indigo a no no!

this morning, me, emilee and brandi met at indigo food cafe for brunch. we have been talking about meeting there for weeks, with some other friends and finally decided this was the time. emilee had to rush to work after so we planned to go right at cafe opening at 10am.

when we got there this morning, we discovered it's only the website that believes they open at 10. 10:30 is the real time! so we killed time in choices nearby and decided we would order smoothies as soon as we got in.

we were let in a few minutes early which was super nice. there was one lady working and she was opening up as we were let in.

meals during opening hours are not recommended at this place. i felt super bad for the lady working as it was busy getting the 3 of us food (and collecting our payment at the end) and had anyone else come to dine in, it would have been impossible. we weren't able to order everything we wanted off the menu as some things arrive at the restaurant later in the morning (ie the collard greens) and some things hadn't been made yet (ie more almond mylk).

i'm curious as to why cashews and agave are used so much (though i guess this is common in raw food) and i wonder how much stuff there is organic as only a few ingredients on the menu were prefaced with "organic". my corn flax (yah, i usually don't eat corn either) enchilada tasted different from last time - heavier on the spices so not as fresh veggie flavour dense- tasting. and the green smoothie was average.

i will try it again - but maybe mid-day. it's a cute spot and the food is really nicely presented and i know the intentions are good...

kale chip excitement!

just over a week ago, i met up with my friend for the first time since coming back from korea and she got back from san francisco. we went to an art show but i couldn't focus on anything except wanting ice cream. we went into the choices market nearby and marvelled that there were now some raw treats to buy like lara-style bars and brownies. but gah, the huge packaging and lack of organic ingredients. why eat raw if it isn't organic? anyways... decided upon some of the vanilla cashew creamery ice cream which we ate in a coffee shop across the street! ha.

this is the first retail-available raw ice cream in canada (we barely just got coconut milk ice cream!) and i'm excited about it and all but it uses the agave and well, it's made of cashews! both of these ingredients are arguably BAD for you plus they are used waaaaaay too much in raw foods and snacks. i don't mind this ice cream as much (especially if i add cacao nibs to it and some cinnamon) but jodie was NOT impressed. i think she had one spoon if that. it's nothing compared to kindkreme in LA where even my non-vegan friends were totally into going again... but i remember they used agave too and cashews! oh and it looks like they use honey too? WHAT?! but anyways... i guess it was fresh there too so that would make a difference.
so yesterday i decided to mix up some things to coat kale with to dehydrate. i used this "vegan cheesy" salad booster i got from jodie and processed it with a couple mushrooms, half a red pepper, a few slices of zucchini, a splash of apple cider vinegar, maybe some olive oil and nutritional yeast.  i ended up slicing up some collard greens to try as well because, well, kale chips are everywhere - why aren't other greens being used as well?
anyways, they have been AWESOME. i love having loads of topping. and it was hard to tell the collards from the kale except for that it's flat and not all crinkly! so i'm going to use it more often!

 last night, paul wanted carrot juice. CARROTS! i LOVE THEM!!! and i decided to use the leftover pulp in a mishmash of zucchini, red onion, garlic, and salad booster in the processor before spreading it out on a teflex sheet. i couldn't tell you what it's supposed to be but it smelled SO GOOD in the dehydrator last night. and it's been great to snack on today. though i need to drink lots of water now i think!!!