Seasons 52 - A Restaurant for Everyone

Imagine the joy this vegan felt when a new restaurant at a local mall boasted "alternative menus" on their website. That had to mean one thing--VEGAN CHOICES!! WOOHOO!!! And not JUST vegan - they list menus for lactose free, low sodium, gluten free, vegetarian, garlic-free--HUH? (As an American of partly Italian descent, I balked at this one--garlic is one of the four basic food groups, I don't care what ANYONE says!)

I dined here yesterday for lunch and you can tell when a restaurant has only been open five days. Everyone from the manager to the hostess to the waitress kisses your behind from the minute you walk in the door till the time you waddle out. I must confess, I LOVED that--too bad most restaurants lose that zeal several months in. But I digress. The service, though exceptional, was not my main reason to celebrate. The food was very fresh and very satisfying. I ordered the farmer's market vegetable plate, which consisted of golden beets, thin asparagus, baby carrots, baby bella mushrooms, cranberry-almond tabbouleh, and grilled ponzu-glazed tofu. For dessert (most of which are not vegan but are served mini-style as mini-indulgences), I had a mini-fresh fruit cup which was just enough to fill me. And it had EVERYTHING squeezed into this little glass--raspberry, diced mango and papaya, strawberry slices, blueberries, pineapple. Yummy! The wines recommended to me were first rate as well, in particular a sweet riesling I had to accompany my dessert. I am not much into dessert wines but this one was outstanding.

Other vegan options here include vegetable penne pasta served with a garlic-herb sauce, the grilled ponzu-glazed tofu served with a choice of two side dishes (broccoli, roasted asparagus, penne pasta, red potatoes, cremini mushrooms, etc.) They have some lovely salads as well. To start, I had an arugula salad with cranberries and golden beets (minus the goat cheese). The menu also boasts a tomato and hass avocado salad that looks tempting.

All in all, I really enjoyed my lunch. The best part is, Seasons 52 has something for everyone--the perfect restaurant for a group of people of mixed dietary needs. Check it out sometime. Visit them online at http://www.seasons52.com/ to find a location near you.

A Twinkee is Still a Twinkee

Vegan Myth: Being vegan means being healthy!

Hey, Hoppy, what's with that, you shout! How can you say that is a myth? Well, in general, that statement is true--a vegan lifestyle is healthy but--there is always a but--you have to do it right. One thing that drives me crazy about all these pro-vegan authors and gurus is they tend to leave the impression that all you have to do is go vegan and your body will be right as rain.

HA! I am living proof that THAT, dear friends, is not true.

I am vegan, yes, but I am also overweight and still deal with chronic issues such as asthma and tendonitis and some GI problems. Much of this is my own doing and people who right now are being bombarded with all these wonderful books about going vegan need to get this straight up front: you have to do more than just go vegan. You have to change your relationship with food altogether. The fact is, if you eat for the wrong reasons, for consolation, out of anger or frustration, or just because you are just addicted to food, then just going vegan isn't going to cut it. There are lots of vegan processed and junk foods out there that provide just as much comfort and pleasure as those items made from animal carcasses and byproducts. And if you mostly consume those food items, then guess what? You're not going to be 100% healthy and you are certainly not going to lose weight. Trust me, I know what I am talking about. For me, going vegan was the easy part. The hard part is doing it right because the truth is, I eat when I feel sorry for myself, which has been very frequently these days.

Botton line is this: irregardless of what you eat, if you consume more than you burn off, you will gain weight. It doesn't matter if that Twinkee is vegan. It is still a Twinkee and it will end up on your hips. Instead, we need to move our hips more and reject the processed crap, comsume whole foods, and eat to live, NOT live to eat. When we do that, then truly we can say that being vegan means being healthy.