[Week 3 Day 21] Lunch date with the girls!

Katie & Jasmine!
Wednesday (Day 18) was an incredibly bad cheat day, lol! I ate lunch at this great Mexican restaurant with one of my supervisors and a classmate from my internship. (You can already tell where this is going...). I had the chicken tacos with rice and beans, as well as some tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole...man, did I enjoy every bite of that delicious goodness! I monitored my joints to see if they have been affected by the change in my diet. There were no major changes and no pain, thank God! Since that day, I'm still continuing with watching what I eat.

With Isabel, my boyfriend's youngest sister!
Today is a special lunch date with the girls: my sister, Katie; my friend, Jasmine; and my boyfriend's sister, Isabel! This morning, I was looking up vegan restaurants in Miami and a place called Choices Cafe came up. It's located in the downtown area and I had to use the GPS because one way streets can be confusing and intimidating. Thankfully, we made it to the Choices Cafe after only one missed turn, haha! There is no parking lot, so we parked by a public park that is right next to the cafe. FREE PARKING! :]

As soon as Jasmine arrived, we started with the drinks. Isabel and I had organic juices, while Katie and Jasmine shared a smoothie. The smoothie is called Monkey Business and it had almond butter, banana, spirulina, almond milk, dates, and ice. Isabel got the Liquid Love, which had the apple, pear, pineapple, and mint. I got the...Sex A-Peel (hehe!) which had beets, cucumber, ginger, and one other ingredient which I forgot :/ Each of the drinks were pretty good, but I think I fancy the Monkey Business because of the almond milk. The ginger is a spice that stings the throat, but I did drink all of that...red juice. :P

I love the colors.
(Left to right: Liquid Love, Sex A-Peel, and Monkey Business)
Interesting names, eh?
We continued onto our healthy organic vegan adventure with our tasty meals. At the Choices Cafe, if you order a burger or wrap, you can decide whether or not you would rather have it on a bed of fresh salad. I opted for the salad for my Gentle Lentil Burger. Isabel ordered the Chipotle Walnut Wrap, Jasmine ordered the Veganator Burger, and Katie ordered the California Wrap. To end our lunch on a high note, Jasmine treated us for dessert. It's called, Pie A La Mode with Coconut Ice Cream. The warm pie with the cold ice cream blends so well together. It was all so savory, not too sweet...but just right. Man oh man! Who knew that eating healthy tasted so good?! Haha!

The Gentle Lentil Burger on a bed of salad.
House lentil/beet patty, sautéed onions, lettuce, tomato, and daiya cheese.

The Chipotle Walnut Wrap.
Brown rice wrap, walnut pate, chipotle sauce, avocado, pico, veggies &greens.

The Veganator Burger.
Ezekiel bun, gardein patty, sautéed onions, lettuce, tomato, and daiya cheese.

The California Wrap.
Sprouted tofu, black beans, quinoa, bell pepper, daiya cheese, onion, avocado, pico de gallo.

Our delicious dessert, Pie A La Mode with Coconut Ice Cream.
Can you say, YUM?
With our tummies filled with loads of healthy good stuff, we end our date with one last pic.
I truly loved this lunch date with these gorgeous ladies!
Aside from the wonderful vegan eatery, there was something else that was very special about this lunch date. This was the first time I actually got to meet Isabel, face-to-face. You see, my relationship with my boyfriend, Nio, is one of those long-distant kinds. He, along with his friend Aaron, came down to Miami back in May to meet my family & my church family. I have yet to meet his whole family. However, by God's grace and perfect timing, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and hang out with Nio's youngest sister! I consider this a blessing because I actually had no idea when I would get to meet this incredible woman. After she graduated this past spring, she got into the Navy and will be stationed in Japan for about 2 1/2 years! I had prayed to God that somehow I would get to see Isabel before she left. I would have never foreseen that July 21 would be that day! What's even more incredible was that Isabel got to meet my sister and one of my good friends!! How funny that Nio has yet to meet my own sister, lol. It's all so weird and complicated, yet all so perfect. God is so good!

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