Vegan Vacation: Jersey Shore Edition (Not THAT Jersey Shore)
I'm a beach girl. I may have grown up in land-locked Kentucky in the shade of a pine forest, but I've always craved sand and sun. So when we decided to head to The Shore on Tuesday of our vacation, I was stoked. Charlotte inherited my love of the ocean, as well. She couldn't wait to play with her sand toys that she remembered us buying last year and leaving at Mom's house. This kid forgets nothing.
Ready for the beach with lots of nutritious goodness.
That morning, I got up early, did a little stretching to get the blood flowing, and made another blueberry smoothie in Mom's Ninja blender. We packed up a cooler with fruit and snack bars, and plenty of water, and we were outta there. We were all looking forward to a day of relaxation by the waves. On our way there, I was browsing Happy Cow for places to eat in the area. Even though we pack snacks everywhere we go, I never pass up the opportunity to try new vegan eateries. As it turns out, one of the places that Lauren recommended to me a while back was right on the way. Yay! Seed to Sprout describes itself as "Vegan eatery and juice & smoothie bar specializing in healthy, whole and simple foods. We strive to bring you real, good food." It's a very nicely decorated little spot in a shopping strip in Fair Haven. Between the very intriguing menu, featuring tofu scrambles, tacos, soups, and sandwiches, and the cooler full of raw goodies, we had a tough time deciding what to order. Mom ended up ordering their grilled avocado sandwich and added arugula and coconut bacon. Let me tell you, that sucker smelled incredible! She said it was amazing, and I tasted it... I agree. Delicious sandwich! I opted for the raw pizza because, well, RAW PIZZA. Charlotte picked out a cacao pudding because she's 3 and chocolate is the stuff of life. I decided to try their vanilla pudding, as well as a matcha green tea latte. Probably the main thing I missed on vacation was my daily matcha latte. It's so lovely that it's become my morning ritual. Their latte was different from mine, but it was still very tasty. It hit the spot, for sure. We got our orders to go and continued on to Seven Presidents Beach in Long Branch, NJ.
THE sandwich. Mmm.... Also, Mom's adorable watermelon manicure.
Smelling Mom's sandwich in the car was like torture, so as soon as we arrived and parked, she was stuffing her face. It was convenient that my older brother called at the same time, and we ended up hanging out in the air conditioning for few more minutes talking to him. Charlotte was too excited to stay in her seat, so I unbuckled her and let her jump around in the back seat while we talked. If you've never dealt with a hyper, over-excited 3 year old who is looking at the ocean and can't get out of the car, you probably don't want to. Finally, we unleashed the beast. Making our way down the dunes into the main beach area, we could smell salt and that mild fishy scent (not in a bad way) that always comes with the ocean air. I felt like I was home.
Sun, sand, salty hair, and my SunSandals. My aunt sent us these to try out, and they're so cute! They can be found at Sunsandals.net. Mom made Charlotte a pair, but I forgot to snap a pic. Trust me, they're precious.
I still can't get used to beaches that don't have palm trees, but there's no denying how pretty the shore is. Long Branch is such a clean and quiet area (on a Tuesday in June when the kids are still in school, anyway). We set up our spot and spent the afternoon listening to the waves and relaxing in the soft breeze. Charlotte had to get her feet wet, but decided that 55 degree water wasn't something she wanted any part of. I can't blame her. If you're used to Florida beaches, the northeast is a big shock. Mom says the water never gets very warm up there, unfortunately. Char was, however, quite happy to play in the sand and build little castles that she would immediately destroy. Kids have zero appreciation for art, I've found. Oh, well. She was happy and very well behaved. After some time, I was ready for my raw pizza and pudding. Let me tell you, that pizza was the bomb diggity. Mine got a bit warm in the bag while sitting in the sun, so it was like eating cooked pizza. The crust was hearty, but soft enough to easily chew without it sticking to the roof of my mouth. Unlike some other raw pizzas I've had, they cover theirs in cheese and add the toppings to that. It made a huge difference in the flavor. Every bite was cheesy, gooey goodness. I'm salivating just thinking about it. And that vanilla pudding? Holy geez! It's made from coconut meat, and it's so creamy and sweet. I thought the serving size was too small, but after a few bites, I realized that I probably couldn't have eaten more. It was so rich. I wish we had a Seed to Sprout in Nashville. I'd keep them in business, single-handedly. So good!
Raw Pizza. I'm pretty sure this is what God himself would eat.
Later that afternoon, a storm started rolling in, and we felt the temperature drop very suddenly. Disappointed, we packed our belongings and toted a very unhappy toddler to the car. We changed into actually clothing, and since we weren't ready to go home yet, drove up the street a bit to Pier Village, a shopping center that's attached to a luxury apartment complex right on the beach. We wandered around for a while stopping into the many clothing shops we passed to peruse what they had to offer. I wasn't in much of shopping mood that day, so we didn't buy anything, but I saw some very nice items. Maybe I'll budget for a trip back next time we visit.
The dark clouds kept rolling in, but it didn't start raining until our drive home. Charlotte immediately passed out in the back seat, so Mom and I enjoyed a good chat on our way back to her town.
For dinner, we went to On The Border near her house. I hadn't eaten at an OTB since I was in high school and there was one in good ole Antioch, TN. I remembered that I liked it back then, though, and Mexican-style spots are usually pretty veg-friendly. We had a very sweet young guy serving us that night, and he scored big points first-thing when he told mom "What? You're a grandmother?!". Yeah, she liked him. Ha! Well, he was a pretty great server, too. They had a veggie Border Bowl with grilled portabella mushrooms, so that's what both Mom and I ordered. Charlotte just wanted rice and beans, her usual at any Mexican restaurant. Of course, once my bowl came, she tried to steal all of my avocado. Our awesome server, though, was happy to bring her a plate of her own slices, so I didn't have to stab her tiny hand with my fork. (Kidding!) I don't have high expectations for chain restaurants, but I must admit that my Border Bowl was pretty amazing. Everything tasted very fresh and clean, and I felt good an hour later, which is usually a good indicator that there weren't any odd chemicals in the food. I'd definitely recommend it. (Sorry, but I forgot to take a picture.)
All in all, it was a great day spent in the sun with two of my favorite people. If you're in the northern Atlantic area of New Jersey, definitely check out Long Branch and Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park. We'll be happy to go back next summer.
