Progress report - I did my measurements yesterday and had only lot half an inch off my waist and nothing off my hips although I have consistently been losing weight so I am not too disheartened. My exam is two weeks on Tuesday, I'm pretty confident but will still be revising lots, I have my cue cards in my handbag for my commute! I even had a question on the quiz machine in the pub today that related to my studies!
On Thursday one of my vegetarian friends and I went to SAF in Kensington http://www.safrestaurant.co.uk/ as we had a voucher. I've been wanting to go for a while but it is a bit pricey so was saving for a special occasion, but with a voucher it was way more budget friendly!
To start I had Pesto au Poivre - Basil pesto between layers of cashew cheese with a dehydrated pink peppercorn crust, served with rocket salad, raw flaxseed crackers and drizzled with balsamic glaze.
I really enjoyed it, but felt there could have been a bit more cashew cheese compared to the amount of crackers you got. I wouldn't describe it as "cheese" it tasted more like a paté to me but had a real depth of flavour.
My friend has the Dolmades with Tzatzyki - Vine leaves filled with cauliflower rice, pine nuts, cumin, lemon juice and dill served with a vegan yoghurt and cucumber dip. These weren't your run-of-the-mill dolmades, they were very falvourful and I was really impressed.
For mains I had Slow Roasted Asparagus Farinata - Slow roasted asparagus tips in a chickpea farinata crepe served with lemon tarragon aioli and house salad. Again I thought this was delicious, the crepe was a lovely consistency - not too thick and the vegetables inside really shone. The aioli was a nice addition and I really loved the dressing on the salad.
My friend has the Saf Pad Thai - Julienne strips of carrot, courgette and mange tout with sprouted lentils, mung beans, enoki mushrooms and spicy cashews, tossed in chipotle almond sauce topped with fresh coriander, red chilies and nori. My friend said this wasn't what she was expecting, but she didn't know what she was expecting. The waitress told us this is one of their most popular dishes. The sauce was chipotle rather than a traditional pad thai sauce which I thought was a bit of a shame as it didn't resemble much of what you would associate with a pad thai you may have experienced before.
What we had would have come to £43.30 including two soft drinks but as we had our voucher it was only £24. We had to add on desserts as well especially vegans are rarely able to have dessert in a regular restaurant.
I had White Chocolate & Jasmine Tart - White chocolate and jasmine cream with cacao nib crust, caramelized apricot sauce and espresso syrup. This was a really nice cheesecake style tart. It had a rich flavour but didn't have the cloyiness you get with dairy. After my meal I felt full but not heavy, and definitely not guilty! I went over my calorie allocation for the day but not by much and I had less calories on other days to compensate.
My friend had Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake - Rich and creamy chocolate ganache, with crushed hazelnuts on a cashew, hazelnut and agave crust, served with orange coulis. I didn't try any of this myself, but how can you go wrong with chocolate cake?! The desserts were £5.50 each
Saf is situated above the Wholefoods Market on Kensington High Street with other restaurants. So after we had finished eating we decided to take a look around. We were pretty impressed at the sheer size and extent or the departments on offer. Lucky it was the day before payday else I could have ended up spending the mortgage money in there! I only spent £12. I bought a Coconut and Raspberry cupcake made by The Cat and The Cream which I ate the next day. It was delightful, not too heavy and not too much frosting as I find some cupcakes go a bit a mental and the frosting is double the height of the cake. I also bought a Luna White Chocolate and Macadamia nut bar. This was like a cereal bar with a white chocolate base and a drizzle on top. I found the white chocolate very sweet and I couldn't actually taste much in it. But overall it was enjoyable and I would definitely have it again. Lastly I bought two harlequin squash. I had one for dinner last night stuffed with curried lentils, onions, mushrooms and spinach. I love squash in all its forms and its one of my favourite things about autumn.
I have signed up to take part in the Vegan Food Swap run by To Happy Vegans http://www.tohappyvegans.com/wordpress/uk-vegan-food-swap/ and have already been looking at products I want to send in my box, I'm really looking forward to this and will let you know what I send and what I receive in my package.
I have written a lot so really need to go and do some studying now!
Later Veg heads
Vgirl Xx
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