Exciting Healthy Options in Atlanta
***The below article is written by Healthy Harry, a guest blogger for Atlanta Eats***
If you’ve been following any of the recent, ever-changing health fads, I’m sure you’ve heard of the raw vegan diet. The idea is to not eat any foods that have been cooked or heated up in any way so that none of the proteins or nutrients are denatured, or structurally destroyed. Many have adopted this as a lifestyle and eat strictly raw, vegan diets. Not that you asked, but I would argue that it is healthiest to eat a combination of both cooked and raw foods because cooking some foods can actually make their nutrients more bioavailable, or easier to absorb. Regardless, there’s no denying that a raw, vegan meal is very healthy, so I explored some of the awesome restaurants around Atlanta that are making this diet tasty, exciting and not boring!
Zucchini Pasta at Go Vinda’s Café (Little Five Points)
ZOODLES!!! The day I discovered zoodles is marked in my calendar as a personal holiday… I wish I were joking. Signifying ‘zucchini noodles’, zoodles are essentially just spiralized, raw zucchinis that mimic pasta. At Go Vinda’s, you can order raw zoodles with a raw, kale based pesto topping and tomatoes. The pesto topping tastes cheesy, garlicy and minty all at the same time in the best ways possible. Go Vinda’s also has raw kombucha and many vegan desserts to accompany your raw experience.
R’s Raw Veggie Dinner #1 at R. Thomas’ Deluxe Grille (Buckhead)
There is truly no place like R. Thomas. With parrots flying around, every colored light you could imagine and the tackiest designs that all somehow work, this is a dining experience like no other. Amazingly, this place is open 24 hours and has become my go-to after a late night out (alcohol is vegan too) when the only other option seems to be Waffle House. Their first raw platter features a walnut sunflower loaf topped with chipotle sauce, broccoli cauliflower medley, raw veggie kraut, collard kale salad, sweet potato chips, guacamole and flax chips. I always get a whole coconut too!
South of the Nile Wrap at Tassili’s Raw Reality (West End)
Talk about not boring…Tassili’s is unreal. Definitely grab some friends to go with because the portions are huge and will leave you with leftovers for weeks. I got the South of the Nile wrap packed with black eyed pea hummus, spicy kale salad, Moroccan couscous, avocado and tomato. I chose to get mine wrapped in seaweed to make it fully raw instead of the in flour tortilla. If you’re not good with spices, get the regular kale salad or half and half; the spicy kale got all my sinuses running but I loved every nose blow. My friend got the Mandengo wrap which was about three times the size of her head and I also highly recommend trying the raw carrot ‘tuna!’
Raw Tacos at Lov’n it Live (East Point)
Anything you order form Lov’n it Live will throw you for a loop and make you feel like you’re eating a beautifully cooked, meaty dish… PSYCH, everything is completely raw and vegan. The Tacos feature two flaxseed and sunflower raw shells stuffed with a nut ‘meat’ crumble, pine nut cheese, lettuce, avocado and tomatoes. It actually tasted like I was eating a cheesy, meaty taco again and made me question everything I thought I knew about raw vegan food.
Yours truly,
Healthy._.Harry
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