Delicious Dinner and Dessert at Kindfood

It is difficult to believe that I haven't blogged about Kindfood until now as it is one of my favorite restaurants! I live about 30 minutes away and I still try to visit this vegan food haven at least once a month or anytime I'm in the Burlington area. Tonight, one of my best friends, Shannon and I enjoyed a delicious and healthy dinner at Kindfood, followed up by dessert of course!

Kindfood is an all organic, gluten-free, and vegan restaurant that is recently renovated (looks fantastic!) and open for business Tuesday-Sunday during the day, and is now open for dinner in the evening on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I've enjoyed lunch on several occasions at the cafe and this was my first time going for dinner. The cafe now has multiple tables and it is set in a welcoming and cozy environment.

Both Shannon and I couldn't resist ordering the Mac 'N Cheese that came along with a side Caesar salad. The Caesar salad is "Romaine tossed in Kelly’s FAMOUS Cashew Caesar dressing, sprinkled with Brazil nut Parmesan and house-made quinoa croutons." The Mac 'N Cheese is ooey-gooey with vegan cheese and is also topped with that yummy Brazil nut Parmesan. The meal was incredibly satisfying, delicious, and healthy...it was that classic comfort food that I had been craving!

Shannon with her pasta and salad dinner!

Of course, once we were finished dinner, we had to go for some dessert! I was craving some brownies or cupcakes baked from Kelly's Bake Shoppe (baked goods sold at Kindfood from their bakery that's located nearby, where you can find sooo many yummy vegan goodies!) - but they are so popular, that they sold out earlier in the day! Thankfully, there were some raw dessert options on the menu that certainly did not disappoint!

Raw Salted Caramel Cheesecake

Raw Chocolate Cake with Cashew Cream Sauce

Shannon ordered the Salted Caramel Cheesecake and I ordered the chocolate lover's dream cake, the Chocolate Cake with Cashew Cream Sauce. Naturally, we sampled each other's dessert so I was able to try both - they were both absolutely divine!

Me with my dessert!

If you're looking for a vegan restaurant to try out, I would highly recommend visiting Kindfood in Burlington, Ontario...and take a trip down the street to Kelly's Bake Shoppe while you're at it! You'll find fresh fruit smoothies, salads, sandwiches, quinoa bowls, soup, chili, burgers, and so many fantastic lunch or dinner options!  They also have a fridge and freezer section stocked with their own take-out meals, as well as many vegan essential food items.

I always like taking home some cupcakes with me and even though they were completely sold out at the cafe...as it turns out, they had five left in the freezer! I bought all of them!

Vanilla, Chocolate, and Coconut-Chocolate Cupcakes!

Kindfood is located at 399 John St., Burlington ON and Kelly's Bake Shoppe is at 401 Brant St., Burlington, ON. You can also find Kindfood and Kelly's Bake Shoppe on Facebook!

Strong Hearts Cafe - Syracuse, NY (100% Vegan!)

On our weekend trip to New York State, we stopped for dinner at a 100% Vegan restaurant that I was very excited to try - Strong Hearts Cafe in Syracuse, NY. I'd read about Strong Hearts on their website and was delighted to see a ton of delicious vegan choices on their menu. In fact, it was difficult narrowing it down. I only wish that Strong Hearts existed in my town so I could eat there all the time.

The philosophy behind Strong Hearts is to serve "affordable and delicious animal, earth and health friendly food". Sounds good to me! They have some wonderful policies at the restaurant, such as protecting the environment by not using plastics, styrofoam containers, and composting waste.  They also sell 100% fair-trade and organic coffee and tea. Furthermore, their ingredients are locally grown and are purchased at local farmer's markets. And of course, there is no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no artificial sweetners, no high-fructose corn syrup; simply put, only the best food is here!

So, here's what we ended up ordering! Paul and I both ended up deciding to eat the same thing! Great minds think alike. We got the Chipotle Potato Salad as a side dish, which was spicy, smokey, and super creamy.

As our main meal, we both got the BBQ Tempeh Sandwich. Believe it or not, this was both of our first times having a BBQ Tempeh Sandwich and it was amazing! It was so saucy and delicious. The thick slices of tempeh were very satisfying after a long day of driving, shopping, and playing (at the National Museum of Play in Rochester, no less!). The toppings complimented the tempeh and the barbeque sauce wonderfully - I will never say no to caramelized onions! It also came topped with spinach, tomatoes, and vegan cheese. And the bread was toasted just right!

My apologies that the pictures are a little bit blurry - it was nighttime and the lighting wasn't the best! If dinner weren't so satisfying (I was so full after eating!), I would have tried one of their milkshakes - they had so many different kinds and they all sounded so yummy. They also had some baked goods that I would have had for dessert with a coffee. I'll have to save that for next time! I have no idea when we'll be through Syracuse next, but we will definitely make a point of stopping at Strong Hearts!

Brunch at The Owl House in Rochester, NY

Over the weekend just after my 30th birthday (June 9 and 10), Paul and I went for a little road trip through New York State with stops in Rochester, Waterloo, Syracuse, Watertown, and Alexandria Bay. Our main plan was to visit Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands, but we also made a few other stops along the way. I did some research in advance for delicious vegan eats and managed to find two fantastic restaurants in some of those cities. I'll be posting about the other one tomorrow. Our first stop was at The Owl House in Rochester.

We arrived in the morning and we were able to order from their Breakfast and Lunch menus. The Owl House is not a vegan restaurant, but it definitely caters to vegetarians and vegans. Mostly every item on the menu can be made vegan, and it seems as though the menu was written with vegan dishes in mind and not as an afterthought. They use fresh ingredients that are sourced locally as much as possible, and many items on the menu are gluten-free.

Paul's vegetarian lunch

My vegan lunch

Paul had the "Hash N Eggs" for brunch (from the menu: Two Eggs Any Style or Scrambled Organic Tofu; Summer Hash w/ Smoked Tempeh, Peppers, Onions, Roasted Corn, Potatoes & Cajun Seasoning; Toast). I sampled some of the hash and it was so delicious and had a great spicing from the smokiness of the tempeh and the cajun spices.

I had the Lentil Burger (from the menu: Housemade Lentil Burger, Tomato, Red Onion, Sprouts, Dill Pickles, Roasted Garlic Vegenaise on an Onion Roll).  It came with a side salad with a light dressing. I also got some Daiya cheddar on my burger. The lentil burger was really good and the onion roll was super delicious. I believe the pickles were homemade as they tasted like tangy, crunchy, pickled cucumber slices. The onion, sprouts, and garlic Vegenaise made for the best toppings on this burger and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

We also split a plate of Rosemary and Cracked Black Pepper Fries with House Spiced Ketchup that were wonderful!

Some other menu items include:  the Saigon sandwich (House Smoked Tofu, Pickled Cucumber & Carrot, Baby Arugula, Cilantro-Lime Marmalade, Roasted Garlic Vegenaise on Baguette), Vegan Mozzarella Sticks, Olek's Buffalo Stance sandwich (Buffalo Spiced Tempeh, Pickled Red Onion, Baby Arugula on Baguette), and Viva Verde Tacos (Three Soft Corn Tortillas with Smoked Tofu, Salsa Verde, Guacamole, Roasted Garlic Vegenaise, Cabbage Slaw, Black Bean & Sweet Corn Salad).

They also had a huge selection of beer from local microbreweries, local wines, and even some interesting cocktails made from house-infused alcohol! Some of these mixtures include their House Infused Sage Whiskey, their Lavender Earl Grey Tea Vodka, and their House Cocao Whiskey and Bourbon. I stuck with my coffee since it was early in the morning, but some of those drinks sounded intriguing!

You can find The Owl House at 75 Marshall Street in Rochester. Their hours are 11:00am-10:30pm from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday).

Fresh Restaurant in Toronto

Whenever I'm shopping or walking around downtown Toronto with my girl friends, we always try to stop at Fresh if we get the chance. Last week, we did just that! Once again, Fresh did not disappoint and we enjoyed a satisfying, delicious, and nutritious lunch. I'm so happy that my friends, although not vegan themselves, totally embrace vegetarian food!

Fresh is an entirely vegetarian, almost completely vegan (with the exception of adding cheese to items if requested) restaurant with an emphasis on fresh food and juices. Pictured above is my main course meal, the Sam Houston burrito with a kale salad on the side.  The burrito included slow cooked soy & sweet potato taco filling, sautéed peppers & onions, salsa, avocado chipotle sauce, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts...yum!

I also ordered a side of quinoa onion rings with vegan garlic mayo on the side. These were super crispy and so tasty! I actually was so full from my burrito that I never ended up eating more than one of these in the restaurant, so I packed them up and brought them home to share with Paul. Amazingly, these onion rings were not soggy a few hours later and still tasted really yummy.

Sarah ordered the Grilled Vegetable and Pesto Burrito on a lettuce leaf rather than inside a whole wheat wrap. Look at all of those yummy veggies! The ingredients included grilled red pepper, zucchini & sweet potato with pesto, house mayo, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, red onion, and alfalfa sprouts.

A trip to Fresh would not be complete without ordering one of their fresh fruit smoothies! I couldn't resist ordering the Tropical Transfusion - a mix of pineapple, coconut, strawberry and banana. It's the second best thing to actually being in the Caribbean sipping a tropical beverage!

Be sure to get out to sample Fresh for yourself at one of their three locations in Toronto - at Bloor & Spadina (326 Bloor St. West), 894 Queen St. West, or Queen St. W & Spadina (147 Spadina Ave).

Lunch at The Naked Sprout in Burlington, Ontario

First of all, Happy 2012 everyone! I am so sorry that I have not posted for months! It seems as though I started posting nearly every day and was so excited to have my brand new vegan & healthy foods blog, and then life got a bit hectic and I just stopped posting all together! I have learned from this rookie mistake as I am sure so many people out there start blogs and quit writing in them quickly after - I need to pace myself a little bit better. I don't need to write in my blog every single day, but update it as often as I'd like!

Today, I went to the Naked Sprout with a friend of mine for lunch. It is a Vegan/Gluten-free restaurant in Burlington, Ontario with an extensive raw menu. In fact, about 2/3rds of the menu is raw with a selection of cooked items.  You can view their full menu at their website.  The Naked Sprout serves a selection of appetizers, pasta, wraps, salads, quinoa and rice bowls, pizza, and much more! From the website:

At The Naked Sprout, we aim to provide delicious, nutritious, vegan, plant-based meals (cooked and raw) to everyone. We aim to be organic wherever possible, support local farmers, protect our animals and our Mother Earth. By spreading the love of healthy eating and the vegan lifestyle, we hope to inspire everyone to transform themselves, their life and the world around them.

Of course, this is a mission statement that I fully support! For lunch, I got the "Twisted Tacos" made with soft shell carrot flax taco, guacamole, salsa fresco, sunflower taco meat, and cashew sour cream.  I also got the "Tropical Twist" smoothie with freshly squeezed orange juice, pineapple, mango, strawberry and raspberry.

Everything was absolutely delicious! You could tell that everything was freshly prepared with love and care. I will definitely be back...perhaps this weekend! Paul and I will be celebrating our seven-year anniversary on Saturday and he was quite jealous that I was going to this restaurant today. I brought him home some pasta from the restaurant as a treat! But, I think we will have to go to The Naked Sprout very soon together! It would be the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary since I quite enjoyed my meal today! Plus, it is easier to eat meat-free/dairy-free/egg-free at a restaurant that has an entirely vegan menu!

Raw Aura Organic Cuisine in Port Credit

My visit to Raw Aura in the quaint waterfront village of Port Credit (part of Mississauga, Ontario) marked my very first trip to a raw food restaurant. I know that a raw diet is becoming more popular these days and I admire the dedication of raw foodists. Many foods lose their nutritional value after being cooked and by consuming the foods raw, we are able to absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from certain foods. However, I was not sure if Raw Aura would be able to create delicious cuisine while not heating their food over 105 degrees Farenheit. I wasn't even sure how creative you could get by keeping everything raw.

Well, the food that I ate at Raw Aura was absolutely delicious. That pile of noodles and vegetables that you see above is their "Sweet and Sour" noodles and that is what I ordered. Have you ever visited a restaurant and ordered an item, and decided that it was so tasty that you will keep ordering it no matter what every time you return? That's how I felt about this noodle dish. I have no idea how they created this immensely flavorful dish, but I sure wish that I had the recipe! It was my first time eating noodles made out of vegetables - these noodles were made out of kelp and zucchini. The full description of the menu item is: "A mix of kelp and zucchini noodles tossed in a light tangy maca infused almond butter based sauce with red pepper, fresh cilantro, romaine lettuce, red onions and topped with spiced almond bits." The noodles and the sauce were complimented by the crunchiness of the romaine, the spiciness of the onions, and the nutty almond pieces.  I'm in love!

I went to the restaurant with a couple of friends, but I brought home some leftovers of the pasta dish to Paul. After taking the first bite, he was totally sold on the meal and is already begging to visit the restaurant. I think we'll probably go back in a couple of days, just the two of us, so I may have some more pictures to post!

I also got a side of Miso Soup with my meal:

Here is what my friend, Shannon ordered - a Nacho plate.  The nachos were very interesting, definitely not your typical tortilla chips. From the menu:  "Crispy corn chips are served with guacamole, cashew sour cream, fresh tomato salsa and walnut taco meat." I tried a little bit of Shannon's nachos and they tasted way healthier and flavorful than any nachos I've ever tried! It was a different take on nachos, and definitely for the best.

Shannon also ordered the "Living Bread", which was sprouted sunflower, sesame, and spiced onion bread. I also didn't mention before that Raw Aura is completely gluten-free and dairy-free, so all of the bread items are not made with wheat. I didn't try the bread but she said it was very soft and tasted strongly of onion. Sounds good to me!

My friend, Chris ordered the Pasta Bolognese: "Zucchini noodles tossed in a rich tomato basil marinara sauce with red peppers, sunflower seed and sun dried tomato sausage, topped with almond Parmesan".  I didn't get the opportunity to try any of this for myself, but it certainly looked yummy!

I might also mention that the two friends that I visited Raw Aura are not vegetarian, vegan, or raw foodists, but thoroughly enjoyed their meal. I loved that I could order anything from the menu without the fear that dairy or meat might be hidden in the food somewhere. I also loved knowing that the meal was mostly all organic, plus it was extremely healthy with loads of veggies in their most nutritious state!

Shannon and I decided to order the same dessert, the Chocolate Ganache. The cake was divine - a crumbly layer on the bottom, a creamy cheesecake-esque filling in the middle, and a very chocolately top layer with caramel drizzled over the top. I don't know how this was dairy-free but it somehow was!  Yum!

The atmosphere of the restaurant was quite lovely - the cafe itself is very cozy and since it was rather nice outside today, they had the front windows wide open to the street. We sat in a prime location right by the window, so we were able to enjoy a fresh breeze off the lake.

I wouldn't hesitate to return to Raw Aura - heck, I'll probably be back there within the next couple of days. If you live in the area, I can guarantee that you'll love the food even if you aren't vegan, as I went for dinner with two meat-eaters and they loved it! A perfect haven for those who have a gluten intolerance and for those looking for a healthy meal away from home.

Restaurant Review - Fresh Fruit at Cora's

My first restaurant review!  Paul and I took a spontaneous trip to Cora's for breakfast today.  Cora's is a breakfast restaurant chain across Canada that originated in Montreal.  Their menu places fresh fruit in the foreground for breakfast, including it with nearly every meal!  As it is not a vegetarian or vegan restaurant, they serve your typical breakfast choices like eggs and bacon, but this restaurant is far from your average "greasy spoon" eatery.

As a vegan at Cora's, you have a couple of options that involve lots of fresh fruit. I ordered the king of all fruit platters - the Samira Wake-up.  It is described as "A beautiful plate of lavishly cut fresh fruit served with a choice of toast."  As you can see, it is a huge plate of fruit!  From what I can remember (and see in the picture) I enjoyed apple, pear, strawberries, grapes, banana, nectarines, kiwi, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, orange, grapefruit, starfruit, ground cherries, and watermelon.  It is quite an artistic plate, too, with some of the fruit being cut to fit decoratively wedged into other pieces of fruit.

You also get your choice of toast with a selection of jam and peanut butter.  Make sure you order your toast "dry" as it automatically comes slathered in butter if you don't specify.  Also, if you are a vegetarian, you can add slices of cheese to the plate at an extra cost.

I've also enjoyed smaller bowls of fruit and bagels in the past.  Plus, I ate a little bit of Paul's roasted potatoes from his plate that are just fried in some oil with sauteed onions.

While many menu items are catered towards meat-eaters, there is a good selection of vegetarian like waffles, crepes, and omelettes.  Thankfully, Cora's has their fruit plates and bowls for vegans!  These restaurants are popping up all across Canada and they provide healthier options for breakfast.  The focus here is on fresh flavorful fruit and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal!