Blue Bottle Coffee and Bowl'd Acai (San Francisco) - Ah-sigh-EE Bowls and New Orleans Iced Coffee

It's hard to get your veggies in while on vacation, which was why Rae and I were so happy to stumble upon a vegan, gluten free smoothie food truck while in SOMA.

 They serve acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) bowls, smoothies, juices, and power up 'shots'.

By the way, I absolutely love how they serve gluten free granola. As a person with a recent wheat allergy, it's good knowing there are still healthy eat out options for me even though I can't eat flour/wheat.

Rae and I split a These Nuts Acai Bowl (reg $9.60 US) composed of a smoothie on the bottom that is blended with acai, strawberry, banana, and almond milk. The toppings include one planet gluten free granola, banana, hemp seed, bee pollen, honey, sliced almond, and peanut butter.

Oh my god it was sooooo good! It was totally a refreshing and healthy way to start our day. It was so delicious, we tried experimenting with our own version of acai bowls at home after our vacay.

Next to the Bowl'd Acai food truck was a Blue Bottle Coffee stand. The area was quite industrial and just a little side street but there was already a lineup forming in front of the stand. Most people got the New Orleans Iced Coffee ($4 US) which was what we got too. The coffee was drip so it took a little while, but it was definitely worth the wait. It was so smooth, so creamy. I want one now just thinking about it.

Blue Bottle Coffee also serves freshly made waffles. Rae and I got one to share and thought it was only okay. The batter was too cake-like and dense for the morning. Also it was a little greasy so it didn't stay well in our stomachs.

Blue Bottle Coffee: 
Food Rating: 4/5
Price: $
Overall Rating: 4/5

Bowl'd Acai:
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $-$$
Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!

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Strawberry Banana Chia Seed Pudding Recipe

I had an amazing vacation at Dominican Republic filled with all you can eat food, room service, bar, drinks, and naturally I ate EVERYTHING. I didn't hold anything back when I was on vacation!

Now that I'm back, I have to revert back to my healthier lifestyle and eating habits (and surprisingly I really missed it while I was stuffing myself with steak and alcohol everyday). I tried this chia seed pudding recipe for the first time and it was absolutely delicious! It's super simple, quick, and acts as a great filling and clean breakfast.

 All you need is: 5 strawberries, 1/2 a banana, 1/2 cup of almond milk, 2 tbsp of Daily Cleanse from North Coast Naturals, and 3 tbsp of chia seeds.

 Blend all of the ingredients besides the chia seeds (leave one strawberry to cut up in chunks if you like a getting chunks of fruit in your pudding).

Once blended, stir in the chia seeds and fresh strawberry chunks. Leave overnight in the fridge to let the chia seeds expand to its fullest (that's what makes this pudding so filling for breakfast).

I made this on two different occasions and it was delicious! Next time, I'm going to try it with mango and matcha to make a Mango Match Chia Seed Pudding so let me know in the comments if you want to see the recipe for that too!

Happy Eating!!

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Blueberry Matcha Protein Smoothie Recipe

As a lover of the "Mind Over Matcha" smoothie at Booster Juice and an avid smoothie maker, I came to a sudden realization that instead of spending $8 for a smoothie each time, I should try replicating it at home instead! 

The Mind Over Matcha smoothie from Booster Juice contains: "Pure Matcha green tea, vanilla soymilk, blueberries, vanilla frozen yogurt, and whey protein powder. Hey! Whaddya know? I have pretty much all those ingredients. The smoothie (for 710ml contains 446 calories, 3.8 g of fat, 4g of fibre, 28g of protein, and 41g of sugar).

Here is my version of the "Mind Over Matcha" recipe:

Ingredients:
2 tbsp of Kiss Me Organics: Organic Matcha Powder
2 tbsp of 0% M.F Greek Yogurt
1 banana
1 rounded scoop of North Coast Naturals Unflavoured Whey Protein
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
1 1/2 cup of Silk almond milk

1) Put all the ingredients listed above in a blender and blend.

Feel free to play around with the recipe and substitute where needed. Also the brand of almond milk, matcha powder, whey protein I use is most likely not what you have at home so just use whatever is available to you.

I have to say, the result of this 'experiment' was absolutely amazeballs. It tastes almost exactly like the smoothie I love without breaking the bank (you gotta admit, Booster Juice is not cheap by any means). Not only do you get a caffeine kick from the matcha, the blueberry matcha flavour combination is out of this world. I've also experimented by putting a handful of spinach and chia seeds to boost up the nutritional content and it tasted equally as delicious.

Happy Drinking!

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Banana Chocolate Power Smoothie Recipe

It is pretty much common knowledge now that eating a well balanced breakfast first thing in the morning will help you succeed in losing weight by keeping you satiated throughout the day. However, if you are anything like me, you probably value getting that extra ten minutes of snooze time over making breakfast. That is why I recommend drinking smoothies in the morning! It's quick, easy, healthy, and best of all, it is portable! You can even drink it in the car which makes for an incredibly convenient breakfast.

I drink a smoothie every day for breakfast and it honestly keeps me full for a good two-three hours. 

I recently bought two products from VEGA which is a brand of vegan, plant based nutritional products. I got the Vega Smoothie Bodacious Berry and Choco-a-lot.

Not only does the Vega Smoothie product give you a good 10g of plant based protein, it also provides 5g of fiber, two servings of veggies, 1g of Omega-3, and is completely dairy, gluten, and soy free with no added sugar.

The Choc-a-lot powder is chocolatey enough without being overly sweet which is nice because this is usually eaten for breakfast. There is also a handy scooper to help you measure out one scoop for each smoothie.

All I did was add one cup of almond milk, one banana, half a tablespoon of flax seed and voila! Your very own Banana Chocolate Power Smoothie! It is an awesome way to recharge your metabolism first thing in the morning so you burn off more calories throughout the day. :)

Sinfully delicious without the guilt. What could be better than that? :D 

Have you tried this product before? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Happy Eating!

courtesy of http://memecrunch.com/meme/1YBV/smoothie

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Healthy Avocado Smoothie Recipe

I love avocados. Period. It is a magnificent vegetable because it is creamy, spreadable, and delicious on everything. I find it extremely versatile too because you can do pretty much anything with them. I've eaten them as is with just some salt and pepper, and I also blended them before into a pasta sauce. This time I decided to attempt the interesting concept of  Avocado Smoothie. 

I understand you can use almond milk if you want to keep it lower in fat but since I love regular milk, I just used that instead. I also added some grounded flax seed into the smoothie to make it rich in fiber.

Avocado Smoothie

(healthy fats, rich in magnesium, folate, and potassium)

Ingredients:

1/2 of an avocado

1 cup of milk (adjust to desired consistency)

1 tablespoon of honey

1/2 of a frozen banana

1 teaspoon of grounded flax seed

1. Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

If you can see in the background, I have half a frozen banana. I added it into my smoothie because bananas act as a natural sweetener and since it's frozen, it turns the smoothie slightly cold (nobody wants a warm smoothie!).

So first comes the avocado.

Then I add the frozen banana and milk.

Then drizzle the honey and throw in the flax seed. Now blend!

I really enjoyed this healthy smoothie and I definitely will be making this more often. It's a good way to use up your overripe avocados! If you are willing to give it a try, let me know your thoughts on this smoothie! 

Happy Eating!

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Strawberry Banana Yogurt Smoothie!

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day but yet many people skip it. If you wait until lunch to eat, your body will be starving (even if you don't feel like it), and will conserve as many calories as it can during lunch. Therefore, in order to jump start your metabolism and get a kick of instant energy, I recommend making an easy and delicious smoothie. If you are in a rush, take it with you on the go!

I added a bit of whey protein and fiber powder to my smoothie as this was my post-workout drink.  (I heard eating protein after you exercise will help you lose fat, gain muscle, and curb your appetite, so I decided to give it a try) You can substitute protein powder with grounded flax seed (source of omega-3), soy protein powder, or green plant powder to give your smoothie an extra boost.

I used frozen strawberries, but you can use fresh ones if you have them on hand. Just make sure to include 3-5 extra ice cubes to your mix.

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Taste the Green (Smoothie)!

photo courtesy of Rae

[This was actually my first post] I love summertime. Or, whatever we Vancouverites call summer here (I see a bit of sun! yay, I can finally wear my shorts!). This summer, I have really been committing myself to eating healthier and exercising more often, and you know what? I'm lovin' it! So to kick start this blog, I will show you a great recipe I found on bodyrock.tv (Zuzana's workouts are awesome and I loveee their recipe ideas).

This is a 'green smoothie' and I drink it pretty much every morning! It gives me an instant dose of energy and I feel great throughout the day because i know I gulped down at least half the amount of fruits and veggies I need per day in the morning already. Plus, I don't feel as guilty in the afternoon/evening when I don't eat as many veggies as I normally do :P

I know it looks a bit frightening (gahh! veggies!) when you see so much green in the blender, but trust me, the fruit will combat the taste of the greens because the ratio is almost 3:1. Below are the ingredients I normally use to make a green smoothie (although I change it up quite often to give it some variety)


Ingredients:
1 Banana
1 Kiwi
1 Handful of Spinach
2 Kale Leaves (I usually omit this)
1 Tablespoon of Flax seed
1 Cup of Water


Additional:
Blueberries (don't put too many though or your smoothie will turn brown)
Watermelon
Papaya
Tomatoes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Mangoes
Possibilities are endless!


I usually add a handful of whatever additional fruit I have in my fridge into the smoothie mix so also feel free to add or omit the ingredients to your liking. :) 

Happy drinking!

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