Mail Order Raw Chocolate from Cloud 9

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Mail Order, Raw October 8, 2012

A quick review for Day 8 of Vegan MoFo:

I’m a sucker for deals, so when an offer hit the web for a sample of vegan raw chocolate from Cloud 9, I had to get it. I’ve calmed down with purchasing discounted goods a lot since this deal went out. For awhile there, I had more food than I could eat.

I understand the benefits of raw foods, but I just can’t get on board with raw chocolate. It’s way too bitter for me. I think I’ve finally learned my lesson to stop ordering it. I’m thinking that the only way I’d learn to love raw chocolate is if I never ate sweetened foods. Then maybe my taste buds would find the raw chocolate pleasant. But, something tells me I won’t be giving up my vegan cakes and ice creams anytime soon.

As for the goods, I only had a very tiny sample of each flavor and then gave the rest away.

Raw Chocolates

The better ones would be the Macadamia/Goji and Cranberry/Pecan, because the sweetness of the fruit helps balance out the bitterness of the chocolate. I couldn’t handle the bitterness in the Walnut and Original at all.

Clockwise: Original, Walnut, Macadamia/Goji, Cranberry/Pecan

If you like really bitter chocolate, go get some of this. It has some great nutritional qualities for a candy bar and I hear quite a few people liked it at Natural Products Expo East.

Another Lukewarm Review of 118 Degrees

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Raw, Veg Restaurant August 25, 2012

You may recall that I was not too impressed with 118 Degrees from my last post about my meal here. I have to say, that the feeling was the same on another trip to the restaurant. I went because of another Groupon. This time, my mom bought the deal, because the last time I went here with her, we loved their Miso Soup and she wanted to try more.

First we got the Topaz Pizza ($13): decadent pistachio pesto with tomatoes, herbed Italian squash on sprouted grain crust. Served with warm sun dried tomato topping, chopped olives, and basil. To be honest, we got this dish, because it had “warm” in the description. It was edible (obviously), but neither of us really liked it.

Topaz Pizza

The Sweet Corn Tamales were sold out, so we got the Spicy Almond Cheese Empanada with Spicy Vegetables and Avocado Lime Sauce ($15). While not as good as the tamales, these were tastier than the pizza.

Empanadas

For our first dessert, we got the Drunken Fruit ($9): fruit in agave champagne sauce on top of vanilla creme. This dessert was so much better than the desserts I got with my vegan guy on my last visit. It probably has to do with the fact that this dessert focuses on livening up fresh fruit (something I enjoy raw). The mangoes were perfectly ripe, very sweet, and paired beautifully with the agave champagne.

Drunken Fruit

The second dessert we got was the Fruit Fondue ($9): fruit with chocolate and vanilla dipping sauces. This was also very good. The fruit was nice and ripe and the dipping sauces were sweet and creamy. Our dessert was brought with the vanilla dipping sauce and also a berry dipping sauce even though it stated it was coming with a chocolate sauce. We asked what happened and they ended up bringing out the chocolate sauce, too. Score for the bonus sauce!

Fruit Fondue

Chocolate Sauce for Fruit Fondue

Now that all the Groupons have been redeemed, I have learned that the warm food at 118 Degrees is better than the raw and the fruit desserts are the only ones worth ordering.

Check it out for yourself.

2981 Bristol Suite B5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-754-0718

Monday – Saturday 9am – 10pm
Sundays 10am – 9pm
Brunch on Sunday 10am – 3pm

Raw Cheesecake from Earth Cafe

Posted by socalvegangal in Dessert, Mail Order, Packaged Food, Raw July 29, 2012

Have you seen those single servings of cheesecake in your local natural foods market? Chances are, they are from Earth Cafe. I know they are a bit pricey, but it’s worth a try. I once brought some samples to my male meat-eating co-workers and they thought it was delicious. These cheesecakes are totally raw and primarily nut based. I went on a little splurge (what’s new?) and bought one of those group coupons for two cheesecakes at a discounted price. Since I’ve purchased mine, I’ve seen this discount come up a few times (be on the lookout, my cashew-loving friends). Gathergreen is a good one to follow (in fact they are running the deal right now). The cheesecakes freeze well – bonus if you don’t have a need to eat an entire cheesecake at once. Because I’m very indecisive, I got the Sampler Cheesecake.

Raw Cheesecake Sampler

From front to back: Strawberry (my favorite!), Vanilla (creamy – your basic flavor), Chocolate (just the right amount of cocoa – not bitter at all), Lemon (way too tart for me), Blueberry (very blue, but a very mild blueberry flavor), Raspberry (creamy on the outside – just enough tart on the inside), Coconut (strong coconut flavor – me likey), and Blackberry (same idea as the Raspberry flavor, but with a less tart center). Another thing I noticed was the crust was too salty for me. I’ve had the single serving packages in the stores and never found them to be too salty. I’m hoping someone just got carried away with the salt when making this batch of crust and they didn’t change their formula for good.

Raw Vegan Cheesecakes

I think I’m good for awhile on the raw cheesecakes. I ended up having my vegan guy taste some and I gave most of a cheesecake to my family, but I ended up eating a little more than an entire cheesecake by myself. In about a week. Glutton. I know. And I’ve learned my lesson.

118 Degrees in Costa Mesa

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Raw, Veg Restaurant June 19, 2012

Awhile back, I had a Groupon to 118 Degrees. It was a great deal. Unfortunately, in my opinion, 118 Degrees is one of those reasons why I was turned off to raw cuisine. 118 Degrees was my second raw restaurant experience (after Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco – also not a very good experience). It just didn’t grab me. After two not so great experiences, I was not very interested in trying more raw cuisine. Luckily, I found some raw food in LA that I liked and the best raw restaurant in Oklahoma City. Be your own judge of the cuisine, but this is what I got.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Fried Avocado Mini Tostadas ($7): crispy buckwheat shells, spicy pepita cheese, chopped spinach, cilantro, corn, and fried avocado. This appetizer is something I have had before and liked it. However, on this trip, that crunchy coating on the avocados was lacking and brought the whole dish down. On a good day, these actually are pretty good. I can never really say anything bad about raw cheeses – I always like them, but I’m not a huge fan of dehydrated things resembling the bread (in this case: the tortilla).

Fried Avocado Mini Tostadas

My vegan guy got the Sweet Corn Tamales ($14): sweet corn masa with marinated portobello mushrooms – served warm with rojo salsa, guacamole, and napa slaw. According to the restaurant, this one sells out fast and I can see why. I enjoyed this much better than the raw stuff. Besides being comforting and warm, it also had lots of flavor.

Sweet Corn Tamales

I had the Fusion Pasta ($16): sweet miso, squash noodles in a chipotle shiitake creme with shiitake mushrooms, avocado, and dulse flakes. When I think “squash,” I mainly think of butternut squash. I’m a fan of butternut squash, so I thought I would like this dish. When it came to me, I saw it was mainly zucchini noodles. I hate zucchini. I had about two bites of this before packing it up and bringing it to someone else.

Fusion Pasta

And for dessert we got the Apple Cobbler ($9). I love baked apple cobbler, but am not so much a fan of dehydrated apple cobbler. The creme topping was nice.

Apple Cobbler

And the Raspberry Cheesecake ($9). I love Earth Cafe’s raw cheesecake, but sadly, I did not like 118 Degrees’ cheesecake. I think I liked the filling better than the crust, but all-in-all, I would never order this again.

Raspberry Cheesecake

If you are into raw cuisine (and even if you’re not), you may like 118 Degrees. I encourage you to try it out yourself.
2981 Bristol Suite B5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-754-0718

Monday – Saturday 9am – 10pm
Sundays 10am – 9pm
Brunch on Sunday 10am – 3pm

ROAD TRIP: Raw Vegan in Oklahoma City

Posted by socalvegangal in Oklahoma, Raw, Veg Restaurant June 9, 2012

In my last post, I talked about some vegan eats in Oklahoma City. It surprises me that one would be able to even find vegan food in a state like Oklahoma. I guess that’s a testament to how the vegan movement is spreading. And to find a complete raw restaurant? RAW?! – vegan food that’s not even cooked!? Whaa? Oklahoma City? To be honest, my mom and I aren’t to enthused about raw food, so we were ok with missing this restaurant. However, when my very meat-eating cousin said how good Matthew Kenney was, we re-thought about going there. I mean, if he liked it, it must be good!

We made it a family outing and took my Californian aunt and uncle (their first time at a raw restaurant). They liked it, too! We ended up sharing a bunch of dishes. First up, the Cheese Plate ($12): House Aged Tree Nut Cheeses and Condiments: Smoked Cumin Seed, Truffle Macadamia, Mild Cheddar, Wildflower Honey, Rye Bread, Pickled Fruit. Of course the honey is technically not vegan, but my mom, aunt, and uncle ate it. I love raw cheese and this was some of the best raw cheeses I’ve had! Split between four people, I only got a tiny bit of the cheese, but I could have eaten five plates of this (sans honey, of course).

Cheese Plate

The Lasagna was next ($13): Heirloom Tomato Lasagna, Pistachio Pesto, Red Pepper Marinara, Pine Nut Ricotta. I am not a huge fan of zucchini, but the final verdict at the table was that this dish was delicious!

Lasagna

I then got my little bite of the Ravioli ($12): Sweet Corn Ravioli, Corn Mint Pesto, Tomato Paper, Herb Oil. This dish was wonderful and full of their amazing raw nut cheese.

Ravioli

Our last entree was the Crusted Portobello ($13): Warm Herb Crusted Portobello, Fresh Corn Polenta, Cherry Tomato Salad. The table agreed that we all liked this dish, as well. I was more of a fan of the crusted portobello and less of the polenta. Something about raw, whole corn kernels sits funny in my belly.

Crusted Portobello

Since we really weren’t going to be in Oklahoma City again to eat here, we decided to try a couple of desserts. The Tiramisu with Cappuccino Ice Cream ($11) was really amazing. Just look at the presentation! How could you not love it?

Tiramisu

Next was the White Chocolate Cheesecake with Candied Ginger Crumble and Grapefruit Marmalade ($11). Another amazing dish! I wanted more.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

I wish we had this place in LA. True, the prices are large and the portions are small, but the taste was amazing! This is the best raw restaurant I’ve ever been to. I probably wouldn’t eat here a lot (because it’s so expensive), but would suggest it for special occasions. I’m so glad we came – and to think I almost missed out on this beautiful, delicious food!

Matthew Kenney
5820 North Classen Boulevard, Suite 1
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
405-842-1050

Sunday and Monday 11 am to 9 pm
Tuesday – Thursday 11 am to 10 pm
Friday and Saturday 11 am to 11 pm

ROAD TRIP: Vegan in Sedona

Posted by socalvegangal in Arizona, Omnivorous Restaurant, Raw, Veg Restaurant June 4, 2012

Continuing with posts about my recent road trip, I bring you Sedona, AZ. My mom and I absolutely loved it here. It was so beautiful – red rocks galore! I definitely recommend a trip here, and if you do, take a tour on the Sedona Trolley. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the sights.

Because Sedona is more of an artsy community, vegan food is easier to find here. They have a natural foods market to get your vegan groceries and a full vegetarian restaurant. Plus, many of the omnivorous restaurant offer vegan options.

My mom and I got to Sedona in the evening, so we hit up Simon’s Hot Dogs. Sedona has some very strict regulations about signs and lighting, so finding this place was rather difficult. It is inside the Oak Creek Brewing Company on this side street. Once you find the place, you are in for a treat! The head guy (I’m assuming Simon) is super nice and he’ll direct you to what can be made vegan. They have one vegan dog that is substituted for the meat dog (it’s like a Field Roast sausage).

We got the Bratwurst Sauerkraut: vegan dog with spicy mustard and sauerkraut with your choice of chips or a pickle. I love sauerkraut, so I loved this dog. The vegan dog is very flavorful and combined with the mustard and sauerkraut – so good!

Bratwurst Sauerkraut

We also split the Cowboy Dog. This is like a chili cheese dog – only he uses vegan chili with tahini for the cheese. And I thought I loved the sauerkraut dog! This one was even better!! We wanted to come back to this place, but just weren’t in town for long enough.

Cowboy Dog

For lunch the next day, my mom and I went to the vegetarian restaurant ChocolaTree. This is like your typical earthy, yoga-loving cafe. You can eat inside or outside in this cozy courtyard complete with hammocks and gardens. They also have a complete display case full of raw vegan chocolates (some contain honey).

Most of the menu items are vegan (some contain honey) and a lot of them are raw. They also have an extensive beverage menu. My mom felt like she needed a vitamin boost, so she tried the Beyond B ($4): probiotic base B vitamins drink. It was described as having an herbal tea taste, but I thought it tasted more like what it is: vitamins. My mom enjoyed it.

Beyond B

I was very focused on trying the Buckwheat Waffle ($7) with vegan butter and cinnamon agave (beware: the optional add-on of coconut creme contains honey). That cinnamon agave was so thick it barely came out of the dish – but it was delicious. I loved this waffle. It was a bit denser than a typical Belgian waffle, but so yummy!

Waffle

We also tried to get in some greens with the Kale Quinoa ($11): quinoa, kale, and Thai sauce topped with shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, red onion, and red bell pepper. I really need to figure out how to make this on my own. It was so good. The kale was not bitter at all and the Thai sauce was delicious! It’s a healthy salad without tasting healthy.

Kale Quinoa

Then the Almond Butter Sandwich ($6): warm banana bread with stone ground almond butter and honey (obviously I didn’t get the honey). This wasn’t your typical sandwich – you definitely had to eat it with a fork – but the almond butter was the best I’ve ever had. It had the perfect amount of creaminess. Of course the banana bread that it was poured over was also very tasty.

Almond Butter Sandwich

And we couldn’t leave without trying a few of the goodies in their huge selection of raw chocolates. I think my favorite was the White Goji Berry (white raw chocolate with goji berry) – no bitterness at all. My second favorite was a toss up between the White Jungle Peanut (white raw chocolate with jungle peanuts) and the Almond Butter Cup. I just love that almond butter! The Jungle Peanut Butter Cup had a bit too much raw dark chocolate for me and made it way too bitter.

Left to Right: White Goji Berry, Almond Peanut Butter Cup, White Jungle Peanut, Jungle Peanut Butter Cup

ChocolaTree
1595 West Hwy 89A
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928)282-2997

Daily from 9am-9pm
Simon’s Hot Dogs
2050 Yavapai Dr
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 496-0266

Mon, Tue & Thurs 4pm to 9pm
Fri & Sat noon to 9pm
Sun 12 noon to 8pm
Closed on Wednesdays

Getting Warm at Leaf Cuisine

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Raw, Veg Restaurant May 30, 2012

I have gone to Leaf Cuisine a few times recently and I have discovered that I am more of a fan of their fusion cuisine than their raw cuisine. Their fusion cuisine consists of cooked and raw foods combined. I especially like their fusion wraps.

Their Chick’in Pesto Wrap ($10.99) is really good – Soy Chick’in mixed w/ cashew kreme cheeze, sauerkraut, pico de gallo, sour kreme & sprouts. This wrap was very flavorful – I loved the pesto used to drizzle on it. It was also a large portion, so you can always take the one half home and enjoy it later.

Chick’in Pesto Wrap

Another wrap is the Philly Cheeze Stake Lavash ($10.99) – Soy Beaf Stips w/ melted vegan cheeze-, marin onions, spicy sour kreme, cashew kreme cheeze, sauerkraut, tomato & spring mix. I didn’t taste this one, but my vegan guy enjoyed it.

Philly Cheeze Stake Lavash

We also got a dessert to go (well, it was given to us, because of a mistake in our order). I obviously had a lapse in judgment, because I went with the Raw Chocolate Cheesecake. I should have known I wouldn’t like the bitterness of the raw chocolate, because I never do. And it was bitter. The raspberry filling was also way too tart for me. The only good thing about this dessert (besides being free) was the creaminess. Next time, I’ll opt for a non-chocolate cheesecake.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Leaf Cuisine is located at:

11938 W. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 397 0700

Hours of Operation
Mon – Fri 10 AM to 9 PM
Sat – Sun 11 AM to 9 PM

Vive le Euphoria Loves Rawvolution

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Raw, Veg Restaurant May 19, 2012

I tend to have a love-hate relationship with raw cuisine. Sometimes it can be really good, and sometimes it just makes me want to gag. I think I initially put off raw cuisine, because my first experiences were more of the gagging kind. Luckily, I persevered and found items I liked. One place with some tasty raw cuisine is Euphoria Loves Rawvolution in Santa Monica.

One of my new favorites at Euphoria is their Warm Adzuki Bean Miso Soup ($4 cup/$7.50 bowl) – soy free miso with homemade Nofu, scallions, and mushrooms. The Nofu just melts in your mouth and the broth has great flavor. I’m going to remember this soup when I feel a cold coming on.

Miso Soup

I also got a Taco Salad ($11.50) – walnut taco meat, guacamole, and tangy mayo on a bed of lettuce. This thing was huge! I had to take half of it home. The taco meat was very filling and they give enough of the topping so you can have some with each bite of lettuce. I really hate it when places are stingy with the dressing.

Taco Salad

My vegan guy got the Avocado Cheese Scramble ($10) – homemade cashew scramble with avocado, sunflower seed cheese, red bell peppers, red onions, and marinated mushrooms served with heirloom purple corn chips. I had a tiny taste of it and really liked it. He also enjoyed the dish. Good thing breakfast is served all day, so we can get this anytime.

Avocado Cheese Scramble

Euphoria Loves Rawvolution is located at:

2301 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 392-9501

Open 10am to 9:30pm daily

Cleanse from Earthly Juices in Tustin

Posted by socalvegangal in Orange County, Packaged Food, Raw, Veg Restaurant April 21, 2012

After I finished my three day Detox Food Box from Leaf Cuisine, I took on a two day cleanse from Earthly Juices in Tustin. Of course I purchased this from Groupon (I’ve gone buying crazy on Groupon). I paid $99 for this two day drink feast, which they value at $199.

In this deal, I was supposed to get:

2 quarts of nut- and dairy-free sprouted green smoothies
2 quarts of liver-detox tea
2 quarts of alkalizing green drinks
One raw detox soup
Two signature colon-sweep salads

Day 1 started with a Green Smoothie (sprouts, mango, celery, pineapple, banana, apple, and avocado). My green juice on the Leaf Cuisine detox plan was really gross, so I was not looking forward to more of the green stuff. Surprisingly, this smoothie was delicious. I like how they have more fruit in their drinks – making it a lot more palatable for me.

I was told to drink the Green Smoothie and the Green Drink by lunchtime, so almost immediately after I finished the Green Smoothie, I started the Green Drink (apple, lemon, ginger, parsley, and kale). I’m not sure why they call it a green “drink,” but I’m thinking it’s part smoothie and part juice. Either way, I liked it. It was sweet with a hint of citrus and ginger.

Another recommendation was to drink the tea throughout the day (and then fill the empty jar with water and drink that too). I am not a tea drinker, so having to drink a quart of the stuff each day was going to be tough. The Rootbeer Tea I received for Day 1 wasn’t going to make it easy on me, either (very strong). Of all the things I got from Leaf Cuisine and now from Earthly Juices – the tea was the worst.

Day 1: (left to right) Rootbeer Tea, Green Smoothie, Green Drink

My mid-day snack was a small Cabbage Salad. I liked this. The cabbage had a sweet dressing on it – perfect for me and my sweet tooth.

Cabbage Salad

For dinner, I was told to have half of the jar of soup provided on Day 1 and half on Day 2. The listing of food to be provided said I was going to receive a raw soup, but this one was to be heated. I’m not a raw foodist, so I was excited to have something warm, but buyer beware: the soups are not raw at Earthly Juices. The soup I got in my cleanse was a Red Lentil Dal. I had gone to India a few years ago and all I seemed to eat there was yellow, mushy food. I was so sick of it, that even mentioning Indian food now makes me slightly gag. I was not looking forward to this soup. Oh. Wow. It was one of the best lentil dishes I’ve ever eaten! I shoved this meal into my mouth at lightning speed. I’m definitely going back to Earthly Juices when this is offered as their daily soup.

Red Lentil Dal

I didn’t go to bed hungry on Day 1 and was looking forward to the offerings on Day 2 (except the tea!). In my cleanse I received a Protein Smoothie (no ingredients listed but I saw the guy make it – bananas, cinnamon, protein powder?, some kind of sweetener). I don’t even know if I was to received this, as it was not listed in the items I was to get (see above). Either way, I was told I could have some for breakfast. It was like a dessert! I loved this! There was so much cinnamon – I’m going back often for this smoothie.

I also got another Green Smoothie (sprouts, mango, pineapple, celery, parsley, and avocado). It wasn’t as sweet as Day 1 (I think it was more avocado-y), but I still really liked it.

And another Green Drink (cucumber, apple, lime, fennel, and celery). This was my least favorite of the green drinks, but it still wasn’t bad. I don’t like cucumbers, but it wasn’t an extremely prominent flavor.

And my last tea: Peppermint Mate Tea. I’m still not liking tea and this one reminded me of drinking mouthwash (the peppermint was really strong).

Day 2: (left to right) Green Drink, Green Smoothie, Peppermint Mate Tea, Protein Smoothie

My late lunch was a Kale Salad. It was nice. It wasn’t too bitter, it had enough dressing, and the nuts were good at adding more texture.

Kale Salad

I finished off Day 2 with more of that amazing Red Lentil Dal and some Protein Smoothie for dessert. Yum! A great way to end a cleanse.

Earthly Juices has a retail location in Tustin and has an atmosphere of a coffee shop. There aren’t many tables, but a lot of comfy couches to sit on and hang out. They have a very small menu of juices, smoothies, a soup of the day, and some raw salads/entrees. All of their menu is vegan (except for cow kefir) and raw (except for the heated soup of the day). They serve their drinks in quart or pint mason jars. If you bring in your own jar, it’ll save you money (I think $1 off the drink).

Earthly Juices has many cleanses available. I loved what I got on my cleanse and would recommend it to anyone. I do think that they over valued the cleanse I bought through Groupon. They said it has a value of $199, but the 2-day cleanse I saw on their website that costs $199 has 10 quarts of Earthly Juices and 25 enzymes. I was only to receive 6 quarts and I don’t think I got any enzymes (nothing was listed on the ingredients to the drinks). I still don’t think I overspent on this deal, but I’m positive I didn’t get the value of $199.

They don’t have a menu on their website, but the menu they provided to Groupon is here: Earthly Juices Menu. I compared the Groupon menu to the menu at the store and I’m pretty sure that whole second page is not offered (maybe special order?). You’ll have to go to the store to really see what they offer, but at least it’ll give you an idea.

Detox Food Box from Leaf Cuisine

Posted by socalvegangal in Los Angeles, Packaged Food, Raw, Veg Restaurant April 18, 2012

Like so many of you, I bought a Groupon for a three-day detox food box from Leaf Cuisine. This detox food box included a lot of juices with some raw salads, a soup, and a raw entree. I purchased this box for $59, but it had a value of $125.

Detox Food Box

Day 1 included four drinks. I was glad I ate breakfast before picking up my box, because I went to bed hungry this night (no telling how hungry I would have been without that breakfast!).

The first drink I had was their Got Greens Juice. This juice includes celery, kale, parsley, and cucumber. I don’t like cucumbers and this reeked of them! I gagged this one down and proceeded to my next juice: a Veggie Combo Juice. This juice includes carrot, celery, beets, and kale. The color just reminds me of cough syrup, so drinking this one had its own mental challenge to overcome. It did have a sweet carrot flavor, but I still had to remind myself it wasn’t that nasty medicine. Every time I took a drink, I had to say to myself that carrots are good! Mmmm, carrots! After gagging down that juice, I moved on to the Druids Detox Juice. This one includes burdock root, lemon, apple, ginger, agave, and cayenne. Oh dear, maybe I’m not cut out for juicing. The taste was bad and left a spicy grossness in my throat. Oh please, High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake, be my saving grace! Upon first sip, I thought it was too bitter, but definitely way better than the last three drinks I had consumed. It was thick and satiating. Two more days to go, but at least I knew the mylkshake was palatable.

Day 1: (left to right) Got Greens Juice, Veggie Combo Juice, Druids Detox Juice, High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake

Day 2 started off with another High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake. The flavor was less bitter than the night before. So far, so good. I had an early lunch of their raw Gazpacho soup. I was never really a fan of gazpacho – to me it’s like eating cold salsa. The flavor of this soup was good, but I really wanted some freshly fried tortilla chips to scoop it up (it’s only day 2 and I’m already succumbing to evil food thoughts!).

Gazpacho

My Day 2 mid-day meal was a Hale Kale Salad. This was loaded with kale. I felt like a cow chewing all those tough leafy greens. The dressing had a spicy kick to it, but there was not nearly enough to cover the bitter kale flavor.

Hale Kale Salad

My Day 2 dinner was a Caesar Salad. This salad includes romaine, tomatoes, crawtons, and dressing. This salad was huge! It had a nice topping of these cheesy flavored nuts. The crawtons gave the salad some added texture and the dressing was tasty. After dinner I had another Druid Detox Juice to drink. I was starting to notice the sweetness in this drink – are my taste buds adapting that quickly? It went down a lot easier than the day before.

Caesar Salad

On Day 3, I started off with my last High Fiber Chocolate Mylkshake. By day 3, I am really enjoying this shake. It’s a lot less bitter than on day 1. Mid-Day I have a Probiotic Salad. This salad includes lettuce, sauerkraut, sprouts, carrots, sprouted mung beans, and probably some other vegetables I am forgetting to mention. I liked this salad the best. There were so many textures in this salad, that it made it easier to eat (who really wants to just chew on lettuce?). To wash it down, I was provided with a Kombucha. I’ve had Kombucha before, but never really got into it. It’s a drink with an interesting flavor, that one must taste to really get a grasp of. Let’s just say that I didn’t find it hard to drink, but won’t be getting it again anytime soon.

Probiotic Salad and Kombucha

My last dinner was a Bedouin Burrito. The filling on this burrito was a sprouted chickpea hummus. I love hummus, so this burrito suited me well. While I still prefer conventional hummus, this burrito was still very tasty. I loved that it was wrapped in lettuce and not some weird raw tortilla trying to taste like a delicious flour tortilla. My final drink was another Druids Detox Juice. It’s not bad by day 3. I am very aware of the sweet taste now and not so much focused on the spicy ginger or cayenne. I am still very surprised at the rapid change my taste buds went through.

Bedouin Burrito

My final thought about this detox box was that I was glad I did it, but I won’t be continuing this type of diet for the long run. If I were to ever get into juicing, I’d need to experiment and find a drink I actually like gulping down (one not based on cucumbers – yuck!). I thought the deal I got was really good and that the value they say this detox box is was dead on.

Leaf Cuisine has food boxes available at full price. If you are looking to detox or start a raw foods diet, I definitely recommend starting with Leaf Cuisine. The time and effort they put into their food is time and effort you don’t have to do. Check out their Luscious Living Boxes here.

So Cal Vegan Gal

Category Archives: Raw