Herbivore Smorgasbord

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Herbivore

The Menu: A roasted beet salad with grilled tofu and avocado; a vegan beef quesadilla with guacamole and salsa; and an Indonesian noodle salad with cucumber, cabbage, greens, sprouts, grilled mushrooms, and peanuts, all tossed in a peanut dressing.

The Goods: As might already be clear, I was particularly hungry when I ordered lunch today. VN volunteer extraordinaire Peter Ryan stopped by for lunch, and asked me to surprise him with a choice of salad, but somehow (even though I know that Herbivore's salads are enormous), two salads just didn't sound hearty enough, hence the quesadilla. The triple-threat lunch you see above was awesome for two main reasons. One, everything was really tasty. Two, now I don't need to worry about what to get for lunch for the rest of the week—the answer is leftovers! If you need a little help deciding what to eat today, check out our Pinterest account. There are food boards of inspiration galore!

Post-Workout Salad

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Herbivore

The Menu: A big, hefty salad containing quinoa, Napa cabbage, grilled tofu, romaine, shredded beets, cherry tomatoes, grilled vegetables, cucumber, and avocado, all topped with a delicious Dijon dressing.

The Goods: You know how sometimes you bring a simple Napa cabbage and quinoa salad to work, and then by the time lunch rolls around you just know that it won't be enough? This tends to happen to me specifically on Wednesdays, aka the day after my big workout for the week (a 90-minute cycling class + 90-minute boxing class = one hungry editor). Thankfully, Herbivore came to the rescue with a highly customizeable salad (adding grilled tofu and veggies is always a good idea). You know what else is a good idea? Partying. We could not be more excited about the VN Book Bash with Spork Foods, which is just nine days away!! All we're saying is that a) the Spork gals are just about the two cutest humans on the planet, b) the finger-food menu looks totally incredible, and c) there will be both a Cinnaholic cinnamon roll bar and a photobooth. Any of those would be reason enough to come celebrate with us, but the all three together are the perfect party trifecta.

Sushi Galore

The Chef: Anna and We Be Sushi

The Menu: Three sushi rolls: grilled tofu, vegetable tempura, and spinach with toasted sesame seeds.

The Dish: You know what I love? A good Groupon. And sushi. And when the two combine it's nothing short of magical. I met one of my roommates for lunch today and we gorged ourselves on a tableful of tasty sushi, seaweed salad, and veggie tempura for half off! All I can say is this: If gorging yourself on delicious food for half off is wrong, then I don't want to be right. The VN staff has also been throughly enjoying* This Week's Must Have—Dave's Killer Bread's Sin Dawg cinnamon roll bread. I will obviously have my eyes peeled for any Groupons regarding that delectable loaf.

*I didn't think I should use "gorging" a third time even though it's totally appropriate.

21-Day Cleanse Starting Salad

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Herbivore

The Menu: A fantastically enormous salad of mixed greens, romaine, shredded carrots and beets, cherry tomatoes, roasted beets, grilled tofu, and avocado, all topped with my absolute favorite dressing, the Dijon vinaigrette.

The Goods: After a recent long weekend in NYC (read all about it later this week on Press Pass), I have been in desperate need of greens. To make sure that I'm really getting all the good, green stuff possible, I'm starting Kris Carr's 21-day cleanse today! I'm really excited to juice, meditate, and generally get myself into tip-top shape. To celebrate the start of this little adventure, I grabbed the biggest salad on the block, which happens to be my favorite. Tonight, to continue the healthy theme, a group from the VNHQ will attend a screening of Forks Over Knives, which I absolutely can't wait to see! Have you tried the cleanse or seen the movie? Tell me your thoughts on either in the comments!