Last weekend I headed to Sacramento, California, to visit with my vegalicious friend Bethany and her husband Scott. Bethany and I met over two years ago in Washington, D.C. when we were going through our Food for Life training thru PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). So, when I knew I was going to Sacramento we arranged to get together with two other vegalicious gal pals (for dinner), whom I’ve only spoken to by phone or online, but who are friends of Bethany’s as well. As I’m sure many of you already know, when you go vegan, you get this whole new tribe of friends and “family” members and it’s just WONDERFUL! Four or five years ago, I could never have imagined just how blessed I’d become just by simply switching my diet and lifestyle to a healthier and more compassionate way of living! 

Bethany & Me

After Bethany picked me up from the airport we headed to one of her favorite vegan restaurants in Sacramento for lunch called Baagan. Bethany ordered up some yummy dishes from her friend, the owner. Check out this sweet little place and the lunch dishes we ordered!

 Here’s what we had for lunch. We split the Veggie Quesadilla and…

…Curry Panini. YUM!!!

    You would think we’d be full after all of that, but we decided to split one of their amazing raw desserts.

Raw carrot cake dessert with a coconut topping and a sauce that was simply out of this world! 

This was a quick trip, so later that evening we drove to meet up with our two amazing friends Linda and Kayle. Linda is also a PCRM Certified Food for Life Instructor…she’s 71 and looks to be in her fifties. Unbelievable! This IS what a vegan diet can do! Our gorgeous friend, Kayle, whom I’ve interviewed about being a two-time cancer survivor (found under Cow Girl Kicks Cancer Twice) is getting rollin’ with giving paid talks and she also has her own awesome vegan t-shirt and accessory line (link is at the end). For dinner we all met up at Nectar Cafe in Auburn, California.

Here’s Linda & Bethany…Can you believe she’s 71? 

Kayle & Me

And the four of us…

We had a blast laughing and talking…and listening to some great music, but you really want to see what we ate, don’t you? I had the Thai Green Curry and it was so delicious!

Kayle had the Tacos

Linda and Bethany split the Jamaican Burger and Pad Thai dish.

 Dr. Neal Barnard’s phrase runs through my head when I get served vegan food like this. He’ll say, “This sure isn’t suffering!” Isn’t that the truth? With so much amazing vegan food out there, why would anyone not consider this more compassionate, healthier diet? Well, the best part of it all wasn’t the food, but connecting with these amazing women that I’ve known now for over two years.  (No, that is not a man growing out of Linda’s neck…LOL!)

The next morning, we all got up early. Ate a delicious oatmeal breakfast with blueberries and other goodies. Then Bethany and I drove downtown Sacramento to join about two hundred other people for free yoga in the park. It was awesome!

     More vegalicious weekends like this, please! 

Afterwards, we checked out the art market that was going on in the park. I bought a few things and then we ran a few other errands and later met up with Bethany’s son for lunch. We were going to go to…

  …but unfortunately Bethany hadn’t gotten his message earlier. You have to call ahead to order if you’re going to go there for lunch. Call at least the day before! I thought this was a great name for a cafe! Well, instead we headed over to Shine. Their menu and food did definitely not disappoint! YUM! 

       

Thai Salad with Grilled Tofu

 Veggie Samosa

This was such a great weekend! The weather was perfect and I got to visit with some of the sweetest people I know, plus check out the cool t-shirt that Kayle gave me. I wore it on Vegan T-shirt day! Yes, there is such a day!

What did you wear?

  And then…SIGH…it was time to say goodbye to all of these lovely, lovely humans and head back home. I hope you enjoyed taking this little trip with me!

What about you? Have you taken any vegalicious trips lately or are you planning to?

Please feel free to share or recommend your favorite place to travel to! Who knows, we may just run into each other one day!

 **Link to Kayle’s “Cowgirls and Collard Greens” shop**:

http://www.cowgirlsandcollardgreens.com/shop/

 Check out this Vegan pin! I bought one from Kayle. I love a bit of vegan bling! 

Enjoy and Eat More Veggies!

Much Health & Happiness,

Nina