Healthy Eats in NYC

Bryant Park, NYC

One of the many exciting things about big U.S. cities is their variety (& sheer amount) of cuisine.

And New York City is nick-named for being a giant fruit (*The Big Apple*), so it makes sense (with Quinnterested logic, anyway), for NYC to have a nice ole’ selection of healthy eats for us more limited folk.

With that, I bring you a sampling of some of my favorite NYC eateries! Enjoy!

Peacefood Cafe: Uptown (82nd St) & Downtown (11th St)

My Peacefood Favs:

-GF Veggie Biscuit

It’s delightful. From what I remember of eating a whole gluten-y baked good, this is pretty darn close. Very comfortingly chewy–not dry like many GF things–and super well-seasoned!

GF biscuit

-Grasshopper Cookie Sandwich

I sort of can’t. It’s one of the best gluten-free, dairy-free desserts I’ve ever had.

Grasshopper cookie

-Chickpea Fries

They look like Jenga, so that’s just automatically a win, and they taste good, too. Plus they’re just so unique. Get ’em.

Chickpea fries

Hu Kitchen: 5th Ave. and 14th St

Hu Kitchen

This past trip was the first time I’d actual eaten a meal at Hu (rather than just salivate over their numerous unique snacks and baked goods.)

If you’re looking for a truly healthy meal to boost your system after
consuming all the–theater concessions? street food?–then Hu is the place for you. (#unintentionalrhymer…but also that could’ve been minimally planned)

My favorite part of the meal was (besides the restaurant aesthetic–see my artsy fartsy pic below, which some would *dare* call “blurry”) was the grain-free sweet potato bun, which was refreshingly filling without being heavily so. Does that make sense? It was like a “good” filling.

Picture of hamburger from Hu Kitchen with sweet potato fries

The whole meal just felt really good to eat, and it was also quite unique, which made it an important and worthy stop in my book.

Bar Suzette (Chelsea Market): W 15th St (between 9th & 10th Ave)

Chelsea Market

My Bar Suzette Favs:

I regrettably (and embarrassingly) didn’t get any pics of the actual crepe I get when we go here (#bbm…bad blogger moment), but that doesn’t change the facts:

Bar Suzette has vegan/GF crepes made with lentils that are savory and slightly sour, and they pair well with a salty, fatty filling. Since they don’t have vegan cheese for a nice salty fat, I generally go with an egg, ham, and mayo or another condiment. They give it to you in a fan-looking wrap, which makes it super portable to eat while you walk the Highline (just a couple of blocks away).

One note: I’m not sure how seriously Bar Suzette takes cross-contamination, so if you have a severe allergy, I can’t say I’d recommend them as strongly (I believe they use the same crepe pans for GF and regular, and, at most, wipe it down in between.)

Anyway, if you’re more of a “you don’t have to change your gloves for me” type of sensitivity person and you’re looking for a solid eat-while-you-walk option in Chelsea Market, this is my recommendation.

Aunt Jake’s (Little Italy): Mulberry & Grand St.

Aunt Jake's

Wow, another #bbm…no pics of the actual pasta. To be fair, though, the last time I went was before Quinnterested was born, so *insert shrug emoji*.

Regardless, Aunt Jake’s was our Little Italy choice on this particular trip because we heard they had gluten-free pasta. (Always nice when you’re in a gluten-parading area like Little Italy)

What we also found out is that Aunt Jake’s doesn’t just have gluten-free pasta (not such a feat, honestly.) They have homemade gluten-free pasta.
*Interest level and appetite goes from 3 to 17*

So, if you’re currently wandering around Little Italy desperately looking for a way to gluten-free-ly partake in carb-topia, head to Aunt Jake’s and enjoy the extra-special treat of eating pasta that was made by hand.

And, while you’re in Little Italy, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t include Erin McKenna’s Bakery as a round-the-corner dessert stop.

Everything is gluten-free and dairy-free, which is just YAY. While it isn’t my most favorite gluten-free bakery in the world (the fact that that means there are other options is just almost too much for my lil’ GF soul to take…thank You, God!), it’s magical nonetheless and worth a stop if you’ve never been.

Erin McKenna’s Bakery (Little Italy/Chinatown-area, with additional locations in L.A. and Orlando): Broome St (between Orchard and Ludlow)

I generally go for the cookie sandwich…

…or maybe a cupcake.

Cupcake

Fun times.

Erin McKenna's — This was actually taken at the Orlando location, so some flavors may be only regionally available

. . .

And that concludes our (first) NYC GF culinary tour!

Honestly, there’s so much more, and so much that I have yet to try, but hopefully this will prepare you enough for your next trip 🙂

Have fun!

Soli deo gloria!

Healthy Eats in Nashville, Part III

Vegan Vee

There are a lotta fab things about Nashville.

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!)

Ice cream with a cone on top

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!)

He’s Still There

Plane window

We’ve talked about me + turbulence, right?

For the sake of reminders…

I’m a conditionally good flyer. Meaning, I love flying when you can see cool things beneath and around the outside of the plane.

My “aww, flying’s the best”-ness stops when we hit a rough patch in the air (isn’t that a weird concept? The air has…bumps? #science) and I can’t see what’s happening outside.

Hence the “conditionally”.

Turbulence & flying in a giant cloud = me not in my most peaceful state

In October of 2017, my parents and a dear friend and I went on a trip to NYC. It was such a blessing! We got to eat some delicious food, see a couple of beautiful Broadway shows, and just enjoy that crazy city. Mega shoutout to my parents for making that happen. ❤

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On the flight back, we hit some rough air.

Rough to the extent that I think the pilot instructed the flight attendants to stop serving snacks.

Not my fav announcement.

My friend and I were both a little nervous as we looked out the window.

The next part is a little blurry in my and my friend’s memory, but here’s the basics of what happened next:

We watched through the window as our plane approached the dark clouds that were threatening our ride’s peacefulness. They were just looming near where our plane was headed, like bullies in a school hallway, intentionally blocking the door to our next class. (I do have confidence that the metaphors will eventually get better. #maybenexttime)

Then, all of a sudden, we saw a rainbow.

Not a full-blown, double rainbow that looks extraordinary in pictures.

But it was there.

And it was our rainbow.

I believe God put it there for us. Maybe for others, but definitely for us.

Because, when the flight got bumpy and our hearts started beating a little more wildly, that rainbow showed up.

And the coolest part?

When those bully clouds grew in size and looked like they were about to chew up our lil’ plane,

the rainbow grew, too.

*applause break for God*

My friend’s thoughts:

It was like this moment of “I’m not in control of this situation right now, but God is and I can put my faith in Him and know He is with us always and His promises are true.”

In the midst of the scary, and the darkness, and that creepy feeling that something bad’s about to go down…

God was with us. Hebrews 13:5.

The darkness couldn’t hide the light. John 1:5.

Because the light came for us and stayed right by our side.

. . .

Let’s dig into this rainbow dealio real fast.

In 2019, the year I’m writing this, rainbows have a few meanings.

In this blog, here’s what they mean:

In Genesis 9:16, God used a rainbow (fun fact: I think it was the first recorded rainbow. #knowledge) to symbolize a promise He made to never again flood the earth like He did in Noah’s time. Remember that whole Noah’s Ark story?

It really happened.

But, the rainbow symbolized that it’ll never happen again.

Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.

Genesis 9:16

In other words…

The Rainbow: A physical sign of God’s faithfulness.

. . .

I haven’t been in many dark seasons. Thankfully.

But the darkest season I’ve been in was, honestly, terrible.

I’m not comparing it to anyone else’s “valley” season. Your story and your seasons are your own; I’m just coming from where I was, and maybe you can meet me there from where you are/were.

The point is, the season was, for me, dark indeed.

But right when I was at the point of truly needing something from God to pull me through, God showed up.

He reminded me of His grace,

His perfect love and provision,

and His purpose for me and my life.

He shined in the darkness, meeting me where I was, loving me too much to leave me there.

He provided the rainbow: Metaphorically, in challenging life seasons, and literally, on the plane.

He was with me. And the same faithful God who was with me is with you, too. If you don’t know Him as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you will.

There’s nothing better than knowing the One who knows you better than you know yourself.

Look for the rainbow:

The sign of hope and the reminder of God’s presence in your life.

Whatever season you’re in right now, I hope you see God’s rainbow for you today.

And, if you feel like you’re at your darkest and you’ve searched for your rainbow to no avail,

remember, sometimes you can’t quite see it until you’re at your darkness.

For example…

Go in a small, enclosed room.
Turn the light on.
Turn on your phone’s flashlight.
Now turn the room’s light off.
Shut the door.

Big difference, right?

(S/O to whoever came up with that illustrative activity! It ’twasn’t me.)

The light shines in the darkness.

God is with us through every season, whether we feel it or not.

If you feel…

abandoned

scared

sad

confused

lost

empty

weak

…look for the rainbow

God’s still there.

Do you have a rainbow story of God being with you in the darkness?

Healthy Eats in Nashville, Part II

My best friends

Welcome back!

Let’s continue our lil’ GF/DF tour of the Nashville-area…

Sunflower Cafe: Berry Hill Nashville

Sunflower Cafe blackboard

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, Ron *

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)

sunflower 2 — Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla

The Dotted Lime: Columbia

It’s just magical and beautiful and a land of wonders.

Just read this:

Dotted Lime's

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.

*Thanks to http://highsteaks.com/carnivores-creed/ron-swanson/ for the Ron Swanson meme!

Healthy Eats in Nashville, Part I

Fasten your seatbelts!

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

Posing in a donut cutout at Five Daughters Bakery in 12 South Nashville 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!

This is an expert from a review I wrote for school. You can find the whole Five Daughters review here.

Chocolate Chip Sea Salt donut pic — 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

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!

Healthy Eats in LA, Part II

fullsizeoutput_1455

Behold, the cupcake in all its glory.

Let’s keep sharing LA restaurants, specifically those that offer tasty gluten and/or dairy-free meals.

First stop: An entirely DF ice cream shop.

Hug Life: Orange ~ Garden Grove

Honestly, I kind of can’t say enough good things about Hug Life.

Let’s start with it’s name: Hug Life: Anti-dairy ice cream n’ stuff. The sense of humor there–it’s fab.

Respect gif #respect

Besides being 100% dairy-free, Hug Life offers quite a few gluten-free options. The ice cream is deliciously smooth, creamy (not icy like some DF ice creams), and it doesn’t taste coconut milk-y, which is cool and mysterious and idk how they do it but I’m happy for them. And me. I’m happy for my stomach. Speaking as a rep for my stomach, it thanks Hug Life.

Go there. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed…unless they’re out of the ice cream you wanted when you looked up their flavors ahead of time, like my mom.

She got over it, though. She got two super unique flavors and LOVED THEM.

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Nektar Juice Bar: Many locations around L.A. and its outskirts

Nektar Acai Bowl

This is a lovely place for a quick and healthy snack, or even meal, if you go for a big acai bowl. Nektar offers a good variety of fresh, delicious smoothies, acai bowls, juices, and snacks.

You can explore Nektar’s menu here.

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Sensitive Sweets: Fountain Valley

We had a lovely experience at this allergy-friendly bakery. The owner and head baker, Melanie Hohman, was super sweet and helpful, giving us suggestions and even offering samples of her delicious gingerbread.

We ended up getting a little mix of goods: garlic rolls, cupcakes (vanilla and midnight), remedy cookie bars, and a pumpkin donut hole.

My personal favorite was the midnight cupcake. The frosting-cake combo was flavorful and it just looked really fun. 🙂

The remedy cookie bars were a deliciously chewy texture, but, as Melanie warned us, they were on the less-sweet side. The donut holes were also on the less-sweet side.

Overall, I’m really glad we went to Sensitive Sweets. It seems like a cool place to support, especially since Melanie was so nice and everything was gluten/dairy-free. Plus it had some beautiful and fun little treats.

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Stacked: Huntington Beach ~ Torrance ~ Cerritos ~ San Diego ~ Thousand Oaks

Stacked's physical menu

This place is just so.much.fun. See below for the interactive menu where you can literally digitally build your meal. It just turns me into a five year old. *insert shrug emoji*

If you go, join my family’s new tradition of trying to build the most expensive meal you can–the current highest total is a $30-something entree. No need to order it. 😉

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One more BONUS, non-healthy option, just for funsies.

BomBurger: Huntington Beach

Lettuce-wrapped burger

BomBurger’s a pretty casual place in the heart of Downtown Huntington Beach. It’s way more on the fast-food side, but they offer a hearty lettuce wrap option for the burgers.

If you’re looking for a quick burger to take to the beach, consider BomBurger as your solution.

That’s a wrap, friends! I’m glad I got to share the fun places my parents were up for trying out!

Comment with your fav healthy eateries!

Healthy Eats in LA and San Fran

Beach picture in Huntington Beach, CA

Gluten-free and dairy-free? Not a prob, friend. I’m (mostly) right there with ya.

Let’s chat about some fab eateries in the Golden State. (That’s California, for all you people who, like me, “forgot” that was its nickname)

(Greater) Los Angeles:

Cafe Gratitude: L.A. ~ Arts District ~ Venice ~ San Diego ~ Newport Beach ~ Beverly Hills

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We go to Cafe Gratitude every.time. we go to L.A. It’s just a thing.

Their food is delish and clean, their menu extensive, and their service upstanding.

And where else can you get REALLY good (like, unhealthy-good) fries with a BBQ portabella burger on a gluten-free bun and homemade cashew aioli? It’s great.

Also, the “Cool” smoothie. If you like fresh mint, try it please.

Delicious

Mother’s Market & Kitchen: Anaheim Hills ~ Brea ~ Costa Mesa ~ Huntington Beach ~ Irvine ~ Laguna Woods ~ Manhattan Beach ~ Santa Ana ~ Signal Hill

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Mother’s wins the “Basically beating Cafe Gratitude” award. Which is a MAJOR award. The thing is, those two are very different–Cafe Gratitude is plant-based and just super healthy. Mother’s has lots of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, but, overall, it’s not as “healthy” as Cafe Gratitude. If you’re looking to give your immune system a major boost, go for Cafe Gratitude. If you’re craving a scrummy (thanks for helping me add this adorbs new abbrev. word to my vocab, Mary Berry) omelette with vegan cheese, mushrooms, and spinach, perfectly-textured gluten-free toast with vegan butter and jelly, and a plentiful serving of roasted potatoes, go to Mother’s.

It’s gluten-free/dairy-free/vegan food at its finest.

Sweet Laurel: Pacific Palisades

Sweet Laurel bakery exterior

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All gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. Do I need to say more?

Let me just also add that my occasionally gluten, dairy, and sugar-consuming dad really liked the chocolate raspberry cake he got. So there’s that.

Also, isn’t it just adorable?

Fred’s Mexican Cafe: Downtown Huntington Beach ~ Old Town (near San Diego)

Not the healthiest. But, honestly, it completely hit the spot for me, and I’m still not entirely sure why.

Oh wait, I am now.

2 words: chipotle + aioli

Yep, that’s it.

But, also, the food was delicious, and our waitress (I really wish I could give her credit, but I don’t remember her name) was truly excellent.

I got the Cheeseburger taco without cheese and on a corn tortilla, which came with rice and beans. It wasn’t guaranteed gluten (or dairy, for that matter)-free, but it was substitute-y enough for me. It was fabulous. The portion was huge and I had leftovers for days. #leftoversfordays (If that doesn’t sound like a hashtag, what does?)

Also, the margaritas were really good. Refreshing and not too sweet or too alcohol-y. (Basically I’m an alcohol expert, so those terms are textbook-standards. Just FYI.) 😉

Cheeseburger tacos with a DELICIOUS aioli, beans, and rice — Cheeseburger tacos with the DELICIOUS aioli, beans, and rice

San Francisco:

This was my first trip to SF. I loved it. We knew we’d have a jam-packed day, so we researched several restaurants and activities ahead of time.

I’m thankful to say that the one restaurant I REALLY wanted to go to turned out to be a good choice. Praise God for that!

Wholesome Bakery: Nopa/Haight-area

Wholesome Bakery sign picture

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Guys, it was lovely. This place is all gluten and dairy-free, too, so no worries about cross-contamination.

Trey Kennedy

(Also, total side-note, Trey Kennedy is a fabulous person and you should go watch all of his singing videos.)

The carrot cake was GIANT, and the icing was good, especially since it was dairy-free, and sometimes dairy-free icings can be a little too coconut-y or shortening-y.

One of the biggest highlights was the potato soup my mom got. It was perfectly flavored, and it was deliciously creamy. GET IT IF YOU GO.

What are your favorite restaurants in the Golden State? Comment below with your suggestions!

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you His peace.

Numbers 6:24-26