full disclosure, i was offered a meal for two at glo restaurant in walton-on-thames, a beautiful town in surrey where my godfather lives, so i jumped at the chance to have dinner with him and his wife and daughter, while simultaneously reviewing the meal.

navigating a menu at any restaurant can be tough when you’re on a restricted diet, but it can get especially confusing when that restaurant is “fusion”. the food offered at glo is, at first glance, quite confusing. there are thai curries, asian pizza, satay, and grilled chicken with pesto, all on the same page. you can have your thai green curry served in a garlic bread bowl. a bit weird, but certainly unique!

we decided to share some poppadoms and chutneys between the five of us.

the chutneys were actually a simple mango chutney alongside their own sweet chili sauce and hot chili sauce.

from a special diets point of view, so far so good. poppadoms are gluten-free more often than not (worth checking though before you take a bite) and no dairy, eggs, nuts or soy to be found. from a holistic health point of view, SUGAR OVERLOAD!

we decided to split a couple of starters. phil ordered the thai green baked mushrooms, which i planned on sharing with him… until they arrived smothered in melted cheese (not mentioned on the menu):

still, nice presentation!

the rest of the group split a house special starter, which included chicken satay, chicken drumsticks, crispy prawns, veggie spring rolls, and onion rings, served in (you guessed it) a garlic bread bowl.

that is a LOT of fried food and bread. just seemed a bit of a beige hodgepodge to me. still, i took a bite of the garlic bread and thought it was very tasty. definitely had butter on it though, so one bite was safe

for the main courses, 3 of us ordered curries and 2 had noodle dishes. i had a penang curry with prawns; phil had rendang curry with prawns. these came with a big bowl of steamed rice and MORE poppadoms!

while tasty, the prawns were tiny and i really could have done without the extra crackers and mango sauce. so much food!

and yet… a big sharing dessert platter was ordered (involving cherry almond cheesecake, elderflower lemon cake, and deep fried ice cream).

i couldn’t try any of the components of this colorful dish of sweets, but there were lots of smiling faces around me, so that’s always a good sign. unfortunately, there aren’t many egg AND dairy-free dessert options in life, let alone at a restaurant, so i’m used to sitting out dessert. instead i ordered a beautiful flowering tea:

what a beautiful way to end a meal!

so, how did glo compare to other restaurant experiences i’ve had recently? well, the servers were friendly, the food i ate was decent, and the menu had several vegetarian options to choose from. the value for money is pretty great too.

however, for anyone on a special diet, the confusing menu is an issue. and there are quite a number of fried and breaded foods available, making it a challenge to stay healthy while dining out. but i did appreciate the homemade chili sauces and the flowering teas.

glo in walton-on-thames is surrounded by a lot of average chain restaurants, like nando’s and carluccio’s, so for a change of pace, i think it’s a good choice. just bring an open mind and an empty belly!

what are your toughest challenges when dining out if you’re on a restricted diet? should restaurants be more accommodating (i.e. gluten-free menus, marking vegan items with a ‘v’, etc.)?

The Robsons go West from Molly Robson on Vimeo.

while the city i live in is being demolished by night, i’m choosing today to stay safe, offer help, and remember how lucky i am after a truly memorable vacation. the divide in london is huge. but anger, hatred, and violence is never the answer.

so, i’ll step off my soapbox for today and get back into the particular kitchen as normal. this is my first blog post since i’ve become a certified nutrition educator! as a result, there will be many changes to come in the weeks ahead. i’ve got a business to set up! it’s daunting and exciting at the same time and i’m looking forward to every minute.

thank you so much to pippa, gabriela, and tanya for their awesome guest posts while i’ve been away. as i drove across the states, it was nice to know that my little blog was being looked after

and what a drive it was. see above… if you have some spare time (23 minutes) and want to see two complete nerds on a road trip, then have a look at the little video phil and i made!

we covered a lot of ground and had a lot to say in that mini film, but not very much talk of FOOD, which I could ramble on about for hours. so here it is… my recap of some fantastic healthy foods that we enjoyed on the road. it is possible!

road snacks

at the beginning of our trip, we stocked up at a local health food store on snacks that would last in the car for the day without a cooler. things like larabars, a jar of natural peanut butter, green and herbal teabags, a large bag of grapes, a loaf of wholegrain bread, a carton of unopened coconut milk, raw almonds, and blue corn chips. whenever we encountered a health food store on our journey, we added to our collection, and picked up some fresh fruit and veg and lunch to take with us. i had a pretty epic kale salad on the drive from denver to utah, thanks to stopping at a whole foods the day before. and we were glad to have done so, because the lunch options at rest stops and random small towns along the way were dire. the one time we actually ate anything at one of these places was a pretty terrible feta & veg wrap and a bowl of tomato soup at an au bon pain in ohio. the carton of coconut milk only got opened at the end of our trip when we stayed for a week in a rental cottage in san diego (but by then we didn’t need road snacks any more!) the most important purchases were huge bottles of water. it was interesting to see the brands of bottled water change as we moved further west. poland spring on the east coast, arrowhead by the time we hit utah. while i would have rather brought my own refillable bottle with me, there weren’t enough reliable places to refill on the road. bottled was our best option (and not the coke/pepsi versions of water!)

green cuisine

on arriving at the adorable beach town of stone harbor, new jersey, and staying with one of my best friends in the whole world, lucy, we wandered down to green cuisine. they had some delicious and fresh salads to offer us weary travelers. it was ideal. too bad when i lived there for a summer working in a surf shop that my diet solely consisted of wawa hoagies and buttered bagels. funny how things change, isn’t it? shout out to springer’s ice cream, the best ice cream shop in the WHOLE WORLD! try lucy’s limeade sorbet

chicago diner

our first meal out just the two of us was at the chicago diner on the evening we arrived in town. this is an all-vegetarian diner-style restaurant within walking distance of wrigley field, where we headed afterwards to catch a cubs/phillies game. phillies won of course phil had a “blt burger” and i had avocado tostadas. while not exactly health food, it was a treat to have american-style diner food with no meat in sight. two thumbs up!

borrowed earth cafe

while visiting chicago, we stayed in a nearby suburb, close to my good friend leah who i knew from san diego. that gift basket you see above was a welcome gift in our hotel room from her mom – so amazingly sweet! filled with fresh fruit, water bottles, little packets of justin’s almond butter and kind bars. anyway, leah suggested we check out borrowed earth cafe for dinner in downers grove on our second and final night in town and it was awesome. i definitely wasn’t expecting an all-raw vegan restaurant parked in the middle of a suburban town like downers grove. the food was fantastic. i had a spinach quiche, made from cashews and a nutty crust. phil had a “chicken salad” wrap. and for dessert, we each ordered a slice of cheesecake (luckily there were 4 to choose from), and indulged on some delicious raw treats. yum yum and yum.

city o city

i loved denver, mainly because of its great appreciation of the outdoors. the two days we were in town, everyone was out and about enjoying the sunshine (lucky we were there on a weekend. i’m not sure we would have had the same impression on a weekday… or maybe people just work as park rangers and camp counselors? but i doubt those jobs let you play beer pong in the park… i digress). we had an epic meal at city o city, an all-veggie hipster heaven in a cute part of town. i ordered a gluten-free vegan “urban cowgirl” pizza with daiya cheese. my first experience with a non-soy vegan cheese… it was interesting. not as impressive as i had believed it would be (that’s what happens when things get overhyped). but still, exciting to have the option. even my meat-loving friend enjoyed her meal. win!

red mountain resort

our healthiest few days of our trip came in st george, utah, at red mountain resort. while we didn’t do the full package where all of your meals are included and take place at the resort’s canyon breeze restaurant, we had breakfast there every morning, and chose to have dinner there every night. yes, it was that good. the resort offers a detox program and points out which menu items are “detox-friendly”, meaning gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. every morning, i had this awesome cooked cereal called “trilogy of grains” – when i got home, i emailed the head chef asking for the recipe and he immediately sent it to me. phenomenal! they used quinoa, kamut, and wheat berries, but point out you can use any combination of grains (if you’re avoiding gluten, try millet and rice instead of the kamut and wheat berries). you cook the grains separately and combine them once cooked. seems pretty simple, but something i’ll definitely be trying when the weather gets colder. it was delicious when topped with some heated dried fruits and a splash of coconut milk. really tasted luxurious, like a treat i shouldn’t be having. yet knowing how wonderfully healthy it was made it all the tastier. the dinners were great too – the evening meals all included a trip to their wonderful salad and soup bar (mostly raw soups), fresh herbs picked from their garden, and a great selection of herbal teas and organic coffee. we really appreciated those few days of health after feeling sluggish from hours and hours in the car. those were some of my favorite meal memories from the trip.

evolution

we knew it wouldn’t be a problem finding healthy and vegetarian-friendly food in san diego, but since i hadn’t really eaten that way while living there, i had to do a bit of research ahead of time. and all signs pointed to evolution. this veggie/vegan “fast food” lunch place in the banker’s hill area of town is a little treasure. i had a raw burger, with raw cashew cheese, and a raw key lime tart for dessert. bliss.

problem areas

breakfast. hands down, that was the hardest meal of the day for me while on the road. when you’re avoiding eggs and dairy, try not to eat too much gluten, and aren’t consuming meat, good luck eating anything other than fruit for breakfast. other than the occasional bowl of oatmeal made with water (BORING), i was jumping for joy when we had our own kitchen in denver, healthy and friendly food options in st george, and a week in a HOUSE in san diego. but going out for breakfast in america (let alone any country) was a challenge. a girl can only take so many bowls of sad looking melon and a plate of home fries.

i’m excited to share another guest post with you today – this time from tanya of better raw. she runs raw food workshops around london, one of which i attended last year and LOVED, and shares lots of awesome recipes on her blog. i’m delighted that she will be sharing her raw chocolate peanut butter cup recipe with you today… thanks tanya!

I have never been a big fan of peanut butter myself and living in UK, we don’t even have Reese’s products to do a taste experiment. But I am pretty good at calculating a conversion of ‘not so good contents’ into healthy Raw Food ingredients and Google is pretty good at providing me with any product’s ingredient list of these ‘not so good contents’.

All I can say is: “Where? Where have you been all my life? Peanut Butter Cups, you have stolen my heart!” Now it’s your turn:

Raw Food Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

(Makes 10 mini cups)

For the cups
10 mini chocolate cases

For the Chocolate
4 Tbsp Cacao Powder
2 Tbsp Cacao Butter, melted
2 Tbsp Coconut Butter/Oil, melted
2 Tbsp Agave
Pinch Salt

For the Peanut filling
2 Tbsp Raw Peanut Butter (make sure it is not ‘roasted’)
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Agave

-To melt my butters, I put them in a dehydrator for an hour on 105F, that way I know they will not reach the temperatures when they are no longer Raw and deprived of enzymes. You can do this is a double boiler (do not boil the water)
-Add the rest of the chocolate ingredients and stir in well

-Cover the bottom of each case with the chocolate mix
-Spoon in a roughly formed ball of peanut filling mix
-Cover completely with the rest of the chocolate mix (if the peanut filling is sticking out, press in down to drown under the chocolate)
-Place in the fridge for 2 hours

The rest is history…

Tanya Alekseeva is a Wellness Coach specialising in Raw Food Nutrition and Detoxing and works with busy individuals to produce their most desired health results. She is the founder of Better Raw and Corporate Creme, travelling nationally and internationally providing seminars, workshops, detox programs and one to one coaching. Tanya is an author of various books available on www.BetterRaw.com

today’s guest post comes to us from gabriela aka the picky foodie. i first heard about her from her raw recipes in the second leon cookbook, one of my favorites, and decided to get in touch with her via twitter – and now we’re real world friends . not only does she come up with some superb raw food ideas, she’s also a holistic health practitioner and mother to an adorable 1-year-old named vida. we could spend hours chatting about nutrition, raw foods, health, living on both sides of the pond, and families – so i am really grateful to her for agreeing to guest post on the particular kitchen! here, she talks about sweeteners – the dangers therein and the benefits of going natural. enjoy!

Sugar.  These days, it’s in everything from donuts to mayonnaise, pasta sauces to salads.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, as hunter-gatherers, humans ate the equivalent of 20 teaspoons of sugar per person per year. These days, that number is closer to 150 POUNDS (no that is not a typo)!

Often, many of us find ourselves unable to stop eating when there is sugar involved.  As a result, I have heard of numerous ways people devise in order to cope with this addiction: some outlaw it from the house like a drug while others only allow themselves sugar on a specific day of the week.  There is even a woman who created a blog around her decision to abstain from all forms of sugar – talk about pressure!

First of all, I would like to make clear that a sweetener is not a sweetener is not a sweetener.  When we talk about sugar, most people think of the white powdery stuff – the stuff we have been told over and over that we need to avoid.  Instead we are sold High Fructose Corn Syrup and chemical sweeteners that wreak havoc on our nervous systems, livers, blood pressure and cholesterol levels and are filled with known carcinogens.  Unfortunately our weight-obsessed society seems to care more about calories than the negative side-effects involved in sweetening our lives with these alien substances.  And the companies making these so-called “healthier alternatives” spend millions advertising slimming waistlines rather than letting consumers know how much damage can be caused in the process.

Sure, natural sweeteners may contain more calories, but they also have far more nutritional benefits, and, more importantly, they are void of the negative side-effects of their artificial counterparts.

So next time you’re thinking of what to put in your tea, why not consider more old-fashioned options?

Like raw honey.  Raw honey, unlike most commercial honeys, is unheated and untreated, and so has retained many nutritional benefits: enzymes that help with digestion as well as anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal qualities (which is why it is recommended for a sore throat – such a shame most commercial honeys no longer contain any of those properties).

Or REAL maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup) which actually has a higher concentration of minerals and fewer calories than honey.  It is also high in zinc and a trace mineral called manganese – both of which are important for immune function.  Zinc is especially good for reinforcing men’s prostate health.

Or molasses, especially blackstrap.  Ironically, molasses are a by-product of refining sugar cane into regular old white table sugar.  Unfortunately for table sugar, however, blackstrap molasses is where all the nutrients go: just two teaspoons a day deliver 13% of our recommended daily allowance of iron, 11% of calcium, 14% of copper, 9% of potassium and 7% of magnesium.  Not bad!

Personally, I love to use dates and date syrup to sweeten many of my baked and raw goodies.  Dates are high in fibre and a well-known remedy against constipation.  In addition, they are full of minerals, and promote the growth of friendly bacteria in the gut.  Dates, with their infinite chewy sweetness, are a wonderful transition food for people looking to eat less processed food and candy.

As anyone who has found themselves staring at the bottom of a tub of ice cream fifteen minutes after cracking it open can attest, too much of a good thing can have the opposite effect.  But when we crave sweets, sugar, chocolate, is it really the food that we are needing, or are we lacking sweetness in other parts of our lives?

In India, sweets serve as an offering of love and praise to the divine.  In the West, we often use sweets to make ourselves feel better or mark special occasions.  But chocolate chip cookies aren’t the only ways in which we can sweeten our lives: by doing things we love, spending time with people who make us happy and making sure we find satisfaction in our every day we can add that spoonful of sugar without opening the fridge, the cupboard or any packaging.  Maybe ask yourself: what will that box of pralines really give me?

In the end, there is no right or wrong, no magic sugar pill.  Each person and each situation is unique.  But whether you choose to curl up with a book or a cupcake, make sure it’s worth your while, and if you can add some nutritional benefits while you’re at it, your life will be all the sweeter for it — I promise!

i’m sure there are many of you out there who, like me, have gone on a diet before to try and lose some weight as a short-term solution. what i mean by this is a restrictive, fad, commercial diet, such as atkins, zone, or more recently, the dukan diet. they pick up a lot of attention because a celebrity was reported to have lost weight by following their regimes, and the creator of the diet becomes an overnight success. of course, we all know that to lose weight and keep it off in the long-term, we have to keep a healthy balance of nutritious food and regular exercise. but that’s difficult to do, requires a lifelong commitment and self-motivation, and doesn’t have the quick results. so we pick up the latest copy of a diet book in the shop or follow along online for a few weeks and actually lose that excess weight! what a delight!

BUT

who wants to live in a carb-free world forever? so we start craving those things we aren’t allowed to have according to the diet rulebook and go back to the way we were, putting the pounds back on, sometimes putting even MORE pounds back on, and are left only with frustration (and maybe some tighter-fitting clothes).

while at nourish health foods the other day, we were chatting about the recent coverage of the dukan diet in the press and the controversy surrounding it. at the store, they can’t keep oat bran on the shelves ever since kate middleton (sorry, the duchess of cambridge!) became a skeleton and proclaimed her love for dukan. if you’re not familiar with the methods of the diet, it is essentially an even more extreme version of atkins. through several stages lasting a week or so each, you limit yourself to protein, then protein + vegetables, and finally protein + vegetables + low-fat dairy + 1 carb. clearly, this will make you lose weight. but it can be extremely dangerous if followed long-term.

my concerns with dukan are the long-term health issues that can arise out of such a diet…

• completely cutting out an entire “group” of food, i.e. fruit, is a problem in itself. think of all the wonderful vitamins and minerals that come just from a piece of fruit. do you really want to never eat a strawberry again? summer is a fruit-filled season no matter where you live.
• why are we so afraid of fat? while i agree that hydrogenated fats (like those found in margarine and other highly processed foods) and trans fats are terrible and have no benefit to your body whatsoever, there are also good fats in the world that are essential. eating foods that are labeled “low-fat” or “nonfat” only indicate their departure from the original source. naturally fatty foods that are actually super great for your system, like avocados and coconut oil, should never been shunned but rather embraced.
• think ahead. are you really going to keep up a diet that insists you only eat 9 servings of carbs per week? i would recommend 2-3 PER DAY and that’s only whole grains & starches (never mind leafy vegetables, crunchy vegetables, and fresh fruit). again, carbs shouldn’t be feared. instead of taking the easy way out and omitting them altogether (difficult and dangerous to sustain), we can replace “bad” carbs with “good” carbs, i.e. grains that are easy on our digestive system, such as millet, rice, quinoa, and corn, non-white starchy veg, like sweet potatoes, squash, and yams, sprouted breads (more nutritional impact).
• chemical sweeteners, such as aspartame and nutrasweet, are never okay. any diet that allows them raises a big red flag for me. dukan allows diet soda and sugar-free sweeteners throughout the program. how are you meant to kick that nasty sugar habit if you’re continuing to load up on artificially sweet things? a better long-term choice would be to swap refined sugar for something natural, i.e. honey or maple syrup. better yet, make it local. see if anyone in your community sells locally-made honey, or if you live in the right parts of north america, grab some local maple syrup (or tap a maple tree?) and be thankful you aren’t paying an arm and a leg for it like we do in england!
• emphasizing the importance of protein is fine, but balancing that with unrefined carbohydrates and healthy fats is crucial. many of us don’t eat enough protein in our morning meal, which sets us up for the rest of the day. if we simply added some quality protein to breakfast, we’d be able to stave off the sugar and starch cravings that so often hit us between meals. however, on a diet like dukan, protein can only come in the form of lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy, and tofu (no beans, legumes, or nuts allowed). this is highly restrictive, especially for anyone avoiding animal products and soy, both of which are problematic foods for many people’s digestive systems.
• and what about fiber? forgive me for this, but imagine there isn’t a lot of pooping going on with a dukan dieter. without the aforementioned beans and legumes, in addition to a restricted intake of vegetables, nuts, and seeds, i’m wondering where on earth they are getting their fiber. proper digestion is a result of many factors, but perhaps most crucial is adequate fiber consumption – if you’re concerned you’re not getting enough, simply sprinkle a tablespoon of ground flaxseed onto your morning bowl of yogurt or muesli or into a smoothie.

okay, so this is just about dukan, but my main point is that all diets restricting entire groupings of food are dangerous. while it’s nice to feel quick effects and notice immediate differences in our bodies, it would be impossible to maintain those eating habits without picking up some serious health conditions along the way (high blood pressure and diabetes, to name two).

if you’re interested in shedding some pounds for LIFE rather than just for the summer, and don’t want to sacrifice any essential foods, then it is important to make wise food choices. keeping a food diary even for just a couple of days can be eye-opening. i do not mean calorie counting – simply writing down the foods you choose to eat (and when and where you choose to eat them) may surprise you, but will certainly help you to understand where changes could be made.

for now though, baby steps. eat an extra serving of vegetables today and include some raw nuts and seeds. take that, dukan!

(photo: strawberry spelt shortcake)

borough market. many say it has lost its edge recently, becoming more of a tourist attraction than a destination for great food. while it does tend to get overcrowded at peak times (i.e. lunch) on fridays and saturdays, there are several stalls in this sprawling, bustling market that make it worth elbowing through. in the past seven days, i’ve had two visits to borough for two completely different reasons.

the first was lunch with my sister-in-law (!). i’ll take any excuse to grab lunch from borough, and as i arrived early, i was able to wander around and scope out the options. there’s a new vegan kid in town, and their name is the honest carrot. they make fabulous vegan food in the form of falafels and colorful veggie pies (with or without a crust – many are gluten-free) and bread baked inside flower pots. just adorable. they also offer small tubs of hummus and a fresh and crunchy chickpea & carrot salad. here’s our lunch below (with a giant grapefruit and a pretty apple):

and then a few days later, i was back down london bridge way to peruse the natural wine fair. 120 stalls were set up on long tables offering up their whites and reds from all over france and italy, and a couple of representatives from spain and portugal too. i was surrounded by sommeliers in their element, swirling and spitting the wines while they discussed the various tastes and smells in expert detail. one man very kindly explained a few things to me and translated back and forth with isabelle frere from le scarabee. her 3 wines were my favorites of the day, though i didn’t end up trying very many. that could have been trouble!

i wouldn’t say i’m that knowledgeable on wines – the grapes, the palette, the flavors, the regions. but i AM interested in organically grown produce and products. anything grown naturally, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, fertilizers, etc. in the case of natural wine, there are no added yeasts, sugars, or excess sulphites. this gives an unusual taste to many of the wines, a cloudiness and perhaps off-putting scent, but brings with it a more subtle effect and reduced risk of hangover. also, many people are allergic or at least sensitive to sulphites, so this is good news for anyone experiencing symptoms after drinking wine.

i’m not sure what the natural wine scene is like in the states, but here in europe it is growing rapidly. plenty of restaurants in london are offering organic selections on their wine lists and the demand is increasing. try some next time you see it offered – you might be pleasantly surprised!

every so often, a company comes along that makes me feel inspired, excited, and most of all, thankful! happy kitchen, based in the london fields area of east london, is one such company. i came across their stall at broadway market, where they offer their absolutely delicious baked goods every saturday – and it just so happens that those brownies/cupcakes/cookies are all vegan, free from refined sugar, organic, and wheat-free. just what i’m all about!

after reading more about them on their website, i’m even more in love with happy kitchen, and gladly visited their permanent location with a friend the other day to see their usual place of operations (and of course to sample some more yummy food!).  the photo below shows their tiny shop front, which masks a massive bakery full of hustle and bustle on a tuesday afternoon.

and here’s a snap of their homemade raspberry bakewell cupcakes, one of which i consumed later that day and regretted not buying more. if you’ve never had a bakewell tart before, it is essentially a sweet, almondy, fruity pastry tart – their version is even better.

if it’s not enough that they prepare such fabulous food for the masses that happens to be perfect for restricted diets folks like myself, check out their ethos, taken from their website:

Our favourite pastime when we get together has always been concocting yummie treats…
… and we have also always cared about what ingredients we use, where they have come from, how theyʼve been grown and the ways in which we prepare our food…

Our recipes are based around the seasons in England.
All ingredients are sourced through small scale and eco friendly growers using a carefully planned
system that prioritises:
- Community projects / local neighbours;
- Local small scale growers;
- Co-operatives;
- Social enterprises;
- European small ethical producers;
- Companies that show a commitment to the environment and social justice;
- If we buy from far away it is always organic, fairtrade and comes on a boat.
- Finally, we NEVER buy produce flown on a plane.

<3 <3 <3

this is refreshing and inspiring to the MAX. and i don’t usually say things like “to the max” but in this case, i couldn’t help myself. love it, love everything about it. especially because they aren’t focusing on the fact that their foods are made “without” certain ingredients, or that they are geared towards people with food allergies/intolerances, but instead that it’s HEALTHY and WHOLESOME food with a mission.

here’s some more goodness from their bakery (the 2 items i tried from their market stall a few weeks ago – chocolate chip cookies biscuits and a chocolate cupcake – i can confirm that they are both outrageously good):

good morning! today i’d like to share a few photos from our honeymoon. don’t worry, nothing inappropriate! but of course, the theme of these pics is FOOD. i couldn’t have possibly come back from a vacation (let alone honeymoon) without sharing the foodie adventures we had with you all. and believe me, we ate very well in grenada. here are some highlights…

here is my husband (!) on day one enjoying breakfast, which was prepared for us on our front patio each morning by a wonderful maid. we felt extremely spoiled. especially as the hotel had bought in some almond milk just for me! phil is enjoying his fresh squeezed tropical fruit juice and a bowl of raisin bran, while i had some muesli (i think it was dorset cereals!), and a huge plate of fruit – all local goodness, including grapefruit, bananas, watermelon, and cantaloupe. and that was just the first course! we were also given a choice of egg dishes (of course, those always passed me by) and bread options. oh and tea or coffee. no wonder we gained weight on this trip!

my bowl of muesli with almond milk.

delicious fresh fruit.

basket of breads. phil tried something different from the menu almost every day – above are a couple of cinnamon pastries with our toast.

YUM YUM YUM guava jelly. the accompaniment to toast every morning. we brought a little jar home with us. so sweet, you only need a tiny tiny spoonful.

after watching a man climb a very tall, very slender palm tree without the use of any tools or ropes to collect coconuts, we had to see how many he dropped on the beach. luckily, this super nice guy was sipping some fresh young coconut water straight from the shell and offered to hack open a couple just for us! it was so good – we felt full of energy for the rest of the day.

a candid photo of me ferociously enjoying some watermelon which came with my bowl of gazpacho at lunch. our hotel’s beach bar was pricey but so very worth it. best lunches we had all week.

again at the beach bar, this time enjoying some catch of the day. i believe this is barracuda. don’t knock it till you try it! we liked ours with a little dish of barbecue sauce and some sweet potato or yam wedges. their fresh tropical coleslaw was so great too.

our most decadent dinner of the week, and some of the best food we’ve ever eaten, at rhodes restaurant (again at our hotel). phil had buttered dorado, i had fish as well (so many varieties, it’s hard to remember each one) – and shared a plate of vegetables, all grown within the hotel’s gardens. that bright green one is christophene – a very fresh, unusual vegetable that kind of resembles a savory melon.

a roasted veggie salad with fresh swordfish at umbrella’s. close to st george’s university, this was full of students and very closely resembled american college bars i was used to back in san diego. still, their beer was cold (phil and i sipped a couple of bottles of carib) and their food was worth the wait.

sweet potato fries were a must as the vegetable grew in abundance on the island. and i’ll take any excuse to enjoy a sweet potato fry.

warning: barbecued lobster! i hope you’re not completely grossed out by this photo, but i have to tell you, it was the single best thing i ate in grenada. the aquarium restaurant has a sunday bbq with live music that everyone told us we couldn’t miss, and i’m so glad we didn’t. after we stuffed our faces full of barbecued seafood and phil had his huge dessert (see below), we spent the rest of the evening on their small beach, digesting and relaxing. heaven.

death by chocolate is right!

a very dark image of another fabulous dinner, this time at the beach house restaurant, another highly recommended spot. even though michael buble was pumping out of the hidden speakers, the beautiful setting and amazing food made up for it this was my blackened catch of the day with mango salsa and fruity rice.

and finally, phil rounded out our grenada dining experience at the airport before we boarded our plane home! here is his fish roti, although i was more interested in that fun placemat! and of course, one last pina colada for the road…

i have read two articles in the last week that i felt i could offer my two cents on, and wanted to share them both here. the first was simply a reader question-and-answer snippet in the guardian, which my future mother-in-law told me about recently. the reader was looking for a dairy-free soy-free parmesan cheese substitute. and while the answer given by columnist matthew fort does mention nutritional yeast, it doesn’t include my most recent favorite find: rawmesan! this works just as well as pre-grated parmesan to sprinkle atop pasta dishes a la those little canisters full of the powdery stuff. what it is NOT is a substitute for fresh, just-grated parmesan cheese. even though the reader mentioned not being able to find anything close to resembling real cheese, i think this is a taste he/she will have to adjust to since they are unable to eat any cheese at all. it is tough to come to terms with, but once they realize that there are products out there to replicate the flavor, they may appreciate them more!

the second article was in martha stewart living‘s february 2011 issue. i love finding copies of this at london newsstands. it doesn’t happen often, but when one pops up i have to buy it! there was an interesting article in there about 8 smart snack recipes to protect your heart. unfortunately, this article appears nowhere on martha’s website! tsk tsk martha!

instead, i had to do a little magical googling, and found this pdf from a registered dietitian who just blatantly typed up the article to hand out to patients/clients. i don’t begrudge her for doing this at all! in fact, i’m tempted to start scanning in recipes/articles i find that seem worthwhile and helpful. however, the 8 snacks that penny kris-etherton (professor of nutrition at penn state) suggests are good, but not GREAT. while i was reading through, i thought how i would improve upon these recipes. so here are my suggested improvements on 8 nearly-there healthy snacks!

1. tropical salad

arrange 3 slices each of chilled hass avocado, papaya, and cantaloupe on a plate. drizzle with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice. garnish with basil. serves 1.

update: first things first, i’d make sure that the fruit and basil was fresh and organic if possible! and to avoid sounding like a broken record, i would say that for all of the snack ideas. secondly, i’d add some “oomph” in the form of nuts or seeds. maybe sprinkle some toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds on top, or flaked almonds.

2. chocolate-nut mix

mix 1 cup almonds (toasted and cooled), 1 cup walnuts (toasted and cooled), 2/3 cup dried blueberries, and 3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate. makes twelve 1/4-cup servings.

update: before toasting the nuts, choose RAW and WHOLE varieties of almonds and walnuts. do not include the dried blueberries unless they do not contain any sugar! and for the dark chocolate, the fewer ingredients on the package, the better. and i’d probably reduce the amount to 1/2 cup.

3. tuna and white beans

mix together 1 can (5 ounces) oil-packed tuna (drained), 2/3 cup canned white beans (drained), such as cannellini, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup torn fresh flat-leaf parsley, the zest of 1/2 lemon, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt. season with pepper. makes three 2/3-cup servings.

update: there isn’t much to improve upon here, other than to choose organic beans, and maybe include some veg, like a finely chopped piece of cucumber or celery.

4. sardine-and-pepper-topped cracker

place 1 oil-packed piquillo pepper (drained and thinly sliced into rings) and 1 oil-paced spanish sardine (drained and halved, bones removed) on 1 whole-wheat wasa cracker. top with a few baby arugula leaves. drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice. serves 1.

update: instead of a wasa cracker (??), pick a plain rice cake, oat cake, or spelt cracker.

5. red wine and dark chocolate

1 piece (3/4 ounce) dark chocolate and 1 glass (3 ounces) red wine. serves 1.

update: this is clearly not a snack! choose this for an after-dinner treat a couple of times a week, but i wouldn’t label this as a healthy snack… but i do understand why it was chosen as “heart healthy” – both are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols.

6. pita with ricotta

spread 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons part-skim ricotta cheese onto 1/2 small whole-wheat pita. top with 2 or 3 dried apricots, and 1 1/2 teaspoons sliced toasted almonds. drizzle with 1 teaspoon honey. season with pepper. serves 1.

update: if you’re able to eat dairy, go with a “full fat” ricotta rather than part-skim. this will ensure a whole food, rather than processed. instead of a pita, again, go for a plain rice cake, oat cake, or spelt cracker. choose dark, unsulphured dried apricots (not bright orange) and skip the honey (unless you’re really feeling a sweet craving).

7. salsa tacos

char one 6-inch corn tortilla over an open flame or under a broiler. fill with 1/3 cup fresh tomato salsa, 1/4 cup torn romaine lettuce, 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons nonfat greek yogurt, and 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro. serves 1.

update: this is mostly okay, except for the salsa, which i assume they mean a store-bought variety. easy and tastier to make some yourself! fresh tomatoes, red onion, red chili, lemon juice, a little olive oil. you can mix and match. if you don’t do yogurt, add in some black beans or chickpeas instead (mashed for spreadability!)

8. apple, peanut butter, and chili paste on lavash

grill 1 triangle (1/2 ounce) whole-wheat lavash in a grill pan, or toast in a dry skillet over high heat until slightly charred on both sides, about 1 1/2 minutes. spread 1 1/2 teaspoons natural peanut butter and 1/8 teaspoon sambal oelek (asian chili paste; importfood.com) onto lavash. top with 5 thin slices tart red apple, such as mcintosh, and a few watercress sprigs. serves 1.

update: again, instead of whole-wheat lavash, choose a plain rice cake, oat cake, or spelt cracker, or slice of whole wheat or spelt bread. with the peanut butter, check the ingredients to make sure it is organic and doesn’t contain any sugar. and instead of chili paste, but if you still want the spice factor, just sprinkle some chili flakes on top of the peanut butter.

this past sunday, our friend jess cooked a gourmet three course lunch for phil and i. she really went all out with the menu, creating some really beautiful and amazing dishes for us to feast on. normally when we go over to friends’ houses for a meal, it’s quite a task. between phil not eating meat and me not eating cow’s dairy, eggs and soy, the options are limited.

luckily we have jess – her mom owns a catering business in new zealand, so she grew up around exciting cuisine.

if you want any of the recipes, send me a message or leave a comment. i can tell you this was all DELICIOUS and inspiring!

first course: seared scallops with apple salsa, butternut squash puree, and candied walnuts

for the meateaters, jess added a slice of serrano ham. peashoots adorned the top of the dish.

second course: “flying pie” and mango & macadamia coleslaw

poor jess made this beautiful pie the day before and subsequently dropped it down an entire flight of stairs in her house (hence, “flying pie”). she managed to resurrect it – a beautiful homemade pastry topped with sliced potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and goats cheese.

the coleslaw wasn’t that mayonnaise-coated nonsense we’re used to. this was spicy, tangy, and full of flavor. a couple of different shredded cabbages, plus huge chunks of mango, candied walnuts, and red chili dressing all made this a recipe to hold onto!

third course: roasted peaches with vanilla bean and smashed raspberries

so simple and healthy! the peaches were sliced, tossed with some scraped vanilla beans, and roasted in the oven. the raspberries were simple smashed up in a bowl with a bit of icing sugar. the result was quite a decadent dessert – better than a fruit salad, for sure!

thanks jess! we’ll have to repay the favor sometime!