Greenling

I feel as though I need to confess something.  Its something that you have probably noticed and something I am ashamed of:  I have not been cooking as much.  Working at a restaurant does that too me because I get free food every shift I work there.

I am so ashamed.  I hate not cooking my own food.  So in an effort to remedy this I have turned to a source that a friend recommended to me:  Greenling.com .

Greenling is a website that brings the local farm to your doorstep.  Forget that for a moment the whole organics argument.  I hear from people all the time that they are just to busy to go to farms markets and support their local agriculture and food economy.  

Well, that is just plain not an excuse anymore!  Greenling is a website where you can place an order of fresh everything (Including dairy and meat if you are so inclined), they will go to the local farms and pick it up, package it for you and then deliver it right to your doorstep!

Now I know what you're thinking.  That there must be something wrong with it.  Its not totally cheap but if you've already graduated over into the health world you know that no matter where you go nutritionally dense food is expensive.

But could it possibly be good quality?  When you're at the super market you get to pick what looks good and what you're going to skip on. I don't know about you but if I walk into the market ans see something I don't like, even if it was on my list I skip it.  And I'm pretty picky.

So lets get to my review.   Here is a picture or two of my box when it arrived.

As you can see the box stuffed with yummys.  The van was refrigerated so everything was cold and crisp and the brochure said it would keep everything inside cold for up to four hours if you were not there to pick it up.  The man that dropped it off was named Robert and he was so nice!

The box itself is ten dollars when you order added on but they are recyclable.  When another order is made you leave the box outside of your door and they will pick it up.  Even if you are not going to be using them again you can schedule a free pick up for the containers.

The food inside it was packed perfectly!  I was so impressed.  Nothing was crushed or under anything it shouldn't have been.  the mushrooms were in a brown paper bag exactly like they should be.  I am so excited to eat it all!  The Kale was still crisp and perfect along with the lettuce.  I am very picky about my leafy greens so it says a lot when I say that they are perfect.

Also in the box since it was our first delivery were two bumper stickers and a welcome brochure.  I know that this is a marketing thing but you can be sure that I will be putting the "Beets Driving" on my car because it is so darn cute!

Also, on the back of my packing slip was a note saying "Packed with Kale :) Jamie."  I found this so sweet and personal that I cant help but feel a personal connection to this company.

All together I am more then satisfied with this order and I will be using this service again. I would recommend it to everyone.  A huge thanks to Jamie and Robert who made this all the more personal and won huge brownie points for this company.

Counter Culture Review

I have been dying to try a bunch of the vegan food trucks in Austin Texas since I read about them in VegNews Magazine.  Counter Culture (120 e. north loop, austin, tx, 78751) has been at the top of my "must eats" since day one.  So now finally I get to write a review about it.

Counter Culture is an all vegan raw foods trailer run by the chef Sue Davis. Davis worked in some of the top vegan resturants before coming to Austin and it reflects in her food.  She has veganized american favorates such as the Philly Cheese Steak, made with home made Setian, Cashew cheese, grilled peppers and onions on a whole wheat bun. (Which Will isn't going to be able to live without once a month now) and the Tuna Sandwich (Which I cant live without).

"Tuna" Sandwich

The food truck itself has an old school dinner feel about it, bathed in baby blues and silver with a bar stool at the front.  So where do you eat at a food truck?  Just a bit away you can walk into a small dining area with shade and matching blue picnic tables.  Some nights there will be documentary screenings there, vegan meetings and bands.

Diner Truck

Private seating area for Counter Culture Customers

All together we loved the food at Counter Culture and will be returning.

Upsides:

• Great food
• Great atmosphere

Watch out for:

• Cash only
• Does not sell drinks (But you can get them at the gas station next door.) 

Half Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir

I have been thinking about product reviews for a long time as an addition to this blog. However I have always found them so subjective. I don't like fake meats for instance. But if someone reviews a fake meat and tells me its great I might trust their opinion and try it. Still since I don't like fake meat its still not going to be very good to me. And the truth is that I dont want to scare people off of good food products that could be their gateway into a whole lot of new and exciting foods.

When I was writing the post "Starting a Veggie Lifestyle" I came to the conclusion that I have a lot of books. Not just cook books either, but educational books of organic foods, juicing, human rights treatment in the factory farm industry and anthropological studies of eating habits. I tend to migrate to health focused weight loss books too. I also happen to watch too many documentaries about health and food.

While I might not be comfortable reviewing products I do like reviewing films and books. So that it one of the things that I am going to start doing on this blog.

First and foremost I have to say that this is not a vegan book like many of the ones that I like. Half Assed is the story of a morbidly obese girl who finds herself in a bad place health wise. She has to undergo a surgery that while routine for many healthy weighing people could be extremely dangerous for a women of her size.

Instead of going through the pain and risk of a weight loss surgery she takes a new mantra: health or death. She learns how to eat healthy, eases her was into exersizing and eventually looses 186 pounds.

Now I know what you are thinking but it is not that kind of book.  The author, who is also a distinguished blogger, is not the positive, crazy and slightly insane character we are used to reading these kinds of stories from.  No, she is 110 % real.  She uses this book like an outlet for her thoughts including everything from how did we get this way? to why do obese people get treated so differently? 


She is sarcastic, witty and thoughtful.

With a staggering number of people gaining girth in our country I would highly recommend this book.  Her talks about will power and holding others up as models of weight losing perfection are especially interesting.

Heres To Yum!

I know not all of you are in San Antonio but I still wanted to share this for the people that are.

Yesterday Rachel, Alyssa and I went to a small new restaurant owned by Charles and Renee called creativity "Here's to Yum." It is a small space and they are both still starting out so they cook, buy the produce from the markets, wait on tables and everything else. They cook all of their yummy food and deserts from scratch. I would just like to encourage everyone who is in the area to check it out and support this new place! The food is amazing and fresh. Their "tea house tea" is to die for. The have a basil leaf and orange mixture on the bottom then they pour an iced tea over the top.



Alyssa had the gnocchi with chicken, tomato and goat cheese and Rachel had a beautiful chicken salad on the crissoent with an heirloom tomato salad. Obviously for those of you that are just eating healthier, this is not an all vegan place. But it is very good, very fresh and very veggie focused!



I tried to stay with the tradition veggie of coarse. It was a beautiful day, beautiful space and beautiful company so I didn't want to feel all bloaty and...lets face it with my lactose intolerance, stick the place up. I had the Pea soup one of my new fav things with a slight mint topping. It was amazing!


Now I know that it is being a bad girl but the deserts were not vegan. All the same I tried a tiny bite of each and they were out of this world! Renee makes them himself. One is a lemon tart, one of a fruit tart and one is chocolate moose so deep and dark it is almost sour! Just the way chocolate is meant to be! Each is plated beautifully and will seriously make a vegan girl debate wolfing down a whole one of them despite the tummy ache, the heart attack and the weight gain after! Yum! (Unfortuntly I couldn't get a picture of the lemon tart (My personal fav) because we just devoured it too quickly.




SO really, everyone needs to go and check this place out. Help support a local bistro who are supporting local farmers, who both have amazing food!

Night on the Town

Last night my friend Alyssa and I had a night out on the town (sorta) since my boyfriend was at work. We started off by getting out friend Kristen to wax our eyebrows (poor thing) than doing the normal things to do (going and looking at lingerie, mucking around bed bath and beyond and the like).

The highlight of the evening was of coarse the food. You all know me, the night is nothing without a good, filling and nutritious meal. We decided to go to a little whole in the wall restaurant that I have been telling her about forever. Turquoise is a Middle Eastern restaurant with some of the best food that I have ever eaten. If you are in or know someone around San Antonio you should really check it out!

Not everything is veg or vegan but there are some great meal options that will make your mouth dance! I had the Imam Bayildi which is baby egg plant cooked in olive oil with tomato, green pepper, and onions, and served with rice.

Alyssa had the egg plant that was stuffed with ground beef but it still smelled good! So if you want to bring your meat eater friends its more than great for them too!

Than came the best part of every meal. Dessert. If you look at the link you will see they have only six desserts. Its a good thing that they don't have any more though. I already have trouble choosing. Alyssa ended up getting Baklava (Layer upon layer of thin pastry, filled with walnuts and drenched in a sweet sauce. Topped off with pistachios) Which can sometimes be just way too much for me. It burns my tongue it is so sweet! I got Kaysi Tatlisi (Sundried apricots stuffed with walnuts). To end it off we both got a cup of the most amazing Turkish coffee ever. I know Turkish coffee. Working in the hookah bar exposed me to it a lot and the men are really particular about it. So I can honestly say that this is the best!


To end the night, we came home a turned on the record player and shared a guava hookah with Kristen again. Good night and good food.




Hope you enjoyed it Alyssa!