An Event-Full Raw February 2014

Whew, what a month! February was about exciting events, birthday, emotional ups and downs, and a raw anniversary!

More than anything else, this post is about some amazing foods I was fortunate to try. As a aside-note, however, yes, I am an Aquarius, born in February, so it was my birthday and my 3rd anniversary of having lived the raw lifestyle!!! Yay! : )

I went down to L.A., Thousand Oaks and Costa Mesa in Orange County, to be specific, to attend and educate at two of my favorite events of the year: the Raw Living Expo, and the Longevity Conference. Yay, it was such an amazing two weekends back-to-back. Can't wait for next year's…

While I worked a lot at both, I did have some time to explore, listen to some wisdom being shared by speakers and enjoy a couple of special dinners.

At the Expo, I was invited to the VIP Gala Dinner prepared by the hotel staff trained by a chef from the Bay Area....and I managed to take some photos of the several courses we were all served...

On the menu was:

Sesame Flatbread, Garlic Herb Boursin, Hickory Honey Fig coulis:

Black Sesame and Hemp Crusted Teriyaki Mushroom Fillet with Cauliflower Mash:

Cacao Crusted Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Maca Rose Cream Caramel and Mulberries:

I must admit, even though I've never been into raw cheeses, of all the items, the Garlic Herb Boursin was my favorite!

And this was just the beginning…I also had a wonderful evening with a few friends at Au Lac. I had heard so much about this restaurant for years and I couldn't wait to try their food! The amazing dishes are created by Chef Ito, who came by our table to greet us in person!…What a sweet guy! We shared many dishes and, I must say, it was an memorable experience! Everything was incredible!….A welcoming atmosphere, wonderful people, nice servers, and very yummy food : )

I'm tempted to start with the dessert but I'll just show you what we had in order…

Song Salad….absolutely divine. I wouldn't eat at Au Lac without ordering it. How often do you get a chance to have a salad made of watercress? It is so delicious:

Kelp Noodle Chow Mein…as if it was cooked Chinese food….without the frying though! ; ) Incredibly soft "pasta". No crunchy kelp noodles that you might have had at other restaurants:

Curried rice….served over avocado. My goodness, it is so delicious. I highly recommend it:

BBQ Pizza….with macadamia nut cheese:

Cali Roll….of course, it is clean and delicious. It's so easy to make though that I would never order this in a restaurant. Here's how to make your own rolls, which I call "California Rawlls" (Rolls). 

And now, the desserts! If you feel full and there is just no way you could have any dessert after dinner, it might be a good idea to order some to go. They're just too special to pass on. 

Donut Holes….a MUST try! Warm, with the center melted…they're so incredible:

Chocolate to feed your soul (too). I don't think they were any special, but I make my own chocolate so, you know, what can be better than home-made?? They're still yummy, and the smeared-on decoration, colored with spirulina, etc (I'm guessing) is such a "PET" (pretty, edible thing) on the side.

…and, since there was a birthday-girl among us, we had to celebrate with a plate of cake! Again, order some if you can. They are all well worth it:

So, you get the idea…. It is a place to go visit!!! The good news is: I've heard that Chef Ito is opening up a second restaurant in Hollywood in about three months!  Yay, two of them to go to. Never too much of such yummilicious food created by such a kind man! : )

Alright, enough for now, I just thought I'd check in ; ) while I'm working on a surprise for all of you out there….

Have a rawsome day/night/time….till next time.
Lots of love,
D.

Raw Travelings: Kansas City's Cafe Gratitude in the Spotlight

"It's 8˚F (-13˚C) outside right now" said the woman on the other end of the phone… Ouch. I was pretty much ready to cancel my flight! ;)

It was my first time, since living the raw lifestyle, to go on an adventure to some place so cold that I didn't even remember what that felt like. No matter how often I used to freeze my butt off waiting for the bus as a child on my way to school, I somehow forgot how that feels. Living in California for the past 3+ years has definitely left its mark on my "comfort zone", ha!

Ok, so I was that brave. I got on a plane, not knowing what to expect at all once we land there. NO. Not exactly. Guess what! The universe is always there for you, right? So, while you might think (and righteously) a raw girl could never survive those conditions, I did my best to prepare for the 4, weather-wise-challenging days I was about to go through...

The first thing I do (and have been doing for many years) when I travel is get online and take a virtual tour of the vicinity of my destination. When you care about what you put into your body you want to know ahead of time where to get the good stuff. Being aware of what is accessible and how much of an effort it will take to get it can save so much stress. You know what to pack, you know how to plan your route from the airport to the place you are staying at and you know where you will be able to go for daily replenishment of your tiny ice box in that hotel room, or where to get fresh produce to prepare in the kitchenette (if you can book one) that will be your temporary home for your stay.

But how on Earth is it possible that my favorite restaurant (in my neighborhood) is also in Kansas City (and nowhere else!)? I mean, what are the chances of that???? Tons, you may say…knowing how the Universe operates... Yes, there is a Cafe Gratitude in KC and you better believe that I was a daily guest! In fact, I was there twice a day! With Whole Foods being far away, what else would I have done?

And it doesn't stop there! I had a friend with me who had never eaten dishes that are made of, well, plants, and yet, he was not only willing to try it once but came with me to the restaurant every single time! The first day I thought he would just drop me off (we shared a car) but no, he came in with me  and ate and kept doing that every day.

As far as my expectations….let's just say they were quite high, but this sister restaurant delivered!
Great ambiance, knowledgable staff, fresh and delicious dishes that came so fast….yep, I was impressed right away, on the first visit…And so I tried a lot of things over the rest of our stay and so did my friend.

…here is the line-up:

I had to start with the "I Am Dazzling" caesar salad, the one I've had many times in California and always love

…….Ouch, ok, I'm trying to get passed the poor quality of these iPhone shots and move on…….

Dazzling was ever so rich and creamy. It's romaine lettuce and chunks of avocado plus capers, tossed in a generous amount of dressing, and topped with ground up brazil nuts (in place of pasteurized cheese)….so yummy.

I'm notorious for sticking with dishes I like and ordering the same old stuff whenever I'm in Berkeley, but this time I had to browse the menu and "try to" find something other than my usual favorite since they had different creations at this restaurant. And let me just say, I'm so glad I did, because everything was very tasty! So, next, I tried a new-to-me dish that was incredibly delicious. "I Am Happy is an apple-curry wrap filled with seed pate and veggies and it comes with a side of mixed greens salad

but I substituted "Kim Chee" (truly that pink, btw), which was spicy, just the way I like it. I could have eaten a large bowl of it!

The first thing my friend tried was the "I Am Super Plentiful", a bowl of chili (off the cooked section of the menu) and he said it was delicious and filling.

But we didn't stop there, or at least, I didn't. You will understand why, once you see the dessert plate they brought out…

Starting from the top left corner, the selection on our first day there was tiramisu, key lime pie, "Bliss", which is a chocolate-hazelnut cream pie, coconut cream pie, macaroons, truffles, and a chocolate-dipped superfood bar. If you don't know yet, they're famous for their dessert but even if they were not, how could you pass? I went with the tiramisu and took it "home" with me to devour it in the hotel room…ahhh so delicious…

And it continues, since we were regular guests there during our 4-day visit… My friend tried the "I Am Extraordinary" sandwich, a CLT with spicy cashew aioli, toasted chipotle-maple coconut, romaine, tomato and guacamole

And I chose the buckwheat flatbread, " I Am Creative". It was basically a large cracker topped with hemp seed pesto, tomatoes, basil, nut parmesan and cashew ricotta cheese…fabulous, I will definitely go for it during my next visit!

Pesto up close…it's obvious I liked this one… :)

Mint chocolate chip shake was the dessert of the night. "I Am Cool" was so delicious, I had to order it again our last morning for our ride to the airport…of course, I ended up having to "inhale" it too fast before going through the TSA "stuff"

And, since my friend decided to get his first piece of raw vegan dessert, I got to try Cafe Gratitude's key lime pie for the first time ever….yummy!

My friend tried the bruschetta, "I Am Present", one day and loved the crunchiness of the toasted baguette and especially appreciated the cashew mozzarella, all drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette

and I tried a new-to-me salad, "I Am Gorgeous", which was incredible! I highly recommend this delicious pile of mixed greens, carrots, dukes, apples, herbs and mission figs, tossed in a sesame-ginger dressing. I really was wishing it was a never-ending buffet instead of "just" one plate! So good...

The last slice of pie I tried was a chocolate-mint cream pie. It was so rich and creamy, dense, like "Bliss" that I'm so used to. It was our last night and how could I have turned down this green and brown marbled wedge sprinkled with cacao nibs?…

I didn't. I took a piece with me to eat in the car while we were on our way to a steak house where I watched a couple of friends have a different kind of dinner ;)

So, yes, it was a lot of eating over a short period of time…too much of the gourmet for me all at once but I couldn't be happier about having this restaurant there! It saved me!

Thanks, Cafe Gratitude, for being there! I'm so grateful!… See you soon! :)

What are YOU grateful for?

The Rawking Bay Area ~ Two Events In A Week!

...Yep, there's no shortage of them and lately, I'm trying to make it to as many as I possibly can.
I started with a party titled "Chocolate Love Affair" that took place in Berkeley. This was an all raw event that's put on annually around Valentine's Day and it consists of recipe demos by chocolatiers, samples of all kinds of products made of cacao, treats and samples by local vendors, etc. and is attended by many chocolate lovers, local raw chefs and other well known, public figures in the raw food community.

Upon entering, you were greeted by chocolate samples at the door, then you found yourself in a room full of different kinds of chocolates by a variety of companies. You could taste all you wanted and they were also available at a special price to take home with you. There was even a chocolate fountain set up with strawberries underneath. How often do you see something like that, let alone get to dip into it?

The middle room had an elexir bar with superfood chocolate samples and incredibly nourishing smoothies made to order. Needless to say, the space was filled with people asking questions, tasting, buying products. I wonder how many (if any) of them were following a fully raw diet / lifestyle? These kinds of events are invaluable when it comes to introducing the health conscious crowds to something they might not be familiar with. And all the information, even most of the food, is available at no cost, so anyone can learn and taste. You even get to meet people you might have only seen on your computer screen before or maybe read their books, but it's rare that you see them in person.
David Wolfe, Blessings, and others were there and some of them I only met for the first time too. What a night! I feel so lucky to have been part of it. : ) Can't wait till next year's party!

It's an event you'll walk away from with loads of information, unparalleled experiences and conversations with very interesting people, and a chocolate high (no kidding!). Were you there? If not, you better make it next time!

Few days later the San Francisco Vegetarian Society put on a Valentine's Day party. Again, it was my first time meeting people in that group but this time I even got to prepare some of the food because most of the food served was raw vegan...yay!
We made numerous dishes such as "pasta" marinara, patė, pesto, guacamole, fruit salads, strawberry cake, and many more... Look at all the gorgeous food:

Some of the items on the menu are shown above, from the top left corner to the bottom right:

Greek Salad

Sunflower Seed Patė 

Lettuce & tomatos for Tacos

Hummus-Filled Bell Pepper Boats

Pomegranate Seeds

Guacamole

Walnut "Parmesan Cheese"

Apple-Pecan Cobbler

Strawberry "Love" Cake

Zucchini Pasta

Papaya Salad

my plate with some of the many yummy dishes

"just" Oranges 

Again, if you have a chance to go to one of these parties you'll meet a lot of health-conscious people and many of them are interested, or at least heard about, raw foods too. I'm so glad I've made it and I'm thrilled that I had the opportunity to prepare some of the food to feed the exciting crowd!
The society has been around for decades and it looks like it will be around for many more. They put on parties and different kinds of events so come join us if you can..I sure will, as often as I can make it :)

Love.

Gracias Madre & Snacks Made in a Hotel Room

The creators of Cafe Gratitude brought another piece of Heaven to Earth. Gracias Madre, the organic, vegan restaurant in the Mission district is rated as San Francisco’s favorite vegan spot. The menu is not raw but I’m writing about it because I love these people’s philosophy and I know many of you don’t eat 100% raw anyway. The place is gorgeous, the menu lists very delicious and healthy dishes, and the ingredients are grown on their own farm. Even the corn tortillas are handmade using their own heirloom corn. No GMO, no chemicals, just pure stone ground corn flour made into the most delicious tortillas you’ll ever taste…..I even had some!
So what’s on the menu for a raw foodie? Well, as far as drinks, they have freshly squeezed wholesome, organic, fruit and vegetable juices. The hard part is finding something to eat but what they do have is delicious. Remember the Ceaser’s Salad at Café Gratitude? They make a version of it here too and I didn’t mind at all that that was my only choice as a raw guest.

It’s the tastiest combo of romaine lettuce, nut-based dressing, avocados, and toasted pepitas (small pumpkin seeds). I ordered a side of guacamole and finished the whole dish of condiment that was in the center of the table. The raw green salsa is very mild and the red salsa, which tasted like it was made of roasted tomatoes and peppers, was spicy. All in all, the beautiful atmosphere, the kind staff and the yummy food is worth going. If you’re a vegan, you’ll be in heaven because everything we ordered looked and tasted wonderful. They serve seasonal vegetables such as kale for greens, roasted butternut squash along with toasted hazelnuts for garnish, and raw nut cheese replaces what you might be used to in other Mexican places. Organic, healthy, flavorful food in a beautiful and fun place with live Mexican music. What else could you ask for?..

...Well, a home would be nice, if you ask me, but we’re still stuck in a hotel room so besides going out to eat I’ve been making very simple snacks of which I’m sharing a couple with you today.
This is how my endless love for poppy seeds manifests itself every now and then: it’s one way to eat ounces of them in one sitting : ) All you need is a knife and a bowl. Cut up some fruit, add tons of (ground) poppy seeds, and if you want, your favorite sweetener, and some cinnamon. Voilà. One minute breakfast (or dessert) made in a hotel room.

Today I just made a good after workout shake. Do I really know (or care) whether it fits the 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein? No, absolutely not. I just made it because I thought it would be delicious and a vanilla shake sounded good, well, ok, and I knew I had some bananas waiting to be consumed. Minor detail though, you have to have a freezer for this version, which not all hotel rooms have.


A Kind of Vanilla Protein Shake
 (Makes a small glass)
2 bananas (mine were sliced and frozen)
1 heaping teaspoon hemp protein
1 tsp honey/your favorite sweetener
1 tsp coconut oil
½ tsp ground vanilla bean (or vanilla extract, if you prefer that)
water/juice/nut mylk as necessary (~ ½-1 cup)

Blend all ingredients. Enjoy.










We were going to stay in a hotel for just a few days, not a month. Most of my tools I have packed up in storage but I’m sure glad I decided to bring the blender! Whew….it’s saved me over and over. Travel with your blender!
I hope I’ll be able to post the next recipe from my new home. Until then…

Dinner at Café Gratitude

One of the advantages of living in a hotel is having an excuse to eat out, right? No, not in my case. I still manage to make my own food every day I'm just not able to create anything exciting enough to post. But this is a different story. We went out for our anniversary and we went to a special place I'd been wanting to visit for quite a while. There's a Café Gratitude in Los Angeles too but I never had a chance to go. So my first time was at the one in Berkeley last night. Dinner was amazing from start to finish. Yes, the service was great too but what I mean is what we ate. This restaurant offers some cooked dishes too but even those have plenty of raw ingredients as topping for example. Needless to say, we ate all raw and we tried quite a few delights.

We had the “I AM SUCCULENT” juice for a refreshing start. It had grapefruit, celery, apples, and mint a perfect harmony of flavors. I wish they served it in a bucket! : )

My husband picked the salad and he’s in love with Ceaser. It wouldn’t be my first choice but the “I AM DAZZLING” vegan (luckily, it’s a vegan restaurant) raw version was wonderful. It was very small for a salad of course but that’s how salads are in restaurants...oh well, that’s why I never order salads when I eat out. Romaine lettuce was tossed with a creamy dressing and Brazil nut “parmesan” and topped with wedges of avocado and capers.

The entrées were also very small servings so if you take friends with you who are on the standard American diet, make sure you order several dishes, instead of one per person. I went with the “I AM ELATED” enchiladas. It was fantastic. Everything on the plate was so flavorful. The filling was sprouted seeds and the rolled up tortilla was topped with “sour cream” and mole. The enchilada is barely visible in the picture because most of it is hiding under a pile of salad. (oops, I goofed)

My husband chose the “I AM HEARTY” pizza, which reminded me of my transitional creations. After all, it’s been almost a year that I went raw and my diet has changed quite a bit. Again, this wouldn’t be my choice but it was very tasty. The crust was onion-sunflower seed made and the topping was marinara, pesto, olives, and “parmesan” along with a salad.

Entrées didn’t do it though, as you can imagine. I was so excited to be there for the first time, of course I had to have dessert. We both did and let me tell ya, we did not regret it.

Both, the “I AM RAPTURE SEASONAL LAYER CAKE”, which was a lemon-poppyseed (you know popyseeds and I have a special relationship so my selection was probably not a shocker) cake and the “I AM NURTURED ICE CREAM SUNDAE” were absolutely delicious. I know you’re going to be jealous but I can’t wait to go back on Tuesday. That’s right, “next time” is just around the corner and I’m counting the minutes! : ) You’ll just have to see what I’ll review that evening…

 As all of the dishes there ask:

“What are YOU grateful for?”

Out and About in San Francisco

The “new year” also means new jobs and a new home for us. We’re in the middle of moving still and right now staying in a hotel in the Bay Area, which is/will be our new home. Hotel living is not all that great though if you like to be creative in the kitchen. Since I was planning on staying in a hotel room for only a week or so, I’ve packed very few tools and very little of my specialty foods. As a result, I’ve been eating very simply, which feels wonderful but we made a trip to the city where I was in for a great surprise! Both in love with animals, we were planning on going up to Pier 39 to visit the seal ions before doing anything else.  Our walk started at Pier 1 though where we ended up spending over an hour checking out the amazing indoor market and walking around among the food vendors outside. This city is all about food and they know how to “do food” for sure! Wherever you go you’re swimming in the aromas of all ethnicity’s culinary creations. The wonderful smells that escape restaurants and food vendors, booths, and stalls are so inviting that I was getting ready to “having to” sacrifice my lifestyle and eat something cooked….until I found the raw stand! Yes, among all those amazing creations were so many vegetarian, vegan, and even raw options, including this 100% organic raw vegan place in the middle of a food vendors’ maze. Oh, was I in heaven! The food was fresh, affordable and delicious. I had the Spicy Asian Pasta dish. It was prepared exactly how I would make it and it was simple and flavorful…..I really am so impressed. So what did it consist of? On a bed of romaine lettuce was a good serving of zucchini pasta, buckwheat “meat”, cabbage, cherry tomatoes, sprouted lentils, avocados, and chili sauce.

It was incredibly satisfying and tasty. What else would you ask for in a setting as such? Well, we even had the most beautiful weather and the greatest view of the Bay Bridge. Saturday, sitting on a bench with my husband, eating pure raw food (at least I was) while looking at a magnificent structure, the vastness of water and seagulls scavenging…..a good start for a weekend to say the least.

…And just a little while later what did we find? A vendor was selling raw sauerkraut! Something I’ve been in love with ever since I can remember, I don’t know why we only got two pints of it because that afternoon I gobbled down one pint on the way home in the car. He was selling four flavors but by then he was out of two of them. All four I sampled though (there was still enough for tasting) and they’re all wonderful. What a dream! I cannot wait to go back and get more next week. I’m pretty sure I could live on sauerkraut for the rest of my life...at least it feels like that right now. As close as I feel to nature, I’ve always been a city girl and when “city” means great food, nice people, caring community, etc. it’s all the merrier. I’m excited to go and discover more of it!   

We did not leave until visiting the sea lions though. Aren’t they precious? I love seeing them piled up. It makes me want to jump in the crowd and nap with them : )

Alicia Silverstone Wants a "Kind", Vegan World!

Were you there??? Peta2 invited the actress/environmentalist to give a talk at UCLA and I wanted to see her and hear what she had to say. Last night was not just about her encouraging everyone to quit eating meat. It was about saving animals from suffering, becoming healthier, creating less pollution, wasting less of our resources, protecting the environment, reusing/recycling, etc. As you know, I promote the vegan lifestyle and all of the above, so I was really happy to meet someone who thinks the same way, someone who shares my views and is spreading the word and ready to educate people. She and I were both really happy to see so many people in the audience who were not vegetarians or vegans. She said she hoped to inspire and "convert" as many as possible.

I got a front row seat but still didn't get a good picture (her excitement clearly shows, nevertheless), what I did get was an insight into her caring lifestyle and compassionate, conscientious living. I learned that she just had a baby, whom she's raising vegan of course, and having a child made her even more aware of how important it is to care for the planet and our limited resources.

The greatest parts of the evening were:
• Alicia's down-to-earth behavior and her way of talking to us in a sincere friend-to-another-friend way
• She touched on most areas I would have touched on
• There were plenty in the audience that could be potential, new vegetarians/vegans. I'm so happy to see more and more people interested in compassionate living! I hope they didn't just show up for the free vegan Thanksgiving meal, catered by a very popular vegan restaurant in the area, but even if they did, they were exposed to new ideas and who knows, it may have changed their lives forever...
• I'm so glad she showed clips from slaughterhouses and animals being victims of barbaric treatment. I couldn't look after the first two seconds, it was enough to hear the horrendous sound but hey, I'm a vegan anyway, I don't have to be able to look, right?! Instead, I turned my head and looked to see the faces in the crowd. Most everybody had a frozen expression while being glued to the screen. I just wish I knew what went on in their heads during and after watching a cow's head being chopped off and dangling while still half-way attached, and seeing a (still alive) piglet slammed to the ground!
As horrifying as these moments were they are very necessary to bring awareness to people and I was so hoping this would be part of her presentation!
• My absolute favorite line was the quote by Paul McCartney, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everybody would be vegetarian!" This line was left on display for a while and after the clips were played, I'm sure, most of the audience agreed with it or at least acknowledged it as food for thought!

That is what I'm leaving you with too, some food for thought:

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everybody would be vegetarian!"

P.S: What are you making for Thanksgiving??? I'm just trying to come up with ideas so I want to hear all about your plans! Thanks! : )

Europe in The RAW 2011 ~ London

“The best for last?“ The last city we visited during this European vacation has certainly made it to my favorites list, just like Copenhagen and Amsterdam! London is very city-like, versatile, exciting, AND English speaking….yay! Before we left for our journey, I asked around for advice on where to get good quality raw foods in all of the places we were going to visit. The most negative warnings I got referred to London. I was told, all people eat in this city is white bread and fish and chips. This couldn’t be further from the truth! While I’m sure the above-mentioned foods are the most favored by the majority of people, if you seek out organic raw foods, you’ll find them. So that’s what we did and we booked a tiny apartment in Notting Hill near a three-story organic store (the one chain that has many stores all across the U.S. as

The View from Our Room

well but I don’t wish to advertise) that we visited three times during our two-and-a-half-day stay! And that is just the beginning…


Sightseeing
The first day we met up with some of my husband’s friends and they took us around town to show us as many of the main attractions as possible. We were so lucky to have the nicest weather. The rain did catch us but only for a few minutes and the rest of the day the sun was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds.
I learned from my horrible experience in Amsterdam and was smart enough to make a salad and also packed some snacks to take with me just in case! It was the simplest salad but it saved me from having to eat out. Ironically, we walked through the most impressive line-up of vendors’ shops, including an endless number of international food stalls, at the Mayor’s Thames Festival right along the river. It was such an amazing event and there were several places where I could have gotten some quality raw foods, one of them an all-raw, organic place. Unbelievably, there was even a coconut stand there (of which I did snap a picture) with wise words at the front to teach the masses the benefits of fresh coconuts. The city center was quite beautiful, full of memorable architecture. We started at The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster (commonly referred to as The Big Ben, see above) and then saw the London Eye, which I find a very impressive structure. Look how beautiful it is, and no matter where you are in the city you can see it “watch” you. It’s so enormous!                      

London Eye

Next, we passed by the Millenium Bridge (instead of marching across it ; ) so it didn’t sway), then saw and crossed the beautiful Tower Bridge to get to the Tower of London. Later, we took a detour to see the Buckingham Palace and its gorgeous gardens,
before heading home through Hyde Park. It was such a beautiful walk. We got to feed a lactating squirrel (luckily, I had organic walnuts on me), photographed some ducks, and saw some of the art, such as the statue Isis, there. Our little tour covered just a small part of what’s to see in London. There are reasons to go back : )

The Millenium Bridge

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London & The Royal Garden

Hyde Park

Raw Food in London 

The next day we were left to ourselves to do whatever we wanted on our last day in Europe. We decided to check out another part of the city, Camden Town. It turned out so well because we loved the area, we got to eat in a great restaurant, and there were tons of stuff to see so we spent the entire day there! Camden is famous for shopping, especially for its Stables Market, full of antiques and  

international food stalls. It is loads of fun to walk through this maze of shops and look at art and treasures from all over the world. But before we did that, we had lunch in a wonderful place across the street called inSpiral Lounge. This lovely place is an organic, vegetarian, high raw heaven. We didn’t know of its existence so it was a very lucky find, to say the least!









inSpiral Lounge – Review
As they say, a good first impression is invaluable. Mine was at least good. When we walked in we were greeted by lovely staff who were ready to serve us and didn’t hesitate to answer all my questions before figuring out what I could order. Andrew had (cooked) lasagna as his entree along with salads and I started off with a shot of wheatgrass and ordered a burger for my main meal that came with my choice of three side salads, yes, you’re reading that right, not one, not two, but three! I really enjoyed my first-ever raw burger, which was served on a bed of spinach and topped with some marinara sauce. The three salads I had were: a red cabbage salad, which had a creamy dressing, a maca & goji salad that was beet and carrot based, and caeser salad (my first ever caesar and my favorite of the three), which was nutty and savory, and so delicious.

As you can see the portions are quite generous too but that doesn’t mean I skipped the dessert. I wasn’t hungry at all but I had to try as much of their stuff as possible! So I ran back to take a look at the cakes and the ice-cream case (which you must pass by as you enter) and looked at what was raw. I went with the key-lime pie and since there were quite a few flavors of ice cream that were raw vegan I sampled
them and chose the lucuma-maple-pecan (ok, it had some maple syrup, not quite raw but we’re talking ice-cream anyway…) and the chocolate to go along with the cake. Whew, that was a good amount of sweets to share after such a meal. We cleared the plate though and we enjoyed every single bite. I loved everything at this place and I wish I could go back soon!

Goodies at inSpiral (and a bit of glare : J)

After lunch, we walked around a little more and as if we had any room left, we had some fresh sugar cane and young coconut. Andrew lived on Hawaii for a while so it was nothing new to him but it was my first trying both of them (besides a sip of coconut water before).

Are you impressed yet? What else would a raw foodie ask for all in one place??? London, or at least Camden, has got it all!
It was time to head back to our apartment so we got on the tube for our last ride before flying home the next morning.

Andrew & I - Maybe a LITTLE Run Down But Full of Experience!

I just remembered that night that there is a raw restaurant at the upper level of the gigantic organic store in the area we stayed so we went back to take a look at it right before closing. Saf is vegetarian and most of the stuff on the menu is raw. Since they had a table out front with their “snackables” I got to try some of their crackers. The superfood crackers were quite flavorful and had no added salt in them so they’re great if you avoid salt or high sodium foods.

I can’t believe how fast the three weeks passed. Six days in Barcelona and then five countries in fifteen days. It was the best vacation, ever! I got to see my family and a bunch of new places. I’m already sitting at home in L.A., typing away, and daydreaming of our next adventure somewhere far in a different world.

The funniest thing, and a closure to our trip, was the picture I saw at LAX airport upon arriving:

Having been the biggest dreamer my whole life, I always said I lived in La La Land. Little did I know that I literally did for the past year and a half! I love Europe and I love Los Angeles. The first time ever I didn’t mind coming home! : )