Dining Out in Kingston, Jamaica as a Raw Vegan. Part II.

Following up from last week’s review of sorts, and highlight of places within Kingston, Jamaica  at which a raw vegan can easily partake of  and enjoy meals of healthy compositions, here are a few more worthy mentions, which one may wish to put to the test.

Next door to Shams Bakery (mentioned last week in Part I) is a raw vegan restaurant named 'Mi Hungry’, their selection is quite varied and offer mainly house prepared menu options. These include standard raw vegan burger options with a few variations for the customer’s choice, raw pizza options, juices, sweet as well as savoury pies to name a few.

I like to omit the burger pâté and have a raw sandwich of sauce free, fresh ingredient combination. Here, is a requested, not so well dehydrated nut based  'bun' with fresh lettuce, tomato and onion with chopped scotch bonnet pepper. I like added cayenne as well to give an extra kick.

Raw sandwich with burger ‘bun’. Open faced.

Covered: Nut based bun of fully raw sandwich.

. Mi Hungry always has freshly made juices. One of my favourite is their unsweetened soursop juice

Soursop juice

Although the location is primarily orders  ' to go', either for pickup or delivery. I like to have a seat and enjoy my order. This is why sadly; I am sporting a plastic bottle here. A tragedy to the environment. Years later, I am not always with my glass or stainless steel container, despite the fact that almost all places are sporting plastic containers for food.  Needless to say, both items were delicious. Bear in mind, one sandwich, the price of a burger, is not a very filling item, but not as heavy on the overt fats, yet providing fresh raw ingredients nonetheless. The sandwich was sauce free as per my request due to a personal preference. There are nonetheless a variety of options available at this location, all vegan, but satisfies persons of different palette preferences.

‘WellSpring’, a new 'to go' restaurant on the Half Way Tree Rd. stretch, is a branch of The Haining Rd. ‘Earl’s Juice Garden’. Offering a wide range of freshly pressed juices, blended nut shakes and blended smoothies caters widely to the cooked vegan patrons, of which there are many. Not being of such persuasion, I found some innovative ways to utilize the venue for small meetings whilst whetting the palette in as healthy a way as possible. My preferences at this location as in the case at Earl’s are their juices. I often opt to request a combination of their beet, carrot and ginger. Very high antioxidant combo as well as super tasty. For the sweet tooth customer, go for the closest Master Cleanse beverage: Local pressed cane juice with cayenne pepper: bottled at Earl' s, served in disposable branded cups at Wellspring.

Another good, tasty, healthy protein/iron combination is : Cane juice with spirulina ( A blue-green algae, high in protein). A green powerful blend of goodness, refreshingly tasty! Another good order available at either location is Dandelion juice, have as is or ' sweeten ' by adding cold pressed cane juice, available as a separate order in 3 sizes. 

Sugarcane juice with Spirulina

Cane juice with cayenne pepper is a good order particularly when the location can provide freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, ask for cane juice 60/40  to spring water(Lifespan available on location) dilution for a Master Cleanse combination. This is a recommended intake at least twice per month in 16 oz volume portions, as a high antioxidant beverage which aids with inflammation and  circulation.

Sugarcane juice with cayenne pepper

For many, it may be more of a surprise to them to experience a raw vegan 'fan fare' of lunch options at a location such as ‘Veggie Meals On Wheels’ - inconspicuously nestled in the Regal Plaza, near to Cross Roads. Here, fresh vegetables are prepared daily, however, on request; this will be made available in a lunch portion at the price of a regular medium lunch. Beverages on hand often include   pressed cane juice, pineapple, Carambola or Juneplum/Star fruit.  Most juices are pre sweetened with processed sugar unlike the other named places which use fresh cane juice. Cane juice is a preferred option which the body recognizes versus unnatural sugar. It is important to ask these questions before ordering. For example, specific places do not sweeten their soursop juice, but most others have added cane juice.  Personally, I see no need for this, as the added sugar to sweet fruit juices is unnecessary and counterproductive to providing healthy options. Cane juice has its nutrient profile, antioxidant properties and added  flavour component, and need not be frowned upon.  Processed sugar on the other hand has to be broken down by the body when consumed, providing no nutrients to the body, yet taxing the internal organs and in the long run contribute to adrenal fatigue and other complications, particularly with a high fat intake. Request the sugarcane added juices whilst dining at this location.

Another location which comes to mind as a viable place for us raw foodies would be ‘24 Seven Café ’ nested in the lobby area of The Jamaica  Pegasus Hotel, on The Knutsford Blvd stretch. Request to know the fruits of the day , the likely options are Cantaloupe, Honeydew, grapes, pineapple and watermelon. Because watermelon should be had alone, it should not be included in any fruit salad combination. High hydrating fruits are not really an offensive combination with the melon family and therefore grapes with cantaloupe, honeydew and pineapple work pretty well, and can be the combination of choice for a satisfying dish, made to order on request .  I sincerely hope that these real life examples shed some light into how one may shift their way of thinking and aim to be more innovative in their vegan or more so, raw vegan journey !

~ Jan P. López