Veggie Festivals!

We are so excited about Tampa Bay Veg Fest this weekend! We actually live in a city that has a Veg Fest! Feel happy for us! We have been counting down the days. And it made me think about the Texas State Veggie Fair, which we attended one year ago. I never blogged about it, so here it is. The Texas State Veggie Fair 2013 happens to also be this weekend - Sunday, October 20 in Dallas. We had a nice time - one of the bad things about living in Florida is that I love Texas, and I can't road trip there anymore. As much as I like the vegan food in Tampa, there's nothing like Spiral Diner here.

Here is a little photo journal of our day:

 all day vegan free samples - love!

Tasty Bite was another one of our favorite sample tables, but I didn't get a pic.

Finally - I found a kombucha I liked! I think this was Holy Kombucha. They were giving free samples, otherwise I would have never bought a cup for us to share. I think I've only tried different brands a couple of times before this, and I thought it was disgusting. So maybe I've just been trying the wrong ones? Suggestions? 

 I've forgotten - perhaps this was Spiral Diner?

I'm pretty sure the mac and cheese was Spiral Diner.

 This crust was really good.

These ice cream sandwiches - good idea in theory, but they were impossible to eat. When you took a bite, the icecream just spewed out of it. The cookies were too crisp with the ice cream, and the kids just ended up a sticky mess.

But Deep Fried Cinnamon Rolls - 

good idea all around.

I did not partake in the corn dogs because...I just cannot...it's just all too life-like and unappetizing to me. But these are what the kids were probably the most excited about.

Well, except this kid. He was most excited ALL DAY about getting fresh veggie/fruit juice. Poor guy stood in line three times, I think, and every time he made it to the front, the blenders were overheated or something. By the time he got a juice at the end of the day, there was a weird combination of veggies and fruits left, but he was thrilled, regardless.

Kid Yoga!

I've never understood why my kids want to get their faces painted when it is so hot outside! Sounds so...hot to me.

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And if you are ever in Dallas, 

you have to check out Green Spot!

A healthy gas station/convenience store 

which also includes a cafe!

Someone please expand this idea!

I want more healthy convenience.

 We spent a large amount of time deciding which snacks to take for the car ride.

 Daiya at a gas station!

And best of all...vegan soft serve!!!!

 I'm using a lot of exclamation points in this post!!!!

The kids loved picking their toppings from the topping bar. I bought a Justin's PB cup to break apart into my twist cup in memory of my pre-vegan highschool days. It's what I always ordered at the mall.

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Recent Restaurant Eats

When I was looking back through my recent pictures, I sort of surprised myself that we've actually traveled so much the past few months. We had promised ourselves we were going to lie low for the first 6 months or so of having four kids. I haven't slowed down too much, though, actually. When Baby was 2 1/2 months old, we headed to Missouri to visit my brother in the southern part and my sister in St. Louis.

My favorite place to eat in St. Louis (beyond my sister's because she is a vegetarian and always has my kind of food around) is Sweet Art on 39th street. I've mentioned going there before. It's a cute little place with great sandwiches, among other things. They are also known for their cupcakes. (Some are vegan; some are not.)

I also made it a point to stop by Trader Joe's since we do not have one in Arkansas. I always think about going after seeing all of your scores. I LOVED these burgers. I think they are similar to Wildwood's version of tofu burgers. Among other things, I also bought the Trader Joe's brand of Hummus Salad Dressing (which I finally found in the refrigerated section) that I had seen on my friend Pam's blog. I really liked it.

About a month ago, we also headed over to Dallas for one night. We were motivated to make some purchases from Ikea to get our life & home organized. (It's a little crazy, folks!) Once I get everything straightened officially, I'll post pictures of our new stuff. Until then, feast your eyes on the desserts we got to share at Spiral Diner: a cinnamon roll, which I would never pass up...

...and bread pudding, also a rare find and so delicious.

I didn't mean to post the dessert pictures first. I meant no disrespect to my Mitch. My beloved Mitch that I order almost everytime I go to Spiral. I asked Ryan if he thought I should order something else, and he said he didn't really think I should. I actually also ordered the Chef Salad to share with everyone, but they never brought it.

One kid ordered the Nachos, even though he won't eat guacamole. His siblings and father helped clear it off of there.

One kid ordered the Tofu Scramble. And another kid ordered Spaghetti & Meatballs.

And Ryan - the Chipotle Quesadillas.

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If you are interested, I am hosting a giveaway on my family blog for 2 loaves of FREE RUDI'S BREAD!!! There are also free art supplies and other items included. Head on over here to sign up. All that is required is a comment/entry - nothing else. You can even enter without having a blog log-in; just comment as Anonymous, but make sure to leave a way I can get a hold of you.

Rudi's is currently offering some fun promotions, so check out their website (where there is a 75 cent off coupon) or facebook page. They are offering a free sandwich box that features your child's own artwork; these look fun!

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I might be blogging more this week, so check back. Also, I'm going to be in NYC next week (I changed my blog background in honor.) so if any of my NY pals are going to be in Manhattan, (or at Dun-Well Donuts because that's where you might find me) let me know!

Free Advertisement for Spiral Diner

Another restaurant in Dallas that we visited twice was Spiral Diner. We loooove Spiral Diner. It's one of the best vegan restaurants in the middle of the United States. We've eaten here several times over the years (vegan Texas posts).

Night 1

We shared the nachos, which includes a cashew-based cheeze sauce and quinoa, as an appetizer.

Ryan ordered the Chopped BBQ San'ich with potato salad on the side. This is Ryan's kind of meal. My sister and I play a game of looking at menus online and guessing what everyone would order; we know each other well enough so we're usually right. I'm sure she has guessed this sandwich for him before.

As typical, he had slid his plate over to me before he ate so I could get a picture. He was making happy noises and tearing up as he ate, thoroughly enjoying himself. Then when he got to sandwich side #2, he said, "Oh, here's this side; did you want to get a picture?" He forgot that I'd already taken one. I asked, "Were you eating so fast, you thought you'd wolfed it down before I took a pic?" He said, "I don't remember the last five minutes, to be honest."

My sister made a comment on my Texas post last week about The Mitch. Oh, The Mitch. She remembered that I had once listed The Mitch as one of my 5 food choices if I was stranded somewhere indefinitely. (My family and I like to play fun games, don't we?!) Well, I haven't changed my mind yet. The Mitch remains.

Let's get another look at him. Chipotle mayo, bac'n bits, grilled tofu, lettuce, tomato, what appears to be plain mayo, and that "special extra piece of bread in the middle, big and delicious."

The kids each ordered a Grilled Cheese Sandwich off the kids' menu. Can't go wrong with that.

For dessert, I ate (and split with others - I know you guys think that since I'm pregnant, I'm eating everything in sight, but honestly, I'm taking it pretty easy on the dessert front) this cheesecake. It was really good. There's so much going on here: there is the plain cheesecake layer, a chocolate cheesecake layer, the bottom crust, and the back & side BROWNIE crust. Would like to know how they did this one.

The kids got a milkshake to go. My oldest son obviously picked cookies 'n cream because anytime cookies 'n cream is an option, that's what he'll choose. The other two got peanut butter.

Night 2

The next day, the kids ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe because we were at the Grapevine Mills Mall, and it looked sooo exciting to them (and it was pretty cool inside). They told me the kids' pasta was fine for someone with "allergies" to dairy and eggs (but not the toast, which has cheese melted on top, that comes with it - not sure if it's vegan without the cheese). I waited to get a big salad at Whole Foods after the mall because I wanted to fill myself with plenty of veggie nutrition before we hit Spiral again that night.

The kids got strawberry slushies, to start things off.

We got the Chipotle Tofu Quesadillas for an appetizer. That's an inside look at it. Really good. Ryan says it is unbelievable, and he's disappointed he didn't get this as his entree...every night.

Ryan ordered The Meatball Sub. Not as mind-blowing for him as the BBQ - but good, nonetheless.

I ordered...The Mitch. I won't bore you with another photo. But I did add avocado this time for Baby Junior's sake.

My daughter picked the Baby Aven Plate. I'm sure she did because of the name. But it was also really cute watching her pick up each little bite with her fingers as she giggled. The plate comes chilled, which might seem a little strange. Cold sweet potato?...not bad!

My oldest son picked the nachos like we got the night before as his meal, and my other son got plain cheeze quesadillas.

This time, Ryan and I got milkshakes to go. I like that their shakes don't fill up an entire cup, which makes it much lighter. I asked for my chocolate shake "really, really thick," and I can't say it was really, really thick, but that's okay. Ryan picked strawberry.

Here are a few desserts we had gotten to go and ate during the rest of the week at the hotel. The cupcake: good and small (for the perfect cake to frosting ratio), just the way I prefer them. Brownie: they make very good brownies. Cookie: eh, it's okay. I can make better, but the kids loved it. Peanut butter cup: it looks dry because I put it in the fridge. I've also had better of these, but it's not like you can go too wrong with a peanut butter cup.

I appreciate Spiral Diner not only for their tasty food in the middle of cow country - but they are also seemingly committed to being as environmentally friendly as they can be. And they use organic ingredients as much as possible, too.