A Quick Vegan Dinner in Miami

With only a few hours to kill and a massive need for some shut eye before getting back on a plane, I walked bleary eyed down the boisterous and lively Lincoln Road in Miami's South Beach for the very first time. So often when traveling, when my sleep schedule is off and my blood sugar is low, I find myself pushing to see something, ignoring hunger and the need for sleep. I very rarely regret doing so, as I often forget any mild discomfort (shin splints, the need for caffeine) and completely take in my new surroundings.

This was the case recently, when I had an overnight layover in Miami. I checked into the cheapest hotel I could find in South Beach's Art Deco area and forced my tired leg muscles to trudge onward, past the glittery and teeny-dressed souls in search for wild nightlife, and onto Lincoln Road. The famed pedestrian-only road is essentially a giant outdoor mall. In addition to taking in the balmy and lively atmosphere, I was on a mission to find a bookstore that I had heard offered vegan food well into the night.

Books and Books is set in an ideal people watching location. There's outdoor seating that lets the tired traveler relax and enjoy the show. Though I breezed right past it at first, I eventually figured out that Books and Books looks a lot more like Cafe Tables and Cafe Tables on the outside. The actual book store itself is tucked away inside, and it offers a fun selection of reading materials that a book lover like me can get lost in for a while.

The menu has a vegan section that is clearly marked. The Black Bean Hummus appetizer was fresh and satisfying, and the Avocado Salsa was a great way to start the meal. The Grilled Organic Tofu and Avocado Salad with Orange Miso Dressing was perfectly crisp, zesty, and filling. It was hard to choose an entree, since the Organic Tofu and Wild Mushroom Stir Fry and the Grilled Organic Tofu Fajita Wrap were so tempting, but our vegan waiter helped with the decision. There are no vegan desserts here, but you'll probably be too full after your meal to even consider it. The rest of Lincoln Road offers you a place to walk it off.

I would love to return to Miami and properly check out the beach in the daylight. I will surely be returning to Books and Books.

A Vegan Solution to Parched Winter Skin

Oh my, it has been a while since I last posted. I won't go into boring details, but my excuses relate to my computer's hard drive crashing, losing many files and photos, moving into a new house, and general busy-ness with work and life outside of writing this blog. I've been meaning to update it, but this intention inevitably gets back-burnered. It was an e-mail from Skin MD Natural and the resulting free sample that got me here today.

Arriving just in time as winter kicked into high gear, this lotion is definitely worthy of some praise. Skin MD Natural is a vegan skin lotion that can be used on your face, hands, feet, and body. It's white, scentless, and absorbs into the skin almost instantly leaving it feeling quenched and soft, especially nice in the dry heat that characterizes the indoors of just about everywhere in New Jersey in winter. I imagine this stuff would be equally excellent while sitting in an airplane, and I'll definitely be taking some with me the next time I fly.

I'm used to vanilla or ginger scented lotions that sort of sit on my skin for a little while before getting absorbed, so this was quite different for me. There is no feeling of greasiness after putting Skin MD Natural on, in fact I just put some on my hands right now and I'm sitting here typing on my brand new laptop. I wouldn't do that with my old standby hand lotion because there'd be greasy fingerprints all over my keyboard! Amazingly, this stuff lasts too. If I put my hands in soapy water to wash a coffee cup or wash my hands, the moisturized feeling does not get stripped away. Apparently, this is because Skin MD Natural is a "shielding lotion", letting moisture in and sealing out irritants. You can read a much more detailed explanation of what a shielding lotion does here.

Another thing worth noting is that it can truly be used on your face and body. I'm usually dubious of multi-purpose claims, thinking that if it's thick enough for my hands it's going to make my face totally break out. This is not the case at all with Skin MD Natural. With it's first two ingredients water and aloe, it's easy to see why. This lotion also includes vitamin E, arnica, comfrey, chamomile, and yarrow. I like the way this company includes not only a list of ingredients on their website, but also an explanation of their source and purpose in their products. Definitely worth checking out. Not sure where to get it? It's sold in pharmacies. Find a store near you here.

Check back soon for more vegan travel stories from Australia, Miami, and Austin. I'm back!!!

Awesome Travel Accesories

Yikes, it's been a while. I have much to write about my summer travel adventures. I'm kind of laying low right now, settling in for winter. I'm not quite ready to dive into a whole travel breakdown, so here is a small list of some of my favorite travel accesories. They make my life a little easier when I'm on the road or on a plane.

Ear Plugs

There have been too many times that these suckers have saved my sanity. Howling kids, screaming babies, annoying old drunk ladies, I could go on and on. While they don't block the sound out completely, they muffle it just enough to let me hang on to some dignity and not completely lose it. I'm loving Holly Golightly's purple tassled ones.

Eye Mask

You could go fabulous like Miss Holly, or you could go plain. Either way, it's nice to be able to block out the sun on an excruciating day flight after you've been up for way too long and all you want to do is sleep. Also good for situations when your plane neighbor insists on using his or her reading light or when you want everyone to just leave you alone.

Eagle Creek Compression Sacs
Take a whole suitcase filled with swimming stuff, warm stuff, and other travel clothing essentials and put it in a compression sac. Close it up, roll it, it miraculously gets all squished and vacuum packed. Now you can take more stuff. Just watch the weight limit if you're confined to carry-on only.

Inflatable Neck Pillow

The non-inflatables are more comfy, but who has room in their luggage for a neck pillow? I go inflatable when I travel. They roll up nice and small when not in use. Much more effective for preventing pulled neck muscles than a rolled up sweater or hoodie.

Lush Products

Baby Face Cleanser is a cocoa butter based bar that super moisturizing and effective. It's solid and it's perfect in a little Lush tin. Carry-on friendly.

Angels on Bare Skin is an exfoliating cleanser made from ground almonds and clay for when you need something scrubby to smooth you out. Carry-on friendly (meaning no liquids to worry about).

Breath of Fresh Air Toner lets you mist yourself with freshness when your skin is parched. Also good for getting rid of the remnants of Angels on Bare Skin. Get the small size as it's the limit you can take on carry-on.

Celestial Moisturizer smells heavenly and works well in a light way. Good for all seasons and climates.

Buffy Body Butter is a body soap, moisturizer, and scrub in one. Carry-on friendly, smells good. The only con is that it tends to melt away in the shower really quickly. Sometimes I just use Aqua Mirabilis as a carry-on friendly moisturizer.

And the obvious...

A fully charged ipod, a kindle, a magazine, or a really good paperback. I suppose you could also go with a laptop, but that's not how I roll. If I can get into a good book, I barely care what is happening around me.

More soon!

Vegan in Cairns

It's been a while since I last posted...busy as usual! I'm currently in Cairns, Australia. There are a few falafel places, a ton of Asian restaurants with great spring rolls and tofu dishes, and a bunch of coffee shops with soy milk. The soy lattes in Australia are some of the best I've ever tasted (especially in Melbourne, but I'll get to that some other time). I just stocked up the kitchen of the place I'm staying at with some tofu, soy crumbles, soy milk, pasta, spices, breads, fruits and veggies, and I'm pretty much set for the next few days. It turns out that being vegan here is not that hard at all. I'm taking tons of pictures, visited the reef (it was everything I thought it would be and more!), and I'm heading into the rainforest tomorrow. Will post more soon!

Vegan Key West

Key West, affectionately called The Conch Republic, is a warm and easy place that is quite vegan and eco-friendly. Surrounded by turquoise water and snaky mangroves, the streets of Key West are lined with Victorian architecture, art galleries, quirky shops, rowdy bars, and mellow restaurants. We had a reservation for a sunset kayak tour, and after checking into our hotel in the old part of town we had just enough time to walk down the warm, Victorian-lined streets to The Cafe, a delicious vegetarian restaurant at 509 Southard Street. After traveling for a few hours in the car through slow Keys traffic (there is only one road that connects the Keys), I couldn't wait to relax with a delicious vegan meal. Appetizers included spring rolls with sweet chili sauce and Un-wing Dings, which was fried BBQ tofu with a side of a tahini dressing (it normally comes with un-vegan blue cheese dressing, but our waitress subbed it with the vegan tahini).

The main course consisted of a coconut tofu dish with roasted red peppers and bok choy. It was smoky, creamy, and super filling. Good thing we had a fridge and a microwave in the room we were staying in!

One thing I really wanted to try while in the Keys was vegan Key Lime Pie, and it was here that I got my chance. Tangy, sweet, and creamy, the filling and raspberry sauce contrasted nicely with the crunch of the graham cracker crust. Stuffed and satiated, we soon had to head back to our hotel, where our ride from Blue Planet Kayak Tours was waiting. We headed to a dock on a bay, and hopped into a kayak along with the rest of the tour. We paddled our way through mangroves while the sun set, spotting all sorts of creatures along the way. We saw a GIANT, red hermit crab with eerie green eyes that made it's home in a huge conch shell, southern sting rays, three different kinds of sea stars, a sea hare, sea cucumbers, and whelks.
As the sun fell into the horizon, and the water went from clear to black, we put on headlamps (flashlights that you put on your head!), and continued to paddle through the mangroves, which started to take on a spooky appearance. The grand finale of the kayak tour was on the way back to the dock, when the sky and water were completely black, and our paddles stirred up some bioluminescent plankton that sparkled through the water like twinkling stars. The sound of the paddles through the water was only punctuated by occasional laughter when our kayaks got stuck in the flat, shallow bay and the occasional splash of an unidentified fish jumping out of the water. It was an unforgettable experience.