California Dreamin’

As I mentioned in last week’s post, my family and I are touring California for 2 weeks before I attend the 3^rd International Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference in Anaheim (guess where the rest of the family is going while I’m at the conference ;-)).

Before we left Australia, several people asked me if I was worried about how I would get my hands on healthy food while in the US. When Aussies think of American food, we think burgers, fries, triple-cheese pizzas, waffles slathered in butter and syrup, milkshakes; all in super-sized servings, and all being guzzled by super-sized people.

But there’s another side to American food, and American people too. So far on our trip, we’ve seen no more obese people than I’m accustomed to seeing at the local Westfield. And there’s an abundance of healthy, delicious food in both cafés and restaurants, and in retail outlets.

Even the airport terminal at Los Angeles boasted a wholefood plant-based café called Real Food Daily where we enjoyed a delicious lentil burger and a salad with black beans and brown rice. It was a promising beginning, but things only got better from there!

San Francisco, where we commenced our trip, must be one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the world. After checking in to our hotel in Union Square, a Google search for vegan eating places guided us to The Flying Falafel. This tiny hole-in-the-wall eatery, run by passionate vegans, dishes up the most delicious falafel I’ve ever eaten, along with generous helpings of creamy hommus, refreshing tabbouli and a variety of vegetables drizzled with Flying Falafels signature tahini sauce.

The following day we strolled down vibrant Market Street to one of the numerous Whole Foods Markets in the city. There’s simply nothing like Whole Foods in Australia. It offers a vast variety of fresh produce (mostly organically grown), frozen foods, heat-and-eat meals, salad bar, hot meals, pizza bar, sandwich bar, and on and on. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is a long-term vegan, so while there are animal foods on the refrigerator shelves and in many of the prepared foods, there’s plenty for vegans to enjoy.

Among the many treasures we unearthed at Whole Foods were Alvarado Street Bakery sprouted grain wraps that I’ve been dying to try since I saw them on a Jill Nussinow cooking video. My kids discovered that they stock the full range of Clif Bars, and set a resolution to try every single flavour before we leave the US. And I went nuts over the organic raspberries – just $3.99 for a huge punnet!

By the time we got back from the hotel after cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge that night, we were famished! A short walk down Mason Street and we were inside Little Delhi, an Indian restaurant that is so popular (including with Indians!) we had to wait 20 minutes for a table, even on a Monday night. The wait was well worth it. The vegetarian section of the menu was extensive, and we quickly discovered that the chefs were happy to veganise most of the options that contained dairy products. None of the main courses were over $UD10, but serving sizes were generous. In contrast to the overcooked, salt-dredged oil slicks that I’m used to in most Indian restaurants I’ve been to in Australia, our dishes were fresh and vibrant.

Lunch the following day was at Gracias Madre in the historic Mission District of San Francisco. Gracias Madre, which had come highly recommended by one of my clients who hails from the US, is a 100% vegan organic restaurant that sources produce from local growers, and puts its unique twist on real Mexican food (not the cheese-smothered muck that’s dished up in so-called Mexican joints in Australia). The grilled peach salad was just to die for!

After lunch we made our first visit to Trader Joe’s, and there began a passionate love affair that has lasted through the entire trip. (In fact, whenever we’re approaching a town, the first thing we do is to search for the nearest Trader Joe’s on our sat nav, which we’ve lovingly christened Lulabelle – or less lovingly, when her instructions for exiting one of LA’s gargantuan bowl-of-spaghetti highways are dangerously mis-timed, The Fem-Bot.)

My American friend Kim told me about Trader Joe’s several years ago, but even her glowing description didn’t prepare me for the wonders that awaited us. Many Americans deride Whole Foods for being too expensive, and Trader Joe’s has stepped into the breach, offering organic produce at crazy-good prices. I must confess I’ve always scoffed at the idea that people could be so lazy as to buy pre-chopped vegetables, but when the only kitchen utensils you’re travelling with are a knife and a can opener, and the only cooking appliance you have access to is a microwave oven, cook-in-the-bag broccoli florets and shredded carrots are worth their weight in gold!

After a side-trip to Yosemite National Park, we returned to the coast and picked up the legendary California Route 1 at Monterey. This serpentine road, and its vaulting bridges and picture-postcard towns, has formed the backdrop to dozens of Hollywood films. Route 1 winds along the spectacular coastline of California’s Central Coast like a snake wrapping itself around its handler’s arm. Numerous vista points offer drivers the opportunity to take a break from the intense concentration required to negotiate the sinuous road (especially when driving on the ‘wrong’ side!) and enjoy the awe-inspiring scenery.

Our Trader Joe’s haul provided us with everything we needed to enjoy picnic lunches along the way: bags of pre-washed organic salad greens, heirloom mini-tomatoes of many different colours and shapes; Persian cucumbers that are perfectly snack-sized; divine hommus (anyone for edamame hommus?) and Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortillas that are strong but flexible… and seriously yummy!

After following Route 1 down the coast, we headed inland to Pasadena, and discovered My Vegan Restaurant, an unassuming eatery tucked away down East Colorado Boulevard. My Vegan Restaurant well and truly lived up to the glowing reviews left on Yelp!, dishing up fresh, innovative food in servings so generous even our hollow-legged son conceded defeat and asked for a doggie bag to take the leftovers back to our hotel room.

Pasadena also boasts two Trader Joe’s, which allowed us to stock up fully before making the long trip across the desert to the Grand Canyon, which we’re about to visit today.

So, for those of you who think it’s impossible to eat healthfully while in the US, take heart! All you need is a little forward planning and some insider knowledge, and you can take full advantage of the amazingly diverse, abundant and inexpensive fresh food supply here.