Native Foods Blog

The Organized Vegan

By Kelly Erwin
A Native Foods Fan

 

I’ve been a fan of Native Foods for many years and have been overjoyed with each new restaurant opening.  I’m equally overjoyed with the newest menu choices, one of them being the OKLAHOMA BACON CHEESEBURGER!  

Today I treated my good friend Lance to a birthday lunch and we both got the burger.  Oh..my…Gosh!!!  The server placed the plate in front of me and I almost wept with joy! It was beautiful.  And big!

 

I was not sure how to attack my lunch and as a professional organizer I’m always thinking “how can I make something neat, organized and clutter free?”  So I viewed my precious burger for a minute and had a quick consultation with myself.  (I know, sounds a bit kooky but it’s true!)  I decided to just dive in and forget all sense of organizing this burger bonanza!  I put the top bun on with the tomatoes, carrots, onions and the most delicious little fried pickles. 

Fried pickles!!!  I then cut it down the middle, then into fourths.  I needed to make sure I had a pickle in each quarter!  I think my method worked as I was able to eat this delectable burger without too much mess. 

 

The daiya cheese on this burger is melty delicious, I don’t even think melty is a word but, for someone who has been praying for years for vegan cheese that melts, melty just fits.  It’s so good!!!!!  Thinly sliced seitan with tempeh bacon, the cheese and those pickles!!  With some sweet potato fries and some Native Iced tea, I quickly ate everything on my plate, leaving it neat, clean and clutter free!  See how I did that?  You all must try this burger!  As the song says OKLAHOMA – OK!!!

My broken scale

By Ashleigh Perdue

Native Foods Tribe Member

 

Growing up on the typical Midwestern diet consisted of meat and potatos... no questions asked.  I didn't know anyone who was vegetarian and had not a clue what being vegan entailed. Everyone participated in the same traditional activities with the menu consisting of hearty homemade (not-so-nutritional) cooking with backyard barbeque's after church, summer potlucks on the lake, and casseroles galore for the holidays. You needed breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday regardless and it was always a three course meal until your pants didn't fit. It never occurred to me that the quality of the food, and what I was ingesting is an aspect of a healthy diet everyone should be aware of.

 
I never worried about weight in school both highschool or undergrad because I played 2-3 sports year round and the balance between what I eating and burning off in games and practice were a considerably good balance. Then I moved out to California...and for the first time in my life became a bum. At the beach, at the pool, I was used to not taking sun for granted and for 2 months. I soon summoned the number for the moving company we'd used to ask for a reimbursement for the broken scale in my bathroom. I couldn't believe how bad my eating habits were and how hard I would have to work to keep being active in order to maintain my health. I've been with Native Foods for less than a year and have a complete 180 with the way I see and categorize food. After countless conversations with Chef Tanya about eating trends, biology, yoga, I realized how my perception of food combined with my up-bringing was very much skewed.

 

 

Being that both of us are secret science nerds I had another epiphany, I loved biology put never applied the principles I studied to the core religiously for the last four years, No need to bore with Latin names and  historic theories but it gave me one of those "A-ha" big picture moments. I learn so much from the people I'm surrounded by both staff and guests alike. I have never felt so content and healthy in my life, and its not because I still exercise constantly (yes about that...) it's just a better knowledge base,  a break from anxiety about calorie counting or health conscious decisions. Knowing what your body needs and what your putting into it is as simple as (chocolate love) pie. 

Chef Tanya's Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things

1)Canyons 2)Waterfalls 3) Sunshine

Where to Find them all in one place?

Palm Springs California

The lure of Palm Springs has been around for centuries. What put this Wonder of the World city on the map was the celebrity charm it encountered in since the 1950’s. Garbo, Sinatra, Elvis and the Colonel, Dean Martin, Elizabeth Taylor, Carol Lombard & Clark Gabel, the list unravels and now the Palm Springs Film Festival brings in the top ten of this era yearly.  What was the real draw to Palm Springs, the underlying reason? The answer is there is no reason, it is all feeling.

The Cahuilla (kah-we-ah) band of Aqua Caliente (Hot Water) Indians called this area home. It was home to rich water and fertile land and natural hot water. Where the Palm Springs Spa Hotel sits originally sat a bubbling hot mud springs with a hut and a few palm thatched huts for soaking.

 

Yep, that's me dancing on Sunday in the Canyons

If you’ve driven in from LA or Orange County you know the vibe you immediately get when you hit the entrance from the I-10. The energy of the mountains moves you to stillness. The first thing you begin to want to do is strike the lizard-sunning-on-rock-pose, and then you wish to get wet and feel wild. This all can be done within 15 minutes of entering the land of the Cahuilla, whom which by the way had a reputation for independence, integrity and peace. Paramahansa Yogananda said, “If you want mental rejuvenation go to the mountains, if you want physical rejuvenation go to the oceans and if you want spiritual rejuvenation go to the desert.”  And I’d like to add, if you want divine intervention, head for the Indian Canyons!

A quick drive to the end of South Palm Canyon Drive will find you at an entry gate, pay and pass through the gate and go straight for a mellow drive up a short incline to a spectacular valley floor view to the namesake, Palm Canyon. This Washingtonia Palm Tree lined canyon heads up 17 miles to the pine trees and chaparral. I’ve hiked from the top down before, it’s amazing! There is a little shop here you can get post cards but you can branch out in a few directions and hike to your hearts content and swim in some great watering holes.

An immediate right when you enter the tollgate will take you to Andreas and Murray Canyons. Murray is my fave. 20 minutes walking through the quiet desert zone, except for chirping birds and buzzing bees, then you hit the bubbling stream, ice cold from the snow on San Jacinto at 8,000 feet. Another 40 minutes along winding streams, gorgeous desert flowers in spring, grapevines and secret hiding places you’ll hit 7 Sisters Falls.  See if you can find Lizard Rock, Falling Rock and Topless Rock along the way. Take a swim in Dragonfly Pond, and drain your brain in Hot Head Waterfall.

Open 8am-5pm daily. $8 adults $6 seniors and students $4 kids6-12

How much is that doggy in the window?

How Much Is That Doggy In The Window? Free to Good Home…

Why is that Doggy Homeless?

 

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Native Foods Founder & Tribe Member

The statistics are alarming as to how many domestic dogs are put down yearly due to being homeless,, it’s millions. That doggy in the window is most likely a pet store window and doggie most likely came from a puppy mill.  Google search puppy mill, or if you saw Oprah’s show on puppy mills you’ll understand. The Free to Good Home add is never a good idea they say because most that get given away end up on the street or in a shelter, homeless at some point.

That’s why I started the Friends of Animal’s Club in Junior High. That was a few years ago J but I still do rescue work on the side or by proxy. Here is another example of what happens to pure bred “cute” puppies.

 

This little girl was given as a gift, without talking to the recipients first. They didn’t know the responsibility of the training involved, the chewing, the time and tried to find a home for her. They couldn’t wait any longer and took her to a shelter where her odds of living were waning over time.

A village of people from Palm Springs to Westwood Village (thanks Holladay!) stepped in and we were successful at getting her to a foster home where she will have more time to find a good home and get the socialization necessary to make the transition to her new home much easier for dog and adoptive human!

Daisy, as she is now called due to daisies on her collar, is in Palm Springs with a great foster dad who will help with adopter with training this baby sweet pittie girl. Contact Tamara @ animalwrites@sfo.com for more info if you are interested!

Earth Day at Saddleback

By Angie Weaver

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Member

Thursday, April 22^nd came and went without much fanfare in the media. Every year this day is reserved for Earth Day. At Native Foods, one way we celebrated Earth Day was to attend the Earth Day Celebration event at Saddleback College. I passed out delectable Boogie Bar samples and talked to college students and faculty about our restaurant and how eating vegan is better for the planet. There were other great groups being represented like the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Preserve and a few student environmental groups. I always enjoy talking with like-minded people about how to answer the million dollar question, “How do we save the planet?”

We should be celebrating Mother Earth every day.  No longer should Earth Day be reserved for the granola-munching, sprout-growing, tree huggers (We know who we are out there!). Is it an understatement that Earth Day should be at least as mainstream as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and St. Patrick’s Day?  Almost everyone I know “celebrates” these holidays, but only a select few even think twice about “celebrating” Earth Day. How important is Mother Earth? Well, without her we don’t exist. Mother Earth has been very accommodating to our relentless assaults, but according to most scientists she is starting to weaken. Her weakening can have devastating consequences for us—suffocating air quality, destruction of sea life and rainforests, and rising sea levels to name just a few. Mind you, I would love beach front property, but not at the expense of other people’s homes sinking underwater.

 

There are many adjustments we can make in our lives to give the Earth a helping hand. Changing the way we eat to a plant-based, whole foods diet is something very concrete that each of us can do. “The U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.”(The Guardian) “A totally vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.”(Food Revolution, John Robbins) People can start reducing meat consumption to a few times a week which would be a huge help to the planet. (Everyone can sign up for a cooking demo with Chef Tanya to get some delicious ideas to add to your usual repertoire of meal ideas.) Trust me, you will feel so good that you won’t want to go back to your old eating habits. Changing governments or corporations’ policies and procedures can be extremely complicated, but we do have lots of control in our own lives. In essence, we vote with every dollar we spend. If we buy a less pollution causing car over a gigantic SUV or buy organic fruits and veggies over factory-farmed beef or chicken we are speaking volumes to the world about how we feel about Mother Earth.

Martha Stewart in a Red Dress

WARNING:   We NEVER blog about any celeb sighting in a Native Foods Cafe! EVER!!!!   We just thought this
was fun and happened in New York.

 By Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe Tribe Member

 

She wasn’t really in a red dress… but she was indeed sitting two tables down from us.  I am referring to a recent jaunt to New York (which I won at the Genesis Awards Silent Auction! See earlier blog posted below) during which I found myself seated merely feet from the crafty homemaker whom we all know and love (even if in secret).  I must say that living in Lala Land for so many years has certainly desensitized that immediate awe and curiosity that celebrities tend to conjure up in us plain folk; however, that Martha Stewart made me giddy like a fifteen year old at an N’Sync concert. 

 

Upon the recommendation of a friend, we snagged late night reservations at a trendy vegetarian restaurant in the East Village.  This restaurant was TINY.  Me, my dining companion, and about 14 other people were crammed into a narrow, dimly lit, modernistic room.  Moments after being seated, my DC looks at me with wide eyes and says,

“You’ll never believe who is sitting over there!”  

“Where?!”

 “Over there!”  (Jerky head move toward her table) 

“Who?  I don’t wanna look and be weird and rude.” 

“Martha Stewart!”  Holy cow! I love her.  (I love all things food, crafts, and home décor, which pretty much sum her up!)

 

A few days later (after mentioning my delectable dining experience to friends) I caught wind of a rumor floating around that Ms. Stewart only takes the veggie route when dining out.  I was unable to verify this to be one hundred percent true but it did get me to thinking: small consciously formed decisions can have a MAJOR impact on everything.  Think about the implications this wonderful rumor can have on the culinary and health worlds if true.  Imagine how many people would probably revaluate their own eating out habits based on what Martha does.  If everyone made one small change to his or her weekly, or better yet daily routine, the ripple effect could quite plausibly turn into the tidal wave effect.  And while it would downright dreamy in my book if everyone decided to only eat vegetarian while dining out, I am happy to see just the smallest steps taken to improve lives and general well being.  This could be deciding to eat one meal a week using only ingredients from your local farmer’s market or walking or taking the bus to work every Friday.  There are a gazillion small things that we can change in our daily routine… I could go on forever. 

It all boils down to living consciously in each moment.  Focusing on the present activity, meaning the words you speak, listening to what the other person is saying.  Once when reorganizing the food storage room at the restaurant, Tanya said to me, “Everything should be put somewhere with a purpose, not just strewn around here and there.  Everything has a place.”  I really love this.  Consciously living, focusing on the task at hand, returning the Vita-Mix to the shelf where you found it, chewing your food slowly, thinking about what you are doing right now; reducing the chaos that feeds out short attention spans. 

the flabbergasted Holladay

 

Oh, and I can’t wait till Native Foods takes a bite outta the Big Apple!  It is going to be buck wild! 

Top 3 Things from My Week to Speak.....

Top Three Things From My Week To Speak…

by Chef Tanya Petrovna

Founder & Excutive Chef

1.   Out to Eat! –local PBS series came to film and cook it up Native Foods style. Cliff Young is the host and we had a blast.  I showed him a few vegan tricks in the kitchen and I think he liked them!  The SoCal world will soon be shown the story of an Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger with fried dill pickles, the secret of my Tempeh, and the passion of Chocolate Love Pie.  Out To Eat show times: PTV 6:30pm Thursdays and 12 pm Sundays DC 6:00 pm Fridays and 5:30 pm Sundays.

 

2.   New Menu Items are in the works. I’ve been dreaming a lot at night lately, dictating them in the morning and experimenting in the afternoon. I think the dog and cat rescue work on the side may be fueling these dreams, but I’m excited to soon share them with the Tribe.

Tanya's rescue kitty cat.

“Mache-Sweet Nutty Fun to Eat-5 oz. contain 95% of daily Vit C, lots of A and B9, 19 cal per 3.5 oz)

 

 

 

3.   QUEENIE-Help me Move an Elephant! I was surprised that gorgeous Queenie  after finally being confiscated from not good living conditions for many years by USDA, was sent to a small zoo enclosure in San Antonio Texas and not to PAWS sanctuary run by experts who had requested her and have 50 years experience = working with elephants. As you may know PAWS here in Northern California is one of my sanctuaries of choice and favorite place to visit. If you can find a minute to write or call the USDA Queenie and I would appreciate it, go to http://tinyurl.com/y4tmxu9. Also do a drum circle, pray, meditate, dance, sing and of course cook in her honor and let’s see if we together can move the energy to clear her path to PAWS!  

My assumptions and the lessons I learned from vegans

My assumptions and the lessons I learned from vegans

by Jesse Marshall

Native Foods Tribe Member

I grew up in the green mountains of Vermont, full of maple trees and dairy farms. I lived in a town of 500 and was lucky enough to have an amazing ski area as my backyard. I skied every day and I loved it. My diet then was maple syrup and whole milk, I loved that too. Skiing eventually took me all over the world where I competed on the World Cup as a member of the US Ski Team. My diet then, protein, carbs, protein followed by more carbs. Was I a vegan then? No.

I wondered...What is a vegan really? According to Wikipedia, A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products. My definition until recently was not quite the same. I mainly heard vegan used in a derogatory manner, from health issues (due to poorly planned diets) to the extreme animal activists. When I started working with Native Foods I had no idea what to expect from these vegans!

What is my definition of a vegan now? I would add this to the definition above: An extremely conscious individual who is very educated on where their food comes from. I am very impressed with Chef Tanya’s (and our guest’s) knowledge of where their food comes from. Chef Tanya can tell me everything about our ingredients down to which fields they are grown in. While I was competing diet was important. We kept daily intake logs of how much protein and carbs we consumed. The ski team would verify our food sources and that was something I never got too involved with.

Am I a vegan now? No, but I am much more conscious of where my food comes from. I enjoy eating at Native Foods simply because the food tastes great. No one cares if I am a vegan or not, there is no secret club, no secret handshake, and no code words to use. However, if you come in to Westwood this Friday and give me a high five when placing your order I will give you a free order of my favorite side, the Sweet Potato Fries!

Jesse (who claims the art of frosting cupcakes is harder than competitive skiing!)

The China Study

Angie Weaver’s Blog from Native Foods Café in Aliso Viejo

How many people out there know someone with heart disease, cancer, or diabetes?  If you asked that question to an auditorium full of people, I would guess almost everyone in attendance would raise their hands.  In our great country, that is a very sad statistic.  According to the book, The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PHD all of these diseases are preventable and reversible with a plant-based, whole foods diet. In my many years working at Native Foods, the one book that has brought in the most new vegans searching for delicious, healthy cuisine is this remarkable book. I will often ask Native Newbies how they heard about our restaurant. More times than I can count guests have told me that after reading this book they were compelled to seek out alternatives to the Standard American Diet (SAD) because of a health-related issue they were seeking to cure without drugs and surgeries.  This book was on my list of must-reads and I finally got around to reading it.  Now I want to give it to all my friends and family, and for that matter, everyone I meet.

Unlike other pro-vegan books, this one is all about health and nutrition and how to achieve optimal well-being. There is not much, if any, animal rights issues brought up.  When I first became vegetarian/vegan 17 years ago, all I cared about was not eating animals and living a life with the least amount of suffering from my food choices.  I realize there are folks out there who couldn’t give two licks about animal suffering, so this is the book for them.  As I read more and more books on the topic of vegan nutrition (I wanted to be a healthy example of a vegan), I learned that not only was I saving animals but I was also saving myself (or at least severely reducing my chances) from weight issues, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

Some of the evidence supporting a plant-based whole foods diet comes from an enormous (the biggest ever) nutrition study done in China. I’m condensing a lot of information here for space. Populations that consume a plant-based whole foods diet are much healthier than those that consume the Standard American Diet. Naysayers often point a finger at genetics, but Campbell and his team of scientists show that when these same populations move to America, for example, and start eating our traditional diet they succumb to the same terrible and preventable diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes) that were almost unheard of in their birthplace.

Our medical establishment, according to Campbell, is in the business to make money. When people take control of their own health and change their diet and are able to go off medication that their doctor said they would be on for life then the pharmaceutical industry loses a lot of money. Doctors make the most money when they prescribe medicines and do surgeries. In the best of circumstances, as with heart disease, medical intervention only prolongs the inevitable second and third heart attack and eventual death. There are amazing, courageous doctors who have gone against the status quo to start treatment centers where they show patients how to change their lifestyle and adopt a plant-based, whole foods diet which has been shown to reverse heart disease. One such doctor is John McDougall.

I talk to people who can’t fathom the idea of giving up meat, not even for a meal or a day. Sometimes I get the impression that they think we dine on big bowls of sprouts all day. Anyone who has eaten at Native Foods Cafe knows that eating a plant-based, whole foods diet is delicious. You definitely don’t feel deprived after a Scorpion Burger or Portobello and Sausage Burger. I believe everyone has the right to make up their minds about what they eat, but it should be an informed decision. One way to educate ourselves is to read this eye-opening, intriguing book about three decisions we make every day. What to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Dancing PIckles at Native Foods

Written by Scott McDonnell
Native Foods Tribe Member

WARNING:  This blog will be a little bit silly, a little bit fun and definitely contain a good bit of vegan entertainment.

I'm kicking off my first blog post with a very uncontroversial topic: Dancing Pickles.  Yes, you heard it right, Dancing Pickles.  If you've ever had Chef Tanya's Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger, then you will understand the source of my inspiration here.  It's not only the best sandwich on the menu, it's a veritable "Vegan Dagwood", a plethora of vegan goodness piled high on a plate.  And what tops that plate?  Glorious, crispy fried pickles!

 

Now these glorious fried pickles got me to thinking (could have been dreaming) about a t-shirt contest that we recently had in our restaurants.  All the employees were charged with coming up with a design for the new spring/summer line of tees for Native Foods.  I couldn't get visions of dancing pickles out of my head.  

 

I'm obviously not an artist so I decided to go the "live art" route.