Nashville Eats

Whenever I travel, I love to find local "hippie food," or at least that's what I like to call it. Basically, I look for local foodie stops that are full of delicious, unique, and healthy menu items. If it's a road trip, I usually spend 80% of the car ride surfing websites like HappyCow, planning where I am going to eat each meal, and calculating how I can fit as many food stops as possible into one short trip.

Well this past weekend I road tripped to Nashville... (Which will hopefully become my home in August...) And boy, this city did not disappoint the foodie inside of me.

After using Yelp to look up the best coffee shops, it became clear that Crema was a must-go. I ordered an americano (per usual) and let's just say I will be frequenting this joint once I become a Nashville resident.

While I enjoyed many delicious treats on this trip, my favorite meal was from The Wild Cow. It is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant located in East Nashville. I ordered the pistachio and pear salad, which included beets, quinoa, grilled tofu, and tahini dressing.

Pistachio and Pear Salad

This salad was so incredible. I am craving it while I write this... I've also never been a huge fan of tofu, but this place has changed my opinion entirely. Additional table eats included cashew "cheese" dip, BBQ tofu, and couscous salad. It was all delicious.

Vegan Cashew Cheese Dip

BBQ Tofu with a side of Pearl Couscous Salad

Other notable yumminess included a green smoothie from Lynne Lorraine's and brunch from Marche Artisan Foods.

I can't wait to move to Nashville and explore all the other delicious gems this city has to offer!

It's About Balance, Right?!

So, technically I would consider this a health and fitness blog, but a healthy lifestyle is all about balance, right? So alongside my kale and broccoli, I prefer to indulge in the following:

1. Oh, Chocolate Chip Pancakes... does it really get better than this...? I honestly don't think so. Especially when they're fresh buttermilk pancakes from Guglhupf in Durham.

2. Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, a Christmas morning tradition, forever and always!! My favorite recipe is Overnight Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls from AverieCooks.

3. Chocolate and Peanut Butter is always a winning combo... especially when it's in the form of Big Spoon's Peanut Cocoa spread.

4. If you haven't tried the combination of bacon+chocolate, you need to. ASAP. Whether I am dipping my own bacon into bowls of melted chocolate or indulging in one of Mo's Dark Bar by Vosges, it NEVER disappoints.

5. A hot, fresh donut is always a winner. Whether its an apple cider donut from Monuts Donuts, or a homemade baked donut, I'm a fan.

6. Sunflower Seed Butter. Yes. Just Yes.

7. And last, but very far from least, an Iced Chocolate Coffee from Bean Traders. If I'm ever missing, just call Bean Traders. Odds are, I'll be there :)

And that concludes my current list of favorite indulgences. Now back to studying biomechanics. Oh how I wish I could just continue daydreaming about food. (As I contemplate grabbing my jar of sunflower seed butter...)