Eden Alley: Kansas City's Greatest Vegetarian Restaurant

For most vegetarians, and especially vegans, going out to eat consists of a poorly made salad, side dishes, or maybe choosing from the one entree the restaurant has providing for veggies. Eden Alley is a delightful change for vegetarians. The entire menu is vegetarian, mostly vegan, with most of the food coming from local farmers. The staff is always friendly, the service quick, the food consistent, and the atmosphere comfortable. Located in the basement of the Unity Temple on 47th and Jefferson on the Plaza, Eden's Alley provides meals that satisfy any foodie, regardless of their vegetarian status. I've taken many die hard meat eater and skeptics over the years and I've yet to have anyone who was not impressed by the food. There is something for everyone on the menu.

The standard menu consists of a variety of salads, falafel platter, tacos, smokey tomato bruschetta, sweet potato burrito and several other delicious staples. They also have a daily specials menu, which can have anything from pasta's, to soups, Mexican fare, a raw entree, and my favorite, the Zucchini cake. And the desserts, to live for. Most of them are vegan, and range from the All About Chocolate, to carrot cake, various forms of bread pudding, raw tars, coconut cakes, etc.They also serve brunch on Saturday's, giving you even more options to choose from. This weekend I went to the restaurant with a group of friends; check out these drool worthy photos.

Mung Bean Soup

Tomato Bisque Soup

Cinnamon and Raisin French Toast

Ultimate Garlic Grilled Cheese (vegan)

Egg Salad Bruschetta

Avacado Vera Cruz

Falafel Platter

Zucchini Cake with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sadly we ordered our dessert to go, so I did not get any pictures, but I guarantee they are just as mouth watering. I highly recommend checking out Eden Alley any time you are in Kansas City. They are open for lunch on Monday and Tuesday, and lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday.  

Have you been to Eden Alley? What's your favorite dish?

Loving Tuesday's: Health and Beauty

I love my new Desert Essence Organics Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, Burt's Bee's facial scrub, goji berries, fresh purple basil from the farmer's market, bouncing on my rebounder, walking down the Trolley Trail with Triton, picking out delicious sounding yogurts for Mom (even though I wouldn't eat them myself), reading Shazzie's Detox Your World, my dry skin brush, Silk's new Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, cozy black sandals, ballerina slippers, going out without makeup, curling my hair, colonics, deep restorative sleep, raw "southern greens" (yummy kale and collards with cayenne and garlic), RAW CACAO, green smoothies, meditation, dancing to Grace Potter and the Nocturals, local natural soap company Zum, Bad Seed Farmer's market, Tooth Soap, exfoliating with my foot scrubber, aloe vera, walking in the park, smelling the fresh Irises I just put in a vase, raw veggies, strawberries, the zapper, painting my nails in wild colors, laughter

Gratitude Fridays: Honoring Those Who Serve Our Communities

Experiencing gratitude is an awakening to the true expression of Spirit.  This planet, Universe, we created is lovely, filled with hope, joy, courage, passion, and beauty.  Most days we focus on the lack, the pain, hate, fear, ugliness, and in doing so bring down the vibrations of ourselves, our friends, co-workers and planet.  Every Friday I will be celebrating those things I am truly grateful for, and giving you tips on expressing and feeling grateful.  I encourage you to start coming up with at least 5 things daily to be grateful for.  Start a journal and write down your gratitude's daily.  Need some inspiration?  Check out World Gratitude for 42 days of inspirational ways to experience Gratitude.

Farmers enrich our community, provide us with nourishing foods, labor during the hottest times of the year, get up before dawn to bring us their delicious offerings to the Farmer's Market, and they do it with joy, gratitude and passion.  I am GRATEFUL to all the Farmer's in my community and the invaluable service they provide.

I am GRATEFUL for the Plumber's who installed my new trenchless sewer system, the air-conditioner repair man who came out on the weekend, the garage door repair man who was there the next day, the electricians, carpenters, roofers and all other service professionals that give up their evenings, weekends, holidays and family time to ensure we live in comfort.

To all the Soldiers out there, thank you for protecting my rights, ensuring peace in the world, and risking your lives daily.  I am GRATEFUL for the long months away from home, missed birthdays and holidays, bullet wounds, and hot steamy nights.  You are all hero's in my heart.

I am GRATEFUL to all the men and women who have dedicated months of their lives to cleaning our oceans, healing injured animals and stopping the continuous flow of oil into our ocean.  You are true leaders and visionaries; I am proud of you.

Thank you for each child molester you take off the streets, for capturing the Waldo Rapist, for protecting children in foster homes, educating children through D.A.R.E. and ensuring my safety.  I am GRATEFUL for each night you risk your life on the streets, every moment away from your family, every evil you protect my community from.  Your courage is astounding.

I AM GRATEFUL:

President Obama, firefighters, paramedics, cable repair personnel, city light worker, sewer system operator, water department employee, garbage wo(man), recycle center employee, nurse, doctor, teacher, social worker, park ranger, CIA/FBI agent, construction worker, public works employee, beekeeper, honorable politician, postal worker, UPS/FED EX driver, bus driver, phone company employee, librarian, mentor, pilot, flight attendant, volunteer

WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?

Farmer's Market Mania

Ah the Farmer's Market, my favorite part of summer.  I love browsing through all the delicious, fresh picked produce, mingling with the farmer's, dining on homemade breakfast burritos and being a part of the community. You've never truly tasted a cucumber until you've eaten an organic locally grown cucumber from the Farmer's Market. Pure Bliss. I also love trying out unique vegetables such as kohlrabi and amaranth.  This week I took home quite a haul. Purple, red and golden potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pearl onions, purple cabbage, kohlrabi, tomatillo's, orange and purple cauliflower, bok choy, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, purple and standard basil, micro greens, alfalfa sprouts, okra, peas, green beans, amaranth, sugar snap peas and cilantro. Whew!! I also snagged the most delicious pecans I've ever tasted and a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie.

There are so many fantastic deals at the market, plus there is something special about buying your produce directly from your local farmer. Often they will provide tips and recipes for cooking some of the rarer vegetables they are selling. A few tips for attending the farmer's market:

1. The Early Bird Catches the Worm.  The earlier you can get there, the better.  Usually by mid-morning popular items such as tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, and anything at the end of it's season are long gone.
2. Bring Your Own Bags
3. Do a Walk Through Before Making Any Purchases. This way you can determine the best deals, the best looking carrots, etc.
4. Check for Organic Certification. If the farmer is not certified organic, ask him/her what farming methods are used.  Many small farms cannot afford certification, but still use natural methods.
5. Come Hungry! Most markets offer locally sourced breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls and coffee.
6. Don't Bring a Shopping List.  Create your recipe plan for the week based on what's fresh and available from the market.

Links to local markets in Kansas City:
Farmer's Community Market at Brookside
Bad Seed
The City Market
KC Organics and Naturals Organic Market
Troost Community Market
Troostwood Youth Garden Market
39th Street Community Market

Bonus: Cute Mystery series based on Farmer's Market's. Enjoy!

Balloons, Manicotti, and Juice Feasting

My diet has hit a steady decline during the last few months of winter, the lack of produce I'm sure a major factor. Suddenly, my diet consists of cheese, pasta, bread and ice cream, oh my! I am so grateful for the return of the farmer's market; this week's bounty consisted of fresh greens, herbs, carrots, radishes, califlower, strawberries and the best pecans known to man. Eating fabulous salads has definately been an improvement, but I still feel like I'm a bit toxic. My skin has been breaking out, my skin has gotten oozy and gross (eczema flaring), the tumor in my left armpit has been cranky and talking up a storm. Time for a juice fast/feast. Usually I only last about a day or two before I cave, but this time I'm determined to really get clean. In the past I've used the "everything but the kitchen sink" method for juicing, but this time I've got a book with recipes that I plan on utilizing to increase the tastyness factor. My initial goal is 3 days, but I think that 10 would be perfect!

Last night my Dad came over and I made manicotti, my last hurrah before the juice fast begins. We had a lovely salad with ingrediants from the market. I also snacked on some sugar snap peas, so good!



Triton greeting his "Grandpa" before dinner



Yummy Salad



Manicotti!

After dinner we headed out to Olathe, KS for the Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. We had a few directional challenges, but managed to make it there in time to see several balloons lift off into the sky.



As the night progressed we watched several more balloons, starting from the moment they took the folded up balloon from the van, unfolding it, blowing it up, and flying! Towards dusk they had a total of 10 balloons that hung out and just glowed in the park. One balloon (sadly we didn't see it during the daylight) had a tail hanging from the back and the front had the head of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland!! Gorgeous night and brillant time overall.