What I’m Loving Wednesday 10.24.12

1. I ate at Purée four times this weekend: Friday dinner, Saturday brunch, a juice, and Sunday lunch. What is wrong with me? Nothing.

Friday: I had the Asian Bowl: pan fried tofu in a chili garlic sauce w/ brown rice over a bed of greens, shaved cucumbers, carrots, ginger.

Boding had the Pad Thai: rice noodles with crushed peanuts, red pepper, snap peas, coriander, lime.

Saturday:  Danielle and I split two wraps: Grilled Chimichurri Seitan Wrap (protein marinated in homemade herb cilantro lime dressing then grilled) and Mo Mo’s Homemade Rosemary BBQ Wrap.

2. I’m not the most organized person when it comes to my belongings. My shoes are all over my apartment and my purse is always a mess. I’ve learned to embrace it and work well amidst the chaos. Check out my k-cup madness. What’s your favorite k-cup flavor?

3. On Sunday evening, Boding and I went to Trader Joe’s for dinner stuff. There was one pumpkin Greek yogurt left. Obviously I grabbed it out of principle.

I was just there for the bare essentials: Greek yogurt and wine.

4. I enjoyed said wine in my favorite Pier 1 chalk note wine glass and pajamas. Christmas pajamas…two months early.

5. Speaking of Christmas, the seasonal Clif bars are back! Peppermint Stick is the real winner of this trio. What do you think of them?

6. Now rewind back. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I’m excited for this weekend’s festivities. I went from wanting to be Cat Woman, to a cat, to something very different than either of those animals. Here’s one hint :I will be carrying these around all evening.  (Annabel/Hannah/Amanda --  shhh!)

7. Amanda and I are still on a running kick. We never plan how far we’ll run and kind of just see how we’re feeling at each mile. On Monday’s run, at 7 miles in we felt great so we continued. At 8 we still felt good. Neither of us wanted to stop at 9 because, well, why would you when 10 is right around the corner? ;)

Nope, we’re not training for anything…other than world domination.

Feeling Hungry and Healthy? Purée Café Is Your Place.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been head over heels in love. But no, not for a boy. For a restaurant! Purée Café in Mt. Pleasant is a new gem that you must check out. Purée caters to those health-conscious individuals like myself, but will surely please the appetites of anyone smart enough to eat there. The menu is vegetarian, with many vegan and gluten-free options. Fillers, preservatives, artificial colors, and GMOs are no no’s at this joint. Go in hungry and leave feeling happy and healthy!

My first visit to Puree was with my friend Eric, a meat-loving man, who worried the vegetarian menu wouldn’t satisfy him. While we glanced over the menu, we ordered two juices: the Green Clean (spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, parsley, apple, and lemon)  and The Vitality (kale, beet, carrot, and peach).

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We also couldn’t pass up the White Bean Dip with pita chips as an appetizer. I could not stop eating the dip!

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We shared a salad too. Hey, we saw a lot of things we liked…The arugula, goat cheese, & roasted beet salad with toasted nuts & berries was another great starter -- sweet, savory, and summery. Pretty, isn’t it?

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The meat-eater immediately spotted two items that intrigued him:  the Blackened Jalapeno Cheddar Burger and the BBQ Tempeh Sausage Burger. Jenan, the owner, stopped at our table and convinced him to go with the latter. Wise choice – the burger was huge and topped with sautéed onions, avocado, and melted cashew cheese

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I chose the Mediterranean platter:  falafel  & hummus, served with mixed green tahini salad & toasted pita. I loved this dish because I got to try a little bit of everything. The falafel is a family recipe and the roasted red pepper hummus is better than anything you could buy in a store.

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After my visit with Eric, I was hooked. Thankfully, so is my good friend Danielle, and we’ve been going pretty often. One day we didn’t tell each other we were going for lunch and happened to go at the exact same time. I’m not sure if we were more embarrassed or amused that we caught each other. :)

On more than one occasion (like four, sue me), I’ve had the Black Bean Burrito. I can’t stop! Jenan urges me to try new things, but I keep going back to it. The whole wheat wrap is filled with black beans, greens, pico de gallo, and avocado.

One afternoon, Danielle and I decided a cocktail with lunch was necessary. She got a margarita with organic tequila and I got a mixed drink with organic vodka, beet juice, strawberries, and lime. These were probably the healthiest cocktails we’ve ever encountered, ha!

My most recent visit (when I spilled the beet juice everywhere) was for brunch. I had the The scrambler: tofu with cheese, tomatoes, kale, sweet & Yukon gold potatoes wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla and a side of pesto. The tofu tasted pretty darn similar to eggs and I loved that there were two kinds of potato.

Locals, please check out this adorable café! Vegetarian or not, I know you’ll find something delicious. Stop in for a juice, eat one of the awesome entrees, chat w/ the sweet owner, and leave with a freshly-baked dessert. The vegan chocolate chip cookies are ridiculously good. Trust me, I’ve had a couple. ;)

Check out Purée on their website, facebook, or twitter. Tell Jenan I sent you!!

Do you often find yourself ordering the same thing over and over because it’s so good or do you like to always try new things?

What’s your favorite vegetarian dish?

What I’m Loving Wednesday 9.26.12

I love a lot of things this week! Weeeee!

1. I’m terrible at home decorating. This is the one Cancer trait I don’t possess. Out of curiosity, I took this style quiz to see what my home design personality was. I was not at all surprised by the results.

2. Amanda and I both had last Friday off, so we went to Black Bean Co. and split two wraps. On left: South West Chicken wrap (chicken, black beans, jasmine rice, sweet corn, roasted tomatoes, chipotle sauce, carrots, parmesan cheese, mixed greens). On right: Almost Summer wrap (chicken, mandarin oranges, goat cheese, candied almonds, rice noodles, arugula, raspberry citrus vinaigrette). The Almost Summer is a new fave!

3.  Have you ever noticed that Publix puts the most random assortment of goods on sale? I couldn’t help but make a comical display out of a few of them.

Then I thought, what the heck? I guess I should try making matzo ball soup if this mix is on sale. Into the basket it went! #Jewstina

4. Eating at Ali Baba on Sundays has become a ritual for Boding and me. Before he got to my apartment last Sunday, I posted a sign on my door, proposing our dinner plans.

As the picture shows below, he said yes. I wish Ali Baba was a real person so I could date the heck out of him.

5. Amanda and I have always run a couple times a week, but after 3ish miles, we’re like “Where’s the food?” Suddenly, we’re addicted. We ran 4 miles on Saturday, 5 miles on Sunday, and then Tuesday evening we just kept going…until we hit 6.5 miles.

We were kind of delirious after, unsure if we were hungry, dizzy, going to vom, laugh, cry, or pass out. We were both so excited though. Runner’s high is a real thing y’all. Here we are after our run on Sunday, playing tourists at Waterfront Park.

6. Last but not least, I bought the iPhone 5 on Friday and I love it like my first born (that I don’t even have). I love Siri and telling her what to do, like call me Xteeny because Christina is just too formal for this kind of love.

I’ve downloaded a silly amount of apps already.

 

Take the decorating style quiz, send me a matzo ball soup recipe, and tell me your favorite iPhone apps. Please! :)

What I’m Loving Wednesday 8.22.12

1. Sometimes you just need a damn cookie, right? Last week, Dane and I went to Great Harvest during our lunch break for a much-needed treat. These frosted sugar cookies hit the spot. Aren’t they pretty?

2. I have been needing a lot of cookies lately. I don’t recommend this as a healthy breakfast, but I do recommend it as a delicious breakfast. Breakfast of champions or breakfast of children? Don’t answer that.

3. My best friend and I bought each other very similar birthday presents: a bag of goodies that included wine, something sentimental, something girly, and of course, candy. I bought her an old-school favorite, Jordan almonds. It was only natural that we pose with them.

We quickly remembered that Jordan almonds are not that great.

4. Black Bean Co. has some really good e-mail specials. On Monday, some of their wraps were half off, so Danielle and I went for lunch. You know that I got two wraps. Why wouldn’t I at that price? They’re big enough to split between lunch and dinner, so yes, I ate Black Bean Co. four times in 2 days.

On Monday I had the Baja Style: turkey, spicy goddess sauce, green onions, mixed greens, jasmine rice, pico de gallo, and guacamole. This is another favorite.

On Tuesday I had the Beach Burrito: roasted chicken breast, black beans & rice, mixed greens, sprouts, fresh guacamole and mango salsa. This one was good too, but I preferred the Baja because of the spicy sauce.

Can you tell I’m on a mission to try every single wrap?

5. I’m also on a mission to try every single Voskos Greek yogurt. I’ve only got a couple flavors left, but so far I like the honey vanilla bean best. Have you had Voskos Greek yogurt before?

6. Problems? Pick yourself up, eat a cookie, and move on. Everything will be okay.

Black Bean Company–Mt. Pleasant location

Late July, Black Bean Company opened a third location in Mt. Pleasant. Though the restaurant is right up my alley, I’d only been to the James Island location once because it’s a bit far. When I heard the news about their location in the new MUSC East Cooper building, I was excited to give it a second try. Black Bean specializes in fresh wraps and salads and has many vegetarian and vegan options.

Last Friday, Amanda texted me saying she had just picked up a wrap. I knew there was no way I couldn’t go after hearing her tell me how great her Black & Blue wrap was. So an hour later, there I was inside MUSC, thankfully only for a wrap and not hospitalization.

I debated between several options, but ultimately chose the Southwest Chicken wrap – Roasted chicken, black beans and Jasmine rice, fresh local sweet corn, roasted tomatoes, southwest chipotle sauce, shredded carrots, parmesan cheese, mixed greens.

This was one of their pricier wraps, at $9.95; that’s a bit steep for my taste. The wrap itself was fresh and flavorful. The Greek yogurt and granola that I chose as a side (other options include potato or macaroni salad) was incredibly thick and creamy. Addictive. My only qualm was that they skimped on the corn and tomatoes. There were only a few kernels of corn and TWO tomato chunks. Odd. The spicy dressing had a nice kick to it.

Over the weekend, I was wishing Black Bean was open, but this particular location is only open Monday-Friday, 8 to 5 pm. Luckily I work from home on Mondays, so, you guessed it…I went back on Monday.

This time around I ordered The International – turkey, hummus, guacamole, artichoke hearts, pico de gallo, goat cheese, Spicy Goddess sauce, mixed greens.

I really liked this wrap as well, but it had the same issue with lack of ingredients. There was ONE artichoke and ONE chunk of guac in the entire wrap. Sad! They were pretty liberal with the cheese though, and I didn’t mind that.

Last year when I attended the Best of Charleston party, I was given a coupon for a free order of Vegan spring rolls, so I redeemed that.

The spring rolls are simply purple cabbage, carrots, and greens in a soy wrap served with a spicy sauce. They’re good, but kind of boring. Had it not been for the sauce, I wouldn’t have really cared for them.

Overall, I’m happy with Black Bean and will continue to try new wraps. I just wish they wouldn’t be so conservative with the fillings! If a menu says something is in a wrap, it should be in there, and not just a small amount. I read reviews on Urbanspoon, and a lot of people commented saying they had issues with missing ingredients too. Hopefully they’ll work on that!

Have you ever been to any of the Black Bean locations? Which is your favorite wrap or salad?

Do you typically choose wraps or salads when dining out1?

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. Last night, Boding and I went to Crave for happy hour/dinner. We both had the veggie wrap that I’m obsessed with. I always ask for fresh veggies on the side so Chef Landen made a really mix of roasted corn, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and avocado. Must make this colorful dish at home!

2. For the past month or so, Dane and I have been doing pushups every hour at work. It’s a great way to keep moving throughout the day, burn some calories, and build muscle. I started doing 15 in a row every hour, but now I’m up to 30+. It really does get easier!

Rachel started doing crunches with us too! We’ve got to balance out the snack cabinet somehow…

By the end of the day we’re pooped.

3. Though I generally avoid fruit juices/sugary beverages, I found a Gatorade G2 flavor I can’t resist. Have you tried the Raspberry Melon?

4. Amanda and I went on a 5.5 mile bridge walk last week. Can anyone in Charleston honestly say they don’t love this sight?

5. My hair is finally long enough that I can wear a hat without looking like a boy. So, I bought one during Vineyard Vines’ Whale of a Sale.

6. I made a new playlist on Spotify. It’s called Hipstina. Ha! I’m really proud of it though. If you use Spotify, check it out here!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. The day after my birthday, I had brunch at Crave Kitchen & Cocktails. I’ve been going there pretty regularly and am always so pleased with both the food and service. To eat, I had the veggie wrap: fresh garden vegetables with a hummus spread, feta cheese and lemon vinaigrette wrapped in a low carb lavosh wrap. I added smoked salmon to it and had sweet potato chips on the side. I love this wrap and daydream about it.

Chef Landen sent out an incredibly delicious slice of gluten-free salted caramel cake that Carmela makes. The frosting was definitely the best I’ve had in a long time.

2. I recently purchased 2 new bracelets from Handpicked: a sideways cross and a chevron bangle. I love them both so much!

3. Thanks to Justin and his 4 billion channels, I’ve discovered an interesting show on National Geographic: Taboo. The show “explores behaviors and lifestyles that are acceptable in some cultures but forbidden, illegal or reviled in others.”

4. This heat wave is pretty sticky, but it provides for some glorious days on the boat. Yesterday, we went wakeboarding! I’ll post videos soon.

5. Pickles in a bag.

6. This boy loves Chick-fil-A as much as I do!

And his little dog too.

: )