Vegan fast food – Veggie Grill has arrived in Boston!

This review will be backwards compared to how I usually do them. Usually I research a place, studying the menu and then go there, writing a review afterwards. Last week I was in Harvard Square, Cambridge with the kids, we were at the Museum of Natural History and spent longer there than I thought I would so we couldn’t to the place that I had researched beforehand and was pushed for time. I did a quick search of vegan places and found a place within walking distance.

I had not heard of Veggie Grill before I went there, not that surprising since they are a chain primarily located on the West Coast and just opened up a location in Harvard Square, Cambridge in October 2019 which is the only location in the Boston area. The menu is completely vegan and I would describe it as a veganized menu of a traditional fast food restaurant. There are burgers, ‘chicken’ sandwiches, burritos and tacos and a kids menu with ‘chicken’ wings and mac and cheese. I repeat everything is vegan, including the sauces (eg. ranch), cheese and toppings. I hadn’t seen the menu beforehand and was surprised at the variety – at most restaurants you have a couple of vegan or vegetarian options but here there is a full menu of all the favorites. Since it was my first time here I decided to order a bunch of different items to try them out.

First thing I noticed was that I could have pre-ordered on an app – will definitely do that next time. Ordering through an app ahead of time is ideal if you have kids since you have a limited window before they get bored. The restaurant is super clean and the staff are very friendly. The kids meals all came with a main, side and dessert – we ordered a chikin’ wings, 2x mac and cheese with sides of fries, cauli-mashed potatoes and gravy and carrots and cookies for dessert. I also ordered the crispy cauliflower and tempura green beans and a Nashville hot chikin’ sandwich. The kids demolished their lunches and the sides. The gravy on the cauli-mashed potatoes was delicious – would love to know the recipe. They also loved the crispy cauliflower and tempura beans. My oldest son kept calling the cauliflower, chicken. The Nashville hot chikin’ sandwich was also very good, chikin’ was like a pressed chicken texture, sauce not too hot and the ranch sauce was a good addition. I kept thinking throughout is all this definitely vegan? I even asked one of the workers to confirm which they emphatically did. It was quite the effort to make everything vegan. I left quite impressed and happy with myself that we all had a vegan lunch that everyone enjoyed, wishing there were more locations in the Boston area closer to where I lived.

Tempura green beans

Crispy cauliflower bites

Nashville Hot Chikin’ Sandwich

Vegan snacks at Disney World- Dole Whip

After discovering that Dole Whip is vegan the other day (post here) I forgot this as an important snack on my list of vegan/vegetarian foods at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Go to go to Aloha Isle and have a Dole Whip or Dole whip float – and you can order ahead through the app. Note that the Vanilla or Swirl Dole Whip options are not vegan. Kids love this snack and it is very popular which makes the mobile app essential.

Some other places at Disney World that you can get Dole Whip:

• Magic Kingdom ; Sunshine Tree Terrace (Strawberry flavor only)
• Animal Kingdom : Tamu Tamu Refreshments (alcoholic version also!)
• Disney Springs : Marketplace Snacks (alcoholic version also!)
• Polynesian Resort : Pineapple Lanai (alcoholic version also!)

Anyone know of other places?

Weeknight Family Vegan recipe – BBQ Tofu and Quinoa bowl

I love cookbooks and searching for recipes online, I am always looking for new vegan and vegetarian recipes to try out on my kids.   Luckily they like a decent range of vegetables and alternative proteins like tofu, lentils and chickpeas and we are constantly experimenting with different combinations and testing the boundaries.  However, not everyone likes everything and people have different flavor profiles.  I try to find vegan recipes that have at least one protein and the ingredients can be adapted to accommodate everyone’s tastes as best as possible.  I don’t always follow the recipe in a book exactly but make slight modifications based on my family’s tastes, the recipe is more like an inspiration and through trial and error hopefully we can find something that everyone likes.  On weeknights most people are in a rush to get dinner ready and so there is a need for quick meals that everyone is going to eat in a decent time frame.

The recipe I will describe today is a slight modification of a recipe from a great cookbook called The Simply Vegan Cookbook.  This is a great book for some practical vegan recipes that can be easily  modified. The recipe is a bowl made with tofu and quinoa – the great thing about bowls is you can mix and match proteins and ingredients to suit tastes and are quick to make.

Ingredients

1 large red onion, diced

1 large red pepper, half cut into strips (this is how the kids like them, half diced)

2 tablespoons of olive oil (for basting the tofu, maybe more if you want to add to the quinoa)

2 blocks of 16oz super firm tofu (I always try to buy super firm tofu if it going to be baked, find that it gets firmer on the outside, important to drain and press as much as possible, we are a family of 5 and we go through almost 2 blocks!) – cut each block in half lengthwise then into thirds,  pieces total

1 (20z) can sliced pineapple, or cut fresh pineapple into slices

1 cup BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays which is vegan!)

2 cups cooked quinoa

Chopped fresh cilantro

2 cups steamed broccoli

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Sweet chili sauce (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F
2. Spray baking sheet with olive oil and spread tofu onto sheet.  Baste portion of tofu with BBQ as required – my kids aren’t big fans of BBQ sauce do I basted half.   I find that baking with BBQ sauce gives more flavor. Bake for 15 mins, then remove and flip and re-baste with BBQ sauce then bake another 15  mins.
3. While tofu is baking, heat skillet with a little olive oil to high.  Add pineapple slices and sear until brown on both sides.  Remove and cut into smaller pieces
4. Remove tofu from oven and cut into cubes as desired, toss with quinoa portion.
5. From here you can customize the bowl as desired.  Some of my kids like peppers, none like onion, one likes pineapple, all like broccoli, none like cilantro – with this recipe the bowl can be easily customized.  For the adults, everything is combined in a bowl and I like to add some red pepper flakes and some sweet chili sauce

 

 

 

Learnt something today – Dole Whip is Vegan!

Today I was at a local frozen yogurt sore in Quincy called Sweet Frog. They had soft serve Dole Whip in both mango and pineapple flavors and noted that they were vegan!

 

 

Be prepared for an amazing Indian vegetarian or vegan eating experience at Indian Accent

I have never been to India, I live in the US and while the Indian food here in Boston is pretty good it is just better in the UK.  To me Indian food is a flavor paradise, great for vegetarians and vegans, there is often a wide range of dishes on the menu that include unique dishes which can be difficult to replicate at home.  When I am in London I try to go out for an Indian dinner.  When I was there recently I discovered a new place, Indian Accent in Mayfair, what attracted me was the vegetarian and vegan tasting menus (they is also a non-vegetarian menu as well) which can come with a wine pairing.  They also have a restaurant in New York and New Delhi.  Now I am not saying this dinner is going to cheap but it will be a dining experience that you will remember. Next time I will have to go back and try the premium whisky flight!

From the website:

“Indian Accent showcases inventive Indian cuisine by complementing the flavours and traditions of India with global ingredients and techniques. Its path-breaking menu has been designed by award-winning Chef Manish Mehrotra.

Located in the heart of Mayfair, the London outpost of India’s No.1 Restaurant has received great reviews from critics and guests alike. Fay Maschler, Restaurant Critic for Evening Standard gave Indian Accent a 5-star rating and described our menu as Indian food unlike any other.”

Here is the link that describes the dishes and the wines for the vegetarian tasting menu.  Everything was amazing, incredible flavor and unique combinations of ingredients. I am going to let the photos of this amazing dinner speak for themselves this time….

 

Best Vegetarian English breakfast in London for the Selective Flexitarian

A Full English breakfast is one of the UK’s culinary gifts to the world.  If you are not familiar with this dish it usually consists of bacon, sausages, eggs, grilled tomato and mushrooms, baked beans and occasionally  black pudding (a type of blood sausage). All that meat is now off the table with my new meat philosophy and shift towards eating less meat in general. Luckily there are plenty of places that now serve a Vegetarian Full English which is basically the standard Full English with the meat omitted and sometimes replaced with a plant-based sausage or other meat-like formation.  There are also plenty of places that serve a Vegan English breakfast where the eggs are replaced with scrambled tofu.  There are a lot of options in London for full vegan breakfast, that will be a later post…

Recently I was in London and I had a craving for an English breakfast.  Luckily I like the vegetarian version which I make for myself at home sometimes with free-range eggs that satisfy my requirement for all animal products to come from a responsibly raised source.  While it is easy to find a place that serves Vegetarian English breakfasts it is harder to find those that also have free-range eggs.  Luckily for me a place with walking distance from my hotel in London sold a version with free range eggs so I thought I would check it out.  The Sawyers Arms is a typical old-school London pub located right across the road from Paddington Station.  It’s a great place to have a beer and soak in some London pub atmosphere.  On their menu they actually do a good job including a number of vegetarian options and even some vegan ones as well.  Their breakfast menu has free-range eggs all over it.  So I thought I would try out their ‘Veggie Full English’ since I was craving a fried egg.

The Veggie Full English at Sawyers Arms, Paddington, London

Unfortunately they didn’t have the plant-based sausage but I was OK with that as they can be hot or miss I really wanted the eggs and the rest, can’t beat the English fried hash browns!  The dish was tasty and couldn’t beat the price of £6.95, but I did leave thinking it was missing something and made me think were there better options in London.  I started to do some research for places in London that offered a vegetarian option with free range eggs – this would be the true representation of a Selective Flexitarian English Breakfast. There are literally thousands of places offering vegetarian breakfast, less that also have free-range eggs and I looked for places that had interesting ingredients, something a little different than the standard.

The Table Cafe (Southwark)

The Green Goddess: Avocado, veggie beans, spinach, roast tomatoes, herby mushrooms &

sweet potato wheels with grilled sourdough ; can also add organic eggs. The avocado and sweet potato wheels sound interesting.

Mildreds – Kings Cross

Big Brunch: scrambled Clarence Court Eggs or tofu, vegan sausage, slow roasted tomato, oak smoked house beans, roasted tarragon mushroom, toasted sourdough

Only served on the weekends. What attracted me were the Clarence Court eggs, these eggs are free-range and heritage breed, their website has a lot of information. The tomato, beans and mushroom versions are an interesting spin on the standard offerings.

The Gate Restaurants (Marylebone, Islington, Hammersmith)

Full English: mushroom & bean sausage, hash brown, smoked tofu bacon, homemade baked beans, wild mushrooms, roasted tomato, Sourdough toast, fried eggs

Menu states that all their eggs are free-range and organic. What attracted me was the smoked tofu bacon and mushroom and bean sausage.

Polo Bar (City)

Vegetarian breakfast:  Bubble&Squeak, 2x free range eggs, roast tomato, roasted mushrooms, hash browns, baked beans, bloomer toast

One of the biggest attractions here is that they serve breakfast 24hrs a day! Perfect after a long session at the pubs or clubs.  Also of note is that they state that their bacon and meats are all grass-fed (except pigs don’t eat grass) and Red Tractor assured, this is a standard that all produce must originate from the UK and be traceable, all animals must of treated humanely and free of hormones and antibiotics.  There is a lot more information on their website.

Apres Food Co. (Barbican)

Vegetarian Breakfast: Aprés hash, poached eggs, thyme roasted field mushroom, slow roasted tomatoes, avocado, wilted spinach, watercress, a toasted slice of our homemade bread, with homemade ketchup or brown sauce

Almost all meat and dairy on their menu is free range and organic sourced from small English farms, the eggs come from Cornish St Ewe. The Apres hash is made from sweet potato, caramelized onions and spinach.

Now I realize that not everyone that reads this blog lives in London or may get the chance to go to London.  But what I think we can get from this post are some ideas on how to make an imaginative Selective Flexitarian English Breakfast of your own as a special treat.  I most certainly will be trying some of these options out myself!

Best vegetarian and vegan food options at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

We just recently got back from a trip to Disney World and had an amazing time, it was my first time and I got to say I had a much better time than I thought I would.  We have three young children so it was ideal time for us to go and for everyone to really enjoyed the experience.  Before hand I was a little concerned if we would find meals that were either vegan or vegetarian.  A little research was quite enlightening as there are quite a number of options if you look for them, does take some planning though.

The food options range from the fastest food to fine dining table service so it depends on the type of experience you want.  We were there to not spend too much time on dining and more time in the park and utilized the mobile food order option when we could – this was a life saver with the kids.  You just place an order on the app and go to an express line and pick it up, usually only takes 5-10 min.  All of this is pre-made so don’t expect anything too fancy here.  I am just going to highlight the places and menu items that have a vegetarian or vegan option and have a mobile order option as well.

Casey’s Corner (Main Street)

Loaded Slaw Dog: Plant-based Sausage topped with Pickled Slaw, Barbecue Vegan Aïoli, and Roasted Corn Relish served with French Fries or Apple Slices (this actually sounds delicious and I wish I got this).

“Sausage” Dog (yes the quotations are on purpose and how it is listed on the menu) : plant-based sausage on a bun, guessing that the bun is not vegan.

Columbia Harbor House (Liberty Square)

Lighthouse sandwich: Hummus with Tomato and Broccoli Slaw served on Toasted Multigrain Bread with House-made Potato Chips

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (Tomorrowland)

Plant-based Sloppy Joe : Plant-based Beef Crumbles tossed in a Sloppy Joe Sauce of Diced Onions, Yellow Mustard, Ketchup, Garlic, and Brown Sugar served with French Fries.  I actually had this and I would not recommend!

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn (Frontierland)

Southwest Salad: Mixed Greens topped with Roasted Corn and Bean Salsa, Tomatoes and Tortilla Crisps (don’t eat the tortillas and this would be vegan)

Veggie nachos: Tortilla Chips topped with Queso, Zucchini and Squash

Plant-based Southwest burger: topped with Vegan Jalapeño Jack and Vegan Avocado Aïoli on a Toasted Bun (bun may not be vegan so for a full vegan meal may want to omit)

Veggie Rice bowl: Yellow Rice topped with Black Beans and Roasted Vegetables (vegan option)

Pinocchio Village Haus

Margherita Flatbread: Flatbread topped with Shredded Mozzarella, fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella Pearls and Basil

Gourmet Cheese Flatbread: Flatbread topped with Tomato Sauce, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Provolone and Parmesan

Penne pasta with Marinara: Penne Pasta topped with Marinara and sprinkling of Basil

If you really wanted a vegan option here you could also get a side salad with french fried or tomato basil soup.

 

 

 

Why become a Selective Flexitarian?

Since I started this journey of eating meat from responsible sources (pasture raised, grass fed, free range, heritage breed, all natural, cage free, no hormones, etc) there are some economic and logistical consequences that arise. Firstly it is quite expensive to buy responsibly raised meat, either from the supermarket or a farm. Meat from a factory farm is less expensive since they grow their animals faster using hormones and non-natural diets. Also by cramming these animals into confined spaces they get more return per square foot. These factors and many more result in factory farms being able to produce relatively inexpensive meat so people can afford to eat meat every day if they want. And most people want to eat meat every day, I was one of them for most of my life. Raising animals on pasture or truly free range is labor intensive and more expensive just like organic vegetables are more expensive than non-organic. If you make the decision to only eat responsibly raised meat then you need to make a choice. Spend more money on meat or eat less meat. Seems obvious right?

If all factory farms were banned today the smaller farms that raise animals the right way could not produce enough meat for everyone. Meat prices would go up and would become a luxury item just like it was 60 years ago before factory farms really took hold of the farming industry.  So there are some options here for the consumer that believes that factory farming is wrong.  The most obvious one is to become vegan.  There has been a large conversion of people to veganism in the last 10 years and the realization of the practices that occur at factory farms has contributed greatly to this shift.  Being a vegan in 2020 is still a lot of work and a big commitment.  The other option for me is to become what I call a “Selective Flexitarian”.  Flexitarian is an actual word in the dictionary (adopted in 2012, so not sure why the spellcheck keeps saying it is a spelling mistake) and is defined as : “one whose normally meatless diet occasionally includes meat or fish”.  If you google flexitarian a lot of articles will come up and it is closely tied to the Reductarian movement which is aimed at reducing the amount of meat in people’s diets due to concerns with animal welfare and the environment.  A lot of vegans may say that eating some meat is cheating, I kind of agree, and I don’t think I am ready to give up meat completely.  Also, for me if the meat is not raised responsibly then it is really cheating, hence the term ‘Selective Flexitarian’, if one is to eat meat then it should be selective from a responsible source.

So now I want to be a ‘Selective Flexitarian’ what does that mean?  For me it means finding responsible sources of meat which is eaten on occasion, while the rest of the food I eat should come from vegetable or plant-based sources.  The majority of my blog to date has focused on the responsible meat part of the journey; looking for farms, food brands and restaurants that meet the criteria.  There has been a steady shift to find more plant-based, vegan or vegetarian meals in my week, going forward I will be writing more about the second part of my conversion!

Is it possible the Impossible Burger can take over the world?

I  have had to fly out of Boston Terminal C many times since Jetblue has a direct flight to San Diego from there.  I feel as though I have eaten almost everything everywhere there – Legal Seafoods, Wahlburgers, Boston Beer Works, Wolfgang Puck’s.  Now with my new meat philosophy I haven’t found any good meat options (I’ve eaten plenty of burgers and shrimp  at Terminal C don’t get me wrong).  A menu item at Wahlburgers that has intrigued me since it was introduced this year has been the Impossible Burger.

The marketing material shown above is quite convincing right?  Looks just like a burger but its made from plants.  How will it be different from other vege burgers? The Impossible Burger differentiates itself from other vege burgers in that they are trying to mimic the meat eating experience with a plant based product.  They want the texture and look to be just like a meat burger and their target audience is meat eaters that don’t want to eat meat from a cow since they are concerned about the effects that the meat industry is having on the environment.  The company Impossible Foods has a lofty and admirable goal – to replace all animal protein by 2035.  To learn more I encourage you to read the company’s mission written by the CEO – it’s quite an interesting read.  Right now this company is still at the start up phase and their burgers are only available in some restaurants but they have plans to scale up to introduce to grocery stores.

When the burger arrived I got to say that it definitely looked like a real burger.  A couple of bites and I was quite surprised how similar it tasted like a real burger as well.  It tasted like a very low fat meat burger definitely need the cheese, all the condiments and extras to round out the taste.  This was not a vege burger texture which can taste like a block of compressed food material of some sort.  I was fascinated how they got this texture and feel like meat.  There is a good recent article from Fast Company where they went to the Impossible Foods labs to explain how they made these burgers.  The ingredients are quite simple, pressure cooked wheat, potato starch, coconut oil but the key ingredient is heme.  For non-chemists, heme is a chemical compound and is the core structure of the constituents of blood.  A solution of heme is red and is what gives blood a red color.  Impossible foods even states on its website that heme is the flavor component that people crave.  So basically what people want is the taste of cooked blood?  Does that mean if you like your burger rare you crave the taste of blood and have vampire tendencies?  Anyway, this combination of ingredients not only feels and tastes like a burger but also has a similar nutritional profile to real meat but with less fat.  And its all made in a factory without an animal being killed.

I would definitely order the Impossible burger again and am curious to try different versions at other places.  I can’t wait until it comes out in grocery stores so I can cook it for myself, curious to see if it mimics the cooking experience I also enjoy when cooking real burgers.  The mission is admirable and is in line with my new philosophy on food.  I have been a meat eater all my life and I don’t want to give up meat but if there is an alternative I am willing to give it a shot and if that alternative mimics the meat eating experience then even better.   It’s Impossible to stop everyone from eating meat.  It’s also Impossible to feed the world without Factory farm meat if everyone wants to keep eating meat the way we are right now.  As noble as it may be to stick to a diet of sustainable responsibly farmed meat, there just isn’t enough of those farms and they wouldn’t be able to feed the world  anyway.  However meat alternatives made in a lab could be a solution if they can be scaled and can be cost effective.  Is the Impossible, possible?

 

Who wants food transparency? Go to Sweet Green

Here is another recommendation from a co-worker so I have to give him credit straight off.  The Downtown Crossing area in Boston seems to be the center of responsible and source transparent eateries.  Within a block there is Clover Food Labs, B good, Luke’s Lobster and Sweet Green all of which operate under the philosophy of being fully transparent with their ingredients and focusing on clean food.  All are chains and two have apps from which you can order ahead (B good and Sweet Green).  Why are there so many of these types of restaurants popping up here?  Is it because of the concentration of millennials that work in the city?  I am far from a millennial (about 20 years past) but maybe going through a mid-life crisis where I am concerned with the food that I have put in my body the last 40+ years.  Wonder if this group is contributing?

Sweet Green really just focuses on two main dishes – warm bowls and cold salads made with fresh vegetables and protein if you like.  The website looks beautiful – really makes you want to eat the food!  There is a lot of information on their values and commitment to connecting with the source.  This place is busy – can be a line out the door – should use the app during lunch hour.  There is a range of suggested bowls (curry chickpea – roasted chicken, hot chickpeas, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, raisins, cilantro, toasted almonds, warm quinoa, organic baby spinach, curry yogurt dressing) and salads (kale ceasar – shredded kale, chopped romaine, parmesan crisp, shaved parmesan, roasted chicken, tomatoes, fresh lime squeeze, caesar dressing) or you can make your own.  All the produce is right there in front of you and looks great.   There are also vegan and vegetarian options.  At the start of the line is a huge board which lists all the ingredients and the farm/source down to the freshly squeezed lime juice and raisins.  It’s an amazing display of transparency for sure and apparently they update it every day.  I decided to go for the Curry Chickpea bowl with chickpeas from Timeless Seed – Organic and chicken from Allen Farms.  You can add or subtract ingredients as you walk along the line and check them out.  The bowl tasted delicious and I couldn’t wait to try out some of the others – next time I will use the app.

Under the Food Ethos section of the website they have a paragraph on animal welfare.  Here they mention that: “In each region we source from, we demand high sustainability and animal safety standards. These include:

• Chicken: GAP Step 2 and Certified Humane
• Pork: GAP Step 1
• Eggs: Cage free and certified organic
• Steelhead: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Green Rated”

Both their chicken and pork have a quoted GAP Step which deserves some explanation.  From the GAP website:

“Founded in 2008, Global Animal Partnership (GAP) is a non-profit organization made up of farmers, scientists, retailers, manufacturers, and animal advocates, all collaborating with a common purpose: improving farm animal welfare. GAP is making a difference by creating and managing a comprehensive 5-Step^® Welfare Rating Program for farm animals, where farms & ranches are audited every 15 months by an independent third-party. Through our 5-Step^® Rating Program and labeled product program, producers and consumers can choose to support a program that continuously improves the lives of farm animals step by step.”

There is a ton of information on the website – check it out if you want to know more. They do a great job explaining what each step means in terms of the animal’s lifestyle – diet, living conditions etc.  If we look at chickens specifically – Step 1 includes no cages, but no access to outdoors through to Step 5 involves entire life on farm and pastured.  Sweet Green says their chicken is Step 2 which is an enriched indoor environment but no access to outdoors and not pastured.  Considerably better than life on a Factory Farm but still not the natural outdoors living chicken lifestyle.  A search for Allen Farm, Delaware (from the chalkboard above) comes up with an Allen Harim chicken farm in Delaware.  There is a lot of information on this site explaining how they raise their chickens – no sign of cages and plenty of mentions of no antibiotics ever and 100% vegetarian fed. But I got to say the videos of all those chickens in those huge sheds doesn’t make me feel confident that this chicken is having a great life.  A whole lot better than crammed in a cage don’t get me wrong.  Definitely the Step 2 statement on the Sweet Green website is accurate.  Also Harim Allen is mentioned on the GAP website as being Step 2 as well so everything seems to match up.

The other animal protein available is Steelhead Trout from which I had not heard of before.  The chalkboard mentioned this was sourced from Pacific Seafoods and is quoted on the website as being Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Green Rated.  A quick search shows that this is the case and this Steelhead is farm raised on the Columbia River.

Sweetgreen has to be commended on their transparency of the sourcing of their ingredients which is at a level not seen before.  I don’t feel real great about the chickens being housed inside those huge sheds at Harim Allen Farms (but no cages) but feel a lot better about the source of the Steelhead trout and vegetables. Definitely going back but will stick to the vegetables and fish.