the smart foodie’s top three picks at Veg Fest Vancouver 2013

This year’s second annual Veg Fest Vancouver was twice as large, with 45 vendors, and given the great turn out, I bet it won’t be too long before the festival will occupy the long strip of Granville Street.

Made my heart swell to see how fast the local vegetarian/vegan community is growing.

Photo credit: Veg Fest Vancouver 2013

In addition to my usual favourites like Eternal Abundance and Rooted Nutrition, three other vendors caught my attention.

1. Tao Organics has rapdily expanded its line of top quality raw organic foods to include these blissful lemon and chocolate Coco Orbs, kale chips and dehydrated granola bars. The best part is that many of their products are available at retail stores around town.

Get your Coco Orbs from Tao Organics. Photo credit: Tao Organics

2. I couldn’t believe how cool these all-vegan sneakers were at the Nice Shoes booth, and reasonably priced too at $99. I forgot to try them on as I was eager to explore the festival, but it looks like my long loyalty to Nike isn’t going to last! Right on!

Nike’s got serious competition. Vegan shoes are in. Photo credit: Nice Shoes

3. Now, when it comes to authentic Indian Food in Vancouver, I’m hard to please as I was raised in East Africa which specializes in this kind of cuisine.

But when I sampled an Idly plate – steamed lentil and rice patties with sambar (lentil soup), and a coconut chutney at Sargam House Restaurant (previously Saravanaa Bhavan),  I instantly returned to my childhood memories of loving this kind of food.

The food was so fresh, and the lentil soup was thankfully not swimming in oil. The food is not organic, but that’s okay. I suppose we can make an exception for this South and North Indian vegetarian place.

Sargam is known for its dosas (steamed rice and lentil crepes). This one comes with sides like coconut chutney, raita (yoghurt), spicy potatoes and sambar (lentil soup). Photo credit: Sargam House

I have to admit that the vendors offering samples made me want to support them more than those that didn’t, even if their products were supposedly amazing – and there were at least three like these that held back. It’s a classic example of how being abundant comes back to you in ways you couldn’t anticipate.