PROBAR - Bolt Energy Chews

PROBAR recently released their new Bolt Organic Energy Chews, which are being marketed towards athletes. They say these gummy little chews provide the energy needed to help power you from morning workouts to race days. Of the four flavors, strawberry, raspberry, berry blast, and orange, all are made with "superfruits," and contain electrolytes and complex carbs.

I do my fair share of running and yoga, but I'm much more a fan of eating right, sleeping well, and abstaining from caffeine than I am for consuming products that will "give me" energy. That said, I am not a professional athlete or a marathon runner and I know it is these types of products that one is recommended to consume while completing a 26-mile run.  Each flavor has a unique ingredient-profile including caffeine and b-vitamins and are known to provide sustainable energy.

Take the Raspberry Bolt chews for example. The ingredients are tapioca syrup, sugar, tapioca syrup solids, pectin, citric acid, yerba mate extract, color added (black carrot concentrate), potassium citrate, natural flavors, ascorbic acid, organic fruit blend (apple powder, acai powder, blueberry powder, pomegranate powder), vitamin blend (vitamin B3, B6, and B12), sea salt, sunflower oil, and caranuba wax.  So I see some good and bad in this blend. I like the fruit blend and the B-vitamins, but I don't like all the preservatives, even if they are natural, or the caranuba wax.

That said, all of the flavors tasted pretty good and were easy to eat -- just like giant gummy bears. The Berry Blast was probably my favorite flavor.

The Strawberry and Orange flavors had nice flavors as well.

So if you are an athlete and are looking for a boost, the PROBAR Bolt Organic Energy Chews may be a good option. I do like that they contain natural yerba mate for caffeine, are mostly organic, and are Non-GMO Project Verified, which is very important to me. I just wish there were less extraneous ingredients like the citric acids and caranuba wax, but I suppose without them, they wouldn't be in that funky gummy form. To order some for yourself, click here. Save 40% off your first order by using the code BLOGGER when you check out.
Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influences my veracious opinion.  

Evolution Fast Food, San Diego

Evolution Fast Food has undergone a number of changes over the years including three name changes. Once called "Nature's Express," this small, mostly take-out, vegan fast food joint is one of my best memories from my last trip to San Diego several years ago. So when I found myself in this city again with only a couple nights to eat out, I knew one of the nights would be at Evolution.

Evolution is located just outside of the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego. It is a very small restaurant with a drive-thru and seating for just a few inside at the counter with additional seating outside. What I loved the most about Evolution the last time I was here was that they made nearly everything in house. So, I was a little disappointed to see that they were now serving Gardein burgers along with their housemade burgers. Well, at least they still have the housemade burger. I placed my order and took at a seat at the counter.

This place hasn't changed much. They offer fresh salads, raw food, and drinks in the refrigerated case up front and desserts in another case. Their menu consists of burgers, sandwiches, small meals, fries, and sides as well as fresh juices and smoothies.

Their juices and smoothies are one of my favorite things here so I ordered an Israel's tonic, which had apple, beet, carrot, cayenne, garlic, and lemon. It was delish.

I grabbed a fresh salad out of the case that was filled with cucumbers, cabbage, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts, and sunflower seeds and paired it with a raw cilantro dressing. I love their fresh salads.

Then, my burger came out. I went against my gut and instead of ordering my favorite bacon cheeseburger, I decided to try something new -- the Mushroom Swiss. I opted for their housemade black bean burger that had fresh sauteed mushrooms, Veganaise, Daiya cheese, lettuce and tomato on a fresh, whole wheat bun. It was pretty good.

After scarfing all of that down, I decided to take a raw chocolate mousse to go. The raw chocolate mousse was in a nut crust with shredded coconut on top. It was very rich and decadent.

Evolution uses mostly organic whole foods in its meals without refined sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, GMO ingredients, artificial additives, flavors, preservatives or colors so it is good food that is good for you. They say their mission is to improve the world with delicious, nutritious fast food that is good for you and good for the earth. I like it. Recommended.

Evolution Fast Food
2965 5th Avenue (at Quince)
San Diego, CA 92013
(619) 550-1818

The Great Unbaked - Karma Katcher Chocolates

Raw chocolate is a gift from above. And as much as I love raw chocolate bars, I love raw chocolate truffles even more. So when The Great Unbaked out of Oregon proposed that I try their Karma Katcher Chocolates raw truffles, I said, "sure, why not?!"

You might be wondering, "why raw?" Unroasted cacao beans contain an amazing array of nutrients such as antioxidants and minerals. Cacao is known to be good for your vascular system, keeping your heart healthy, and is a good source of magnesium, chromium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese.  More specifically, The Great Unbaked, keeps refined white sugar, refined flours, GMO's and anything artificial out of all of their products. All of the chocolate is fair trade and free of preservatives. They also try to source mostly organic ingredients when possible.

They sent me a great assortment of these chocolates to try and I really enjoyed them. Although they were a bit dense, they had some great flavor to them. My favorite was the Orange Rawbanero, which was delightfully spicy with the hot pepper flakes on top and a really nice texture.

The Goldenberry Cherry truffle (their award-winning flavor) had a huge cherry inside; the Mochaccino was very coffee-like, and the Almond was loaded with chunky pieces of almond.

The Heatwave was super spicy while the Raspberry Rose packed a raspberry punch with the hint of rose.

Other flavors include Orange Sunshine, Mint, Nibs Dark, Crispy Crunch, and Plain Jane.

In addition to the Karma Katcher Chocolates, The Great Unbaked makes pies and brownies as well. So if you are looking for healthy, vegan, gluten-free, raw chocolate truffles, look no further. These would make a great gift to a friend or just to yourself. An 8-piece box can be ordered for $16 via their online shop here.  You know what they say: some like it raw and some like it hot, but with Karma Katcher, you can have the best of both worlds.
 
Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influences my veracious opinion.  

Blue Burrito Grille, Phoenix Airport

With a quick layover in Phoenix, I did some research and found there was a vegan-friendly Mexican eatery right in the airport. Blue Burrito Grille is its name and lard-free beans are its game.

It offered a limited menu in the airport that included breakfast, burritos, favorites, and salads. I went with the vegetarian burrito with no-lard black beans, grilled peppers & onions, lettuce, and guacamole. I added the guacamole and asked them to hold the cheese. With it, they gave me some of the Tappato "hot" sauce.

The burrito really wasn't that good, but I was happy to have a real meal. The beans and veggies were pretty flavorless and the hot sauce wasn't that great either. And there was so little guacamole that it didn't add much to the meal. That said, if I'm ever in this airport again, I'd eat here again because the options are limited and this sure was better than nothing.

Blue Burrito Grille
Phoenix Airport
Terminals 3 & 4

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

I'm on a mission to try all of the Upton's Natural's flavors of seitan and was trying to think of something different to do with their traditional seitan. I had recently enjoyed a Shepherd's Pie at a local restaurant and thought I'd try my hand at making one. This version uses sauteed carrots, celery, peas, and tomatoes mixed with Upton's Naturals traditional seitan to make a delicious stew that is then topped with mashed potatoes and vegan Daiya cheese.

This seitan has a versatile flavor that works in many dishes and a meaty texture.
Even though I didn't have a cute little round cast iron bowl to serve it in, it still turned out great. Food doesn't always have to look perfect as long as it tastes good.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie
Serves 8

Ingredients
Mashed Potato Layer:

• 5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I used Earth Balance Mindful Mayo with Olive Oil)
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 3 Tbsp vegan cream cheese (I used Go Veggie! vegan cream cheese)
• 2 tsp salt

Bottom Layer:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 small carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt to taste
• 8 ounces of seitan, chopped (I used Upton's Natural's traditional seitan)

Topping:

• 1 cup vegan cheddar-style cheese, shredded (I used Daiya cheddar style shreds)

Instructions
Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down the heat to medium-high and boil until softened, about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, peas, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the seitan and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Once the potatoes are done, drain and cool. Then, put them in a bowl and stir in the vegan mayonnaise, soy milk, vegan cream cheese, and salt. Mash with a potato masher until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees. Spray a 9" x 13" dish with cooking spray.

Spread the seitan and vegetable mixture in the bottom of the dish.

Top with the potatoes. Then, sprinkle vegan cheese shreds on top. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Scoop out and serve.

Garden Cafe, Orlando

It was finally the end of our trip to the Treasure Coast, an area in mid-south Florida on the east coast. Since we were flying out of Orlando, we decided to stay at a hotel near the airport and searched for vegan-friendly restaurants in the Orlando area. To my surprise, we found a nearly all-vegan Chinese restaurant located right in Orlando. After suffering in a non-vegan friendly area all week, this was a real treat.

The Garden Cafe reminded me of other wonderful vegan Chinese restaurants I've been to in the past like the Loving Hut chain and the now defunct Vegetable Garden previously located in Maryland. The outside appearance and inside decor left much to be desired, but that wasn't why we went there. From the outside, the bars on the windows might be a bit off-putting, but don't let that deter you as good stuff awaits inside. Inside, there was a television showing Asian movies and paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. But, the oddest thing was really the random sci-fi nature pictures on the wall like the horse below. Odd.

The menu was pretty extensive with faux seafood, poultry, pork, beef, and lamb dishes as well as vegetable- and tofu-based dishes. We started with an order of steamed dumplings filled with cabbage, served with an unusual sauce that I just couldn't place.

For my entree, I ordered the house chicken, which was described as delicious on the menu so how could it not be?! Oh, and it was delicious although, as usual, not spicy enough. The "chicken" was made of soy protein and had a nice, chewy texture. It was served with cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, and broccoli in a black bean sauce.

Zach went with the Orange Beef, which was also soy protein in a brown subtle orange-flavored sauce with carrots, mushrooms, bamboo, and broccoli.

We both couldn't decide which one we liked better because they were both delicious. The portions were huge though and afterwards we felt like we could have just split one entree. I'm glad we didn't though. Plus, there are no desserts so it isn't like we missed out on anything by eating large entrees. Oh, and I should mention - I told the waitress that I was aware that they didn't have a website. She told me that they did and gave me a take-out menu that showed www.gardencafevege.com as their website, but when  I went to it, it was all in Chinese other than the word "BMW." I don't think this is their website. I find it funny that they don't know if they have a website or not, but whatever.

The entrees were both $12.95 and for the portion size, I think that was a pretty good price. Overall, the food was great, the service was fine, and the prices were right. Recommended if you are in the Orlando area.

Garden Cafe
310 West Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL 32804
(407) 999-9799

Good Cacao - Chocolate Bars

Always in search of healthy chocolate, I came across Good Cacao bars in a local supermarket.  They were labeled as "Superfood Chocolate" complete with antioxidants, probiotics, and vegetarian Omega-3. That sounded good enough to try. The verdict - delish! We all love good-tasting chocolate, but what a great bonus it is to have chocolate that is good for you too!

Good Cacao roasted chocolate bars come in Coconut Omega-3, Nutriberi Superfruit Blend, Lemon Ginger Immunity, and Mandarin Orange. They also recently came out with a raw chocolate bar as well called, "Raw Maya Chocolate," made by Agami Superfoods. After running into them at a local food show, they convinced me to try their coconut bar again as well as the mandarin orange and the raw bar.

My favorite -- the Coconut Omega-3. Talk about a smooth, luxurious, melt-in-your-mouth flavor with just the right balance of coconut. This bar is loaded with good stuff like organic, Rainforest Alliance, single origin, Ecuadorian cacao paste; lucuma, maca, Brazilian cupuacu, African baobab, probiotics, phytoplankton, a proprietary blend of antioxidant oils, and much more. The company behind this chocolate is Good Superfood LLC who has trademarked a number of superfood blends. Even if you don't care about superfoods, you will love this chocolate.

The other flavor -- Mandarin Orange was also very good. It had the same melt-in-your-mouth quality with the sweetness of mandarin oranges.

As I mentioned, they also make a Raw Maya chocolate bar.  I thought it was fine, but not nearly as good as other raw bars I had tasted in the past.

I recommend at least one piece of chocolate per day as dark chocolate is good for the heart. But, with Good Cacao, you get the added benefit of a bunch of superfoods making it a great bang for the buck. To learn more about Good Cacao, go here.
 
Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that in no way influences my veracious opinion.