June 29, 2012

EP featured on Allison's Gourmet Blog

Eat Pure was featured on Allison's Gourmet blog this week in her Fridays with Friends series...

You can read about some of my favorite vegan eats + get my mom's amazing recipe for Tempeh Chickenless Salad...here!
If you're not familiar with Allison's Gourmet, they make some stellar vegan sweets, including caramels, cookies, fudge + truffles.

Caffeine Dreams

I was recently back in Omaha for work, and had a free afternoon.

I met some of my very good friends, Denise and Drea, at Caffeine Dreams for a quick bite.
They have four different kinds of vegan kaloches from Culprit Bakery. You can choose from Buffalo Seitan and Vegan Feta, Seitan and Arrabiata Sauce, Sloppy Seitan (peppers, onion, bbq, ketchup and celery) or Vegan Cheddar and Polenta (Cucumbers and Carrots). I went with the Cheddar and Polenta with a side of extra cheese. (I'm not always sold on vegan cheese, but this was spot on). I'm already planning my next trip back to try the other flavors. I loved the polenta.
And an Apple Muffin for the road...which turned out to be another stellar choice.

June 27, 2012

Wrigley Field

Last month, I went to a Chicago Cubs game with my husband, and our good friends Susan and Todd (vegan and vegetarian, respectively). Susan and I were uber-excited to try their Sloppy Jane, a vegan version of the more traditional Sloppy Joe. It's made with tempeh, peppers and onions and topped with a molasses and brown sugar barbecue sauce. 

It was such a nice change to actually have something decent to eat at a sporting event. Normally my options are limited to fries or a pretzel with mustard. Even my omni husband loved this! (Did I mention my husband has decided to go vegan for a month?! It's a trial period...I hope it lasts!)
I'm hoping to get to a White Sox game soon...hopefully Comiskey Park can compete with Wrigley Field's vegan friendliness.


June 24, 2012

Parallel 23 - Follow Up

Parallel 23 is one of my favorite restaurants in Turks, mostly due to it's gorgeous location. Also, it's very convenient, as it's the main restaurant at The Regent Palms (the hotel we love and visit annually).
It's especially lovely at sunset when the breeze comes through.
For my favorite of their menu offerings, see my previous post here

This year, they also offered a cold Watermelon soup with mint (hold the feta). I love cold fruit soups on a hot day. And it's always a hot day in Provo.
I've featured The Palms many times before, but in case you haven't seen my previous posts, here are some pictures of the beach.
It is by far the most spectacular beach I've ever seen. White sand (not hot on your feet) with turquoise water, and very calm. If you walk just a short ways down the beach, you'll have it all to yourself.

June 21, 2012

Magnolia

I'm finally back...with a working laptop! I have a few more Turks + Caicos features before I move onto my most recent travels...

Magnolia is always one of my favorite eateries on Provo. In fact, it's where my husband and I had our rehearsal dinner before our wedding. Normally I go for their Organic Grilled Tofu with ginger, garlic and vegetables. But this year, they added another vegetarian entree that I had to try, Dominican Vegetable Paella. It was wonderful...great flavors with lots of spice and depth.
If you're up for dessert, their Vanilla Roasted Strawberries are heavenly (without the ice cream of course).
Make sure to go to dinner early, so you can see the sunset. The view from Magnolia is stunning, overlooking Turtle Cove.

June 11, 2012

On vaca...

I'm currently sailing to the Bahamas and will have lots to share next week! Sorry for the absence last week...I spilled iced tea on my laptop (yikes!) and had to send it out for repair. It's up and running again, just in time for vaca :)

May 31, 2012

Amanyara 2012

I'm really excited about my next few posts. I've highlighted Turks + Caicos (Provo in particular) over the past two years, and this year is no exception. 

My husband and I were married there four years ago, and we visit every year for our anniversary.

One of our favorite spots for dinner is Amanyara. This is definitely a splurge. It's a secluded spot and very much off the beaten path. It's an unbelievably gorgeous hotel, with an incredible restaurant that's open to the public.

When you arrive, the view is stunning.
The entire property glows at night.
For dinner, they always offer multiple vegetarian options, some of which can be veganized.

Their avocado roll with sesame is, of course, vegan as is. And quite tasty. 
The Thai Green Curry (also vegan as is), made with coconut milk, was my entree of choice. It's filled with green beans, hearts of palm, potatoes, carrots and peppers and served with jasmine rice. Such great flavors paired with crisp fresh vegetables. If you don't like spicy, don't eat the red peppers on top!

The dishes are not marked gluten-free, but there are no obvious signs of wheat or gluten. Be sure to check with the chef, but I think you could definitely find some stellar gluten-free options here!
For dessert, they offer some stellar house made sorbets, with flavors changing all the time. At this point in the evening, it was too dark for photos. However, you can see last year's sorbet here. This year, we tried Red Raspberry + Lemongrass Lime. Amazing.

May 28, 2012

Probar fruition

Probar recenly sent me some samples of their newest bars, fruition. They're all vegan, gluten-free and filled with oats, dates, cashews, omega 3s and chia seeds.
At first, I wasn't sure how I would like these bars. I was afraid they'd be overly sweet or lacking in complexity. However, I absolutely loved them. They've become my favorite pre or post workout snack.
I tried all of their flavors - Lemon, Peach, Chocolate Orange, Strawberry, Cherry, Cran-Raspberry and Blueberry. My favorites are Peach and Chocolate Orange (with Strawberry at a close second), but all of them are seriously tasty.
If you'd like to give them a go, visit their site, use the code 'BLOGGER' during checkout and you'll get 40% off your first order. Woo hoo!
You can also like Probar on facebook for their latest news and updates.

May 25, 2012

Meli Cafe + Juice Bar

On my birthday last week, my husband and I went for breakfast at Meli Cafe + Juice Bar in Chicago's West Loop. They have several vegan options on the menu plus lots of fresh squeezed juices and smoothies.

I hardly ever get to eat french toast, so naturally I went for the Vegan French Toast with fresh berries, bananas and agave syrup. I'm trying to limit the amount of wheat/gluten I eat so the gluten free bread was perfect.

Please keep in mind, if you don't need or want to avoid gluten, go for wheat bread. Gluten free bread doesn't always exactly satisfy the wheat lover's palate. However, when you're going for an uber-healthy anti-inflammatory diet, it's always so nice to see both vegan and gluten-free options on the menu.
They also offer vegan pancakes, a salsa benedict with grilled tofu, a grilled tofu and vegetable wrap, 3 grain sliders and polenta with fresh fruit. I love seeing this many vegan options on a traditional breakfast menu!

May 21, 2012

Boiler Room

My birthday was last week, so to celebrate I went to Boiler Room with some very good friends (3 vegans, 1 vegetarian and 1 hopeful pescetarian in case you're wondering).
Boiler Room is filled with all recycled/repurposed/reimagined decor.
And this was my first visit, but as far as I know they only show extremely high quality entertainment. While we were there, this included The Naked Gun and Police Academy 3.
Now for the pizza. We ordered two vegan pies. First, green peppers, garlic, Upton's Naturals seitan pepperoni and Daiya mozzarella. It was incredibly tasty...I love garlic on a pizza.
Second, pineapple, Upton's Naturals seitan bacon and Daiya mozzarella. The pineapple was so sweet, almost caramelized. Amazing.
I would have to say this pizza definitely makes my top 5 in Chicago. I'll be posting my other favorites very very soon...stay tuned!