Eating My Way Through USA
I have recently returned from a three week
trip to USA, spending time in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City and
Catskills Mountain for the first Woodstock Fruit Festival, the short journey was
truly magical! I can’t wait to return and explore more! The US is renowned for having fast food
restaurants on every street corner, its massive serving sizes and unhealthy
eating habits but I walked smack bang into the heart of summer, where the organic
fresh produce is at its best! Blessed
with so much variety, quantity and great prices, I would like to share some of
the delicious fruits, dishes and meals that were enjoyed during this time. With the abundance of organic shops, farmers
markets and organic and raw restaurants around, it was very simple to eat
clean, fresh, organic tasty food at all times!
What makes a great meal an even better one, is the company surrounding us while we enjoy every bite! Thank you to all of you who made my USA trip so special and delicious!
1) Mango Madness
At the Fruit Festival, I was drawn to the mangoes- I was probably part of the reason they only lasted a few days. Here I am enjoying mangoes with absolute legend, Ted Carr, Iron Man from Canada.
2) Rawbrah Juice
From pond dives to superman push ups, I was blessed by the company and great energy of Rawbrahs - Daniel,
Timothy and Nathanael during the Fruit Festival. They ensured that this koala was fuelled up
at all times and this included regular doses of invigorating green juice,
recipe will be posted in an upcoming newsletter when I source all ingredients
organically. 
3) U Say Tomayto, I Say Tomato
Wow, I could move to America just for the organic tomatoes! So much variety, one farmer displayed 20 varieties at the Woodstock Farmers Markets of around 50 on his farm. The most incredible tasting tomatoes, particularly cherry tomatoes- super sweet! My faves were the yellow cherries..
4) Collard Green Wrap
Plentiful organic raw food options available in LA, here I enjoyed a very tasty and fresh meal at an organic vegan restaurant - Real Food Daily in West Hollywood on the trip back to Melbourne. I also had a great meal at Sunfoods Cafe at the start of the trip.
5) Pure Food and Wine
Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery as I arrived at the restaurant so I cannot pictorially document the FEAST that went on! To celebrate our birthdays in NYC, Chris Kendall and I were treated to a meal at Pure Food and Wine with my sis Angela and brother-in-law Louis. We ordered most of the dishes off the menu and had a ball (and a bit of a stomach ache the following day ;)) Gourmet Raw is a rare treat, we don’t have anything like it in Melbourne so when in Rome....!
6) Bonobos
Another good vibe organic raw food cafe in NYC, I went a bit 'nuts' on the gourmet raw dishes again, so delicious, had to try everything! Angela and I shared a napa cabbage burger and some of their signature nori rolls
7) Chris Kendall's Super-Sized Dinners
What a superstar! As well as teaching his unique, invigorating yoga classes, CK was the head chef at the Fruit Festival, spending much of his days preparing amazing feasts for 200 people with massive appetites! Just some of the many dishes we enjoyed, all raw made from nothing but fruit and veggies: Stew, Pad Thai, Pasta Marinara,
check the size of these dishes! Thank you Chris and all the volunteers that made Fruit Fest such a tasty success!
8) Hello Figs!
They were everywhere towards the end of my trip. So juicy and super fresh and a great tid bit I learned from Chris how to avoid ‘Fig Tongue’… simply turn the figs inside out before popping them in your mouth. Sweet! More figs for me.
9) My Favourite Food....
Quite pricey in the States but nothing beats an avocado! I had an awesome time with Tim Van Orden at the Fruit Festival, he was and is super inspirational! Here I caught TVO bingeing on these delightful fruits! I still believe we have the best avocados around.
10) Bananas with Dragonfruit Sauce
I was so over-excited about the produce in San Diego, I met some beautiful people at a Fruit Party, and Kristin organised us a week’s worth of the most incredible produce to take back and enjoy, mostly from ‘Suzie’s Farm’. Amazing peaches from a local farmer and I’ve never seen so much variety in organics! Not the most appetizing looking photo, but I promise this was delicious.
11) Organic Take Aways
Arriving back from Woodstock into NYC quite late after my RawBrah road trip, I was still hungry after clearing out Angela’s fruit supply. Luckily just around the corner is Candle 79, another organic restaurant and café that do take away and home delivery. (Those thinking so what?.... This is not heard of here!)
12) Poway Burgers
Chilling out at the Poway Farmers Markets, outside the “Burger Factory” I made some burgers of my own! (left) My first taste of fresh Californian dates, with watermelon cucumbers and fresh dill. An explosion of flavour! Check out my haul at the markets that morning (right), most of these tasty fruits were gifts from friendly farmers. Awesome to see so much organic produce available at a small local farmers market.
13) Filled With Gratitude
My final meal in US before hopping on the plane back home was enjoyed at Café Gratitude. I didn’t expect to be in LA for two days, but when the warning hit NYC about Hurricane Irene, I had to set off early to avoid missing my Sunday flight. Great planning by travel agent Mum. The first book I had ever seen about raw food recipes was “I Am Grateful” from this restaurant. A lovely dining experience, I cleaned the plate for them.
14) Wholefoods Haul
Ooh, one last stop to Wholefoods in Beverly Hills to stock up for the plane trip. I had to grab at least one of each fruit to enjoy for the last time until we hit summer fruits in Australia J
15) mmm Bananas!
Arriving in a country where organic bananas are between $1 and $2 a kilo, from around $18/kg in Australia, I went to town on them initially, but with the variety of summer fruits available, I very quickly lost interest- Cherries, figs, grapes, peaches and tomatoes were centre stage. Happy to see banana prices are finally going down back homeJ People say that eating in the US is so unhealthy, but as you can see, I found otherwise!
