Laughing Seed Cafe in Asheville, NC

I am actually sitting here in Savannah, GA as I write this blog entry, but the lunch that I'm going to show you is actually from where I stopped in Asheville, NC earlier and ate lunch on my way down to Georgia. Asheville is one of my favorite places in the world, and it's very vegan friendly. There are numerous vegetarian restaurants there and Laughing Seed Cafe is my favorite, so far. One reason is because I like it so much that I never can bring myself to try one of the other restaurants when I am over there. I always want to go to the Laughing Seed. Perhaps someday I'll get around to trying all of the other places, but today, while driving through North Carolina on my way down to Savannah, I was in the mood for some awesome vegan food. I've gotten kinda' worried about what I'm going to be able to find in Savannah, so I wanted to start my trip off with a bang and get some awesome vegan food at a restaurant that I knew wouldn't let me down.

I ended up starting out with an appetizer of some Roasted Red Pepper Hummus that actually had some Artichoke blended up in it as well. Of course, it was delicious. And it just reminded me of the fact that I don't eat anywhere near enough Hummus. That stuff is so easy to make, and I like it so much, that I should be snacking on this stuff all the time. Of course, snacking on it all of the time could add up to some calories if I consumed it all on Pita Bread, but I guess I could always try some healthier options like veggies or something. But anyway, the hummus that they had prepared for their appetizer special today was fabulous. YUM!

The lunch menu is a little bit toned down from the dinner menu. There's more sandwiches and stuff like that one there. I ended up ordering the Tempeh Reuben. I love making Tempeh Reubens at home using the VwaV recipe. In case you haven't tried it, those are AWESOME! This one was good as well. It tasted exactly like I expected it to. The Russian dressing is vegan, and you can order it in either a vegetarian version, which has some cheese on it, or leave that cheese off, like I did, which makes the whole sandwich vegan. Mmmmmm... Tempeh Reubens. DELICIOUS! Their french fries are really delicous too, but not that healthy, I know... They fry them up with onions and jalapeno peppers which makes them exceptionally tasty.

Then, just to make a complete hog out of myself, I asked if they had any vegan desserts today, and they did. It's a Strawberry Napoleon which is basically, just some fresh strawberries between layers of yummy pastry, all topped with some type of delicious vegan coconut "cream" sauce. EXCELLENT!

Needless to say, this road trip to Savannah may not be good for my diet. When I weighed myself this weekend I weighed 201 lbs. That means that I lost another 2 pounds last week which brings my total weight loss to 24 lbs. Not bad. Only 16 more to go to get to my goal of 185 lbs. If I keep eating like this though, on this trip, then I may not be reporting any loss next week. I guess it will depend on whether I can find any vegan food as delicious as this down in Savannah and how much walking I manage to get in.

I'm not gonna' beat myself up over it though. Even though this trip is for work, it's a mini-vacation too and I intend on enjoying myself down here in Savannah. If I end up having a week where I don't lose any weight, then that will be just fine. I've been losing weight for several weeks in a row now and I deserve to enjoy myself a little. I'm not gonna' go wild or anything and gain all 24 pounds back in a week, but if I end up not losing any pounds this week I'm not gonna' feel bad about it. I'll just get back with the program when I get back home. Anyway, who knows? I might walk so much down here that I DO lose a pound or two. Stranger things have happened.

So there's what I ate for lunch for Monday. I know it's not in Savannah, but hey, I couldn't drive past the Laughing Seed Cafe and not stop for lunch. Wish me luck as I start to explore Savannah and see what kind of hidden vegan treasures I can find. I've already gotten some good tips from a few locals, so who knows what I might find. I think I'll go explore right now!

Thanks for reading my blog. Remember that my posting schedule will be messed up this week because I'll be in class most of the day. So the posts will probably be coming a little later than usual.

See everybody tomorrow!