Larabar Giveaway Winner

It's time to announce the winner of my Larabar giveaway! This was my most-entered giveaway to date by far, with 410 entries. Thank you all so much for participating! And the winner is...

#125, Susan!

Congrats Susan! Please email me your shipping information so we can get your prize pack to you ASAP.

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I stocked up on fresh veggies during my grocery shop dinner, so I knew I wanted something colorful and comforting for dinner. Something like a roasted veggie dish!

Diced zucchini, beets and parsnip roasted in salt, pepper and olive oil, mixed with several servings of seitan, served atop a bed of baby spinach and topped with yellow mustard.

I always forget how much I love seitan- it has the best texture of all the vegetarian protein sources, in my opinion!

Doesn't it look like meat with the red stain from the beets?

I also had a tangelo (which turned out to be the seediest citrus I've ever had):

And for dessert, I broke into a little birthday treat that Jillian gave me last night. 

Raw mint chip macaroons- doesn't she know me too well? They were minty and rich. My only qualm was that the chocolate chips were kind of on the wimpy side!

Hope you're having a great start to your week!

PS- I updated my restaurant page to include meals from my travels, as well as some previously overlooked NYC restaurants! 

Sandwich Central and Vegan Reflections

It's only mid-afternoon and I've already had three small sandwiches today!

Sandwich #1: almond butter on a whole-wheat sandwich thin, packed as a morning snack between classes.

Sandwich #2: a Boca vegan burger with mustard and spinach on a whole-wheat sandwich thin, also packed for lunch.

Enjoyed with carrot sticks, an apple and a honey graham Clif Z-Bar for a little something sweet.

Sandwich #3: Sabra sundried tomato hummus on whole-wheat bread, currently being eaten as I write this post. (Well, it's more like hummus on toast, but if I stuck 'em together it would be a sandwich, right?)

What can I say, I like bread :)

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Today is the last day of "vegan month"! As I explained in this post, I committed to veganism for 31 days, just to get a sense of how it felt to be a strict vegan. Over the course of this little experiment, I've learned a few things:

1. At home, already eat nearly 100% vegan. I never once wanted to make something that contained animal products,  so I didn't feel deprived in that sense.

2. Eating out is the most difficult aspect of veganism. Though most restaurants can provide a vegan dish upon request, it's usually not a very fun or unique meal. Plus there's barely ever a vegan dessert option, which makes me sad. Dessert is my favorite!

3. It would be way harder to go totally vegan if I didn't live in such a veg-friendly city, and if my friends and family weren't so supportive. I'm lucky that my parents were willing to try vegan restaurants in Orlando, and that there are so many vegan options in NYC. It definitely made the whole month much easier!

4. One thing that I've noticed this month is that I have a much harder time eating processed (and therefore generally non-vegan) sweets in moderation than I do quality desserts (including well-made non-vegan sweets). That's by no means a reason to swear off of M&M's or Milano cookies, it's just something I'm glad to be more aware of.

So, the verdict? As much as I believe in veganism, I don't think I'll ever consider myself to be 100% vegan. I was happy with the way I ate before (occasional seafood, dairy, and cream-filled desserts), and I intend to go back to eating whatever I want, which frequently falls into the vegan category, anyway. I prefer not to label my diet, anyway- I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't need to define or defend your eating choices, as long as they keep you happy and healthy!

How would you describe your diet to someone else? Be creative!

January Goals in Review

Can it really be January 31 already? How do months always seem to slip away from me?

I kicked off the last day of January (actually my least favorite month of the year) with an early-morning workout. I headed to the gym for 30 minutes of intervals on the StairMaster, followed by abs and stretching. Two days off gave me some fresh legs- I pumped the machine all the way up to level 15!

I returned home to one of my favorite breakfast bowls: Cheerios, blueberries, bananas and almond milk.

Slowly working my way through that Costco bag of O's!

* * *

Since I didn't do too great on my December goals, I decided to carry some of them into January. And, well, I have to say that I didn't do much better this month! I guess that's what February is for?

1. Drink more water. Pass. I've been slowly improving on this over the past few months, and though I'm of the opinion that you can almost always drink more water, I find myself reaching for a glass way more often than I used to.

2. Learn to use my DSLR better. Miserable fail. This has been on my list since November and it still feels super daunting. Maybe I should make this my #1 February goal?

3. Experiment with one new non-dessert recipe per week. Eh. I started off well, but I haven't done much real cooking lately at all! Hopefully Mike and I will reinstate our dinner dates this semester so I have someone to cook for.

4. Be more patient with others. At home this was pretty easy, but now that I'm back in the fast-paced city with the stress of school, it's harder to calm down. Definitely something that could still use work.

I'm still figuring out my February goals, but I'm hoping to set some new ones...and to finally learn to use my darn camera! Did you set any goals for this month? If so, how did they go? And if you made New Year's resolutions, how are they going for you?

Off to class- happy Monday!

PS- Don't forget to enter my Larabar giveaway before 8 pm EST!

Quantum Heat

Earlier this evening, I met my good friend Jillian for dinner at Quantum Leap, one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants in the city.

Though at most restaurants I'm a creature of habit and tend to order the same thing over and over, at Quantum Leap I'm more adventurous and have yet to repeat a meal there! Tonight I ordered the vegetarian curry stew dinner, which came with a green starter salad (please pardon the poorly lit photos!):

The curry stew itself was a melange of seasonal vegetables and tofu slowly simmered in Southeast Asian curry spices.

There were two options for this dish: mild or spicy. I immediately went for spicy, and whew! It was on fire. The broth was actually too hot for me to eat by itself, but fortunately the piles of veggies and tofu helped to tone it down a bit.

On the side, I was given a portion of basmati-lentil rice. Good as far as rice goes, but I always think that it's a rather boring grain!

Of course, I broke out my favorite dessert the second I got home :)

An apple with my last block of Baker's chocolate. Perfection.

I must say that I'm excited to start the week ahead. I don't want to "wish my life away," but each week that passes brings us that much closer to warm weather! Enjoy your evening!

When you eat at your favorite restaurants, do you tend to always order the same things, or do you switch things up?

Eyesore

Hi everyone! Hope the weekend is treating you all well!

When I woke up yesterday to sore, bloodshot eyes, I didn't think much of it- after all, smoky bars and not enough sleep will do that to you. By this morning, however, the pain had gotten worse, so today I headed over to an emergency clinic to get my eyes checked out. The verdict? I likely have cuts in both my eyes, probably a result of the fact that (I've been told) I occasionally sleep with my eyes slightly open, and I sleep with a fan near my head as white noise. Kinda creepy, right?

Before my appointment, I had a two-part lunch. Part one was a huge salad with spinach, two roma tomatoes, two packages of Trader Joe's seaweed snacks and a blob of Sabra hummus.

If you're a seaweed lover, you have to try this, I'm telling you! Hummus + sea veggies are crazy good together.

A bit later, I had some vegan tofu salad with two slices of whole-wheat bread and a side of strawberries.

Truth be told, this stuff is so good I'm actually kind of scared to replicate it. What if I butcher the recipe? One day...

Now, I'm snacking on a cashew cookie Larabar to tide me over until dinner.

My tired eyes have got a lot of reading to do- better get on it.

PS- Don't forget to enter my Larabar giveaway!

Pasta, Pasta!

It's been awhile since Mike and I have cooked a meal together, so when he told me last night that he wanted to cook a pasta dinner for me, I was game!

He purchased fresh-cut homemade pasta from Borgatti's pasta shop in the Little Italy area of the Bronx. It was doughy, thick and delicious enough to eat raw.

(I just realized while Googling "fresh cut handmade pasta" that it most likely was made with egg. Oops...does anyone know if that's usually the case?)

To top our pasta, we had a classic marinara sauce spiced up with lots of red peppers and fresh basil. I'm glad I'm dating a fellow spicy-food fan!

The noodles plumped up to twice their size and were full of flavor- beats boxed pasta any day! I loved that you could find some crimped edges within the pile of carbs. Between the two of us, we polished off all but one serving from the 1lb portion.

For dessert, we split some dark chocolate.

And then I went to town on a massive bag of pistachios while watching House.

By went to town, I mean that I probably ate 3-4 servings' worth. Pistachios are one of my favorite nuts :)

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For breakfast this morning, I wasn't feeling the usual cereal, so I whipped up a bowl of oat bran with a new ingredient:

Special Dark cocoa powder? Yes, please! I added a tablespoonful to 1/2 c oat bran, 1 c almond milk, a sliced banana and a spoonful of almond butter.

I'm never going back to regular cocoa powder again. The richness of this stuff was unbelievable- instead of tasting cocoa-ey, it tasted completely chocolatey and decadent. Total dessert for breakfast.

Lots to do today- time to get cracking. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Have you ever had homemade pasta? Better yet, have you ever made it yourself?

Larabar Giveaway

Who wants to win some Larabars?!

In the midst of dreary winter days, I love to snack on something summery and fresh. Key lime pie Larabars are one of my favorite bars in general, mainly because eating one is like a little taste of the tropics.

Thanks to the kind folks at Larabar, one of my readers will win a tropical-themed prize pack containing:

 - five Key Lime Pie bars

 - five Coconut Cream Pie bars

 - five Tropical Fruit Tart bars

 - a Larabar t-shirt

It's like a little Caribbean party in your mouth :) There are three ways to enter:

 1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite flavor of Larabar, or the flavor you'd most like to try.

 2. Follow me on Twitter

 3. Tweet about this giveaway: "@uneviesaine is giving away tropical @Larabar: http://tinyurl.com/4teh4cw "

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. The contest ends on Monday, January 31 at 8pm EST. I'll chose a winner at random and announce it that evening. 

Good luck!

Birthday Part II: Candle 79

Last night, my birthday festivities continued when Mike took me to Candle 79, my all time favorite vegan restaurant on the Upper East Side. He actually introduced me to it for the first time exactly a year ago, on my last birthday!

I took advantage of my newfound 21-ness with a fun cocktail: The Redcoat.

Bluecoat gin, sake, muddled mint, blood orange bitters, lime, agave, sugar, and up. I found it funny that such a macho name was actually a hot pink drink.

First, we were brought a complimentary amuse-bouche of black bean pate with fresh tomatoes on a crostini. I love that Candle always surprises you a bit at the beginning of your meal!

When it comes to Candle 79, you have to go big or go home. To start, we shared the fried dumplings, filled with seitan, shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy and sesame-ginger soy sauce.

I liked them but wasn't in love- I could have eaten the fried dough and baby bok choy all night long, but the interior was a bit too mushroomy for me. Mike absolutely loved them, though. (I hate when my mushroom aversion gets in the way of enjoying good food!)

For my entree, I chose the live zucchini enchiladas.

Cashew cheese, spinach, guacamole, chipotle tomato sauce, cashew sour cream, toasted pumpkin seeds, baby romaine, cucumber-jicama salsa.

These were delicious and fresh-tasting. I'm becoming a huge fan of nut-based creamy cheeses. This may be blasphemous, but as someone who's always preferred whipped cream and frosting to cheese in the real dairy department, dare I say it's even better than the real thing (to me at least)?

Mike ordered the chili-grilled seitan, with quinoa pilaf, sauteed chard, tomatillo-black bean sauce and avocado-pumpkin seed salad.

He really enjoyed his meal as well, and even gave me his avocado slices. What a guy.

We also shared an order of their onion rings with chipotle-aioli dipping sauce.

I love the rings themselves, but I have to say that the sauce is the real winner in this combo. I ate it with a fork once we'd polished off all the fried onions.

We both knew exactly what we wanted for dessert: the chocolate-peanut butter bliss. Chocolate mousse, peanut butter mousse, chocolate shell and a berry coulis. Of course, we each needed our own. Sharing? I don't share these types of things. Sorry I'm not sorry.

At dinner on Thursday Gracie asked me whether I preferred Pure Food and Wine or Candle 79, and I have to say that it's a really close call. However, I think I'd choose Candle just because it's a) more affordable, b) more approachable to non-foodies and c) more nostalgic for me. I've only known this place for a year, but I have a lot of good memories already! In all honesty, though, you really cannot beat either, and I consider them to be the two best dining experiences I've ever had.

Although, I did point out to Mike last night that the mint chocolate sundae beats out the peanut butter bliss, solely for being three times the size of it. I take my dessert seriously :)

Raw Food Gives Me Wiiiiiings!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Since last night ended relatively early (I am not a late-night person, no matter what the situation), I was up and at 'em by my regular hour, ready to start the day.

I had my favorite cereal breakfast- Cheerios, blueberries, and almond milk- before heading to the gym for my second long run of half marathon training. The streets are full of slush and ice, so treadmill it was.

Apparently raw desserts do something to my energy levels, because I felt like I could have run forever! I completed 8 miles in 1:04:55- about an 8:07 average pace. Treadmill runs are generally easier than outdoor ones though, so I need to wait for the snow to melt a bit to test my real pace.

Post-run, lunch was had.

A delicious roasted seaweed, spinach, tomato and hummus salad:

This sounds weird, but tasted absolutely amazing. Just try it, okay?

Along with an apple and almond butter-ed sandwich thin:

And a random container of vegan tofu salad I picked up the last time I went grocery shopping. Recreating this stuff has been on my to-do list for far too long now.

Currently, I'm snacking on a plate of almond butter and chocolate chip stuffed medjool dates, as I contemplate actually getting some homework done...

I'm a lucky girl, because I get to celebrate my birthday yet again this evening. I can already taste the chocolate-peanut butter bomb...

The Best Birthday Non-Cake

Last night, the lovely Gracie and I celebrated my birthday at Pure Food and Wine, a raw food restaurant near Gramercy that I'm slightly obsessed with.

Since it was a special occasion, we had (a bit too much, on my part) champagne ;)

I knew I wanted the S&M salad (and so did Gracie, the moment I mentioned avocado), so we each got our own and decided to share the zucchini, local roma and heirloom tomato lasagna entree, as well.

I seriously have dreams about this salad.

Greens, avocado, hemp seeds, dulse, rosemary crackers and pumpkinseed lemon dressing.

It. Is. So. Good.

The lasagna was equally amazing- basil pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato marinara and macadamia pumpkin seed ricotta, layered between strips of zucchini and fresh tomatoes.

The macadamia ricotta and basil pesto were the standouts of the dish for sure. I wanted a bowl of them to dig into with a spoon.

Though we were pushing fourth-trimester food babies after inhaling those dishes, obviously the two dessert queens could not resist something sweet. I chose my all-time favorite dessert: the raw mint chocolate sundae with chocolate, mint and mint chip ice creams, mint chocolate cookies, chocolate sauce  and vanilla cream.

Remember how yesterday I mentioned the three foods I could live off of forever? I lied. I could live off of this dessert alone.

It was the best birthday non-cake I could have asked for, and a wonderful evening in general :) Thank you to everyone (especially Gracie) who made yesterday so special for me- it was definitely a birthday to remember!