Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pizza & Cheesecake Vegan Oh my!

Ok first let me say that yes I am not vegan but I often eat or look for the vegan symbol because then I know that it is 100% free of milk products. I do enjoy vegan food but there is also a few non vegan things I enjoy to eat as well like eggs, some chicken and beef.

My next review is on a pizza made by Solterra Foods . My whole foods had two options one of which was vegan and made with Daiya vegan cheese (which I love). What caught my attention from this was well the label with daiya's name on it but really it was the look of the package and the directions of cooking it. You don't remove this pizza from the package you cook it right in it in the oven and if you don't want to use a plate it can serve as that too when it is done! At 450 degrees for 8 minutes and it was done, I however next time cook it maybe a minute or two longer for an extra crispiness. As soon as I opened the package the wonderful aroma of garlic hit me. I usually like more than just the cheese as a topping but this had so many flavors in the crust and sauce it made up for it. It is a thin crust which I am normally not found of but the flavor made up for it. It is something I will buy again and I bet whole foods would even cook it in their wood fire oven if I want to eat there. I just think the concept of the packaging is such a cool idea and it says it is safer for the environment.






Ok so I have not had any cheesecake in probably 6 years and I remember when I used to eat the real stuff I loved it but it did make me pretty ill afterwards. At whole foods in a tiny vegan/raw refridge which I don't normally look at something caught my eye. Vegan cheesecake that was also gluten free and soy free! They had a large variety of flavors too,I decided to try Rockin' raspberry. It was really good, maybe a tad too raspberry for my liking but still really good. It is very pricey so and a small slice but it is perfect for a special treat. I got it to reward myself for loosing 6 pounds and I didn't feel bad getting it because it was all healthy for me too. The brand is called Earth Cafe



Friday, February 24, 2012

Vacation- Santa Cruz,CA



Well Santa cruz has just left me in awe of it's beauty and hospitality. Here are some places we ate some are new to us while others are our favorite chains that we are familiar with.

We stopped in San Jose for In N Out, great food and very accommodating as always. Next was dinner and we ate at Woodstock's pizza besides the sauce being a tad spicy the pizza was good. I ordered a gluten free no cheese with ham and pineapple. They offered me soy cheese but I declined, hum maybe I should have taken the opportunity to tell them about Daiya vegan cheese, maybe I will write them on facebook. For breakfast we brought cereal from home because the hotel breakfast was not safe besides the fruit and juice. Next day we ate at Burger King and ate our familiar bunless burgers and fries. For dinner we tried something new a place called Charlie Hong Kong. I ordered the pad tai and boy it was way too spicy for me. They did have a large selection of other dishes and if I go back I will definitely give them a try again. Next day for lunch we ate another familiar place chipolte which was awesome as always! Now our final meal was dinner and we ate the lobster special at the Ideal bar and grill. I requested no butter or seasonings on my veggies and rice and steak and it all came out delicious.

Overall I am happy with my dining experiences and besides being in the sun for too long I did not get sick at all!