What Happened When I Quit Soy

Soy is everywhere.  In our burgers and bread, mayonnaise and macaroni; it’s hard to escape.  For years, we ate soy religiously and cried blasphemy when critics said it would mess up our hormones because we didn’t see any untoward effect.  We loved the taste and found it to be a convenient and delicious alternative to …

RAWmadan in Review

Belated Blessed Eid, dear friends!  The month of fasting has passed, along with the subsequent celebration of breaking the fast.  We scooted up to Abu Dhabi for our five-day weekend and delightfully ended our last day of Ramadan with very dear friends we know from the U.S. but didn’t fully bond with until sharing the …

Muscat’s First Vegan Iftar (Fast-Breaking Meal)

I might be going on a limb saying this, but I’m pretty sure we just made history.  On Thursday evening at Lokanta Restaurant, a table of 17 (including Z and Moulay) sat for an entirely vegan iftar meal.  Omani and expat, female and male, young and not-so-young had a totally plant-based, four-course, Turkish dinner.  Our …

Raw Suhoor (Pre-Fasting) Meals

Back when we lived in Turkey, I had a writing assignment at The LifeCo Antalya-- an amazing detox retreat center on the southern coast.  After three days of my own cleansing, one of the workers bade me farewell and said to me, "Ramadan is our detox, isn't it?  Fasting cleanses our bodies and the daily …

Healthy Eating Hacks for the Whole Family

Sometimes healthy seems unattainable. There are so many competing demands for our time, budget, and attention, that it seems easier to take the path of least resistance. For single folks with money to spare, grab and go healthy meals prepared by others are great. But if you have a family or a tighter budget, it’s …

Spelt Dumplings (Johnny Cakes)

I gave up on making dumplings years ago. Mostly because I stopped buying white flour which produces the crispy and fluffy deliciousness that I grew up enjoying with my Jamaican family. Whole wheat flour doesn’t do it well and in life, sometimes you just have to let go. But recently a shift took place that …

Review: Farmacy Vegan Kitchen and Bakery

We're approaching the last ten days of Ramadan, so it's not the ideal time to talk about food but #veganramadan is real.  I've been pleasantly surprised by the growing number of Muslims who are happily hashtagging and Instagramming plant-based platters for their pre-fasting and post-fasting meals.  Some are only going veg for the month, but …

Review: Fuel Jar in Muscat

  Though two years have passed since we first left Oman, we’re still the only vegans we currently know in Muscat. We’re looking high and low, searching the web, but only finding…ourselves. Thankfully, vegan options are becoming more accessible and affordable, so we can sustain our own engine until the veggie trains pulls in to …

Banana Chickpea Pancakes

A few years ago, chickpea or gram flour was all the rave in the vegan community and rightfully so!  A gluten-free, protein-packed, affordable, versatile flour is a game-changer.  A flood of recipes unrolled for pancakes, omelets, desserts, and breads galore, all starring the famed chickpea flour.  But, I had one hang up--that chickpea flour taste.  …

Review: Detox Market in Ankara

Healthy eating options are popping up all over Ankara. New restaurants, businesses, and kiosks are catering to the gluten-free, dairy-free, and healthy eating crowd like never before. Our latest discovery was found while running errands at Bilkent Center. In both Turkish and English, I recognized the words “healthy”, “cold-pressed juices”, and “flourless”. When I stopped …