From Jackson, Mississippi to New Orleans

I spent the weekend in New Orleans for the annual NOLA Veggie Fest, where I gave two cooking demos and signed books alongside Eat Vegan on $4 a Day author Ellen Jaffe Jones. I'll tell y'all all about Veggie Fest in posts tomorrow and Wednesday. But tonight, I want to share pics of what I found to eat before the festival began.

Paul and I left Memphis in my trusty old Nissan on Friday morning. And though we didn't plan it this way, we arrived in Jackson, Mississippi just in time for lunch at the High Noon Cafe. High Noon Cafe is a vegetarian (mostly vegan) cafe in Jackson that's only open during the lunch hour on week days. My parents and I always stop there for lunch on road trips to New Orleans, but it's been a few years since we've been. I didn't even know if High Noon was still open for business. But when I realized we'd be entering Jackson at lunch, I googled. Sure enough, High Noon is still open!

High Noon is located inside the Rainbow Co-op Grocery in Jackson, and since we got there a few minutes before lunch service was to begin, Paul and I wandered around the co-op for a bit. I found all sorts of vegan awesomeness that I can't buy in Memphis! Kelp noodles! Savi seeds! Irish cream agave! Ricemallow Cream! So needless to say, I did a little shopping.

When 11:30 a.m. struck, High Noon opened its doors. I had the Good Burger (a black-eyed pea patty) on whole wheat toast with Daiya cheddar, roasted peppers, and High Noon's special sauce. On the side is a delicious and creamy Vegan Potato Salad:

High Noon does serve dairy cheese on request, so Paul had a grilled cheese with pepperjack. I'll spare y'all the non-vegan pic.

After lunch, we hit the road again and finished the last 3-hour leg of our 6-hour drive into New Orleans. Once we were settled into out hotel room, Bob from Book Publishing Company (my publisher), who was already in town for the fest, told me about dinner plans for Carmo, a very vegan-friendly restaurant on Julie Avenue in New Orleans.

Dinner was planned for 7:30 p.m., but Paul and I wanted to kill some time about an hour before dinner. But it was pouring rain! So we parked the car near Carmo, pulled out our umbrellas, and set out on foot in search of any little place to tuck into (a store, a bar, we didn't care).

After walking a few blocks past closed sign after closed sign on store windows, I spotted this sign! We knew a bar would be open at 6:30 p.m.

Inside, the place just adorable. Divey as can be with one long bar filled with what appeared to be regulars. This definitely wasn't a tourist bar. Perfect. Oh, and the drink special for Friday night was buy one, get one free bottled beer. Score. I ordered a local brew — LA-31 Bierre Pale. Tasty!

After our beers were empty, the rain had let up. So we walked without umbrellas back to Carmo. New Orleans is currently without a totally vegan restaurant (which seems crazy considering that Memphis has four now!). But places like Carmo are keeping vegans happy by offering lots of amazing cruelty-free options. I'd read great reviews online of Carmo's signature dish, The Rico, which can be ordered with pulled pork and cheese or vegan pulled pork and Daiya.

Of course, I had mine with the vegan pulled pork. These are two grilled plantain patties topped with vegan cheese, vegan meat, and avocado. It was unlike anything I'd had before, and it was just delightful.

There was so much on the menu that sounded fantastic. The special for the evening was a curry dish made with seitan. Carmo will be added to my must-do's for New Orleans trips!

Come back tomorrow for a Veggie Fest day one recap!

A Mother's Day Post

So I had this massive Tasty Bite review post planned for tonight, but time got away from me as I was preparing and packing for New Orleans Veggie Fest. I'll be making the road trip tomorrow and doing two cooking demos and a booksigning at the annual fest. If you're close to NOLA, come see me! And come see Victoria Moran (Main Street Vegan), Ellen Jaffe Jones (Eat Vegan on $4 a Day), Will Travel for Vegan Food blogger Kristin LaJeunesse.

Since Mother's Day is coming up, and I will be out of town and unable to celebrate with my own mama, I'll leave y'all with this fine little note. It's something I gave my mama on Mother's Day way back in 1991 when I was just 10 years old. My mom recently discovered this in a pile of old keepsakes. The note had multiple sections. One section featured this awful chubby-cheeked picture of me.

And then there was this little choppy train-of-thought letter. ADD much? It's really astounding that I grew up to be a writer. Who would have guessed?

In case you're wondering, "Tiny" was Me-Maw's cat. And Foxmoor and Maurice's were clothing stores in the mall.

Happy Mother's Day! I'll be back with a full Veggie Fest recap on Monday night. And I promise to post that Tasty Bite review next week.

Best Bars Ever!

Okay, okay. I know I say everything is the best thing ever. And maybe I really just mean that something is the best I've had in a while or in a week or that day. But when I tell you that Kate Bakes are the best bars ever, at least taste-wise, I'm so for real.

Kate Bakes is a small vegan, gluten-free granola bar company based out of Washington D.C. The bars are baked in small batches. There's no added preservatives, and they claim to be high in protein and fiber.

But most importantly, they taste like something you made in your own kitchen! They're soft, but they still hold their shape well. And the crisp rice cereal in the bars gives them a lovely crunch. Kate Bakes sent me samples of their bars to review, and I'm so glad they did. I love homemade granola bars, but I'm usually too lazy to make them.

They come in four flavors: Chocolate Coffee, Sunflower Butter Raisin, and Banana Cinnamon Oatmeal, and Cardamom Date.

I didn't get to sample the date bar, but the others have been fueling me through my workouts recently. I split the two-ounce bars in half and get two uses from each.

The Chocolate Coffee bar is my favorite of the three. It's made with almond butter, agave, oats, coconut, rice cereal, coffee, cocoa powder,  flax, and protein powder. I'm not always the biggest fan of chocolate flavored things (I know! I'm crazy!). But the cocoa here is very subtle, and the coconut and coffee flavors shine through.

The Banana Cinnamon Oatmeal bar (almond butter, agave, banana, oats, coconut, rice cereal, soy protein, chia seeds, cinnamon, and vanilla) is delicious as well! There are few better combos than bananas and cinnamon.

And I love the Sunflower Butter Raisin (made with sunflower butter, agave, raisins, oats, coconut, rice cereal, soy protein, flax, cinnamon, and vanilla)! Raisins aren't my fave thing either, but these are plump, tender raisins, not overly sweet chewy ones. And the sunflower butter was a nice change. I always forget about sunflower butter.

Love, love, love the taste of these bars! My only complaint (and it's a picky OCD thing) is that nutritional information isn't listed on the packaging. (UPDATE: A commenter let me know that nutrition info is listed on the Kate Bakes website).

But taste-wise and texture-wise, these are tops! 

Mama Crunk Turns 59!

My mama's birthday was actually Saturday, but nearly every year, it falls on Memphis In May Beale Street Music Festival weekend. So I was down in the mud when she was officially turning 59. And I'll be in New Orleans this weekend on Mother's Day. Bad daughter, I know!

But we did a combo birthday/Mother's Day dinner tonight. After work, I drove to my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas (about an hour away) to meet my mama for dinner at Kandela Mexican Grill. Jonesboro has several Tex-Mex style eateries, but this one has hands-down the best vegetarian fajitas.

But first we chowed down on the free chips and salsa. This is definitely my favorite part of any Tex-Mex dining experience:

My mama ordered a frozen margarita, and I had a Dos Equis Amber. Can you believe this woman is 59?!

We both ordered fajitas. Hers had meat, and mine were the veggie ones. These had broccoli, red peppers, onions, and mushrooms (they're supposed to come with carrots and cauliflower too, but I guess they were out ... nevertheless, these were delicious). They came with super-soft homemade flour tortillas.

After dinner, we went back home for present opening time and cupcakes! I made the Coconut Lime Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World:

These were the perfect end to our Tex-Mex feast. The cakes are flecked with coconut and lime zest, plus there's coconut milk and coconut oil inside. And the buttercream is flavored with lime juice and zest. Then the frosting is topped with more coconut!

The Taco Truck That Saved My Life

The first weekend of every May is the weekend of the Memphis In May Beale Street Music Festival — 3 days of outdoor live music on 4 stages, beer, and lots and lots of mud. I've not missed a festival in at least 10 years, maybe longer.

And you can always count on one thing: It will rain. And usually, that rain lasts all three days. Weeks before the festival, every Walmart and Target in town sells out of rain boots and panchos. That's the uniform for the weekend. Your rainboots are your savior. By day three, the mud is so thick that it looks as though it might just swallow you up into the Earth, a sacrifice to the music festival gods.

I'm okay with that. If you're not okay with that, you skip the fest and stay home in your warm bed and make jokes on Facebook about how dumb all those people are for getting cold, wet, and muddy for a little live music. But this year's line-up was not to be missed: Public Enemy (fight the power!), Smashing Pumpkins, Bassnectar, Porter Robinson, Big Boi, The Flaming Lips, and the list goes on. It was so worth the discomfort of muddy muck and unseasonably cold temperatures.

So yea, you can count on the rain. But one you cannot count on is finding vegan food. Larger music festivals, like Bonnaroo, tend to be very vegan-friendly. But the Beale Street Music Fest is hit or miss. One year, I searched high and low, carefully analyzing the menu of every food vendor, only to be forced to settle for a bucket of curly fries or plain saratoga chips for dinner all three nights. Grease fest. The Beale Street Music Fest is the land of Pronto Pups and funnel cakes. Last year, however, I found vegan chili frito cups at a food truck.

But that truck wasn't here this year. On Saturday night, I didn't want to venture too far from my employer's beer tent (the Memphis Flyer, the newspaper I write for has a VIP tent that acts our home base) because it was cold and windy. But just across the park, I spotted a sign that read "Garlic Vegetarian Kabobs." Score. I made my way over to the vendor, and here's how the conversation went.

Me: Can I get the garlic vegetarian kabobs?
Lady: We ain't got no vegetarian kabobs.
Me: But your sign says you do.
Lady: It does? Hmmm. Well, it got chicken on it.
Me: That's not vegetarian.
Lady: Well, we ain't got nothing here.

Shoot. I was mad. And I was hungry. And cold. The next booth over had a big sign advertising curly fries. Looked like I was going to settle for another greasy disappointing dinner. I approached the fry vendor, but before placing my order, I decided to glance over the menu just to make sure it I wasn't missing some miracle vegan option.

Dude: Can I help you?
Me: I think I'm getting curly fries, but I was just checking your menu to see if you had anything vegan.
Dude: Vegan?! What the hell is that?
Me: It's like a vegetarian, but I also avoid cheese, eggs, and other animal products.
Dude: No meat?! Shit, I'm from the South! We eat meat here.
Me: I'm from the South too. I don't eat meat.
Dude: Well, I'm from the real south. I'm from Kentucky.
Me: I'm from around here, and this is much further south than Kentucky.
Dude: Nah, Kentucky is the real South. I'm from South Kentucky.
Me: You know what? Just get me some curly fries.

Jesus. I was surrounded by crazy rednecks. Anyway, I ate my curly fries. They were okay. But the next day, Sunday, as I was dreading another dinner of greasy fried potatoes, I saw this:

It was like a beacon of hope! I don't know why, but I just knew there had to be vegan tacos here. I approached the counter and talked to a man wearing a taco suit (I mean, how can you not trust a guy in a taco suit?).

Taco suit guy: Can I help you?
Me: Do y'all have vegan tacos?
Taco suit guy: Totally! We have a cactus salad taco.
Me: I'll have three.

And so I did. And they were amazing. The salad was made from diced pickled cactus, guacamole, onions, black beans, corn, and cilantro. Genius! I've never quite known what to do with that jar of pickled cactus lurking in my fridge. I'll be recreating these at home soon.

Thank you, taco dudes! You saved my life!

Protein Power!

I run every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning (weather permitting, of course). And ever since completing the Thrive Forward cleanse in January, I've been consuming a protein smoothie about 30 minutes after my run. That's because I read all about eating the proper foods to boost recovery time while I was doing that cleanse, and protein helps rebuild muscle.

Before that cleanse, I ran often. But I never paid attention to what I was eating afterward. Since then, I've been able to tell a difference in my recovery time between runs. Plus, smoothies just seem easier to digest after a hard workout. And smoothies made with protein powders are filling for hours.

But sadly, many protein powders taste like butt. I don't care how many awesome superfoods a powder contains, if it tastes like ass, I'm not drinking it. I've sampled a ton of protein powders and, hands down, my favorite by a long shot has been Vega. Love the flavors (vanilla chai, anyone?) and the fact that it's stevia-sweetened (Healthy dessert for breakfast? Yes, please).

I was certain no protein powder could ever be as tasty as Vega. So when the folks at MRM offered to send me their Veggie Protein powders to try, I thought, "Yea, I'll check this out. But I bet it can't be as tasty as Vega."

Well, guess what? I was wrong! This stuff is right there on par with Vega. I hate to compare one vegan product to another in a review, but quite frankly, Vega has been so high above any other powder in my mind, that's the only bar I have to compare with. And Veggie Protein holds its own! Both the vanilla and the chocolate flavors are sweetened with stevia and xyiltol, and they both taste like dessert. I would even venture to say that I might like the chocolate Veggie Protein better than chocolate Vega One. The vanilla is great too, but Vega may have them beat by a hair with its French Vanilla Vega One.

How does it stack up nutritionally? Veggie Protein has more protein than Vega One (22 grams versus 15-16 grams). Vega One has WAY more Omega-3's, but Veggie Protein contains Omega 3's, 6's, and 9's. They both have some other fancy fruit and veggie extras — grape seed extract, spinach, etc. Vega One seems to have a lot more supplements and extras.

But for a protein powder, Veggie Protein has you covered. Lots of protein. Good taste.

I made some fun smoothies with each flavor. Using the vanilla flavor, I made this Strawberry-Vanilla Smoothie:

That's one cup of unsweetened almond milk, 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, half a frozen banana, and one scoop of Veggie Protein Vanilla.

And I made this Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie with the chocolate flavor:

That's one cup of unsweetened almond milk, one frozen banana, 2 tablespoons of PB2 (but regular peanut butter would work too), and one scoop of Veggie Protein Chocolate.

Both smoothies were delicious! And the chocolate PB banana one was especially thick and creamy, almost like a milkshake. So all this is to say, Veggie Protein is damn good. I'm happy to add this to my thrice-weekly smoothie powder options.

May I Be Frank?: A Review and Giveaway

Frank Ferrante

Let's be honest. Or, in this case, frank. As much I love my deep-fried tofu and Tofutti Cuties, I know that whole, raw vegan foods in their purest forms are the best bet for good health. And for people who are trying to turn their lives around after years of abusing their bodies through unhealthy meaty diets, smoking, boozing, and drugs, a healthy, mostly raw diet is probably the best way to go. At least for a cleansing period.

That's what happened with Frank Ferrante, the star of documentary May I Be Frank? It's the story of a 54-year-old overweight guy with Sicilian roots, bad habits, and failing health. But Frank makes a major change in his life path when some dudes at the famous high-raw vegan restaurant, Cafe Gratitude, take Frank under their wings and feed him wheatgrass, raw food, daily affirmations, and all that hippie stuff for 42 days.

I won't give away the ending, but as one would imagine, Frank's health takes a turn for the better as the film progresses. Throughout the film, we get a glimpse into Frank's life — his marital problems, his family issues, his former heroin habit, his health problems, and perhaps best of all, his humanity. Throughout the cleanse, Frank has his good days. And he has his really, really bad days. Oh, and we get, um, pretty damn up-close-and-personal with Frank. We're talkin' deep discussions about pooping and plenty of colonics. But hey, when you're workin' on what goes in, you gotta check out what's coming out too.

That being said, the one thing missing from this film was the "what goes in" — the food! Other than a reading of a one-day menu of Cafe Gratitude meals Frank must eat and shots of Frank tipping back wheatgrass now and again, we never see him eat! There's much more attention paid to colonics and self-discovery, which is all fine and good. But I wish I could have seen a few of Frank's breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

But despite that one flaw, May I Be Frank? is a magnificent look at transformation and the amazing power of human will. The film has been around for some time, and it's made a name for itself in vegan circles. But I'm blogging about it now because it was recently released on DVD, so anyone can watch it outside of the film fest circuit.

You can buy a copy here. But you can also enter to win one of two copies (courtesy of Cinema Libre Studio) by leaving me a comment about your favorite raw food dish. Be sure and leave an email address if you don't have one linked to a Blogger or Wordpress profile. I'll randomly pick two winners on Monday (May 6th) night. Good luck!

Oh, and here's the trailer.
May I Be Frank Trailer from Cinema Libre Studio on Vimeo.