Vegan Birthday Cake

For my past two birthdays I have not had a birthday cake...

But the other day while shopping at Whole Foods I saw a cake that I would really like to have as a birthday cake!

It is a simple Vegan Carrot Cake.

I know it doesn't seem like anything special but I like carrot cake and I like simple nice things for my birthday.  Also I love Whole Foods.  Sometimes I miss certain food items like cookies, ice cream, and other sweets and thankfully Whole Foods has a great selection of items for me to choose from. 

Golden Raspberries

Fall is coming and an abundance of fall fruits are filling the markets.  I went to my local Whole Foods to buy some fruit and among the beautiful variety of stone fruits (plums, peaches, pluots, etc.) I found a fruit I've always wanted to try.  Golden Raspberries!

The golden raspberries I bought from Whole Foods displayed in a Waterford crystal bowl. 

Golden Raspberries are pretty much the same as normal raspberries but can be slightly sweeter.  The ones I tried taste about the same as normal raspberries but some were a bit tart.  This variety is often sold in mid-summer and fall for only a few weeks. The only time that I have seen this raspberry is in garden centers during spring when the plant roots are for sale and in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. 

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

The other day at Whole Foods I came across something unexpected:

Vegan Wild Blueberry Mini Muffins!

I know there are some recipes for vegan muffins and some bakeries that sell vegan muffins but since going vegan almost a year ago I haven't tried any.  I do love blueberry muffins especially when they have nice big juicy blueberries inside so I was interested in trying these.  

The package of vegan blueberry mini muffins.  They were really good!  Even my all consuming cousins really liked them. As you can see they are loaded with delicious blueberries and the muffins are very moist.  These would be great if you were hosting a vegan breakfast get-together.

Serving the muffin on some fine chine really makes it look special.

Just be careful to peel the muffin/cupcake paper off the muffin itself so you don't eat it.

This is one of the best things about being Vegan!  It forces you to discover all sorts of foods you have never tried before and really makes you more conscious about what you are consuming.

Vegan Fried Oysters

I recently went to Quan Yin restuarant and had their Vegan Fried Oyster dish.  The look and breading of the "oysters" was just like a real fried oyster but instead of oyster it is eggplant and a faux meat.  It was really good and the portion is huge!  If you are vegan/vegetarian in Houston you must try this restaurant.  There is a lot of really interesting and delicious choices on the menu.   

Vegan Fried Oysters 

Mango Soy Snow - Royal Tea Cafe

I recently posted about a Soy Thai Tea I got from Royal Tea Cafe and wanted to share another really good drink I've found.  It is the Mango Snow which I get with soy milk instead of non-dairy creamer.  It is perfection - my new favorite drink!  It has lots of mango flavor (as it has real mango fruit) and the soy milk gives it a really nice smooth taste that goes really well with mango.  

My mango snow with soy.  I really need to try the mango jellies with this. 

(Their mango jellies are made with carrageenan so it is vegan :D )

Here is a pic of Royal Tea Cafe.

It is located inside Northwest Mall in the foodcourt. They also have a large variety of beverages and Vietnamese food and snacks.  When I eat here I usually eat the veggie banh mi with avocado and sweet potato fries.  To see more pictures you can visit their Facebook page:  Royal Tea Cafe

Vegan Curry Chicken

I have a craving for Vegan Curry Chicken from Quan Yin restaurant...

Thinking about the crunchiness of this chicken and the curry flavor makes my mouth water.

Soy Thai Tea

I've been craving a thai tea for a while and luckily I found a place that will make it with soy milk!

Refreshing thai tea made with soy milk from

Royal Tea Cafe in Northwest Mall - Houston, TX.

Lunch at Pine Forest Vegetarian

Hello!  Today Tink and I went to try the lunch buffet at Pine Forest Vegetarian Restaurant in Houston's Chinatown.  It was my first vegetarian buffet I've been to and I was impressed.  They had a wide variety of vegetarian Chinese dishes like: fried rice, noddles, various vegetables like eggplant and green beans, mixed veggie dishes, dumplings, soup, fruit, vegetarian sushi rolls, and faux meats.

Here is my second plate with various items from the buffet.  My favorite thing is in the top right corner - they are like fried sweet potato balls. 

This restaurant has a full menu, as well as lunch specials, and the lunch buffet to choose from.  It is very clean looking and the staff is friendly and attentive.  I will definitely be back! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year filled with joy and happiness with your loved ones!

I am so thankful for so many things:  my family, friends, good health, happiness, and to live in a wonderful country.   I am also thankful for all the little things in life that make life so much more enjoyable: electricity, gas, clean water, abundance of good food, the internet, cell phones... there is so much to be thankful for.

My first vegan Thanksgiving!  Tink and I went to Quan Yin restaurant in Houston Chinatown.  It was really good!  (...its making my mouth water again.)

Be kind to your fellow human beings and living creatures on this planet. I hope you have a safe and productive Black Friday as well!

...now Im off to Macy's!  ;)

Lunch at Ruggles Green

Ruggles Green is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, TX. They have two beautiful restaurants in the city with a menu full of original, delicious, organic, and healthy foods.

With the cool weather lately I was craving something warm and fulfilling. They have a wide variety of vegan options for me, as well as vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free options. Today I chose an item from the Specials Menu - the Vegetarian Pasta with no chesse and my bf, Tink, got their famous Fish Tacos.

Here is my Vegetarian Pasta. It was one of the best things I've had at Ruggles (tied with the Local Vegetable Platter). It was piping hot, full of flavor, and all the vegetables were super fresh and delicious.

...and here are their famous Fish Tacos. Whenever I go to Ruggle's Green I see tons of people order this. The other day I ate at the City Center location and saw a table of 4 girls who all got this. The sauce it comes with is nice and spicy!

I highly recommend trying this restaurant! It is wonderful in so many ways.

If you would like more information on Ruggles Green including there menu and locations please click this link: RugglesGreen.com

My Favorite Vegan Snacks

I like to snack. Everyday I have "tea time" around 5 o'clock and have coffee and a snack. I gives me a little energy to finish work and to hold me off until dinner time which is usually late for me. After about 3 weeks of being Vegan I have found it really easy to find very healthy things to snack on besides the obvious fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Some are surprisingly good and addictive...

My favorite are Probars. They have a wide variety of bars to choose from, are great tasting, and very fulfilling. They also all come in really attractive packaging which caused me to try them in the first place. Probars make a good meal replacement and are perfect when traveling through areas that might not have anything healthy and good to eat. ProBar - website to see all of their wonderful products.

...another wonderful product I found during my last visit to Whole Foods Market are these wonderful Vegan and Organic - Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups by Justin's. They are amazing!!! The best peanut butter cup I have ever tasted. They are much more flavorful and not overpoweringly sweet like some other more famous brand. Justin's makes a variety of nut butter - that I can't wait to try. Visit there website: Justin's to see there products and learn more. Plus if you Like them on Facebook you can get a coupon!

...and speaking of chocolate. A lot of chocolate has milk in it... hence "milk chocolate" but there are vegan chocolates! The Endangered Species Chocolate brand has quite a few different varieties of vegan chocolates to choose from. Last night I tried the Dark Chocolate with Mint and it is very good. If you visit there website: Endangered Species Chocolate and search Vegan in there search bar you can see the vegan gift basket below and the different varieties of vegan chocolate flavors they sell.

Other yummy sweet snacks I found are in the Whole Foods Market bakery. They have a few vegan baked goods such as the Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie, which taste just like a regular yummy chocolate chip cookie, maybe better.

There are so many many good foods to discover. I think the search and discovery has been a surprisingly unexpected enjoyable thing about becoming vegan. It has forced me to try new restaurants, look for new foods at the grocery store, and expand my knowledge of food in general. I feel I knew about everything there was to know about American food and this change has opened the door to a new world that was waiting to be explored.

Going Vegan

Going Vegan is something I have been really curious about doing.

I gave up eating meat, except for chicken and seafood, three and a half years ago. Now I am ready to take the next step; or perhaps a leap. I am ready to not eat meat, eggs, dairy, anymore! There are many many reasons that I am doing this. The three main reasons are: health, environment, and ethics.

I am not going to fill this blog post with all the countless benefits in each of those categories (there are many many online sources and books that you can read). I just wanted to share this change in my life. I think it will really change the way I feel and view the world around me in a positive way. Something about just the thought of starting this is exciting.

I hope to share good things about being vegan (food!!!) on this blog in the near future. ;)