Peacefood Cafe: NYC

This is like the Sunday after church go to place. just 4 blocks down from church so its perfect:) Church by the way was awesome the new series " Pure Sex" is great so far:) feel free to come next sunday! Anywho we went to Peacefood again.. I got a Brazil Nut Chai hot drink to start with which was really good, then we got steamed veggie dumplings as an appetizer with a yummy ginger sauce.. it was really light and tasty! Then we split the Seitan Medallion Panini and Asian Green Salad with Baked Tempeh.. Both really great! Some of the best food ever! Of course we couldn't leave with out a nice healthy vegan dessert. A brazil nut cream "cake" and the Banana foster Biscuit" Mouth watering seriously fabulous dessert.. even if you aren't vegan this place is amazing!! :) 82nd and amsterdam:) Mom is leaving tomorrow it's been a fun week back to work.. fun stuff ha.:)

TienGarden: NYC

It's been a good one. trying all these fabulous vegan restaurants and stuff around the city.. Our final new one for the week. TienGarden on Allen Street downtown.. and of course since it was ONLY 2 blocks away from Babycakes we had to hit that first for a bite of Vegan Banana Bread with "chocolate frosting" served by Jessie:) Delicious as always:) SO TienGarden we started off with steamed spinach dumplings accompanied by a spicy chili sauce. so good and warm on a nice freezing day in the city... along with hot tea! Then we split the Tien Garden Stir Fried Noodles with veggie ham, bell peppers, shitake mushrooms and bean sprouts.. SOO good! We also got the Five Treasures which included sauteed wheat gluten ( a protein for you uneducated americans ;) } green soy beans, zucchini, carrots, and shitake mushrooms in a peking sauce.. with some mixed rice. These dishes were so yummy and flavorful.. Of course you can't truly know how good a restaurant is without munching on the dessert so we split a piece of "Chocolate Cake" and Pumpkin Pie" all of these mind you made with healthy ingredients and no sugar:) The dessert was just as good as lunch.. Loved this place for some good healthy chinese food right near chinatown :) a cozy little cafe .. I do have to say if you plan on going in the winter wear a coat a thick coat its a little chilly inside but the food warms you right up:) The service was fantastic! So tomorrow back to church for a great new series " Pure Sex" and then a little lunch at Peacefood again.. it's been a good week:) Peace:)

Caravan of Dreams: NYC

SO we tried another vegan place today. "Caravan of Dreams" once again on the lower east side- which seems to have all the great places:) This place is on my top 3 favorites. IT was soo good. The staff was so nice and the food amazing. I do have to say though on a freezing day like today ( wind chill of 1 degree) wear a jacket- they don't like to use heat.haha. We started off with "Unchicken Nachos" all healthy and vegan of course. THE BEST "nachos" i've ever eaten by far then we split a veggie burger with a "mayo-ketchup vegan spread" with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion on a spelt wheat bun .. and a Caesar salad Delux with seitan, tomatoes, and croutons.. All of it was soo good a good portion size but not oversized at all. which keeps it light and healthy:) Then we got Live desserts Berry "Cheesecake" and "Chocolate Banana Almond cream pie" BEST raw dessert. not to mention the cup of Vanilla hazelnut tea.. so good:):) Great week so far:)!

Curly's: NYC

Curlys on East 14th street between 1/2 avenue. So far I would have to say my least favorite.. We started off with BBQ Tempeh "ribs" the tempeh itself was good but the sauce wasn't that fabulous. Then we split a cobb salad and Soy mexican wrap with a chipotle hot sauce on top. The wrap was Extremely good but the salad and "ribs" werent anything worth going back for.. I do have to say though the wrap was pretty delicious. They don't have any sugar free vegan desserts so we decided to get some yogurt at my favorite little shop in Union Square.. Overall I wouldn't recommend Curly's since their are so many other good options in the city!:)

before I forget:

Another place I would vote "best bread" in the city would have to be Amys Bread. They have 3 Locations. Hells Kitchen- my go to with the best staff:) then one in Chelsea Market and one in West Village.. They have everything from biscuits, and scones to fresh baked loafs of bread to delicious twists:) My favorite is the Whole Wheat Oat Pecan twist:) SO good:) Amysbread.com

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"Beths" Jams at the Union Square farmers market also offers sugar free jams and regular but I get sugar free of course:D so many choices raspberry, blackberry, apple butters, apricot you name it so good:) Bethsfarmkitchen.com

Angelica Kitchen: NYC

So today went over to "Angelica Kitchen" on East 12th Street a little past Union Square.. Got there about 11:30 for lunch.. I can't really say the staff was all that warm and inviting but most of the food was pretty good.:) We split a Salad with pecans, croutons, pears, and a really good dressing:) then we got a bowl of Vegan Seitan Chili with Vegan wheat cornbread. The salad was great you don't get as much for your money ordering the salad but it was still good.. The Chili and Cornbread was pretty amazing I have to say. This is a place I think would go just for the Chili and Cornbread.. I would prob. say if your not really into health or being vegan you should start of trying peacefood cafe or the organic grill ..unless you want chili:). For dessert we got an orange Hazelnut Parfait - It was alright but I would def. recommend skipping dessert there and going to babycakes or maybe a cup of yogurt.. overall it was good for the chili and cornbread - Great food but my least favorite of the restaurants I've hit so far:). AngelicaKitchen.com

Babycakes/ The Organic Grill/Peacefood: NYC

" Life is short eat dessert first."

My parents came up to visit, and to see a taping of "The Rachael Ray Show" it was nice spending time with them.. My dad went back down to Florida but my mom is staying with me for another week!:) So we've basically made a list of all the vegan/health restaurants in New York City and were trying as many as we can this week.. Let me re cap. We've hit 2 already:) Of course theirs always the lovely Babycakes and Zen but you have to search to find the hidden deliciousness in these quaint little vegan cafes:) So Im going to do a little review of the ones we go to accompanied by pictures- which will count for my favorite things:) Here we go..

Let's start off with Babycakes- my first love in the city , which I'm sure you

've heard me mention a time or two. Amazing desserts. Anything from Banana Bread to homemade cinnamon rolls to agave sweetened brownies. They have most everythi

ng Gluten Free and the friendliest staff in the world ( especially Jessie;) My favorite is a slice of Banana Bread Agave sweetened with chocolate icing:) } So far I would say #1 for Vegan goodies:) Babycakesnyc.com

So to continue down the line with "Dessert" I'll tell you the #1 place in the city to get the best Vegan Fat/Sugar Free Frozen Yogurt. "Diet Lite Ice Cream" in Union Square. I just stumbled upon this place which also doubles as a little magazine shop. They serve the "Only 8" Yogurt so healthy calcium fortified with live active cultures, and delicious 4-6 flavors everyday and the Yogurt Man Ano is the sweetest guy in the world:) My favorite flavors would have to be "Cookies and Cream" and "Milky Way" Only8frozenyogurt.com

Sunday after Church me and my mom hit a cafe on the Upper West Side called "Peacefood Cafe" its literally like 2 blocks from my church- so its a perfect little place to have lunch/brunch after a sunday service:) The place was packed so I pretty much expected del

iciousness.. The first thing you see when you walk in is a case full of Vegan desserts ( Tiramisu, strawberry shortcake, cookies, brownies, cakes) Their Menu has everything from salads to pizza, to samdwhiches to soups.. They also have smoothies, soy drinks, and fresh juices. Me and my mom Got a Veggie Pizza of course on thin whole wheat crust topped with fresh broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and squash - so good and light:) We also split a Vegan Caesar Salad with fresh whole wheat croutons, tempeh bits, and freshly ground pepper. Best Caesar S

alad by far. We then split the Strawberry Shortcake.. Heaven in my mouth so good ( unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the shortcake, next time;) } Best place to hit up if your on the upper west:)

Peacefoodcafe.com

Lastly for this post at least today me and my mom went to "The Organic Grill" on East 8th a little past Union Square. Nice area near NYU so a lot of college students and what not, a bit of a calm from the madness of midtown. They have everything from Vegan waffles, and tofu scramble served all day to fajitas, soups, grilled pizza and sandwhiches, and of course desserts:) We split the special for today which was the Seitan fajitas. sizzling hot plate of seitan with onions and peppers served with fresh veggies and guac with a whole wheat tortilla of course, we also split the Caesar Salad. Delicious completely different from the one at peacefood and really yummy:)

We then split a piece of vegan cherry pie and tiramisu ( we couldn't decide on just one .ha - The desserts looked so good I forgot to take a picture of them. once again next time:) } This place is def. a great little cafe that has amazing organic food:) Theorganicgrill.com

All for now. hitting up another vegan place tomorrow:) Hope life is treating you well:)

Kris

Favorite thing #2:

Interning with some amazing people:)

These are a few of my favorite things..

SO from now on with each post aside from gabbing about my life and things going on I've decided to write and post a picture of one of my favorite things in this city/life I come across:) Just something fun:)

I really don't have to much new to post about. Life has been pretty rel

axing these last couple of days.. This coming week is pretty busy but looking forward to it.. hopefully some fun times along with work:) So thats all for now...

One of my favorite things in NYC..

Babycakes- who would have guessed?;) Not only are the desserts vegan and healthy- but the staff is awesome! They are the sweetest! I personally think everyone should visit Babycakes if you live in NYC even if you aren't vegan. SO if need be - I will take you;)

Kris:)

:)

So I have to say today for me was a long day, amazing but long. I think I ran around the whole city of manhattan today.. Interning is so much fun! Theirs always something to do at the studio- which I like. I love keeping busy:) This is such a great experience... and I love running around this city.. I am looking forward to having tomorrow and the weekend and then Monday off:) Then back on Tuesday for interning - which I'm excited for. That was pretty much my day up at 5 to hit the gym then to RR then home relaxing now. . I'm so thankful to be there though! The staff is so nice and the lady whose in charge of the interns is so great and helpful! Such a great environment to be around and great experience:)

Tomorrow Im hearing 1-3 inches of snow. hmm. fun stuff:) Babycakes then Union Square then back for a little R&R. love it.. enjoying Life in the city:) Hope everyone is doing great:)!!

In Christ,

Kris

so another trip in the works:)

I sometimes wonder if "contentment" is a good thing or a bad thing.. I mean If your content then maybe you'll never push for new experiences. Thats my thing I'm aware that Im blessed and I love my life but I always have something new in the works, and thats what keeps my heart racing:)

Im starting an internship tomorrow - something new, exciting:) But planning another international trip- this one excites me.. its this something I've wanted to check of my list.. I've been to a lot of places but this one is much different then anywhere else really. so another adventure is in the works.. life is good..

In Christ,

Kris

“I’m not an expert on the places I visit. I’m not an authority. I’m a visitor, a traveler, an enthusiast. Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart, but that’s ok. The journey changes you, it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, & on your body. You take something with you & hopefully you leave something good behind.” ~Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

the big 19.

So it's becoming more and more difficult to keep this thing up to date, but I'll try to do better:)

ah today is my Birthday. I have to admit I'm not a huge birthday person. I mean I enjoy them but I never really do anything to exciting.. Just kind of give myself a relaxing day, do something small that I enjoy. I basically enjoyed some Babycakes ( possibly to much.. well I mean their can never be to much babycakes;) } and went to church. It was a really nice day:) The weather on the other hand. Freezing. with like heavy winds. It just cuts right through you. It's difficult to layer on clothes to go to the gym then take some off to work out then layer back on to go outside. ha. that in itself is quite a work out. New York City is still the greatest even when its freezing and snowing:)

This past week was pretty good- I came back from Florida on the 12/26 to kind of have a break before the internship started and school to enjoy the city. I've been just running around the city enjoying it. Even though I live up here I get caught up in getting to class, or getting groceries, or just moving to the next task that I don't really stop to appreciate this city.. but this past week I have. Every Part of Manhattan is different in some small way.. Things work differently on the Upper West Side then they do Downtown on Broome Street and I love being able to hop on a subway to explore each part within minutes..

A friend from high school was visiting family here in N.Y. and I got to go see her for a little bit at Rockefeller which was nice. always good to see a familiar face in such a big city:)

At church were starting a new Series for the year... "Knowing and Doing the Will of God"..

I was thinking about how most everyone whether they vocalize it or not has some type of "new years resolution" .. I think we as people are always promising to do better, be better, change something about ourselves to improve. Were always trying to reach perfection.. myself included.. But I think that if were always trying to be perfect we'll always end up disappointed in ourselves because we will always make mistakes and wont ever reach perfection. I don't want to sound negative but we Cannot reach perfection, HOWEVER we can reach Christ who is perfect. So I'm not one to have a new years resolution because I think that everyday is an opportunity to do the something you resolve to do, why wait until a New Year.. each day is the start of a new beginning.. if you choose for it to be. So for today and everyday I'm praying that I can Know and do the will of God. I think making every part of my life about God will make things unfold much more easily. .

So tomorrow is the last day before my internship at Rachael Ray starts on Tuesday.. I still can't believe that I got the internship and that its come so soon. I'm so excited to start:) Tomorrow though is another day to enjoy this city - as lovely as it is. Downtown to Babycakes, then to Union Square, these are the days my friends...these are the days...:)

In Christ,

Kris

“Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods”