Pasta and Veggies


This dish contains some of my favorite foods: broccoli, chickpeas, and mushrooms! I cooked them together with some olive oil and a shallot, and I served them over rice pasta and tomato sauce.

Broccoli has always been one of my favorite foods because when I was little my mom used to make it with a cheesy sauce that I really liked. I definitely liked the sauce more than the veggies, but that’s okay, because eating it trained me to like broccoli. (By the way it was frozen broccoli with a powdered sauce mix.) Broccoli is full of vitamins C, K, A, E and B6, folate, iron, potassium, manganese, selenium and dietary fiber. Because it is a cruciferous vegetable, it contains anti-cancer properties, as well as anti-viral and anti-bacterial compounds.

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Black Bean Quinoa Burgers


I found this recipe in a blog post from The Voracious Vegan and immediately wanted to try it. These black bean burgers are super simple. They’re made with black beans, quinoa, chickpea flour, flax seeds and sun-dried tomatoes, so they’re packed with protein. (I omitted the liquid smoke the recipe calls for.) The recipe says it makes four patties, so I cut it in half. Instead of making two large patties, I made four small ones. I made the red onion aioli from the recipe, which really enhanced the burgers. I also made roasted tiny potatoes and sautéed chard and mushrooms to with it.

Black beans are a good source of protein, calcium, vitamins A, C, B1, folate, mangesium, manganese, tryptophan, iron and they are full of antioxidants. If you have digestive issues when eating beans, soak dry beans overnight before cooking, and place a piece of kombu seaweed in the cooking water. There are so many health benefits to eating beans that it’s important to make them a regular part of your diet.

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Mock Tuna Melt


Yep, vegans with food allergies can have tuna melts!


This is one of my favorite sandwiches and it’s easy to make. Drain and mash up a can of chickpeas, mix in finely chopped veggies such as red onion, celery and carrots. Add some salt, pepper, and seaweed flakes (seaweed flakes are available in the Japanese section at Whole Foods and other health food stores). Then mix in a little mustard and vegan mayo. I use Vegenaise, which has a little soy in it, but not much.


I spread the chickpea mix on 100% rye bread, sprinkled Daiya cheese over it, and popped it in the broiler to melt the cheese. I bought delicious Spring White Bean and Arugula soup at Whole Foods to go with the sandwiches, and served it all with some carrot and celery sticks. It was the perfect lunch!



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Vegan Adventures in Miami – Honorable Mention: Starbucks

Miami Beach isn’t the most vegan friendly place in the US, but it cold have been a lot worse. I did research before we left, and I was armed with the VegOut app on my iPhone. I packed dried fruit, granola, and peanut butter Lara Bars to snack on. On Saturday, Jessica and I walked over to Whole Foods – which was about a thirty minute walk from our hotel – to pick up more snacks, iced green tea and coconut water. I ate some really delicious food while in Florida, so I have no complaints. I ate many of the things that I’m supposed to avoid on my elimination diet, because I knew it would be even more difficult to find vegan, allergen-free food, although I did manage to avoid wheat the entire time. The only reaction I had was itchy eyes and a little bit of itching in my mouth from eating nuts. I was really happy not to have a reaction to tofu or corn!

Eating breakfast in restaurants is difficult as a wheat-free vegan though. Starbucks to the rescue! I usually like to skip chains and opt for independent coffee and tea houses, but I wasn’t able to find any in Miami Beach. There are three Starbucks on the Lincoln Road Mall, and I know that if nothing else is around, I can get good oatmeal there. They also have a variety of fruits, and they just switched to whole leaf tea bags. So Jessica and I had breakfast there on Saturday and Sunday. We both also drank copious amounts of tea while in Florida, so we were in Starbucks often. Sadly though, none of the three locations carried the healthy snacks and gluten-free cookies that the Starbucks here in NJ have.

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Vegan Adventures in Miami – Siam Sushi


Sushi places abound in Miami Beach, especially in the Lincoln Street Mall. On Monday before we left for the airport Jessica, Karen and I went to Siam Sushi. They serve both Japanese and Thai food. Jessica and I both ordered the vegetarian sushi sampler lunch special, which came with a variety of vegetable rolls, miso soup and a spring roll. I’ll admit that this wasn’t the best sushi I’ve ever had, but there were so many other vegan friendly options on the menu that I’d be willing to give Siam Sushi another shot if I’m ever back in Florida.

After we were sitting there for a few minutes, our friends Eve and Lynn came into the restaurant and sat next to us. They ordered Thai food, which they both said was really good. If ever I do find myself back at Siam Sushi, I think I’d like to try a Thai curry or pad Thai.

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Vegan Adventures in Miami – The Cafe at Books and Books

On Sunday Jessica, Karen, Laura and I went to The Cafe at Books and Books for lunch. Books and Books is located in the Lincoln Street Mall, which is a large pedestrian mall full of shops and restaurants. Jessica and I had shopped at Books and Books the night before and found that they are open til midnight on weekends. We noticed that they had quite a few vegan options on their cafe menu and were anxious to try some of them.

They were extremely busy at lunchtime on Sunday, but that seems common for all of the restaurants on Lincoln Street.

Our waiter brought us a complimentary black bean hummus. I didn’t eat any of the crackers, but I did try the hummus, which was really delicious.

Laura had vegan curried chicken Salad with tabouli and a mixed greens salad. I tried a piece of the chicken salad, which was really good. After I had it in my mouth, Jessica warned me that it was probably made with wheat-gluten. It was too late, so I figured I’d make an experiment out of it and a few hours to see if I had a reaction, which I didn’t. Woohoo!

Karen had a tofu and avocado salad.

Jessica had a salad with beans and olives.

I had the vegan platter, which consisted of salad, grilled tofu, sweet potatoes, corn, bean salad, and black bean hummus. Yum! This was the first meal I wasn’t able to finish while eating out in Miami Beach. It was really tasty but there was simply too much food!

Jessica and I liked the food at Books and Books so much that we went back for dinner!

We started off with chips and guacamole. This was probably the best guac I’ve ever had!

Jessica had a tofu and mushroom stir-fry. I was supposed to come with couscous, but she had them substitute brown rice, because she’s been avoiding wheat as well.

I treated myself to a delicious red wine sangria.

I had quinoa and broccoli, which also came with squash and peppers. The broccoli was grilled which made it extra tasty. The dish came with a balsamic dressing, which really enhanced the meal. Once again, this was too much food for me to finish, and I was sad to leave the leftovers behind.

Books and Books has so many vegan options, so it’s a must for vegans visiting Miami Beach.

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Vegan Adventures in Miami – Escopazzo

On Saturday evening, Jessica and I had dinner with our friends Stephanie and Toluwalase at Escopazzo, which is right across the street from Juice and Java.

Escopazzo is an upscale Italian restaurant that has four raw vegan items on the menu. We didn’t plan it, but we each ordered a different raw item. After he saw what we ordered, the manager came over to talk to us about eating raw. He said that one of the chefs ate at a raw restaurant in California and loved it so much that she decided to incorporate some of the items in to their menu. He said it’s worked out well for them since there are so few restaurants in the area that have vegan items. It also worked out well for us, since the food was delicious and we didn’t have to look too hard for a vegan friendly restaurant. The restaurant is really cute and the staff was extremely nice.

Stephanie had zucchini linguini.

Toluwalase had a tomato tart with nut cheese.

Jessica had eggplant and vegetable wraps.

I had vegetable lasagna, which was absolutely delicious!

There was one raw vegan item on the menu for dessert, which was berry parfait with cashew cream. Jessica and I both ordered it, and it was a really tasty treat.

I’m supposed to avoid raw foods on my elimination diet, because they are too harsh on the digestive system, but I felt GREAT after eating this meal, and it didn’t bother my tummy at all.

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Vegan Adventures in Miami – Juice and Java

On Saturday, Jessica and I went to Juice and Java for lunch, which is just a short walk from the Miami Convention Center which is where our Integrative Nutrition class was.

Juice and Java has lots of salads, smoothies, juices and other things like wraps and sandwiches. The cafe is tiny and it was PACKED with our fellow classmates, and they didn’t seem to know how to handle the rush. We went back after class to get smoothies and they were closed. My guess is that they had to restock some food after the lunch rush!

I had a Hummus Salad that I added avocado to.

Jessica had Java’s Famous Quinoa with added tofu.

We went back to Juice and Java for breakfast on Monday. Once again, the cafe was packed with my classmates, and Karen and Laura were among them, so we joined them.

Laura likes to have salads for breakfast, so she had this yummy Israeli Salad. Eating greens is a great way to start the day. She also had a green juice.

Jessica and I both ordered the same Juice and Java Platter – sesame tofu with steamed vegetables. This is something I would normally order a dish like this for lunch, but it was a really great way to start the day. We also both had delicious fruity smoothies.

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Vegan Adventures in Miami – Om Garden

On Friday, I flew down to Miami Beach for a convention with The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I was nervous about what I was going to eat, but I did some research ahead of time. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stick to my elimination diet, so I decided to stay away from wheat and not worry about anything else. I did really well, and the only think that I noticed was itchy eyes and a little bit of itching in the back of my mouth from eating nuts.

I flew with my friends Jessica and Karen. Jessica and I shared a room, and Karen stayed shared a room in the same hotel with another friend named Laura. Jessica and I wanted to try Om Garden in mainland Miami and we invited Karen and Laura to join us. We had thought about getting a cab, but Laura had a rental car, so she drove us.

The restaurant is not much to look at from the outside, but experience as taught me that the places that don’t look too pretty outside are the best. Om Garden proved my theory, as it was the absolute best food I have eaten in a long while. (And I eat some good food!) The waitress was extremely gracious and friendly, and when she realized we were from out of town, she made suggestions as to what we should try. Strangely, she said Jessica and I looked familiar and thought we had been there before.

She recommended trying the Om Plate, which is a sampler of some of their salads and appetizers, which Karen and Laura decided to do.

Karen’s Om Plate consisted of Black Bean Hummus, Chickpea Hummus, Faithful Falafels, Mystical Mushroms and raw flax crackers.

Laura’s Om Plate was Seven Seas Seaweed Salad, Thankful Tabouli (made with quinoa instead of wheat), Black Bean Hummus, Faithful Falafels and raw flax crackers.

Karen and Laura also split a Rainbow Roll, which was made with nori, carrots, beets, avocado, baby greens, cashew pate, mango, figs with balsamic syrup, and was served with a quinoa salad. Look at how pretty the dipping sauce is!

Jessica and I split the Chakra Cheese Plate, which was raw cashew cheeses, nuts, dried fruit and raw flax crackers. The cheeses were cashew, herb cashew and curried cashew.

Jessica had the Peace Pizza, which was pesto, mushroom, tomatoes, black olives and sun dried tomatoes and cashew cheese on a sprouted wheat crust.

I had the Sundance Pizza which was a raw pizza served on an onion and flax bread with herb cashew cheese, pesto, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and avocado, and it was served with a side salad. I was full from the cheese plate, but I just couldn’t leave any of this behind because it was so amazingly delicious, so I finished all of the pizza. I just couldn’t find room for the salad though!

Let me reiterate that this was the THE BEST food that I have eaten in a while. We all raved about it to anyone who would listen for the entire weekend. If you are in the Miami area, you MUST try Om Garden. I’m sad because it’s so far away from NJ that I know I won’t be eating there again any time soon.

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Florida Bound!

I’m heading to Miami Beach today for a conference with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I’m a little nervous about what I’m going to eat, because Miami is know more for it’s pulled pork than it is for his vegetarian cuisine. I’m sure I will have to break my elimination diet, but as I long as I continue to avoid wheat, I should be okay. I have heard that Escopasso has great raw vegan dishes, so I have plans to eat there for dinner tomorrow. I’m also going to try to eat at Om Garden in Miami tonight, if I can figure out how to get there. I’ll be sure to take lots of photos of my meals and blog about them when I return. Please come back on Tuesday to see how I did!

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Dr. Fuhrman