If you're in Georgia and are looking for both a natural food store and cafe, this one is THE ONE. The cafe features all vegan food and menu items, while the co-op store itself is filled with some awesome vegan finds and deals. Completely vegan establishments outside of Atlanta and Alpharetta can be difficult to come by when you're not living there and don't feel like taking the long drive to and from the city. But Life Cafe is an outlier of that norm and their prices aren't outrageous either.

I have been dining at the Life Cafe for the past several years of my vegan-hood and my favorite menu item has been the blonde burger along with a few other items that are not on the menu anymore- but might come back. However, a new favorite (as there has been a recent menu change) is the soul food plate.





This is my absolute favorite bean burger made and served fresh by any restaurant--vegan and otherwise. The flavors are what make it what it is, and it's quite filling as well.



The plate comes with well-seasoned collard greens with tempeh, mashed sweet potatoes so sweet, it tastes like pie filling, and the American classic mac'n cheese (made vegan).


Another recent comeback is the Avocado Melt with "sun sauce", tomatoes, vegan cheese (maybe), and of course avocados!

Hearty Quinoa Mushroom Burger from #lifegrocery natural vegan cafe. #vegan #quinoa #quinoaburger #atlanta #burger #veganburger #veggieburger

A photo posted by RS (@rsblueberry) on Aug 27, 2015 at 5:11pm PDT

This burger is another new addition to the menu. It has a stronger resemblance to an actual burger with its meatier texture and melted Chao vegan cheese (which tastes just like traditional white American cheese).


Creamy Mac-n Cheese side

Barney Miller. Getty Images, ABC Photo Archives.

Characters/Diversity

Barney Miller (1974-1982) is definitely one of my very absolute favorite television shows among several other great shows from the 1970s. Barney Miller had a very diverse cast for a show that began in the 1970s, and strongly contrasts the lack of diversity in mainstream media today as the 12th Precinct police detectives and the reappearing characters identified among different genders, races, ethnicities, sexualities, and abilities.  The characters portrayed and established transcend the often dehumanizing social categorizations as they are portrayed as fully developed characters rather than typical stereotypes. None of these characters were ever constructed stereotypically nor were any of them confined to typical stereotypes. Instead, these characters countered common stereotypes which were addressed and subsequently opposed. No character was ever dehumanized as a sense of humanity was always maintained in each episode that humanized each character by providing a reminder that people are people regardless of their identities--- identities which are often used to excuse and justify violence, injustice, inequality, and oppression.

Barney Miller. "Vanished." January, 1980. Getty Images. ABC Photo Archives.

We are still dealing with the same issues regarding discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, the mistreatment of youth (all basically a result of ignorance and the refusal of some to see humans only as their label/identity rather than acknowledge them as actual humans), environmental concerns, political/judicial/social corruption, and several other systemic issues that continue to persist.

Barney Miller. "The Layoff." Season 2. September 1975. Getty Images. ABC Photo Archives.

Television

The only problem with these fantastic shows is how difficult they can be to find and the fact that they rarely air on television. Sometimes these shows can also be found on the internet but it takes a lot to find full episodes. Luckily, there are channels like Antenna TV and Me TV that show Barney Miller episodes and rewinds back to other classic and hilarious shows.

Overall, the show is brilliant and amazing as it addresses several important issues at the time, which are still issues of our time. It is a sitcom that appropriately and maturely deals with some really serious issues comically and is full of substance, something that seems to be lacking more and more throughout many popular, usually substance-less, diversity-lacking television shows.


Photos: Getty Images, ABC Photo Archives, Sony Pictures.

This Blood Purple Antioxidant Smoothie makes for a good and healthy Halloween drink!
I meant to post in on Halloween but since that didn't happen --- this makes a great immune-building, healthy smoothie especially for the fall when most people are getting ill. This smoothie is a good way to start the day.

It looks more purple in real life than in the photos

• 1 small beet
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen strawberries  
• 1+ frozen bananas (I didn't have ripe bananas when I made this)

If the smoothie tastes too strong with the beet, you can even out the taste by adding bananas.


 



This smoothie is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K as well as Manganese, Magnesium, Potassium, Folate and Fiber as you can see below.
Here is the nutrient breakdown, not including bananas.

Ingredients

Avocado
- sliced or spread
Chickpeas
-warm up with seasonings like nutritional yeast, pepper, onion powder, etc.
Tomato
- sliced

Other Proteins
- Could add tempeh/seitan "bac'n" in place of or with chickpeas
Condiments (optional)
-Just mayo (vegan) or vegan cheese slices (like Chao which is the best for sandwiches)

Avocado

Chickpeas - Tomatoes

These are the ingredients that I use:

Sauce Base

• Nutritional yeast (good source of Vitamin B12 and other B-vitamins)
• Daiya (or other brand of) vegan cheese
• Almond-coconut milk
• 1/2 to 1/4 tsp Braggs Amino Acids (or salt)

Add-ins

• Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Peas, etc.

Pasta

• My favorite type of pasta for creamy dishes like this is rice pasta since it gets very mushy and starchy when cooked.

These cookies are great for a snack, after dinner sweets, morning energy boost (when you're low on fruit), etc. These cookies are sweet and loaded with nutrients. Last time I made these, I was able to take leftover cookies with me to class and they were the best snack for that needed morning or afternoon class energy (when I didn't have time to make smoothie to bring with).











I couldn't really find any vegan coconut butter cookie recipes so I halved and altered KP's "best vegan chocolate chip cookies" and made these with the addition of coconut butter.
Most vegan cookies use coconut oil, which is still good. However, I think using coconut butter is better as it comes with more nutients (a bit less fat) 2 Tbsp of coconut butter is 20 grams, while 1Tbsp of any oil is about 14-16 grams fat.

For this recipe I used

dry
1/2 cup flour + 1 to 2 Tbsp quick oats (or more flour)
1/8 tsp pink him sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 TBSP Flaxseed (can use more)
1/2 tsp sodium-free baking powder (I highly recommend Hain brand)

wet
1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp organic raw/turbinado/coconut sugar
2 to 3 Tbsp coconut butter (how to make coconut butter)
3 to 4 Tbsp almond/coconut milk

mix dry and wet

then add:
1/2 tsp Bragg raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla

I use 1.5 to 2 Tbsp vegan chocolate chips (photographed chocolate chips are from Trader Joes).

Makes 9 cookies (measured with tablespoon).