30 Day Vegan Challenge

Black girl laying down making the duck face

So… I have been a pescatarian for about 1 1/2 years and it was not that hard giving up meat ( chicken, beef, pork). Then I decided to gradually give up dairy, that was not so hard to do either ( except cheese I LOVE PIZZA!!). I wanted to challenge myself and be completely vegan for a month, just wanting to see if I can.

It has already been a week and this is what I have noticed. Veganism is more then eating salads and lot of “vegan foods” are expensive. By that I mean pre made food such as vegan burgers, vegan hot dogs, vegan nuggets etc. The alternative to that would be cooking, cooking is ( in general) cheaper then getting something premade or from a restuarant. So I do have to cook alot more often but I cook a lot anyway so that is not such a problem.

So far so good with the vegan challenge!! I will be posting some of my creations on here. I am on IG @staceats87 where I post alot of foodporn :)!!! If anyone has any vegan recipes you want to share please comment below!!! I love trying new recipes!!

Is the Impossible Burger Really Impossible?

So last night I went on a date to a bar located in Atlanta, Ga called The Glenwood. It is a quaint little bar in the heart of EAV ( East Atlanta Village). There is not any options if you do not eat chicken or beef ( I am a pescatarian).The only vegetarian options were the beyond burger and the impossible burger ( I thought there were one in the same but apparently now). I heard so much hype for the impossible so I that was my pick. When it came out it looks like a regular beef patty. The first bite blow me away, it taste like beef. I was very confused and flagged down the waitress to make sure that the patty was meatless and assured me that is was. This tastes exactly like a beef burger it is unbelievable. Overall the burger was good ( a little dry ) and would definitely have again. If you get a chance I highly recommend you try the impossible burger. For those of you who are wondering the burger was the best part of the date. 😉

Impossible Burger (vegan) with hand cut fries from The Glenwood Located in Atlanta, Ga — Impossible Burger

Cajun Seafood Market

Hello Everyone!!!! Stacey Here!!! I have been away for months, been busy with work, life, bills etc. I am new to blogging but in 2019 I am going to be more consistent, work harder and work smarter!!!! Anyways, a friend of mine recommended this seafood restaurant… the food was amazing but it is located next to a gas station!!!!

As mentioned previously my friend/ roommate (Christian) came home with a big platter of seafood and I was awestruck!!! There was soooo much food!!! I asked Christian how much it cost ( expecting it to be at least $40) but she paid about $25 but than she added it is located right next to a gas station. Da Fuck NEXT TO A GAS STATION!!!!! She kept raving about the food so I decided to give it a try the next day. So after a long day of work I decided to go to the Cajun Seafood Market and get the same platter my friend got ( which was the Steam Crab Pot). This food establishment is located in Atlanta in the hood ( the best food comes from the hood) and it is right next to a Chevron gas station. Cajun Seafood Market is not really a restaurant meaning that there are not any tables to seat and eat your food, it is take out only. My wait time was not that long even though there were quite a few people there.

The Platter Included: 2 snow crabs. 10 shrimps, sausage (I substituted for broccoli), 2 potatoes and 2 corns all for $25. Anywhere else this much seafood would be $40-$50 at least, so you can not beat the price. The food was great!!! If you have been to a seafood broil that exactly how it taste, you can taste the old bay seasoning, salt and a little spicy for a kick. If you love seafood at a reasonable price this is the place for you!!!!

Statesboro Trip!!!!!

This past weekend my family and I went to Georgia Southern University located in Statesboro, Ga to visit my sister (Courtney). For the past 4 years my family been attending family weekend at Georgia Southern, this year would be the last year since Courtney is graduating 😦 in May. Now Statesboro is not the food capital of the world at all but there was one particular restaurant that stood out.

CHAZITO’S LATIN CUISINE

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Chazito’s Latin Cuisine is a Puerto Rican Restaurant located obviously in Statesboro, Ga. I order the Loco Mofongo which is sweet plantains mashed topped with a meat of your choice : pork, mojo chicken, roasted beef, or veggies ( I chose veggies). The entrée comes with a side and I chose yuca fries ( yuca is a starch similar to potatoes). The food in general was pretty good. The plantains are sweet and savory paired great with the veggies but I thought that the vegetables could of benefited with more seasoning. The yuca fries were the best part of the dish, crispy on the outside and soft inside. I would trade potatoes fries with yuca fries anytime!!! What I did not like was that the temperature of the dish was lukewarm also when I think of latin cuisine spices, peppers come to mind. I do think some jalapenos or some other hot peppers could of been perfect on the dish, just my personal preference.

The cocktails are amazing!!!! My sister ordered the house Sangria and I ordered a drink called the G-Spot. The G – Spot has cucumber, elderberry and water. It all blends together perfectly, you can smell the aroma of the cucumber and you can taste the freshness of the drink because it is handcrafted . The alcohol that is used Vodka is locally distilled from Savannah. They do not skimp on the alcohol at all, so after 3 drinks I was lite!!!! I would definitely recommend this restaurant. Great food, drinks and atmosphere!! Also the owner of Chazito’s went around and greeted all the customer, he was very gracious, sweet and I really appreciated that!!!

Mangos Caribbean Resturant

Mangos Caribbean Restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, Ga. There known for serving authentic Caribbean food ( I would say leading more towards Jamaican) and very popular among college students, Georgia State University is literally down the street. I had Mangos years ago and their food was amazing, I remembered having the Oxtails ( when I ate meat) it was tender and Delicious. My roommate and I decided to get some lunch from Mangos the other day. Here was my food experience!!!

Kingfish

I ordered the Kingfish, the entree came with 3 sides: rice, cabbage and plaintains. The fish is fried and you can choose one of 5 sauces to have on the fish : escoveitch (pepper sauce), steam, brown stew, curry or butter sauce; I chose escoveitch sauce. So we ordered our food to go ( I had to wait 20 minutes for my food) and brought it back to the house. First of all the fish was slightly overcooked, it was chewy but still edible. What saved the fish was the escoveitch sauce. The sauce is very spicy and but still has great flavor( I could taste vinegar, salt, pepper etc). If you can not take heat I recommend not getting the sauce because it will slap the shit out of you ( literally). As for the sides the rice was under cooked ( a little firm in the middle) but both the cabbage and plantains were good enough. Overall I am very disappointed in the meal since the main components of the entree ( fish and rice) were not cooked perfectly, especially since I had to wait 20 minutes. I do not know what happened today.

In case you wanted to know my roommate got the chicken with brown stew with rice, cabbage and plantains as sides and she loved everything. So it was only my food they messed up :(.

Dulce Vegan Bakery Cafe

Dulce Vegan Bakery and Cafe is located in the heart of Kirkwood ( east side of Atlanta). As you can tell by the name Dulce Vegan serve 100% vegan sweets such as cupcakes, cinnamon rolls etc as well as vegan food. I have been to Dulce Vegan at least 3-4 times mostly for their baked goods. Since I have heard good things about there food menu I decided to go there for lunch and dessert the other day to give it a try.

Eggplant Melt

I love eggplant so the Eggplant Melt seemed to be a good choice for me. What came on the sandwich was roasted eggplant with kale, caramelized onions( I had it without onions), mozzarella, artichoke spread on a house made potato roll and your choice of a side. I chose picked vegetables as my side. Likes: Is it a hearty sandwich, so you will get full. They were not stingy with the eggplant ( 2 big slices of eggplant). The “cheese” on the sandwich did not have an after taste ( most vegan “cheese ” has a weird, bad aftertaste)

Dislikes: All in all the sandwich was pretty bland. I did not taste any seasoning at all and had to add salt and pepper. Granted I did have the sandwich without the caramelized onions and maybe it could of added some flavor to it. I did not taste the artichoke spread at all. Also the pickled veggies was a little bit overpowering. I could barely eat one vegetable. So even through I was disappointed I would still come back and try another item on their food menu. Now for dessert.

Chocolate Cupcake

As mentioned earlier my previous visits to Dulce Vegan was for sweets. I did get one of my favorite desserts the chocolate cupcake and it was amazing as always. Most cupcakes are really dense and can be very rich. What I like about Dulce Vegan’s cupcakes is that their very light and you do not feel heavy after eating it ( most likely because it is non dairy). The frosting is great as well, it is not overly sweet, light and not as thick as most frostings. So if your looking for a bomb ass vegan bakery I highly recommend Dulce Vegan!!!!

New Orleans Cuisine!!!!

Last weekend I spontaneously went to New Orleans, LA to celebrate a friends birthday and went to the OTRII tour ( I had nose bleed seats but great concert). The food was amazing, I probably gained like 20lbs but it was worth it!!!!! Last year my friends and I went to New Orleans to celebrate my 30th and we were in more of the tourist area. This time around we were out of the tourist area and gained more of an authentic experience and cuisine. Here are some of the foods I had the pleasure of eating!!!!!

CAFE PORCHE & SNOWBAR: Smothered Shrimp and Grits

Now I have eaten a lot of shrimp and grits in my day ( live in Atlanta sooo..) but this has got to be the best Shrimp and Grits I ever had!!! The Shrimp is so fresh, delicate and cooked just right. You can actually taste the body of water it came from ( that is a good thing). My favorite part is that they did not skimp on the shrimp ( some places only give like 4 shrimps). The broth is a fish broth has great flavor that is complimented the fish. The grits is creamy, soft and well seasoned. What I like is that the shrimp, broth and grits are individually seasoned and but doesn’t not over power one or the other. The service was great, very attentive. The food came out pretty quickly.There is a little bit of heat in the dish but it is not overpowering at all. If your wondering about the snowbar my far had a snow cone and she loved it. Best of all it is a B.O.B ( black own business). So if your in New Orleans check this place out, I know I will definitely be back!!!!

ORLEANS MARKET PLACE CAJUN SEAFOOD

Now this place is the shit!!!!!!!! You get a lot of seafood with affordable prices. So on my first stop ( yes I went there twice) I got a half a pound of shrimp and 1 potato and I corn. The shrimp does have the head and the outer shell, so you do have to work to get to the shrimp but it is worth it!! The shrimp has an old bay seasoning flavor ( but is 10 times better) and has some heat. The head of the shrimp has a lot of flavor so suck in those juices and you will be in heaven. The potatoes and corn also have the old bay type seasoning and packs some heat. On my second stop I got a half a pound of shrimp and a pound of crawfish. The crawfish has the same seasoning as the shrimp but is twice as spicy. My mouth was on fire, my eyes were watering but I could not and would not stop eating. All the seafood is fresh. This place is not fancy by any means. They give you the food in a bag and I don’t think they had any eating utensils. There is usually a long going out the door!!! But great seafood!!!!

CAFE DU MONDE: Beignets

Last year was the first time I tried Café Du Monde beignets and they were light, airy sweet ( the powdered sugar definitely added to the flavor) and taste but not overly sweet. This year the beignets are completely different. The beignets were very doughy and dense( it was sort of like biting in a doughnut) but still had sweet flavor. I am not sure if they changed the recipe of not but it was definitely different. I think it would of been really good if it came with maple syrup. The beignets were served in orders of threes for under $3.00.