One of them is the amount of gluten and dairy-free food that’s becoming more broadly available.
It’s a joy.
Food: 1
Sad things: 0
(What? I don’t know…it’s been a long day, so you’re just going to have to ride the Quinnterested-Brain-Train with me.)
Here’s one of my new Nashville favs:
Vegan Vee Bakery: West Nashville VV was on my summer bucket list to try.
Well, *smiling smugly* try it I did. (#feeltheYoda)
My Vegan Vee Favorite:
-Jam Filled Donut Muffin (just let those words, combined into ONE dessert, sink in for a sec)
Jelly-filled gluten-free donuts are, well, in short supply.
The remedy: Stock up at Vegan Vee.
Koko’s Skoop Shop: West Nashville (pair with your trip to Vegan Vee, which is less than 2 miles from Koko’s!)
Koko’s menu isn’t available online (yet), but we really enjoyed the fact that all of their ice cream is dairy-free, in addition to being nut & peanut-free and plant-based! And the gluten-free waffle cone was a mega-added-bonus.
It’s also just a really cute (dare I say “aesthetic”) location, right by a sand volleyball court, so bring your friends and work off that ice cream!
So go have a cute lil’ trip to West Nashville, eat some *actually healthy* ice cream, a jelly filled donut muffin (becausewhereELSE?), tour Vanderbilt or something smart like that, jaunt around music row real fast, and then go grab some din-din in the Gulch (Burger Republic is really good and has GF buns!)
Here’s what it looks like: For 30 days, over 30,000 people in the greater Nashville-area prayed (and some fasted, in various ways) for every person who has a greater Nashville address.
If you live in Nashville, you’ll be getting (if you haven’t already) a postcard in the mail that says something like this:
“Hi [insert Nashville resident’s name here],
My name is [Quinn], and for the last 30 days I have had the honor of praying for you and your family. Although I don’t know you, I have been praying that the love and peace of Jesus would fill your home and bless your life. As you reflect back on this month, I hope you will see God’s love for you.
Blessings,
[Quinn]
What will result of this? Well, the 30 days of praying literally ends today, so I couldn’t quite tell you yet.
Here are 5 things I do know:
God will be/has been praised (this is ultimately about praising God!)
God-glorifying, big revival movements in the past have begun with a similar time of intentional prayer and fasting
Fasting and praying as a city-wide church (body of Christ) is unifying and encouraging
God is moving, and I think He’s already shown me one miracle He’s done so far…
PMS:
(Possible Miracle Storytime) 😉
If you signed up to participate in AWAKEN, you received a packet. In said-packet comes instructions, a 30-day devotional/prayer guide, a list of 15 first names and addresses in the area that you will be praying for each day, and 15 postcards that you’ll fill out with a similar message to the one above at the end of the 30 days.
On Saturday, my mom announced that she’d counted her postcards and was short a few.
Yesterday (Sunday), I was filling out my postcards. At one pointed I paused to count the cards and noted I had only 12.
I continued anyway.
The closer I got to filling out postcards for numbers 13-15 on my list, the more confused I was at the thicker-than-12 pile of postcards I’d been drawing from.
I decided to count again.
I had 15.
I told my parents.
My mom now had 15, too.
Dude.
Chat time.
Did either my mom or I major in math in college? Mmm no.
Listen, I didn’t see the pile go into labor and literally birth three new cards before my eyes. (A-la the overflowing rice Ricky makes in the “Job Switching” episode of I Love Lucy, season 2, episode 1…*ahem*, my childhood.)
I’m believing that my math skills aren’t perfect, but that God is. Whatever happened, whether my mom and I both miscounted by 3 or not, He provided the perfect number of postcards for both of us.
And I’m choosing to believe He might’ve just done a magical multiplication right in front of me.
So, to the last 3 people on my list, I hope you feel extra special and cared for today, because I think God really wanted you guys to receive the notes.
If you want to learn more about the 30 days of prayer and fasting that Nashville took part in this month, visit AWAKEN Nashville’s website here.
Let’s continue our lil’ GF/DF tour of the Nashville-area…
Sunflower Cafe: Berry Hill Nashville
Sunflower Cafe is one of the best places for delicious, quality (yet reasonably-priced) vegan and gluten-free food in Nashville.
There are just a lot of things to love about it.
Here’s some of my favs:
-Everything is vegan (except for dairy cheese you can choose to sub for vegan cheese)
-Most food is gluten-free
-Fun, house-made desserts
-Reasonable prices
-Tofu that actually has flavor
-Happy.Hour. (big appetizers for $5!!)
That’s my list. Go to Sunflower, and then tell me what you’d add to your own list.
The only main downside to Sunflower that I can think of is, if you’re going with a strong-willed meat & potatoes-person, prepare yourself for
a Ron Swanson-like emotional breakdown, *
since Sunflower doesn’t have any real meat. If your meat person’s flexible and open to a yummy dish of sunflower rice with seasoned veggies and tofu, or a vegan quesadilla with a side of–did you guess it?—aioli, then you’ll be good.
My Fav Sunflower Dishes:
-Thai Ginger Tofu Bowl (with sunflower rice or subbing extra sesame kale for the grain)
-Garlic Mushroom Veggie Burger
-Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla on brown rice (GF) wrap (only available during Sunflower Cafe’s Happy Hour)
Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla
The Dotted Lime: Columbia
It’s just magical and beautiful and a land of wonders.
Just read this:
Yeah, that’s right. CINNAMON ROLLS that are gluten-free, dairy-free, etc. By God’s grace and the love that The Dotted Lime’s family pours into their products, these are not taste-free. They are fabulous. My only warning is that they’re addictive and will put you in a sugar-coma, so be careful. I’d recommend splitting one three ways to avoid brain fog!
Other highlights:
…Everything?
One of the best things about Lime is that EVERYTHING is gluten-free (see first pic), so you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination. Woot woot!
Another of my favorite things about Lime is that it’s family-run, so you’ll probably see employees of quite varying ages cooking and bussing tables. They’re all adorable and are gaining great work experience in a really sweet environment. So go support them!
Another thing to like about The Dotted Lime: Panzzinos, which are sandwiches on a Naan/pita-style gluten-free bread. It’s happy.
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I hope you get a chance to check out these lovely eateries. Please do.
We’re about to continue our U.S. tour of gluten and dairy-free eats with today’s stop:
Nashville!
If you’re ever in the Greater Nashville-area, please check out these fab eateries.
Five Daughters Bakery: 12 South Nashville ~ East Nashville ~ Factory at Franklin
Five Daughters Bakery EASILY gets my vote for the best gluten-free doughnut in Nashville. Their glorious Paleo Crushers (pictured below) are the things of legends, basically, and I love them very deeply.
Crushers are no ordinary doughnuts. They’re not even ordinary gluten-free doughnuts. They are grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. And, perhaps most importantly, they taste great. Moist, flavorful and perfectly sweet.
The chocolate chip sea salt (see pic) is my mom’s personal favorite; I like that and generally any others with the paleo vanilla base.
Praise God for Five Daughters Bakery, a company that gets gluten, grain-free and paleo baked goods right!
Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Paleo Crusher from Five Daughters Bakery
Mojo’s Tacos: Factory at Franklin ~ various food truck locations
Mojo’s Tacos is a new, super popular restaurant in Downtown Franklin, which is about 15-20 miles south of Nashville. It’s located in the Factory, which is a beautiful historic building filled with other eateries, shoppes, and event spaces. If you’ve been to Atlanta, think of a kinda mini-Ponce Market. If you’ve been to NYC, this is Nash’s mini-Chelsea Market.
Side Note: There’s another Five Daughters Bakery located in the Factory, approx. 50 feet from Mojo’s. Just sayin’. #IwillneverstoppluggingFiveDaughters
Mojo’s has a limited menu of tacos/salads/drinks/etc. that it has epic-ly mastered.
The Brisket taco, pictured above, is my fav. The taco drips with an otherworldly, flavorful juice, the brisket is perfectly moist and rich, and the toppings add a Tinkerbell-style fairy dust on top. Just make sure you get it on a corn tortilla if you’re sensitive to gluten (default is flour tortilla.)
Also, the portions are super kind. By that, I mean they’re plentiful. *YAY* I love a chef who fills me up without breaking my piggy bank. (How rude of said chef to sneak into my house at night, hammer in hand, and crack open my lil’ piggy bank?? I’m so hypothetically offended, Leslie Knope-style.)
Just go to Mojo’s. And, again, if you’re gluten-free, just make sure you ask for a corn tortilla. And, if you’re dairy-free as well, stick to the Brisket, Carnitas, or maybe Adobo Chicken tacos. (Or the Old School, sans-cheese.)
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Burger Up: 12 South Nashville ~ East Nashville ~ Franklin/Cool Springs
Lettuce-wrapped burger at Burger Up
Guys, Burger Up is just plain good. Not cheap, so think date night-material, but so so yummy. Their fries are flavorful, especially when paired with the Quinn-loves-this-condiment-so-much aioli (actually, get their Herb Mayo), and you can even ask for them to be fried in their separate gluten-free frier! Love that. Doesn’t that thoughtfulness kinda make you wanna marry the man who thought of that?? #slightlydesperate
You can get a lettuce-wrapped turkey burger, which automatically comes with reg. fries, for $11 (not incl. tax). It’s not cheap, but that’s about their least-expensive burger option, and it’s filling. I also like that their turkey burger normally comes without cheese, so I don’t have to pay for something I’m not getting. Actually, I end up not paying for something I am getting, since I usually get a free aioli/mayo on the side. Ladies and gents, that’s called playing the system. #Iwin
That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for more Nashville-area healthy spots!
VV was on my summer bucket list to try.
*
Five Daughters Bakery EASILY gets my vote for the best gluten-free doughnut in Nashville. Their glorious Paleo Crushers (pictured below) are the things of legends, basically, and I love them very deeply.
Quinnterested 