What We Ate Wednesday: Anniversary Edition. Most Definitely *not* Raw.

June 15th, 2011 - filed under: The Food » Food Styles

Lord how I do so love this man.


Last Tuesday Damian and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. Three years goes by really fast when you’re making new people!

It was also our very first day back from our impromptu trip home, and even though I had managed to remain entirely raw for the first two days of our visit (high-raw for the rest), I was fully prepared to enjoy a cooked celebratory feast. Here’s how the day went.




Coffee

Iced, with raw almond milk. And can I just take a moment here? I am utterly and completely, hopelessly and truly, head over heals and over the moon, for NuNaturals Liquid Stevia. This stuff is so rad! I’ve been wanting to give stevia another chance, but there are so many brands and who knows which are good (very few) and which are crap (with the dreaded stevia afterbite bitterness that will seriously ruin a drink). Anyways, I won a giveaway over at spabettie recently (thanks Kristina! Happy blog birthday!) and poof! No more tough decisions for me! NuNaturals was arriving on my doorstep, and my coffee was never the same again. I LOVE THIS STUFF! I love that it’s natural and plant-extracted and that it adds sweetness without any calories (not that I count them, but they sure can add up with the way I’m downing coffee these days). So yeah, I am a convert. Delicious flavor, no horrible aftertaste. WIN.

After coffee and exercise, I strapped Waits onto my back and we headed out to the garden . . .


Smoothie

Ain’t that pretty? Gorgeous, fresh from the garden spinach.

This smoothie had water kefir, protein powder, Vitamineral Green powder, a vitamin K2 capsule emptied into it (important for growing bones and teeth!), all that spinach, a banana, and a dash of powdered stevia from NuNaturals. I also love that I can use less fruit in my smoothies, with a tiny bit of stevia to sweeten it up. Can you tell I’m into this stuff right now?


Baby Brekkies

While I made our smoothie, Waits ate his breakfast. It’s not much to look at but he sure did love it. Oatmeal with coconut cream, sprinkled with hemp hearts and dulse.

Aaaand just a little *push* . . .


Lucky Harley.


Innocent Baby. “Who me??”



Since it was our first day back from traveling, I made sure to hit all our supplements. We both use these D2 and B12 sprays. Also some liquid DHA, not pictured. Then it was bath time (obviously, look at that face) and nap time.


Eating On The Run

Waits had his 15-month pediatrician appointment in the early afternoon, so I grabbed more coffee and some snacks to take on the go. I love this picture:

. . . because it’s just so me-as-Mom to me: healthy snacks, extra diaper, water. I’m not a “fussy mummy” with a million doo-dads and gizmos, but we ger ‘er done, haha. Also, rad vegan wallet and purse, both from Herbivore <3


Afternoon Snackage

I think I ate that entire bag of carrots up there over the course of the day. Waits had some peanut butter.


And lots of red grapes, his new favorite! He’s a grape fiend these days (well all fruits really, he’s kind of going through a fruitarian phase).


And I had a Brazil nut. Just one has your daily dose of selenium!


Baby Dinner

We dropped Waits off at the babysitter’s very kind friend’s with a supply of rice crackers and hummus with green peas.

Then we were off. A real date! Our fourth since Waits was born! We went to one of our very favorite restaurants, the same one we went to on our first wedding anniversary, before there were babysitters to worry about (and back at their old location in a tiny coffee shop). It never fails to impress. Portland visitors, this is an absolute, without fail, do not miss, dining experience!


Portobello Vegan Trattoria

Waiting for our table.



I’ll go ahead and let the pictures do most of the talking here.








Strawberry Sangria Cocktail


Chianti


Cashew Cheese Stuffed Sweety-Peps & Grilled Asparagus


Gnocchi (they’re famous, seriously)


Pizza Arrabiata with chili-fennel seed marinara, cherry peppers, cashew cream, and sausage. Gluten-free crust.


Orgasm, er, I mean, chocolate salted caramel torte with walnut cookie crust.





*sigh*


It was good. Good enough to last us another 4 months or so.

What about you, my dears? What was the last great meal you ate out?

  • http://thelittleveganbaker.blogspot.com Stephanie

    Damn, your food looks good. The last time I went out to eat was a few months ago, and it was good but nothing memorable. Like you it will probably be another few months before I go out again, except I don’t have the excuse of having a child.

  • http://www.keepinghealthygettingstylish.com Laura Agar Wilson

    I love that vanilla stevia too, totally changed my life! I love it for coffee, so good :-)

  • HeatherG

    Don’t remember the last good meal out, how sad is that?!

    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to a beautiful couple!!

  • http://natsmithillustration.etsy.com Nat

    Happy anniversary!! You are such a beautiful family:) and the food is pretty nice looking too ;) i love your blog posts, I usually read them at least 2 or 3 times. Thank you!!!

  • http://natsmithillustration.etsy.com Nat

    p.s. i wish i lived in portland, your restaurants look awesome!! were just stuck with boring, meat infested chain restaurants :( bleh

  • http://lynniebee.blogspot.com Lynn

    Happy Anniversary!!!

  • http://coconutandberries.tumblr.com emma

    Happy Anniversary! What a beautiful, special meal out. The rest of the day looks super yummy too though! I’m only 21 and definitely nowhere near thinking about kids but when I’m older I want to be a lovely earh mummy like you!

  • http://windycityvegan.wordpress.com Monika {windycityvegan}

    Happy anniversary! That food looks amazing, and when I finally make out to Portland someday, I’m definitely checking that place out.

    The last great meal I had out was at the Eddy, a new restaurant/pub in our neighborhood that recently opened. They always make Nina an extra-large bowl of caramelized Brussels sprouts – how can we go wrong at a place like that? Also, we go there often enough that I’ve definitely noticed more veg options on the menu. I talk to the chef almost every time we visit, and I think I’m getting through to him. =)

  • Kathryn

    Happy Anniversary!! I’m looking forward to my night on the town this Friday. My husband and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary! And can I just say MMMMMM!!! Everything looks wonderful! So good I could almost lick my computer screen.

  • http://www.peasandcrayons.com Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons

    holy vegan deliciousness batman! it looks AMAZING! everything from your homemade eats to the restaurant goodies! Happy 3 year anniversary darling!!! I’m about to celebrate my 1 year! eee! =) love it!

  • http://twitter.com/erosan erosan

    Hurray for you and the aniversary!

    mmm… that slice of cake does look delicious. Seems to me like Italians tend to confuse orgasm with food (see: Giada De Laurentis), so I think your ‘mistake’ was an honest one.

  • http://northernveg.blogspot.com Fanny

    Looks fantastic! I’m travelling Oregon and Washintgon (flying back to Sweden today though..) so I’ve eaten quite a good amount of food out for the last 6 weeks. The latest was at Pizza Pi in Seattle, pizza with cheese filled crust!

  • http://spabettie.com Kristina @ spabettie

    happy anniversary!! Portobello is on my list, and after seeing your photos it’s getting bumped to the top!

    I love the look on Wait’s face AS he is pushing the plate, and after. such expression!

    I LOVE my B-12 spray!! so happy you are enjoying the stevia – I know you were skeptical from past bad flavors and ingredients, so I was really happy the random # thingy picked you, and I’ve been wondering how how liked it! :)

  • kate in sb

    Happy anniversary, I have fond memories of your wedding. it’s hard to even forget the date…06/07/08. :)

    Glad to see you a D get some alone date time, hehe.

    Last great meal I had out was a hidden gem in a Las Vegas strip mark… Lotus of Siam. Really good Thai. Our friends ordered all their favorite dishes and we ate family style.

  • http://dresseduplikealady.blogspot.com/ Cammila

    Oh I just LOVE your WWAW posts! Your smoothie is such a deep green, it kind of makes me salivate just looking at it!

    And the fare at Portobello looks delicious. The last time MC and I went out, we just custom-ordered some salads at a local pub into yummy vegan concoctions (nix the egg, gorgonzola, etc., add walnuts, avocado, tempeh…). It turned out to be really delicious! :D

  • http://mindrunningwild Hannah@mindrunningwild

    What a lovely day. I love seeing what you all eat. Did you make your own almond milk? I love making my own things from scratch.
    That picture of the spinach is amazing as well- where else would you get such green but from your own garden!
    Waits is too cute. I love the “who me?” picture :)

  • http://www.vegansunshine.wordpress.com whitney

    Yum! I love how DARK your green smoothie is, I’m slightly jealous!

    Whitney

  • Selina

    Wow…someday I WILL go to an actual vegan restaurant (I hope)!!

    There is a pizza place half an hour away from me that has some vegan options- cheese, “pepperonis”, etc.- and thsts all I’ve got. I was shocked to find even that in my area though! Lucky you! I asked my husband if we could move to Portland, but he said no. Boo. :(

  • Blanca

    I discovered your blog earlier this week, and I feel enlighted… I’ve been reading many of your posts. Love them.
    It’s funny I found you! I have to say: thanks, globalization… I’m reading your blog from Mallorca, a beautiful island in Spain. I’m immersed in a process to become a healthier person… and if I may, I will keep on reading! :)
    By the way, do you know gazpacho? It’s Spanish: lots of tomatoes, some green peppers, cucumber and onion, even garlic, some olive oil and vinager. Blend and drink cold! (I also like it with chopped cucumber). THE best for the summer!
    :)

  • sarah

    Aww happy anniversary you too. What fun… I’m glad you could get away for a bit, and I bet whoever was watching Waits had a blast. He looks like one of those kids you are just plain excited to babysit ;)

    SOMEDAY I will visit Portland and totally check that place out. Everything looked amazing. (I was just excited to find out we have a pizza place that makes gluten-free crust – we do have a couple other cool places, including a raw restaurant I have yet to visit).

    And I am so going to check out the NuNaturals stevia. I actually have a little pot growing out front but haven’t tried it yet (I hear fresh is good). I absolutely hate the aftertaste and can pick it up in anything (bought hubby some Vega and it totally ruins it I think).

  • http://exoticdonkeymeat.com Kate

    HOW do you get your pictures to look so awesome!?

  • http://catnip13.blogspot.com/ Catnip

    Our 12th anniversary was Monday. We went to Andy Ngyuen’s Buddhist Vegetarian restaurant in Midtown Sacramento. We’ve found it to be a hit-or-miss place, but we lucked out that night. Everything, from the crispy lotus rolls to the garden salad rolls to the Nirvana Lemon ‘Beef’ salad to the “Supreme Wisdom” veggies and even the brown rice was cooked to perfection and impossibly fragrant and flavorful. Then we went to the bookstore and over to the waterfront to walk along the river. Perfect night.

  • Megan

    Congrats Sayward and Damian!

    I highly recommend that you check out Body Ecology’s stevia!

    Donna Gates was actually a pioneer who brought stevia to States (it was big in Japan). Much of her work is with those who have gluten sensitivity, ADHD, and autism spectrum. She rocks.

    Her newest book is on avail. right now for under 10 bucks; they are doing some kind event with prizes and stuff. I just got a copy (:

    I loooove Body Ecology because they emphasize nutrient dense, unprocessed foods and the *wide* range of health benefits found in fermented foods. Yaaaay.

  • Jenny B

    Yay! Happy Anniversary! Had a question for you.. maybe you could do a post on it:) Ive gone raw once and was vegan for a whole long time——and lately I’ve been thinking about adding some ( sighhh) fish to my diet BC i cannot for the life of me figure out how to get between 50-70 grams of protein a day ( without relying on soy based products) Would love more info on this …thanks xoxxoxo

  • http://amongtheknights.blogspot.com Sara Ann

    Happy Anniversary!!!!

  • Moira

    Millennium in SF during my visit to see family this week. .:::swoon:::.

    Happy Anniversary!

  • MathTutor

    Everything looks amazing, and happy anniversary to both of y’all!!!

    Quick question: I’m looking for a good quality juiced and I was wondering what brand yours is and also how many watts it is? The one I’m looking at is 700 W and I’m trying to figure if that’s good enough ^.^

  • Leslie

    Happy Anniversary!!!! Yummy pictures of all the great eats you and Damian had!! My hubby and I are headed to Portland in 2 weeks to visit our son and we are happy to get out of So Cal for a bit!!!! I am really looking for to seeing my Damien and also looking forward to eating at all the yummy vegan restaurants there. Are there any that you can recommend as super special?? I love to cook but also would love a small break from chopping, blending, soaking etc. Love the pics, I will be a gramma in a few months…YEAH!!!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    @ Stephanie – Aw, sounds like you should take yourself somewhere super special this weekend!

    @ Laura Agar Wilson – Isn’t it amaaaaazing??

    @ HeatherG – Thank you! And yes, very sad, you should remedy that STAT =D

    @ Nat – Aw, thanks for all the kind words.

    @ Lynn – Thank you!

    @ emma – Thanks, and that’s such a sweet compliment!

    @ Monika – Oh, you *must* definitely check it out. Also, any plans of heading out this way . . . eh?

    Love that you’re influencing local spots to become more veg-friendly. Totally fun form of activism! Also love that Nina is obsessed with Brussels sprouts. She’s a girl after my own heart, and you are one lucky mommy (but you know that)

    @ Kathryn – Happy 5th, that’s so great. Hope tomorrow night is romantic and delicious!

    @ Jen L – Ooh, happy 1-year! The first is so special, how fun for you guys. =)

    @ erosan – OMG WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN I MISSED YOU

    @ Fanny – Oh yes, we do have good food here. I bet you are totally stuffed and wonderfully sated. Hope the flight went well!

    @ Kristina – Ooh you should review it on your blog! It would be great to get an omni’s perspective too. And you take such gorgeous photos. =)

    Thanks so much again for the Stevia. Best win ever! What a generous package they sent. I’ve been having so much fun and man, they gained a customer for life. I’m hooked!

    @ kate in SB – Is that the same place we went with ben and Vics and everyone for your 30th? ‘Cause that place was super rad.

    Aw, I remember you at my wedding – you looked so pretty that day!

    @ Camilla – Tempeh at a local pub? That’s not too shabby! =D

    @ Hannah – Yup,I make all my own nut milks, they taste soo much better and of course, they’re raw that way. I have a little tutorial, here: http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2010/08/do-nuts-have-nipples-how-to-make-homemade-alt-milk/

    @ whitney – I know, ain’t it purty?

    @ Selina – That’s awesome that you have a veg-friendly pizza spot. Pizza can be tough to find. But yes, someday you will go to a totally vegan restaurant and be able to look at *ever* *single* *item* on the menu, and it will be totally weird (haha) and GLORIOUS. =D

    @ Blanca – Hello in Mallorca, and yay for globalization . . . or at least for connection. ;-)

    I love gazpacho! I was never much of a cold soup person until I started working on this raw cookbook, and now I’m a total convert. LOVE them! In fact I had a raw creamy asparagus bisque for dinner last night, mmmm

    @ sarah – Ooh, let me know when you get the NuNaturals. I totally agree that stevia is usually a super deal breaker for me because of that awful aftertaste (seriously, how do people put up with that?), but this stuff blew my mind. Don’t know how they do it, but it’s magic.

    @ Kate – Haha, aw, thanks! Well, our camera is pretty fancy, but also – I take a MILLION of them. ;-)

    @ Catnip – Wow, 12 years, that’s so beautiful. Congratulations! And it sounds like an awesome night too, so double congrats. =)

    @ Megan – Ooh, I really love Donna Gates and have had so much fun every time I’ve heard her speak. Gut health is sort of a passion of mine. I like Body Ecology and am especially interested in some of the more cutting edge stuff they’re doing, like with the fermented grain protein powders. But I didn’t know about the stevia, so thanks for the heads up. I’ll definitely check that out!

    @ Jenny B. – Ooh girl, I owe you an email! As for this question, a few things come to mind. First, are you making sure you get enough calories? I’ve never really had trouble meeting my protein needs as long as I was getting sufficient calories for my lifestyle (whether pregnant, lactating, exercising, etc) Are you trying to loe weight or on some other sort of calorie-restricted diet?

    Second thing is, are you sure you’re adding up all the protein in all the foods you’re eating – including the veggies/fruits/grains/etc? Most people don’t think of, say, oatmeal as a protein source, but a serving has as much protein as an egg. Lots of veggies are very high (by % of calories) in protein, and even the ones that aren’t high, have some. So make sure you’re really accounting for *all* your protein.

    Other than that, I’d have to see what you eat, but I can say for sure that you don’t *need* fish if it’s really protein that you’re worried about. You don’t need soy either (I pretty much don’t eat it) My favorite protein sources are lentils, quinoa*, spirulina*/chlorella*, oats*, dark leafy greens, garbanzo beans, black beans, hemp* (seeds and raw protein powder), almonds, and buckwheat*.

    Almost all of these can be eaten raw, and the starred* ones are “complete” proteins.

    I’m totally willing to answer more questions. Maybe I should do an article on this? In the meantime, more reading:

    from The Vegan RD

    from Jack Norris at VeganHealth

    a recent article from No Meat Athlete

    From Dr. Fuhrman’s site

    @ Sara Ann – Thank you!

    @ Moira – Oooh, SO jealous! I’m dying to try that restaurant. Some day . . .

    @ MathTutor – I have a Champion and though everyone says it’s great, I don’t love it. It has 650 watts. If you can afford it, get a GreenStar!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    @ Leslie – Oh man, so many great restaurants! Portobello for sure if you want something semi-nice. Blossoming Lotus is also a little nicer, and has really healthy delicious stuff, lots of raw options (but plenty cooked too).

    If you want Chinese, then Bay Leaf.

    For super casual taqueria food, Los Gorditos is the best Mexican in all of Oregon.

    If you like Ethiopian you must try Bete Lukas!

    For a true Portland dining experience, you have to eat from food carts. The pods at Mississippi, at Hawethorne, at PSU, and the downtown cluster all have tons of vegan options.

    Cafe Vita does a rockin southern-style breakfast/brunch.

    We have lots of vegan bakeries too! Back to Eden is my fave, but they’re all good.

    There’s tons more but I can’t list them all.

    And of course, you have to hit the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market at PSU. If you see me, say hi! =D

  • Leslie

    Thanks Sayward, see you at PSU!!!!
    PS
    Right now, my hubby and I are lying in bed drinking espresso w/ raw almond milk ( inspired totally by your “do nuts have nipples” blog AND eating some raw apricot pie……..loving me some coconut flour……….
    You rock baby!!!

  • Virginia

    Happy, Happy Anniversary!! Love all the pics (the innocent baby one is adorable). And that torte has me drooling :D. Glad that you had a good time and hope that you have many more happy anniversaries in the future.

  • jenny t.

    happy anniversary! <3 awesome pictures!

    quick question-is it the nunaturals brand of stevia that's good, or a specific type they make? i went to to look at the wall of stevia at the heatlh food store and i saw that nunaturals has a bunch of different kinds.

    thanks!

  • Meghan

    Oooh, Bete Lukas looks good. I love Ethiopian food, but I never really thought to try it in Portland. (DC is kinda known for having good Ethiopian) It might go on my ever lengthening list of places to eat in Portland. But man, I just really like to eat at brew pubs usually when I’m there. Most of ‘em in Portland are super vegan friendly and uh… BEER!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    @ jenny t. – ALL the NuNaturals stuff I’ve tried has been a head above any other stevia product out there. I think you’d be happy with any of them (but the liquids do seem to be the very best). Hope that helps!

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