A hidden gem off freeway between Bakersfield & Santa Clarita

I've been wanting to visit Red Dot Vegetarian Restaurant in Frazier Park, California for quite some time. Having seen all the suggestions on HappyCow and decided to finally visit. The restaurant was easy to find and staff were friendly.

I was worried that there wouldn’t be any food for hubby (he has severe nut allergy) but I was pleasantly surprised. Hubby enjoyed yellow split pea soup followed by jalapeño and cheese stuffed paratha.

I had the beef-less shawarma and cinna-naan for dessert.

The food was delicious, the staff was friendly and attentive and I love the variety of dishes from vegan fish tacos to curry and burgers. Now that we’ve had an opportunity to try their food, we’ll definitely come back and especially since they’re open 6am-9pm everyday.

Half Marathon #4 is done and vegan Thanksgiving feast!

This past weekend I went to Walt Disney World for the first time and also completed my fourth half marathon. Disney World was really fun, surprisingly accommodating to me with my vegan diet and also a bit overwhelming at times. Here are some photos from our trip as well as the two medals I received for completing the race and completing a race in Disneyland and Disney World.

Here's us at Hollywood Studios

Here's us at the Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon Expo

Here's me before the Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon

Here's the two medals I received after the race - 1 for completing the half marathon and a second medal for completing two races at both Walt Disney World & Disneyland in the same year

  Here's a yummy falafel veggie burger I ate at Downtown Disney World

 
 Here are some delish vegan carrot cake cupcakes from Babycakes NYC in Downtown Disney World

 

Below is the vegan Thanksgiving feast me and Den had made by Chef Joy at Viva La Vegan grocery in Rancho Cucamonga. We ended up flying to see my family in Alabama for Thanksgiving and it was fun seeing them after a year and after having lost so much weight.

If you'd like to see more photos, you can visit my flickr page by going to flickr and typing the name bamalibrarylady and go to the Destination Disney World set.

New menu items at Veggie Grill!

Me and Den went to Veggie Grille in El Segundo for my birthday and was pleasantly surprised by some of their new menu items. The first new menu item we tried was the cauli-mashed potatoes; although I liked them just fine, Den wasn't a fan and said they tasted too much like cauliflower and not enough like potatoes.

Den decided to try the new buffalo bomber sandwich which consisted of  a crispy chickin' breast tossed in buffalo sauce, tomato, red onion, lettuce, ranch dressing and after talking to a Veggie Grill employee, he decided to add avocado to his bomber. He said the said was pretty good but not nearly as good as his favorite sandwich, the Santa Fe Crispy Chickin'.

For my new menu item choice, I picked the urban plate which contained a blackened tempeh-carmelized onion-portobello mushroom stack, steamin' kale, a sliced tomato salad and chipotle ranch. I liked that it was gluten free so my sister in law could eat it if she wanted to and I was also really impressed by the way the food was presented on the plate. It looked upscale and tasted good as well.

We love veggie grill and you can best believe that we'll be back to try some more of their new menu items soon.

Assorted vegan goodies

Just wanted to write about some of the yummy food that I've had lately, both homemade and store bought. First up is a wonderful vegan pizza that Den made for dinner a couple of weeks ago. This pizza was made on a wheat crust using Ragu spaghetti sauce and topped with mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts and onions. Not only was it simple to make, it tasted fantastic!

Next is a loaf of vegan banana bread that I bought at Garden Cove ( a local natural foods store). It's always comforting to go to a store that as vegan options as well as nut-free options (since Den is allergic). The loaf was small in appearance but big on taste.

Tonight for dinner we had baked potatoes with Lightlife Smart BBQ and Tofutti Sour Cream-healthy and tasty. So there it is-three tasty vegan goodies I've have lately.

Chocolate temptation then Chinese chicken & broccoli

Athough I've beeen doing pretty good with my new vegan lifestyle, there are some areas I'm still weak in such as when co-workers bring in chocolate candy from a trip overseas. I've had my moment of weakness and almost gave in but in the end, I stood my ground. Yay me! I'm doing my best to take it one day at a time and reassure myself that by not eating eggs or dairy, I am helping animals and not hurting them.

Last night Den made a tasty dinner of Chinese chicken and broccoli however since money's kinda tight right now, he cut up some veggie chicken nuggets rather than using Morningstar chike strips and instead of using regular white rice, he used a bag of pre-mixed rice and vegatables. Surprisingly, it was very filling and I told him he'll definitely have to make this again.

Vegan Veggie Pizzas

Last night my husband made some delish vegan veggie pizzas. For pizza crust, we went to Walmart & found some wheat olive and rosemary foccaica rolls and used Newman's Marinara spaghetti sauce as a base. After that, Den piled it high with olives, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts. Yummy!

On Becoming Vegan

Hi, my name is Tamara and I've recently decided to become vegan. While I have enjoyed a life long love affair with dairy and eggs, I realize now that by eating these things, I am being a hypocritical vegetarian by avoiding meat but still eating products which hurts cows. I have went online and researched egg and dairy alternatives and I look forward to trying these new foods. I'm planning to start on Monday and am looking forward to feeling better about my relationship with the Earth and animals. I'm grateful that my husband is so understanding (which could be because he was raised vegetarian) but it's interesting how many items I'm finding that have egg or dairy ingedients in the ingredients. If you'd like to read more about me, visit my old blog at www.poetchik.easyjournal.com.