Review

Restaurant Review: The Pulse Cafe- Somerville, MA

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Over the long weekend the Hubz and I made a quick overnight trip to the Boston area for a little getaway and to visit a few stores in search of items for our new apartment.  The first night we were there we decided to try The Pulse Cafe; a vegan restaurant in Somerville that was rumored to be good.

The cafe is a small cafeteria like place with table service, we were greeted and seated immediately as there was no one else there.  After looking over the menu we decided to ask our waitress which two items she recommended and based on her recommendation we went with the BBQ Seitan with slaw and cornbread and the Veg Burger with a mixed green salad.

At this point we are seeing the food and thinking wow this looks pretty good….however our eyes were deceived.  The seitan was like eating a sponge, the texture and consistency was awful and I couldn’t finish my half it was that bad. The bbq sauce on the seitan was like sweetened tomato paste, the cornbread was dry, and the slaw was AMAZING. The slaw was the highlight of both dishes which is pretty disappointing considering it is just a side.

As for the burger it was was bland even with the chipotle mayo which you couldn’t even taste.  The burger was mushy and with the bun and tomato there was a real lack of great texture, it needed something crunchy and more seasoning.  The greens were boring and under a few leaves we found a piece of tomato and red pepper.  There was dressing on the salad leaving it very bland as well; just a little lemon juice, salt and pepper would have made the salad 100x better.

The food was disappointing, the prices were expensive ($13 for a veggie burger? come on) and to top it all of the seating was horrible.  The dining area has two levels that are separated by a railing; we were seated on the lower level.  A group of 3 people came in and were seated on the upper level right next to us so the only thing separating us was the thin railing.  The group then proceeded to look down on us and watch as we ate which made both of us extremely uncomfortable.  To top it all off we were the only people in the cafe so there was no need to seat someone so close to us.

Overall I would not recommend or visit this cafe again. I found that there was as lot of hype on the internet over this place due to the pure fact that it was vegan. All though it is vegan the food and prices were not worth the visit, especially with a number of great vegan friendly restaurants nearby. To top off the whole experience both the Hubz and I left hungry since we were unable to finish our food.

Ratings:

  • Value: 0/5
  • Food: 2/5
  • Vegan Friendly: 5/5
  • Atmosphere: 1/5

Vega Shake & Go Smoothie

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Vega Shake & Go Smoothie

For the last few weeks I have been trying out the Vanilla Almondilla Vega Shake & Go Smoothie and I have come to the conclusion that I like it sometimes.  I know you’re going how can you like some just sometimes? Well in the case of this Vega Shake & Go Smoothie I really didn’t like it as a shake & go smoothie.  I appreciated the simplicity of adding 2 tablespoons to one cup of water and shake to create a smoothie filled with

  • Two servings of veggies
  • 2500 mg Omega-3-6-9
  • 11 g complete protein
  • Only 100 calories
  • 1 billion probiotics cultures

However the flavor was just off for me.  I felt that the smoothie was just too sweet and it over powered the drink.  I alternatively used the smoothie powder in my one hour oats and I thought it was great because the bland oats helped to balance the sweetness.  I also found the smoothie powder great when added to a blender with water, spinach, banana and flax meal.   Overall I did like the Vega Shake & Go Smoothie however the forms in which I enjoyed it was not in the intended “shake & go” style.

Disclaimer: Vega provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

{ Upcoming CSN Product Review }

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Last year I had the pleasure of working with CSN and doing a giveaway for one of their products, a Bodum French Press, so this year I’ve been given the opportunity again and will be doing a review this time.

Did you know that CSN has tons of great products for every room in your home? One of my favorites are these Bathroom Vanities which I could only dream of having one day in our own home.  However the ones in our new apartment are a huge improvement over our last two places.

I have a couple products that I have my eye on, I will have that review for you soon!

On The Rise and an Earthlust Giveaway

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Hubby was running late at work tonight and since we were starving we decided to go to On The Rise in Richmond VT (finally).  We have wanted to try it forever but have never seemed to be able to make it there.  The menu is so vegan friendly there is even a vegan pizza! We ordered a small vegan pizza, a deluxe salad with marinated tofu, and a chocolate macaroon.  The food was delicious, fresh and amazing.

Now onto the giveaway: Earthlust sent me one of their stainless steel water bottles and guess what the sent me an extra one just for one of you lucky readers. EarthLust bottles are hand made from high quality #304 (18/8) food grade stainless steel, which is naturally safe unlined. They use non-toxic paints and BPA-free safe polypropylene #5 caps. I received one of the 13oz bottles and it is the perfect size to take every where with me.  I am thinking about investing in a 1L bottle for trips and such but the smaller bottle is great for everyday use.  I also love that they are unlined, unlike Sigg bottles which have a weird lining and make your water taste funny. Additionally, their bottles have some really great designs. So now it’s your chance to win this bottle (see below) isn’t it so cute?

Disclaimer: Earthlust provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

How to Enter: Please leave individual comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted until April 17th at 8am.

  1. Visit the Earthlust website and tell which bottle is your favorite. (Leave me a comment)
  2. Follow me on Twitter (Leave me a comment)
  3. Tweet about this giveaway (Leave me a comment)
  4. Become a fan on Facebook (Leave me a comment)
  5. Follow my blog in a reader (Leave me a comment)
  6. Blog about this giveaway (Leave me a comment)

It was a Soygurt Kind of Day

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Yesterday all I seemed to want to eat was soygurt- Whole Soy of course- I had it for breakfast and lunch.  I would have had it for dinner as well but hubby stopped me. Yesterday a.m. I had a big beige bowl of vanilla soygurt with cashews, flax sprinkles, oatmeal (not cooked) and a banana. I had seen on Caitlin’s blog about using uncooked oats in her oatmeal and I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a try.  It is actually really good and makes the yogurt have a little more body and makes it filling. I even got the hubby to try it since to his disappointment I did not make granola as I had intended.

Disclaimer: Paramount Coffee provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Since hubby decided to work from home/day a half PTO I didn’t go to the coffee shop like I usually do, we both commute to work right now and I have to be to work later than him so I hang out at Speeder and Earl’s sipping coffee and doing school work or blog posts.  Anyways, since he didn’t go into work I didn’t have to leave early so I enjoyed some of my “weekend coffee” which lately has been from Paramount Coffee who was kind enough to send me a few samples of their coffee (I recently spotted some ground flavors at the local TJMaxx).  My favorite of the three I received has been this Fair Trade Organic Community Blend which is a medium roast and is “A combination of Asian and South American coffees in a medium-dark roast. A very rich cup with low acidity and pleasant flavor. (source).”  I have also been enjoying the Fair Trade Organic Swiss Water House Blend (Decaf) which I like to sometimes mix with my caffeinated beans to cut back on the caffeine.  Both of these have been really tasty and I can’t wait to try the third one I received which is a Fair Trade Organic Music Morning- sounds uplifting eh?

Following work I headed straight home to get something to eat since all I had at the office were some veggie sticks, pretzels and Tribe Forty Spice Hummus which is my absolute favorite! However I was super hungry when I got home and to my disappointment the wonderful smell of food that I came home to was non existent, hubby had made himself lunch and it smelled amazing!  So I turned to the soygurt this time mixed berry and added a little oats and flax sprinkles.  I also made hubby and I a green smoothie to share that included a frozen banana, a packet of chocolate Amazing Grass, unsweetened chocolate Almond Dream, a small spoon of Sunbutter and lots of spinach.  I also enjoyed a tangerine and some water out of my new water bottle from Earthlust.  Isn’t this water bottle so cute? GUESS WHAT! I have one to give away to you all as well so keep your eyes peeled for a post tonight about how you can enter to win your own stainless steel water bottle from Earthlust.

I forgot to take a picture of dinner but don’t worry it wasn’t very appealing to the eyes however it was delicious!  We had a mix of onions, peppers, celery, cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli and tofu all stirfried up with BBQ sauce, soy sauce, chili flakes, garlic powder, and a little brown rice syrup and I served it over greens.  It was really delicious but I was hungry later so I had a small banana with Sunbutter as we caught up on an episode of House and The Amazing Race- I forgot how much I love this show, GO COWBOYS! Haha.

This morning I am just hanging out at the coffee shop sipping on some decaf maple french toast coffee and I ate a bagel with hummus and tomato that I had picked up before we left home.  You’re probably saying why not just get a bagel at Speeders? Well I would but they have Montreal style bagels which have eggs in them! I know right BOOO! So they are usually pretty good and don’t say anything if I eat outside food- love Speeders.

Oh and P.S. I found the charger  for my camera battery so no more mediocre iPhone shots!

Question of the Morning: What is your favorite soygurt brand and flavor?

Mochi Wraps, Vita Coco and a Poll

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I recently decided to purchase a package of mochi (pronounced mo-chee) to try but have been having a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do with it. Finally last night I made a savory version of it but heating a small amount of sesame oil in my cast iron pan putting in the mochi (making sure they didn’t touch) and then turning the heat down to low and covered for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes I flipped them and sprinkled with soy sauce then put the cover back on for another 4 minutes. At this point the mochi gets nice a gooey almost like cheese and I wrapped them in nori and served along some colorful stirfried veggies. (I apologize now for iPhone pics I can’t seem to find the charger for my digital camera battery).

This morning I forced myself up after a few too many Wolaver’s Pat Leavy’s All-American Ale and jumped on the elliptical for a quick sesh.  I have a hard time waking up and just drinking a glass of water especially when I go to work out when my eyes are barely open so I usually turn to coconut water.  It is great for hydration and a healthy alternative to those sugary sports drinks. I have tried a number of different kinds of coconut water and currently I have been sipping on some samples of Vita Coco.  Vita Coco has a number of different flavors of their coconut water which include: acai & pomegranate, pineapple, peach & mango, tangerine and regular.  My favorites were the regular and peach & mango; as for the others I didn’t care for them the flavor just wasn’t right for me.  I did really enjoy the regular coconut water though.  My husband who is not crazy about coconut water decided that the regular one of these is his favorite kind, success!

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Disclaimer: Vita Coco provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Product Review: Pirate’s Booty

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Ahoy! As as kid I remember I always wanted those electric orange cheese puffs, you know the ones that were horrible and looked radioactive? Well as an adult I have come to realize that things that are florescent colors are probably not that great for you, okay they are horrible for you. No don’t fret there is an alternative to those nasty finger staining “cheese” puffs because Pirates Brand has come out with a variety of yummy snacks that are all-natural and low calorie.

Pirates Brand sent me a bunch of their Booty and some Tings to try and I was pumped when I saw the Barbeque however to my disappointment I read the ingredients and saw that honey was listed, boo! They also sent me some of the Aged White Cheddar Pirate’s Booty, which I can tell you was  a favorite of mine when I was a vegetarian but of course they are not vegan so I gave them to my parents who loved them.  As for the other two flavors that were vegan:  Pirate’s Booty Veggie and Original Tings I loved them both.   Now with the veggie booty how can you NOT love it? It’s green which is fun and is crafted from puffed rice, corn and a medley of veggies including spinach, kale, carrots and parsley.   Lastly there are the Tings which are crunchy, salty and the perfect snack to munch on.

Now for those of you who didn’t know Pirates Brand has a bunch of new flavors (since I last checked there site like a year ago) which I am really excited about. As for vegan treats they have:

  • Pirate’s Booty- Veggie
  • Potato Flyers- Original
  • Potato Flyers- Homestyle Barbeque (I wish they had sent these I heart BBQ)
  • Original Tings

What is your favorite product from Pirates Brand?

Disclaimer: Pirates Brand provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.