E is for Eating Out!!!

Since I have three days off (whoohoo), I am going to try and play catch-up with my A-Z list and create some new recipes!!! Tomorrow is my creating and cooking day!!! I'm excited to try a new recipe!

But let's face it...sometimes when we are ridiculously busy with our lives we either don't have time to make a bunch of food, or we are visiting family or friends who want to go out for a nice lunch/dinner out...when Dan's parents were visiting, we went out for dinner 3 times!!!! In one week! Dan and I rarely go out because it's more expensive, it can be difficult with a toddler, and I really LOVE cooking and most of the time we find that whatever I make tastes so much better than you can find in a restaurant!



If you are a vegan, when going out it can be tricky to find something that is vegan-friendly and delicious!
Dan's parents really enjoy going to Milestones Restaurant when they are in town because it's right on the inner harbour, showing a beautiful view of the Parliament Buildings, The Empress, and the boats and water! I used to LOVE their california salad when I was a vegetarian because I LOVED goat cheese...but now I couldn't order it because I knew that it wouldn't taste the same with just mixed greens and a few other ingredients...I was a little nervous that I wouldn't find anything but the server we had (James), was AMAZING and so knowledgeable and made me feel so relaxed and he didn't treat me like I was a burden!!!! I told him that I was a vegan and interested in the veggie burger but without cheese or any dairy products. He was so great at double checking with the kitchen on the ingredients of the patty and it turns out that they veggie patty was vegan-friendly, but the bun wasn't!!! I don't know why I was surprised but I was!!! The bun had eggs and whey in it! So it just goes to show that you should always ask before ordering!!! We all deserve the right to know what's in the food we are about to eat! Of course there are nice ways of asking! I made sure to be really pleasant too! What goes around comes around!!!! Anyways, the server and I ended up learning that the flatbread which is used for an appetizer on the menu was vegan friendly so I had the veggie burger with a house-made avocado salsa (yum) and served on the flatbread instead of the bun! It was delicious...I definitely left feeling like I had taken in a lot of sodium...but I eat so clean at home most of the time so I figured that I would have felt like that if I had ate almost anything out! And it was a nice treat! I really enjoyed the visiting and the service and the food! I also had a delicious mint green tea! Noah was amazing and was kept occupied by coloring (they provided crayons and paper) and the various toys and books which we had brought (we always bring a bag of surprises)!!!!

Dan and I went on a date to REBAR which is a vegetarian restaurant downtown and I was surprised to learn that their famous 'Almond Burger' was not vegan friendly :( So sad, but at least Dan and I have found a delicious almond burger recipe from Branden Brazier's Thrive Diet (recipe in a past post by Ally), which we LOVEEEE...So when I went for dinner there I ordered the warm veggie salad with smoked tofu (made on Saltspring Island), and a homemade maple dressing...it was incredible but I was hungry soon after!!!! Dan and I shared a miso soup as well and we were impressed that the cook added the miso right before serving (to keep the optimal nutritional value), but it wasn't dissolved so we had to stir it in ourselves!!! That's okay though!

A great and COMPLETELY vegan restaurant in Victoria that I really recommend checking out if you're going for a casual lunch (it's buffet-style so it's super chill and a serve-yourself, fast experience), is Green Cuisine! You can check out their website at http://www.greencuisine.com/
There is so much variety there and it's all vegan!!! The food is delicious and you pay by weight...you'll end up paying between $10-15 but it's soooo worth it! One thing that I love is that it's located in Bastian Square and they are totally family-friendly...they have a play area and Noah loves to run around! Check-out their website because they post recipes all the time and have a list of what food they will be serving for the day and often they have facts about some of the local, in-season food!!!! YUM!

So if your fridge is bare or you're tired of cooking, then go out for a bite to eat and don't be afraid to have the restaurant create something special to accommodate you and your needs!!! You're paying for it after all!!!!

I found that the eating out was GREAT and is always a nice treat...but it also re-sparks my desire to go grocery shopping and get creative in the kitchen and make more at-home meals! It gives me a new-found appreciation for the food that I make and how healthy and delicious it truly is!

Happy Eating!