Raw & Refreshed

My Key West Dining Gems

For all the primarily healthy foodies out there

Hello there! This post is completely dedicated to the wonderful hidden food gems that I had the pleasure to discover during my weekend experience in Key West.

 Food is always a major part of any trip I take; I do take pride in the places I visit to eat while staying away from home. Of course, I take deep consideration to the fact that I am a somewhat complicated foodie. I mean, I don't particularly eat too much animal protein, and I don't eat gluten.

To me balance is extremely important; I don't go on vacations and stress myself out about sticking to the way I eat at home. However,if there is an opportunity to eat without having to sacrifice my eating habits too much anywhere I am, I take it. Not going to lie, I splurged on foods with gluten, and even with dairy as I ate gelato (oh no!) However, I don't eat like that everyday, and one weekend will not reverse my eating lifestyle.

Yet I was able to stick within my eating habits for the most part of the trip. (score!) I came to discover three amazing places that would make any one, vegan or not, genuinely satisfied.

On the first night, we ate at an adorable local vegan/ gluten-free friendly cafe called, well... The Cafe. There were so many options on the menu; vegan, gluten free, and neither for those not as complicated foodies. I had one of their specialty entrees, which was the veggie burger. Unfortunately, they didn't offer gluten free bread for the veggie burger, so I ate it with multi-grain bread instead. That was literally the first time in months that I have ingested bread with gluten. And it was delicious.

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The veggie burger was amazing, but what really sealed the deal was The Cafe's desserts. Not joking, they had some of the best options for any dessert lover, and so many were gluten-free and vegan. Gluten free key-lime pie, vegan cakes; there were so many options that I unfortunately can not remember. (I suck I know)

What I do remember though, is that I ordered the vegan carrot and coconut cakes, and I literally devoured both. (Not all by myself but really I wish I could have) These cakes were genuinely the best cakes I have had in a long while, and they were completely vegan!

The next morning we jumped on bikes and rode five minutes from our hotel to a cute little organic breakfast cafe and market called Help Yourself. The decor was so refreshing, and the market had all my staple organic grocery items. I ordered a yogurt parfait that came with concentrated coconut yogurt, granola (not gluten free unfortunately), and a variety of fruits including cantaloupe, mango, and apple.

What knocked me off my feet at this place was the green smoothie I got, with mango, pineapple, banana, lemon, spinach, and cilantro. It was so smooth and refreshing, especially on a hot Key West day.

On the last morning we stopped by again to pick up more smoothies before we ventured home. The second time around, I got the Berry Bliss, with strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, apple juice, and banana. My step father got a cute one name Happy Monkey witch had coconut milk, banana, peanut butter, and palm sugar. Again the smoothies were so smooth, light, and refreshing, and oh so delicious!

Before that, however, on the last night of my wonderful Key West trip, we ate at an Italian pasta cafe named Mangia Mangia. This is the only pasta place I have ever encountered that had gluten free pasta options. They had high protein quinoa noodles, as well as egg free and gluten free brown rice noodles. I had the gluten free brown rice noodles with marinara sauce, along with a side of cooked salmon. Again,  I was breaking all my usual food rules; this was the first time I have had pasta in such a long time. I savored each bite.

Unfortunately my mind wasn't on 'blogger' mood so I completely forgot to take pictures! Just take my word for it; it was great food.

All in all, my Key West experience was one for the books. Food wise, it was was the same. This was the real first time I have gone on a trip with the mindset I have on food currently. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't so difficult to suit my food needs while away from home. However, I know there is more to life than restricting myself to a certain diet, so I enjoyed my long awaited cheats as well. I can not live my life feeling constrained to a specific way of eating; I try my best to eat what is best for my body. I am human, and my body and mind sometimes craves the not so plant-based, gluten free, or nourishing foods. Which is fine as long as its in moderation. I don't eat gelato everyday, and really I had two scoops. (kill me) I never eat bread with gluten, but the fact that I did have a non gluten free sandwich didn't kill me. ( and c'mon it was multigrain at the least) Of course, being right on the coast, I experienced an array of fish platters, from salmon to blackened shrimp. I am primarily plant based, yet I enjoyed my serving of fish protein for the weekend. I didn't die, and I felt great!

Also, just because I decide to bend my food rules doesn't obligate everyone to do the same with their eating styles. I admire anyone who can stick to a completely vegan or plant based diet on trips; that just shows your commitment and dedication to the way you eat! As long as you're happy; that is what matters most.

Life is about living, not restricting. Eat to nourish, and eat to make your body, mind, and spirit happy. If that means being vegan, by all means go for it! If it means eating with a broader diet, that's absolutely fine as well. Just remember, take care of your body as if it were a golden temple, and choose the foods you think will take the best care of it.

And with that, I sign off--XO Adri