Tag Archives: vegetarian food

Healthy Yorkville Lunch: Mela Cafe

I am 8 years late in my discovery of Mela Cafe, Italian Vegetarian Magic at 7 Yorkville Avenue 416 916 0619. Perhaps its location where Wanda’s Pie in the Sky once was kept me from coming too close, as I missed Wanda’s very much. I came across Mela Cafe last week after buying DLish cupcakes and looked around the corner for some lunch. Yes, I got dessert before choosing a spot for lunch.

The chalkboard menu and glass display cases at Mela Cafe were very enticing. I tasted a certain magic in the food with the mixed veggie salad and sweet potato mash with rapini topped with homemade tomato sauce I had. I enjoyed my lunch so much that I went back the next day for beet risotto with greens, which was delicious. As was their signature eggplant sandwich, which I enjoyed another time.

Mela Cafe is a great little spot to have some lunch or get takeout for dinner. Their food is prepared with great care to a point where the chefs Roberto and Kim grow their own vegetables. They are real innovators here. The quality shows through in the delightful taste of the food. I highly recommend Mela Cafe for a healthy, delicious meal that inspires us to eat more veggies by showing us how tasty veggies can be. What an amazing accomplishment for Mela Cafe!

Fresh Restaurant

Fresh is a vegetarian restaurant that I have been to on quite a few occasions with friends for a quick, healthy meal. The quinoa onion rings are my absolute favourite and must be ordered every time I go there to share. They have a perfectly crisp coating with a tender onion centre.

A client shared with me recently that the macro greens bowl is an approved Weight Watchers menu item. I am pleased to report that the macro greens bowl with brown rice, crispy tofu and green dressing is very tasty and satisfying as a main course. This is not my best food photography, but this is a tasty meal:

The combination of crispy tofu, bok choy, sweet potato, tomato, brown rice with the green dressing is a satisfying taste and texture combination.

I don’t typically choose smoothies and juices at restaurants, but the Fresh drink menu is very appealing with its large array of smoothies and fresh juices. The latest one I tried had the most appealing name of eternal youth. The eternal youth smoothie tasted great while including kale and E3Live.

Fresh is a great option to try delicious vegan and vegetarian meals with familiar foods like onion rings in the mix. Vegetarian diets have numerous health benefits and trying a vegetarian meal at home or at a restaurant like Fresh is a great place to start. Expanding the variety of foods you eat, especially plant foods is always a great idea as it increases the variety of nutrients you intake.