Life Alive

When Funk and I returned from Costa Rica, not only did we have zero fresh food in the house, but we also wanted to stretch our honeymoon just a few days longer. That meant another date night out to dinner, but we traded the Costa Rica jungle for the cement city of Cambridge. After days of indulging in champagne toasts, wedding cake, twice-daily desserts, and dining out at every meal, we were craving some whole grains and dark leafy greens. Not wanting one more rich, heavy meal, I knew we should try out Life Alive in Cambridge, which features nourishing and delicious vegan and vegetarian whole foods. To be fair, we did eat really well in CR. How could you not when the freshest produce is grown and picked right outside your room?!

The atmosphere of Life Alive was cozy, eclectic, and pretty chill. We ordered off a huge menu board and then headed downstairs to a table where we waited for our food to arrive. I loved the side table where you could grab your own water, napkins, chopsticks, and an array of condiments from nutritional yeast to Braggs liquid aminos.

I was immediately drawn to one of the warm meals called The Adventurer, since it contained some of my all time favorite foods: beets, kale, quinoa, tofu, and almonds. I love all of these ingredients individually – and they tasted even better combined in a bowl brimming with flavor and the nutrients I needed to wean me off of my “honeymoon diet.” The bowl contained Tamari roasted almonds, smoked tofu, melted cheddar cheese (which I swapped out for a non-dairy Daiya cheese alternative), broccoli crowns, chopped beets, dark greens over short grain brown rice and nutty quinoa. I think there also may have been a hint of a ginger soy sauce to tie the whole plate together. It was crunchy, nutty, savory, smokey, and all around delicious. I practically licked my plate clean! Funk got The Fool which was loaded with some of his favorite ingredients, including meaty mushrooms and thick, satisfying Udon noodles. Both were amazing!

We shared a Vibrance Alive Smoothie which had ginger, lemon, strawberries, dates, a banana and maple syrup in it. After spending some time at Finca Luna Nueva Lodge in CR where they grow ginger right on the property, I’m trying to incorporate it more into my diet. I used to really hate the pungent, spicy taste of ginger and only had it if it were pink and pickled with sushi, but after tasting it fresh from the ground (super spicy!), and knowing about all of its health benefits, I’m turning into a ginger geek. We asked for them to tone down the ginger in the smoothie a tad though so it wouldn’t overpower the taste. It was more tart and gingery than I expected, but still refreshing and flavorful.

If this restaurant were in our neighborhood, we agreed we’d probably eat there every week. Fortunately it’s not far and I already can’t wait to go back. In the meantime, I’ll be scanning their menu to see what I can create myself at home.

Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Hellooooo we’re back! We had an a-ma-zing wedding and honeymoon in Costa Rica and I cannot wait to share with you some snippets of our very food-filled honeymoon. But it’s going to take me eons to get our photos in order! In the meantime, I have a ridiculously scrumptious homemade ice cream post for you.

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