A Tea lover’s dream (Afternoon Tea at the Biltmore)

There are two types of people in this world. Tea lovers and people who haven’t discover how awesome tea really is. I my friend  fall in the former. I’ve always liked tea over coffee but when I started transitioning  to becoming a pescatarian ,that preference for tea grew. I started researching the different types of tea and their benefits and how adding it to your daily intake can do great wonders.  Slowly but surely I was drinking at least 3 cups of tea a day varying from Green ,Black Oolong and Rooibos.

By the time my birthday came around this year, I was pretty much enamored with tea that I wanted to incorporate  it into my birthday festivities somehow.So I did Afternoon Tea at the Historic  Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The experience was so much fun that from that moment on ,I sought out to find the perfect tea set to have Afternoon Tea at home. Up until last week,I found a cute starter tea set that served 4 and was perfect for Matcha tea. I finally received it in the mail today and had my very first Afternoon Tea party at home with my family. It was so much fun that I’m thinking this might be a weekly or monthly thing for us in 2015.

I don’t personally have a preference of any brand of tea, but I am particular about the ingredients in my tea. Being that I drink my teas without sugar or cream I like the  teas to only contain organic tea leaves.  The closer to nature the better in my book! But sometimes that is not always the case especially when dealing with gourmet tea companies. Below I’ve added a list of the teas that I like and have tried in the past few months. Most of them are one ingredient teas and the others aren’t but they taste so good we’ll give them a pass. Happy Sipping!

• Prince of Peace Organic Oolong Tea
• Prince of Peace Organic Green Tea
• Prince of Peace Organic White Tea
• Prince of Peace Organic Black Tea
• Rishi Sencha Green Tea
• Republic of Tea Moringa Tea
• Republic of Tea Dandellion Tea
• Uncle Lee’s Organic Green Tea
• Choice Rooibos Tea
• Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Rooibos Tea
• Yogi GreenTea Kombucha Tea
• Guayaki Yerba Mate Organic Tea
• Teavana Green Moroccan Mint Tea

 

My FontaineBleau Experience

Its always great to break away for a little while every now and then, and this past weekend I did just that. My sister and I went on a 3-day staycation to the historic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. I was super excited about the whole experience in general but on top of that we had a private tour of what goes on behind the scenes of their pastry shop and a complimentary cake courtesy of their new bakery shop Chez BonBon. It was pretty much a big deal, to say the least.

We sought out to try a new restaurant for each meal for the duration of our stay and we did just that. Breakfast was not as  accommodating like lunch and dinner was but I was able to work around my picky eating ways. The food was pricey ,but the Kimchi Salmon Burger at Micheal Mina 74 is definitely a must have.

When it came time to go on the tour we were pretty excited ,We met the head Chef Jordi Panisello, the Chocolatier and the bakers. We got to try a few of their handmade chocolates as well as their gelatos. We saw the work stations, the ovens and how they made and prepped all the pastries for the different restaurants and bakery in the hotel. It was truly a pastry lover dream, such as myself.

All in all, we had an great time at the FontaineBleau and the hospitality was out of this world. Its amazing how much fun you can have right in your backyard.  If you’re ever in the area or looking to take a break checkout the FontaineBleau Hotel and their restaurants (their open to the public), you surely wont be disappointed.

P.S. : I’m officially on Instagram, Follow me @Forksandstraws

 

Clean Eating Vegan Challenge

I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of  person that can eat the same thing for a couple days and never get tired of it.  So when I decided that I was going to do a clean eating challenge where all my meals or at least two meals would be clean I knew I wouldn’t get tired of the redundancy. So with a little bit of research and preparation I made a simple meal plan of  easy clean vegan type meals that i can  prepare or find if I decide to eat out.  With Starbucks  and Whole Foods it was  pretty much a cakewalk. Of course you don’t have to frequent those places to find vegan items , but it sure make life easier. Below I added a few examples of the type of meals I eat when on the challenge.

Breakfast

Hot Tea or Coffee  (unsweetened) with:

Green Smoothie(16 ounce)

or

Super-Antioxidant Oatmeal/ Plain oatmeal with seeds and nuts

 

Morning Snack

Green Smoothie (8-16ounce)

or

Fresh Fruit or Trail-mix

 

Lunch

Hot Tea or Kombucha with:

Lentil Tabbouleh with Kale and  Hummus

or

Nut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with a banana

or

Super-Antioxidant Oatmeal/ Plain oatmeal with seeds and nuts

 

Dinner

Hot Tea or Kombucha with:

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Kale, and California Blend Vegetable (Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrot)

or

Sauteed spinach and Kale with onions and peppers  with sweet potatoes fries

 

The meals can be interchangeable or tweaked to your liking.The products can be fresh or frozen but avoid canned foods, preservatives and additives as much as possible. Check the ingredients if buying frozen and dried fruits and veggies, and stick to products that have simple ingredients. Check out the recipe  for my Super-Antioxidant  Oatmeal below:

 

Super-Antioxidant  Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup water or almond milk
• handful of organic raisins,organic goji berries and organic prunes for sweetness
• handful of organic pumpkin seeds and organic hemp seeds for nuttiness

Mix the oatmeal and almond milk and cook for 3-5 minutes, then top with the seeds and nuts of your liking. If  you want more of a sweetness add honey or maple syrup.

FYI: This can be made as overnight oats as well, just add the toppings in the morning.

Happy Cooking!