julie’s kind kitchen

Prescott may be my favorite place to go on vacation. Why? #1, it’s only about 1 hour away. #2, it’s a simple, slower-paced town compared to Phoenix or Tempe (read: you can truly relax). #3 there is a lot to do and discover! Also, for me personally, it brings back memories…Matt and I used to take day trips to Prescott in his ‘89 Ford Thunderbird when we were in high school. Aww…

Matt and I spent 2 days in Prescott this past weekend and we really enjoyed it! When we rolled into town, our first stop was New Frontiers. New Frontiers is an awesome natural foods store that has locations in Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff and a few in Cali. I love this place. We no longer have any small, local natural food stores in Phoenix or Tempe, so we always visit New Frontiers when we are in Prescott (or Sedona or Flag). They have an awesome prepared food section, as well as the option to make your own sammich. Matt got their homemade veggie burger with a salad and I got a half sammich with marinated ‘fu, hummus, and a ton of veggies. Mine also came with a salad and I chose a tahini-based dressing-YUM!

For dessert (because there is always room for dessert), I got a HUGE ginger cookie. The best part was, there were multiple vegan dessert choices… I think I made a good choice, though. Very ginger-y.

That night was Matt’s choice for dinner, so we went to the Prescott Brewing Company. The beer was good and surprisingly, they had a pretty veg-friendly menu. I ended up having the jalapeño hummus, which was really good and really filling. They call this an appetizer!

The next day, we had leisurely morning walking around the town square and visiting all the cool shops. On day trips, Matt and I usually take food for a picnic in front of the beautiful courthouse and play rummy (our favorite card game). In this picture, Matt is reading the time line of Prescott, painted on the sidewalk.

At New Frontiers, I picked up a free “Healthy Living Resources” guide, which led us to our next stop, Honeyman’s Natural Food Store. This place was an exciting new find! I picked up two kinds of tea (yerba mate and blueberry green tea), raw macadamia nuts, beautiful looking sun-dried tomatoes and some stuff from the Cactus Candy Company. I know, I know. An AZ native should not be getting stuff from the Cactus Candy Company…but I have always been curious about the Cactus Jelly and Pomegranate Syrup (btw, what do I use these for?!).

Before we left, we ate at the only entry for veg restaurants on happycow, Taj Mahal. I was pleased to see an entire section of the menu devoted to vegan dishes. Matt and I shared veg pakora, dahl and naan. It was good and I am glad to have it as a veg option when we go to Prescott. Although, they claim to be “The Best Indian Food in Arizona,” which is simple not true. Udupi is a lot better and 100% vegetarian (more than 1/2 vegan). So, I guess what I am saying is, we are spoiled when it comes to Indian food.

Before we headed back, we stopped by New Frontiers again to get some of this:

That right! Locally made vegan ice cream. I found this because of another tip from that awesome Healthy Living Resources guide. I got some No-Butter Pecan, although I was bummed to see that they also make Peanut Caramel and Strawberry Delight, which weren’t stocked at NF. Oh, well. I should be happy that something like this even exists. Check out the ingredients. Anything catch your eye? Quinoa, perhaps?! It doesn’t taste like quinoa, though. I promise! It’s yummmmmy and I think better for me than my other indulgence… Supposedly, they stock Freezees at WF’s in the west coast, so check it out!

Before I go, a picture of the loot I took home (minus the “nut cream”). The dried apples, locally made ww tortillas and free bumper sticker are from NF.

Matt and I are already planning our next trip out to the beautful and hospitable town of Prescott and are thinking about staying either here or here. We found both places while taking a relaxing drive up the mountains.

That’s it for now. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Oh, and check out some of my favorite blogs. The last one is an oldie, but a goodie.

Peace!