Yerbabuena

Christmas is a time to eat with family and friends, so why not make it healthy? J and I went to yerbabuena today. It is a nice restaurant in the heart of Madrid. It is a little small but the waiters are very very nice. The inside is relaxed, clean and comfortable.

We had a try it all menu. Seriously, I had to take a doggy bag. For starters we got some hummus, beet juice, pinapple and coconut juice with poppy seads, salmorejo and a small salad with vegan shrimps (truly amazing!).

Salmorejo & Shrimp Salad

 To follow up, some nachos with cheese, guacamole and some spicy tomato sauce. We were certainly full after this one.

Nachos with cheese

And then, our main dish. J got a vegetable cake with blue chese with some  more veggies on the side and I got some vegetable crepes with nuts, flaxsead, spices and with some veggies as a side too.

Veggie Crepes

 It may not look so big, but believe me... it got me full half way through it. J felt the same with his. I think we can't call ourselves cookie monsters anymore.

Veggie cake (it is under all the white)

Last but not least, desert. Cake or yogurt. Oh! I always have a sweet tooth so I chose an apple cake while J got some Kefir with honey.

Apple cake with some yogur and cornflakes.

Light and filled with cinammon. I absolutely loved it :) And the presentation? Fabolous! I have to admit that J's Kefir was much better than I expected. I'm not so much into Kefir because it is too acid for me.

Kefir with a honey heart ;)

So, is anyone's mouth not yet watering? ;)

Viva la vida!

Viva la Vida is a buffet & take a way restaurant. There are two restaurants in Madrid, one is located in Huertas and the other in La Latina.

I visited  "Viva la vida" in Huertas. It is a small buffet, but with a wide variety of choices. The store also has a small bio-market with soy yogurts, bio yogurts, breads, cookies and tofu and other veggie goddies.

The buffet has both cold and warm entrées. I visited it on Wednesday. The dishes I tried:
- Corn, lombard, chickpeas and carrots salad.
- Papaya, mango and green beans salad.
- Falafel.
- Rice and oat "meatball".
- Carrot and peanut "meatball".
- Apple and onion pie.
- Filled zucchini.
- Veggie-canelloni.
- Polenta pizza.
- Polenta tortilla.
- Tahini and eggplant pie.

On one hand, the best day to go is during weekdays for lunch. There is a menu for 500 g + drink for 10 euros. A dessert buffet is also found there, which includes carrot cake (so good!), brownie, chocolate chips or oat cookies, muffins...

On the other hand, there isn't a comfortable place to seat in Huertas Viva la Vida. There are two seats inside the buffet and another two outside. The Viva la Vida in La Latina has large lounge, but I haven't visited it yet (... coming up!).

However, the decoration of Viva la Vida is unique. It's colorful, green and filled with plants.