diners as well as have your dietary restrictions respected and understood.  This might mean that an all you can eat seafood restaurant may be out of the question or you can ask the restaurant staff  if there are appetizers or starters which are vegetarian or can be made vegetarian.  The following are the meals I had while in Orlando:

Day 1

Dinner was at a Colombian restaurant called Oh Que Bueno with only a few vegetarian options.  I ended up ordering 3 side dishes.

 

Passion Fruit iced drink-no alcohol

  Ensalada:  This salad was huge and for 3 bucks it was a
 good deal but was only iceberg lettuce so it was nutritionally vacant but had
 plenty of fiber and the dressing was a tasty chimichurri sauce.

Arepitas (corn cakes) and Beans: The server assured me that the beans  and corn cakes
 were free of lard, chicken stock, and were completely
vegetarian friendly.  The beans were very tasty.... the corn cakes were not.
Unfortunately the corn cakes where as hard as a hockey puck and had no flavor.