Whole Foods Caprese Pizza

You ever had those days where , you are so hungry but you can’t decide what you want to eat. Well that happens to me just about everyday , Ive always been a picky eater but since transitioning I’ve gotten a little bit more pickier.  One place I love to go when I can’t make up my mind on what to eat is Whole Foods. I love their hot bar, salad bar , pizza station , bakery and just about anything in the store that you can eat on the go. One of the best hidden gem in Whole Foods though is their pizza station. I love them for the fact that their pizza is made with whole wheat flour instead of white , and they flavor the pizza with herbs along with a garlic  crust that makes  the cheese pizza such a great treat.  On this particular day I had to pass up on the cheese pizza and try this beauty of a pizza that caught my eye. Not every Whole Foods is the same in how they make their pizza but this particular Whole Foods I frequent warms up your pizza in the pizza oven , so this took this Caprese pizza to a whole another level.  Who can pass up on a pizza that is a essentially a caprese  salad on a pizza slice. Its pricey at $3.50 a slice but it was so worth it! If you’re ever in a Whole Foods , and they have this on display I urge you to try it. You wont regret it.

 

Burger 21

Over the past few months a few restaurants have open around the area that I work in. The usual lunch type restaurants like Panera bread and Chipotle are around but there’s a new  restaurant that opened recently that caught my eye called Burger 21 .  The ambiance is  stylish and trendy and very hip, very similar to these new upscale burger joints that’s been popping up lately  like Burger-Fi and Evolution Burger. Thought they don’t offer grass fed beef burgers , they offer 100% certified Angus beef, Chicken , Turkey, Seafood, hotdogs and Veggie burgers. Which to me makes them pretty awesome since there’s something for everybody even for gluten free dieters. I’ve  visited Burger 21 three times now  and have come to enjoy some of the burgers they offer, making this one of the many places I can go to during lunch when I want to splurge. My favorite burger thus far is the black bean burger, I’ve fallen in love with the black bean burger in general because unlike most commercial veggie burgers its doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t.  It doesn’t try to taste like chicken and it doesn’t try to taste like beef , its simply itself a black bean . I’m not really a fan of veggie burgers but I’ve tried the veggie burger which is a Greek style inspired burger topped with cucumbers, feta and red peppers and also I also had the spicy thai shrimp seafood burger that comes with a Sriracha aïoli and hot chili slaw. I never had a shrimp burger let alone a seafood burger so i didn’t know what to expect, even with all the toppings added to the burger, you really got a overpowering shrimp burger. It was too much for my liking but for some one who love shrimp this would be perfect.  The black bean burger on the other hand is so yummy it comes with fresh avocado, sun-dried tomato aïoli, and a cilantro cream that is finger licking good! Everything on their menu is  a-la carte and they offer shakes, sundaes and other dessert  as well as a ketchup bar with different types of sauces for your fries or burger. If you’re ever in an area that has a Burger 21 I  definitely suggest trying them out, you wont regret it! What’s your favorite burger

 

Lunch at Panera Bread

With all that been going on lately with school ,work and life, i decided i needed  a little break to do nothing for a whole day.  That lasted for about 2 hours till my mom suggested we run some errands. Let me be the first to tell you that there’s nothing like running errands , that aren’t really your errands on your day off . Being the team player I am though, I got dressed and went . While running around the city with my mom, my sister called and said “lets do lunch at Panera”. I gladly accepted and brought my mom for the fun as well. So we met up with my sister at Panera Bread and  we had the best daughter  and mother lunch you could ever have. I ended up trying their new summer shrimp roll and their summer corn chowder and my sister had her usual.I generally don’t like eating cold shrimp sandwiches and chowder but this was the exception, It was everything that you would expect from Panera Bread  and more.I like switching things up every once in a while and this didn’t disappoint, but I’m still sticking with my tried and true tomato mozzarella panini and broccoli cheddar soup . But who am I kidding, you can never go wrong with Panera Bread.

Sunday Brunch

I have come to realize that being a grad student is the equivalent to having no social life.  From juggling work and school, my spare time is used to catch up on sleep.So this past weekend i was determine to have a little fun and go to brunch with my sisters. I love breakfast food but being vegetarian and disliking anything eggs, brunch can sometimes be tricky. I’ve been to numerous brunches where a majority of the menu were omelets, or eggs in five different ways. So  headed to brunch i knew my selection was going to be limited. It was, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a great brunch with my sissy’s.  We went to this nice little restaurant called South Street located in the art district in Miami, which I’m sad to say closed down a few days ago. At most restaurants you would find shrimp and grits as one of  the brunch items, but they are usually cooked in bacon or chorizo. So to my surprise when i saw on the menu Fish and Grits, with no bacon used  i had to order it. The grits was buttery and creamy the catfish was fried to a crisp and the restaurant  signature sweet potato bread( similar to cornbread but made with sweet potatoes)  was out of this world. When i  tell you this was the best brunch i had in a while, that would be an understatement. So when i heard of the news that this restaurant closed, i was flabbergasted. But i was glad i was able to check this place out before it did. All in all brunch was quite eventful , and really helpful in de-stressing from a crazy semester. I would love to hear what’s your favorite meal to eat at Brunch, Drop me a line below!

Dinner is served

So If you guys didn’t know already, i have the best sister in the world. Yes its a bias statement but it’s true none the less. The other night we planned on cooking this grand meal to end our 40 day fast. When I got home that night running late from work , everything was cooking away and dinner was almost ready. We had blackened salmon, garlic herb potatoes and green beans,three word to describe this meal was: Yum,Yum, Yum! In the past i tried but failed  at making  salmon but this was our first try at blackened salmon which came out great. We finally figured out the secret ingredient to make the best blackened salmon ever. Its all starts from the prep way before the seasoning comes in. Acidity is your best friend when it comes to fish let alone any meats or poultry. But its a vital part when it comes to fish. Why you ask?  Well because  without it you fish ends up having a fishy smell and taste. I like fish and all but the fishy scent that it gives when cooking i could live without. So we poured a little vinegar, wine  and lemon juice and let it marinate a little, you can also do rum or vodka if you like too.  We didn’t get to soak it over night but it did just fine in that short period of time. After that we added some blackened seasoning on both sides and baked.   Based on this picture and how happy my stomach felt after, why wouldn’t my sister be the best sister in the world lol. 🙂

Sunday Afternoon (The Daniel Fast )

So it’s day 15 of my Daniel Fast and despite some of the hunger pains i get through out the day I feel pretty good.  Before i started the fast, I’ve been reading the Bible from the beginning (Genesis).  I just happen to be mid-way thru  the book of Numbers when i started the Fast. It really cool to just read about how God had specific plans for the Israelites but it was cause of their attitudes the journey took longer than it really was suppose to. It makes you think about how much things in our lives could have been easier but our attitudes made getting to that point more difficult. It has definitely been an eye opener.

This pass weekend after Church, my sister and i decided to go to lunch .We wanted to stay within the guidelines of the fast so we practically drove around in circles thinking of places we can eat. After 30 minutes of driving  we  decided to eat at Whole foods to make our live easier. We hit the salad bar and tried anything that was vegan and non dairy, we also read the ingredients on each to see if they were natural as possible.

The conclusion was a bowl fill of Tabbouleh, Asian Noodles, Pico De Gallo, Steamed vegetables, Beets with Ginger and a Roasted Tomato Soup. I know the Daniel Fast guidelines suggest water as the only Beverage,but i have a gag reflex when i consume  too much water. Sounds weird i know but that how my body operates. So when eating meals like this i chooses unsweetened Green Tea. It’s not exactly the best tasting drink in the world but it help me to better digest food a whole lot better at the same time getting lots of antioxidants.

Never in a million years would i thought i would be eating this way let alone fasting for 40 days, but this experience has definitely showed me that if i put my mind to it i can do it with God’s help.

Have you ever tried the Daniel Fast? If so let me know about your experience.

Salads Galore

Oh how i miss you guys!!! These past few weeks have been hectic but I’m so glad that its coming to an end. Piled with projects after project i’ finally have some down time to update you guys.

Lately I’ve been trying to eat more vegan type foods. I really want to get use to eating raw foods in its naturalness where the ingredients in the product is just a few things i am able to pronounce. So one day for lunch, i stopped by whole foods and decided to try out the salad bar,and picked out anything that looked good and satiating. So i made a big bowl of Lentil Tabbouleh, Cranberry Couscous salad and a Savory Quinoa salad. They all were a bit different but surprisingly not bad. I’ve noticed most of these salads are about flavors and the common ingredients is ONIONS, if you don’t like onions its pretty much unbearable but if you do then this is a great choice. I got to say though it was nice trying something new and experimenting, i wouldn’t switch out to eat these salads everyday but every now and than with some salmon would be great.

Have your tried Tabbouleh or any Grain Salads before? What are your thoughts?

Afternoon delight

After church Sunday afternoon my sisters and i decided to grab lunch and a matinee. Its not everyday we decide on going to the movie theaters but when Denzel Washington is starring, you just cant pass it up. Unless its that train movie that he did, because that my friends was an utter disappointment… but i digress. We hopped in the car and head over to  the mall, knowing we wanted some time to grab some lunch we ordered our tickets first and than headed to Grand Lux.We’ve been to Grand Lux plenty of times as you can see if you follow the blog, but that day I decided to try something new instead of my usual and ordered up the Veggie Burger. This wasn’t your usual frozen Morning star Burger, this was a made from scratch veggie burger. This particular burger had rice,beans and beets and for an extra two bucks avocado.I read the description and thought if anything its going to be a rice and bean flavored sandwich but to be on the safe side i decided to add the avocado and pepper jack cheese.  When our food came out , you couldn’t even tell the difference which burger was which. This sandwich was massive and tasted great, it had a  rice/ bean flavor  which was a bit dry but the avocado really helped with that. I actually preferred this burger compared to others veggie burgers I’ve had, for the mere fact that it tasted like rice and beans and not some flavored “beef” Burger. As weird as it may sound, i find soy products that are meant to taste like meat, have more of a meatier taste or gamey taste than real meat itself. So a veggie burger that taste like veggies/grains  is always a plus in my book. To make a long story short , we enjoyed lunch but  missed the movie due to overcrowding. But with a lunch like that, it really didn’t matter to us. 🙂

 

 

 

Its a Celebration!

October is my fave month of the year not just cause its my birthday month but its also my sister and brothers’ as well. So at our house October is a month of birthday cake and celebrations! First up was my sister’s birthday,we had an all day girls  day of shopping and getting pampered and later went to dinner with the family. That night we went to Grand Lux for dinner, We practically had the whole restaurant to ourselves which for Grand Lux i never seen happened  but it made it that much special. I ordered fish tacos with a goat cheese salad.  While my family ordered Pizza, Buffalo wings, Turkey burgers, and a Chicken& Shrimp platter. Trust me eating dinner with them for a transitioning  vegetarian (pescatarian)  isn’t the easiest but they are supportive of my change and that is all that matters.  At the end of dinner the waiter surprised my sis with a birthday pastry surprise that was just the cutest thing ever.  We than celebrated at home with cake and wine and finished the celebration with watching the Presidential Debate. That’s what i call a great start to a month long of celebrations!

Fish Tacos

Birthday Surprise

The restaurant all to ourselves!

Dinner and a movie

This past weekend, my sis and i decided to go to the movies to check out Taken 2. Knowing it was opening weekend we went to the theaters  an hour and a half before the actual movie showing to buy our tickets. So instead of waiting for the movie, we decided to go grab some dinner and found this neat little place called Elevation Burger around the corner.What makes  Elevation Burger different is that they use Certified Organic Beef  for their burgers and Olive oil for their fries. There’s not much varieties when it comes to the menu but they do offer a veggie and vegan burger. The price point is just about the same as if you went to Five Guys but i would say that this a better alternative. We enjoyed our dinner and went on our merry way back to the theaters to see Liam Neeson Kick some butt once again. In my opinion, Taken 2 was a great sequel to the original but… I’m sticking to the original lol.

The Elevation Burger and Veggie Burger #1