Stuff I Ate: Tacos, Banh Mis, & So Much Soup!

I mentioned here last week that one of my favorite vegan-friendly restaurants, Fuel Cafe, is closing on December 22. Super bummed about it. I'm trying to eat there as often as possible before it's too late. Since they've re-did the menu earlier this year, I still hadn't gotten a chance to try the famed vegan Oyster Mushroom Banh Mi, so I fixed that today at lunch with my friend Susan.

This hearty sourdough loaf (baked by my friend Don of Lulu's Baked) is stuffed with pan-fried oyster mushrooms, walnut pate, cilantro, and carrot pickles. AMAZING. Sad that I'll probably never get to eat this again (unless Don serves a version of it at a future pop-up!). Don will continue doing vegan pop-ups in the Fuel space after they close, so that's good news.

Last night, I made the BBQ Tempeh Tacos from Health Made Simple. This super-easy recipe was one of my faves on the plan, and I'll definitely be making it often. You just sautee tempeh in a skillet with BBQ sauce (I used Trader Joe's Carolina Gold) and top with pineapple, cilantro, jalapeno, scallion, and red cabbage. I added some Tofutti sour cream since I had some on-hand.

As part of my job at Crosstown Arts, I manage the social media for our plant-based cafe, Today & Always. That means I sometimes get to try the things I photograph! Today, cafe manager Nicole made this lovely cup of the drink special — Salted Caramel Apple Cider — for a social media photo. And then she let me drink it afterward. This has a vegan salted caramel syrup and coconut whip. SO GOOD.

Yesterday, I had a work meeting at French Truck Coffee, the coffee shop downstairs from my office. I ordered their drink of the month, Masala Cappuccino (made with toasted coconut-almond milk). It had hints of cardamom, vanilla, and black pepper. Very good!

And now for all the soup! On Monday, I didn't have an easy lunch prepared, so I grabbed a box of Pacific Black Bean & Kale Soup to take to the office. This soup is super whole foods-y with only ingredients I recognize!

I had one last serving of Lisa's Tempeh & Rice Gumbo in the freezer from Health Made Simple. Had that for lunch yesterday.

And finally, here's a bowl of RAMEN!!! I finally had my Sunday morning ramen after weeks of not eating ramen on Health Made Simple. But I made this as healthy as possible with Lotus Foods Brown Rice Ramen, tofu, peas, carrots, corn, and spinach. The flavor was miso, so it also had bits of seaweed.