Healthy Scavenger Hunt New Orleans

My book  (if I can call it that with the gazillion edits I received) The Little Book of Thin tackles the scenarios can potentially throw nutritional wrenches in our healthy habits. Early in the project, my agent was blunt “the advice for each of these topics cannot be to bring your own, you have to go beyond that.” When it comes to travel, you may recall I do like to BMO (bring my own) and I hear I’m not the only one who feels avocados are a perfect travel food. However, I also love to seek out healthy, fresh, local options when away. This past weekend I was in New Orleans for Jazz Fest. There was a lot of unbelievable music from Maroon 5, Fleetwood Mac, my new favorites the Revivalists and of course gospel greats but I also had a list of healthy items I try to find whenever I’m away.

A running route or workout- we were staying in Warehouse District. Gena, at Choosing Raw had told me about a juice bar located further uptown. Marc and I decided to run up Magazine St. On a beautiful but chilly morning we ran past the galleries and the Crescent City Farmer’s market, a little further up there were clusters of antique stores and crowds waiting outside brunchy places. 

You really forget about the running when you’re taking in your surroundings. I also noticed a  Pure Barre studio along the way.

Green Juice or Green Smoothie– if New Orleans, home of the Hurricane, is any indication you can find healthy pockets in most cities and towns. I used Twitter, Facebook and our hotel concierge to find some healthy hotspots. Heeding Gena’s advice we checked out Superfood Bar. We had worked up an appetite so I went with the Avocalada (have a Matchacolada in my book, had to taste the colada competition) a mixture of avocado, coconut, pineapple, coconut oil, dates and topped with coconut flakes. Marc went for the Chocolate Avocado smoothie. We also grabbed green lemonades and salads to eat for lunch before Jazz Fest.

Veggie Action

My salad, the Superfood Bar, had kale, beet ribbons and avocado tossed in vinaigrette made with Jerusalem artichoke syrup. The star of the salad was this coconut “bacon”. I don’t usually like food that requires quotation marks but this was the first crouton I’ve fallen for. I dug a little bit and found you can make it like this.

As much as I loved the coconut bacon, it was dinner later that night, at Domenica, where my veggie life would be forever changed. The life changing vegetable was the Roasted Cauliflower (pictured above).  While it seems this cauliflower has a bit of a following, it was new to me. And if you think I am not to be trusted because I run miles for an avocado smoothie- Marc devoured it too. I am not sure it would taste exactly the same without a wood-burning oven but I’m going to try out this recipe. And although I dreamt about the feta situation on the side, Marc preferred the cauliflower naked (I am choosing to end the sentence here).

Sensational Seafood– For old times’ sake we went back to Emerils. We were last at Emerils after my college graduation and I had doubts whether it would be as great as I remembered it but it was. I loved the Yellowfin Tuna Butter Lettuce Sashimi and the speckled trout served over succotash  (with grapefruit butter…swoon) which was the “creative fish of the day”. I was also impressed that Emeril’s, known for its pork chop and legendary banana cream pie, was receptive and knowledgeable when I inquired about gluten.

Commendable Cocktail– I didn’t get my green juice our first day in Nola. I did however get a “red juice”. I was wooed by the Bloody Mary at Ruby Slipper. For me, life is about the garnishes and when I saw the picked string bean, I was sold.

Worthy Treat– I was in heaven with the foods mentioned above. Marc, on the other hand, had his own Jazz Fest Scavenger hunt in mind. Day 1, he beelined it for alligator pie (unappealing to me for so many reasons).  Day 2 it was the Muffaleta (the secret is in the olives). Like a kid in a “beignet” store he remarked “I would eat so much if you weren’t here.” Fortunately for him (maybe) I was.

And later he said “I wonder why my stomach hurts” yeah I wonder

Good food, good music, did I forget the good book Where’d You Go Bernadette? I devoured.

What do you like to find when you travel? What’s on your travel scavenger hunt list?

Places I didn’t get to:

Café Carmo– my friend suggested the broken noodle salad she gets “no tofu” or the Esmeralda Salad.

Maurepas Foods- Carla says the Brussels sprouts with strawberry sauce were “to die for” 

Green Goddess

Satsuma
Next time.