dinner with kassie!

after what feels like forever (ie WEEKS and MONTHS too long!), i got to meet up with kassie tonight for dinner at eternal abundance. a bonus was that it was customer appreciation day which means 15% off grocery and book items. we both picked up zimt raw chocolate bars to eat on the way home. YAY!
we both had the raw kale caesar which is definitely deserving of its recognition in the straight's golden plate awards - though i think it should be ranked best salad in vancouver!

i also had the green goddess smoothie. YUM! (oh, i can't WAIT to get to make green smoothies again!)

i am so in love with this place. and i am so happy i have another friend stoked about it. i had the large salad, a smoothie, a chocolate bar and a big bag of organic produce for $43! it is possible to eat amazing and not go broke doing so. YAY!

p.s. before i forget to mention, i just watched hungry for change last night and i think it is free to watch for just a couple more days. i found some of the clips a bit repetitive (like they show a trailer intro first and then you remember verbatim what was said earlier) but the messages are excellent ones. there are good points about why diets don't work and why we should care how we are in the inside (not just thoughts and attitudes, but actual organs and blood and all them guts), not just want to improve our outward appearance. it comments a lot on how our "food" today is not really food. i think it is a must-see for everyone who does not yet form a connection between diet and health. it is not entirely vegan which makes the message less extreme, i figure, for meat-eaters. i now want to watch crazy sexy cancer as its creator (and cancer survivor), kris carr (who is featured in hungry for change, along with david wolfe and jon gabriel), is super inspiring.

tao organics

you may recall the company tao organics when they were working inside buddha-full making the burgers and kale chips and selling their products in karmavore as well.
recently (in the last few weeks!), they have opened their OWN cafe and it is actually quite close to buddha-full which means it is quite close to the sea bus and lonsdale quay in north van. yay!
me and emilee went on monday after work and it was glorious! i wish i had taken pictures inside the shop. it's tucked away in a courtyard and has windows on the multi-layered ceiling (think lovely natural light) when you first enter. there is bright blue seating outside as well as several tables inside beside the open kitchen and a couple coolers and shelves of take-home goodies.
me and em shared each a parvati roll (collard wrap with sweet raisin chutney - i used to buy the chutney at karmavore ^_^). super delicious! em mentioned she enjoyed the moist, vibrant flavour.
we both ordered lemon macaroons and ate them before (and after!) our meals after finding out that they didn't actually have cashews in them like the menu (that was getting redesigned as we ate!) said! we loved the big chunks of dried coconut flakes!

photo: avocadowalnutlovely on instagram

photo: avocadowalnutlovely on instagram

 emilee had the sushi for dinner and i had the gaia burger (which i had before at buddha-full. so delicious!)

it was awesome to get to eat at yet another raw, organic-friendly place in greater vancouver! YAY! and we were super impressed with the prices. my burger was $6.50 i think and i took home a big bag of kale chips for paul for the same price. our macaroons were $1 each! and i love that there are cashew-free options and agathe does not use green peppers at all (hurrah!) and i don't think she uses peanuts or gluten. i'm still hesitant about tamari and such, even when it is wheat-free... why doesn't it claim to be gluten-free? i'm still pretty new at all of this allergen stuff. it's easier to avoid things when you don't have to be militant. curious if after my next liver cleanse i will have even less allergies!

eek! thank you vitamix!!!

i am OVER THE MOON. just got off the phone with vitamix (10 minutes or less call) and i am being sent a new blade agitator and blade with wrench so that i can replace mine that is not turning in my wet container. i couldn't believe this was considered covered under my warranty since i was immediately admitting how stupid i was for using my tamper without the lid!
i then asked if i could buy a replacement tamper to hopefully receive at the same time (me and paul are DYING to have green smoothies again!) and my helpful agent said i get one free tamper included in my warranty! so i will receive that for free too!
eek! eek! eek!
it's funny, i was getting so nervous about the cost, i was thinking i should call russell food first because at least they are local and i could bypass shipping costs. i guess i will have to wait until my next stupid accident to use them. but hopefully i am going to be so present and aware from now on, that my vitamix will get to happily blend forever more...
THANK YOU, VITAMIX!!!

i am so sorry, vitamix.

dear vitamix,
i stupidly used the tamper today in my vitamix without the lid! i don't know WHY i thought this was a better idea than taking some lettuce out of the blender.
long story short: i have shattered the end of my tamper and the blades don't want to turn so much anymore. i tried out my dry container and that seemed to work after a little bit of a warm up.
i am worried that i have damaged the motor and wet container!
what can i do?
i realize the warranty (i purchased my machine in january 2011) doesn't cover stupidity, but i am hoping i can repair my machine rather than have to save up for a new one! is there anywhere local i can take my vitamix in for repair? what are my options?
i love my vitamix!
i appreciate any advice you can give me.

sigh. so i am juicing again. for now. not as easy and quick as putting it all in the blender.
the website says i should get a response within 4-5 days. it appears i am not the first person to do this and it sounds like they have excellent customer service and that this broken drive socket repair could be $102. if it's that, i am soooo relieved. we'll see!

p.s. can't help but feel like my blender has cut me off from green smoothies. it was like, 30 days? that is IT!!!

day 30 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

wow, has it been 30 days already? in some ways, it feels way longer.
i know i will continue to do the green smoothie daily but i can't say i really am inspired to post it every single day!

haha. this doesn't look so appetizing but this is a series of shots as my smoothie progressed from mostly red kale (used one bunch total) and some navel orange (used 3 in total - just removed the peel and seeds), to more orange and finally, i think it was 4 frozen bananas!
this was my 'safe' smoothie. was craving it yesterday and i got what i wanted! didn't use water again and the texture was great. paul approved too. so it is a win! ^_^

day 29 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

today's smoothie was a head of romaine lettuce, 2 rainbow carrots, a nub of ginger, an orange, a pear, and 1.5 frozen bananas.

loved the texture of this one! didn't use any water, like yesterday and that helped keep the smoothie portions to 2 glasses. just had to blend in a couple stages to get everything to fit in the blender! i think the orange pulp and carrots really helps pull the textures together to make a smooth smoothie type blend. the frozen bananas help as well, of course.
not sure i like the ginger in this one which is weird because i love it in my parsley blend from earlier this week and i love it in a frozen banana/mango "tropical" style smoothie. who knows.
think i gotta pick up some kale today to do a kale/orange/banana drink tomorrow, like the simple yet delicious drinkme smoothies you can get in the freezer section of organic grocery stores. ^_^

day 28 of 30 green smoothie days in a row

i was excited to try some new (to me) snacks at whole foods in bellevue today where sarah and i met leanna for lunch. including these raw vanilla coconut ice cream pops! YAY! super good.

when i got home, i made this green smoothie which paul says is his favourite yet! i used the tops of the bunch of rainbow carrots we got from spud when they didn't have the beets i ordered!
oh yeah, the smoothie:
*carrot tops (the greens! of a whole bunch of rainbow carrots! inspiration here)
*2 carrots
*1 pear
*2 navel oranges
*2 blood oranges (small)
*1 frozen banana
*some mint leaves

paul was fine with the pulpy texture because it was thicker. i didn't use ANY water for this one! so pleased i used the greens i don't usually do anything with. next challenge is to use the tops of radishes before they get all wilted and mushy.