I went the night before my birthday and I was so pleased.  I make good pizza at home with Daiya, Teese, Cheezly, the cashew ricotta from Veganomicon, etc.  Just tonight I made pizza with locally made hemp cheese and it was delicious.  But, there’s just nothing like a pizza cooked in a restaurant’s pizza oven.  The crust of our Italia pizza was so good and the toppings were ample.  I posted a picture on Facebook immediately and some of my vegan friends went there that night to try it.  Ah, the power of the internet.

Vegans, please go to Italia and support them for offering Teese.  As far as I know, they are the first in Nashville to do this.  Love them for it!

First of 30 Products of the Day for September:  Sunshine Burgers http://sunshineburger.com/

2nd of 30 Products of the Day for September:  Parma Vegan Parmesan http://www.eatintheraw.com/

3rd of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @LunaandLarrys Coconut Bliss: http://www.coconutbliss.com/

4th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses http://www.dr-cow.com/

5th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @NanasCookieCo Nana’s Cookies http://nanascookiecompany.com/

6th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Fantastic Foods Tofu Scrambler http://tinyurl.com/m6gfjp

7th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Lightlife Smart Deli Pepperoni http://tinyurl.com/mfv8bg

8th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @GoMaxGoFoods Candy Bars http://www.gomaxgofoods.com/

9th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @LaraBar http://www.larabar.com/

10th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @So_Delicious Purely Decadent with coconut milk http://tinyurl.com/6poxxl

11th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @ChicagoSoyDairy Teese Nacho Cheese Sauce http://www.teesecheese.com/

12th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @VegaTeam Whole Food Optimizer http://tinyurl.com/5gye78

13 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Mary’s @GoneCrackers http://www.marysgonecrackers.com/

14 of 30 Vegan Products of the day:  Tings! http://www.piratesbooty.com/products/tings/original

15 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @DaiyaCheese Vegan Shreds http://www.daiyafoods.com/

16 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @AllisonsGourmet Super yummy cookies, fudge, etc. http://allisonsgourmet.com/

17 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Eco-Planet Cheddar Non-Dairy Organic Crackers http://ecoheavenllc.com/

18 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Field Roast Grain Meats http://www.fieldroast.com/

19 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Glenny’s Marshmallow Treats http://tinyurl.com/c3agzw

20 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Soyatoo Soy Whip http://www.soyatoo.com/us/produkte/

21 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:   Organic Food Bars http://www.organicfoodbar.com/

22 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @LoveStreetRaw Organic Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Spread http://tinyurl.com/a5t4d3

23 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Sun Flour Baking Company cookies http://www.sunflourbaking.com/

24 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @FYHMarket @Vegenaise FYH Vegenaise http://bit.ly/2VSIyW

25 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: Ray’s Seitan http://tinyurl.com/yabe7lw

26 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Road’s End Organics sauces, gravies, pastas, etc. http://bit.ly/2ucff5

27 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Bete Noir Chocolates http://www.betenoirechocolates.com/

28 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @JohnMcDougallMD‘s Right Foods http://www.rightfoods.com/

29 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:   Spectrum Naturals Vegan Caesar Dressing http://bit.ly/ky7DB

30 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Vegan Halloween Candy http://bit.ly/w9F8D

For October, I’m recommending 31 Vegan Related Sites of the Day, so please stay tuned to my Tweets!

Well, here’s one more reason why it’s not hard to be vegan.  I’ve talked about Cheezly and Teese before, and both are great products, but Daiya vegan cheese has a few qualities that really make it stand out.  One is that it’s soy free, which is good news for anyone trying to avoid soy or at least cut down their intake.  (Read the ingredients here.)  Another is that it melts and stretches like dairy cheese.  Thirdly, while I don’t think it tastes exactly like dairy cheese, it really does taste pretty darned good, especially the cheddar variety.

I ordered mine from Pangea, The Vegan Store and quickly started making the yummy things pictured below.  It lasted a long time in the fridge too, which was nice since it took me a while to use it all!

I am thrilled that there are so many vegan cheeses to choose from and that more and more keep coming on the market.  Bring ‘em on!  Here’s a list of places to find Daiya.  Hopefully the day will come soon when a pizza place in Nashville will offer Daiya as an option and we can start changing hearts and minds about vegan cheeses.  Hear that Mafiaoza’s or DaVinci’s?

Daiya Quesadilla

Daiya over veggies and rice

Daiya Nachos

Daiya Mini Pizzas on Crackers

Daiya Pizza - Easily one of the best pizzas I've ever made

Daiya Pizza with Lightlife SmartDeli Vegan Pepperoni

On my recent trip to Los Angeles for AR 2009, I had the privilege of meeting and sharing a meal with Kevin Boylan, one of the owners of The Veggie Grill. I was so inspired by his story, his business sense, and of course, the amazing food! The Veggie Grill has found the winning formula for healthy, delicious, inexpensive, convenient meals, something this country so desperately needs.

The Veggie Grill has served over a half million plant-based meals in 2.5 years. Over 90% of the restaurant’s patrons are non-vegetarian, which really goes to show that the demand is there, and not just for those of us who choose to eat vegan all the time.

Although Kevin is very busy with the day-to-day duties surrounding his quickly-growing restaurant chain, he was kind enough to take time to answer some questions for TheTravelingVegetarian.tv.

TTV: What are your goals for The Veggie Grill? Are you franchising?

KB: Our goal is to become the “Whole Foods” of the restaurant industry, which goes along with our mission statement: “Make it fun to eat wholesome.” We are putting off any decision regarding franchising at this time. Our intent is to continue to own & operate our restaurants for the time being.

TTV: Where do you see the business is five years? Ten?

KB: We are now positioned to become the first national brand serving wholesome (which we define as 100% plant-based) comfort food. We intend to grow our base from three to six locations over the next twelve months, and then from six to twelve over the following twelve months. At that juncture we will have the infrastructure in place to support an aggressive national roll-out.

TTV: Why is The Veggie Grill thriving when so many restaurants and other businesses are failing?

KB: We are meeting a need: Delicious food that people can feel good about eating, served by friendly & thoughtful people in an attractive & convenient setting.

TTV: What was the process in coming up with the current menu? Was it one chef? Several?

KB: After an exhaustive period of due diligence, which included sampling food from coast to coast, we found Ray White who has been working with plant-based recipes for 10+years. We then worked together with Ray to develop the menu that you see today. Our team is constantly striving to improve & innovate, so we add new, delicious items on an ongoing basis.

TTV: Is the menu the same at all locations?

KB: Yes it is.

TTV: What would you say is The Veggie Grill’s signature dish?

KB: That’s a difficult question, as some guests love the Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’, while others swear by The Stack. However, pretty much everyone is amazed by our Sweetheart Fries & carrot cake.

TTV: What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

KB: That’s like asking me which one of my children is my favorite! I’m enthralled with all our dishes!

TTV: What inspired you to change your eating habits?

KB: Our inspiration to adopt a 100% plant-based diet was based upon the overwhelming body of evidence that we discovered as we were researching the food business, which clearly demonstrates the benefits of a plant-based diet. We feel better, and our wives tell us that we look better too; who needs any more inspiration than that!

The Veggie Grill has won many well-deserved awards including “Restaurant of the Year” from VegNews Magazine and “Best New Restaurant” in any category from the OC Journal.

Delicious food that people can feel good about eating is working very well.  I know this Traveling Veg is definitely looking forward to The Veggie Grill coming to Nashville.  In the meantime, I can’t wait to get back to Southern California for a Bali Bliss with blackened tempeh and avocado and a side of those amazing sweet potato fries!

Bali Bliss - Indonesian styled tempeh, sautéed and grilled, lettuce, tomato, red onion, chipotle ranch. Add avocado, portobello mushroom or chili for $1.50. Blackened upon request.

All Hail Kale - Marinated organic kale and red cabbage, roasted corn salsa, agave-roasted walnuts with a ginger-papaya vinaigrette. Add blackened chickin’ for $2.50.

Carrot Cake - Free of dairy, cholesterol and refined sugar - Full of deliciousness!

I called around noon on Wednesday and told the nice man who answered the phone that two vegans would be in for dinner and that we would like a multi-course meal.  He enthusiastically assured us that it was no problem and I got off the phone confident that it would be an evening to remember.

We arrived at 7:00 and chose a table on the patio.  Our server Jeff introduced himself and dropped off drink menus.  I’m not sure he knew what to do with a couple of vegans, but he warmed up to us quickly when we ordered beer.

First course was a lovely veggie summer roll with chili sauce.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was no mint as I’m just not a big fan of mint leaves that always seem to overpower rolls.  Delicious dish and great sauce.

Second course was a gazpacho that was presented creatively.  The soup was in a little creamer and there were fresh tomatoes and onions in the bowl.  The color of the gazpacho was yellow instead of the usual red.  Now, I have to admit that I’m not the hugest fan of raw tomatoes and onions and the first taste of soup was surprisingly onion-y and tomato-y, but it really grew on me with every spoonful.  Different than any other gazpacho I’ve ever had, and different in a good way.

During the gazpacho I told my dining companion L that I wasn’t that into raw tomatoes, so we laughed when we got course number three, which was a plate full of raw tomatoes!  These were local heirloom tomatoes though, and the sea salt, cracked pepper and olive oil that they were served with made them quite tasty.  They looked stunning on the plate too.  L is a huge tomato fan, so he really enjoyed this course.  Surprisingly, so did I.

At some point Otis the manager (the man I talked to on the phone earlier) introduced himself to us and made sure everything was ok.  The staff was so attentive to our needs, but never over-bearing, which was greatly appreciated.

Otis brought out our fourth course, a falafel dish, which was actually a regular menu item.  (I was a little bummed to find out they no longer had the tofu dish that I loved, but it’s a good thing that they’re changing things up and experimenting.)  The falafel came with tabouli, a bit of hummus, roasted baby eggplant and mini pieces of naan.  Really nice, interesting presentation.  I’m a big fan of Mediterranean food, so this was great.  I loved the texture of the hummus and the naan was delightfully chewy.  Win!

At this point I was really full and ready for dessert, but we had another course coming…  And what a course!  Number five was tempura tofu with veggies and a spicy soy sauce.  My only complaint about this dish was that the tempura was a little gummy, which I think was caused from undercooked flour, but the veggies and the sauce were so flavorful and fabulous!  Plus, I heartily applaud any chef who is not afraid of tofu.  I took half of my portion home because I was so full and it made a great lunch the next day.

Course number six, dessert, was fresh fruit.  Ok, yeah, I would have appreciated something a little more inventive, but to be fair, I did only call that day and really, I was so stuffed it didn’t matter.  I do hope that they’ll add a vegan dessert to their regular menu, especially because we are so lacking in the vegan dessert department in Nashville.  If they need suggestions, I’ll gladly help because vegan desserts are really quite easy.

All in all, a delightful evening.  We were there for nearly two and a half hours, which is my kind of dining experience.  I wonder if they would do wine pairings if we gave them enough notice?  That would rock my world.

Otis, Jeff and Chef Lee Guidry took amazing care of us and the food was delicious.  I am so grateful to my friends Kate and Karsten for telling me about their experience and thanks to the great food and service, I will spread the word about Bound’ry as an unexpectedly satisfying vegan destination in Nashville.

My only complaint is that when I’m eating at home I generally avoid sugar and the mozzarella style does have sugar in it for some reason.  I have yet to try the white cheddar style (which doesn’t have sugar), but it’s waiting patiently for me in my fridge.  Looking forward to trying that too.  Any suggestions for a good use?

I also have some Teese nacho cheese sauce waiting to be eaten.  No suggestions needed for that!

For this pizza I started with a Trader Joe’s whole grain pizza crust, spread some Rising Moon vegan pesto on the crust (which was very salty, but also quite tasty) grated half a block of Cheezly over the sauce, then added broccoli, sundried tomatoes, black olives and pine nuts.  I also had a container of Chipotle Cayenne Parma ready to sprinkle on top after cooking.  Yummy.

But you know what?  I honestly don’t miss it.  With so many wonderful creamy, delicious foods from delightfully ripe avocados to the fabulously decadent cashew ricotta from Veganomicon, what’s to miss?

That being said, on a recent trip to Pure Food & Wine in NYC, I tried Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses for the first time, and well… Wow.  WOW!  It really is possible to make a rich, flavorful, decadent cheese out of raw nuts, acidophilus, salt and herbs.  Who knew?

They’re definitely not cheap, but so worth a try.  I fantasize about having a wine and nut cheese tasting party at my house.  I will do it at some point.  Maybe when I’m celebrating my show being picked up by a network.  Yes!  Sounds like a plan.

Purely Decadent’s new non-dairy ice cream is made with coconut milk.  I happen to LOVE coconut and when I found out about this frozen delight, I knew I had to try it.  I also wanted a “Lick Me, I’m Vegan” shirt because really, how awesome is that?

Well, the good folks at Turtle Mountain sent me five pints of this wonderful new dessert, along with the awesome t-shirt.  Sweeeeeeeet.

This wonderful creamy goodness comes in five flavors:  Vanilla Bean, Chocolate, Coconut, Mint Chip and Cookie Dough.  An extra added bonus is that even the Cookie Dough flavor is gluten-free, so it’s just that much more friendly for those with allergies.  (If you’re allergic to or don’t care for coconut, this is not your dessert.)  But no soy, no dairy and no gluten?  Fabulous!  AND, they’re sweetened with agave syrup instead of sugar, which is yet another huge plus in my book.

My personal favorite flavors are the Mint Chip and Cookie Dough, but mostly because I like “stuff” in my ice cream and I’m a sucker for mint and chocolate ANYTHING.  Honestly though, I think all the flavors are lovely.  Even the Vanilla Bean is amazingly creamy, flavorful and luscious.

So, yeah.  Go get some Purely Decadent.  It’s truly heavenly.

PS:  I dare you to sing the blog title to the tune of Sara McLachlan’s “Ice Cream.”  C’mon, no one’s listening!  Do it.  Do it.  (By the way, I just amazed myself by spelling her name correctly on the first try.  Woohoo!)

Purely Decadent made with Coconut Milk

My good friend Linda Long shares the same passion for food and its artisans. Long recruited twenty-five of the most celebrated chefs and challenged them to concoct delicious and beautiful vegan meals. The result is her fabulous new book Great Chefs Cook Vegan.

Not only is this book full of delectable new recipes by such well known chefs as Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Cat Cora, Jean-George Vongerichten, etc., but it also features incredibly beautiful photographs of their dishes. Long is a wonderful photographer and writer and has written and shot for such magazines as Vegetarian Journal, American Vegan and VegNews. She has been a vegan for over thirty years.

Long’s heartfelt Introduction is something I relate to well, as I have had some lovely vegan meals in fine dining establishments that are hardly known for their healthy meatless dishes. Many folks who have the perception that veganism is “hard” don’t realize that most chefs are actually quite accommodating and will be happy to make something that may not appear on the menu. It is always courteous to let the restaurant know when you’re making your reservation so they have time to prepare, especially if they are busy, but you may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Linda Long’s book shatters the myth that vegan food is boring and lacks flavor. One look through the colorful, beautiful pages of Great Chefs Cook Vegan will give this exciting cuisine the credit it so truly deserves.

Linda Long and me at Pure Food & Wine in NYC

I have recently discovered some wonderful raw vegan chocolate.  Ridiculous Chocolate is a local company run by Michael “Hunter” and Mandy Ray-Jones.  They make the most wonderful, yummy treats!  On a recent meeting over lunch, they brought a cooler (this stuff melts REALLY easily) with some of their raw chocolate pieces (delicious!) and their Ridiculous Chocolate Cups.  OMG.  Heaven.  So decadent.  The raw chocolates are sweetened with agave nectar and they just melt in your mouth immediately and deliciously.  The vegan cups are admittedly not the healthiest things on the planet since they have vegan cream cheese in them, but when they’re that good, it’s worth it.  And at least they’re vegan!   The company is still in its infancy, but if you’re in the Nashville area, make sure to contact them and try their amazing products.  Tell them Yvonne sent you!

Another great company making raw chocolate treats is Love Street Living Foods.  With a name like that, you just know their products are made with loving care.  They sent me several samples, including the 100% Organic Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Spread.  Admittedly, I didn’t really know what to do with the spread when I first got it, but I have managed to figure out several uses.  (It was a tough job, but someone had to do it…)  Of course you could always put some on vegan ice cream.  You can also dip fruit in it, or anything else you want covered in chocolate.  But my favorite way to eat this fabulous spread is right off the spoon.  Just a bite after lunch is perfect.  Totally takes care of my sweet craving and I don’t have to feel any guilt about it.  It’s a win-win!

Please click on the company links above to learn more about the benefits of raw chocolate over the processed, sugar-laden stuff most of us grew up eating.  I think you’ll want to give it a try.  I know I’m hooked!

And now I need to put this jar of coconut spread back in the cupboard before I eat the whole thing.  Out of sight, out of mind, right?  Right.