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When I went vegan in 1995, it was pretty easy to find tasty and healthy vegan food, but there wasn't a lot of variety. Now, the market is full of vegan versions of everything you can possibly imagine. It's easier than ever to satisfy all your food cravings, while maintaining a cruelty-free diet.

Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, chances are there is a little health food store tucked away somewhere that has some vegan options. If not, the internet is your friend. I now eat almost entirely raw vegan food, but before then, here are the online stores where I found all the vegan food I needed….  [Full article]

There are many restaurants in Asheville that have vegan or raw food options. Some are fantastic while others are quite disappointing. I'm listing all the restaurants I've tried, whether they are worth eating at or not, so don't assume a place has good vegan or raw food just because it's on this list.

This post reviews Laughing Seed Cafe, Ophelia's, Rosetta's Kitchen, Early Girl Eatery, Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria, Mela Indian Restaurant, and Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.  [Full article]

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I eat almost all raw and unprocessed foods now, so I rarely need to think about gluten anymore. But when I first had to give up the gluten, I found many foods that helped me with the transition. All these foods are easy to find at Whole Foods or other natural food stores. Many regular chain grocery stores have these items as well, but you'll get a better sense of what's available by going to a natural food store in the beginning. Gluten-free products are almost always labeled. If a product says "wheat-free" you can bet it is NOT gluten-free. Here's a list of grains with and without gluten.  [Full article]

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I've been immensely impressed with the raw and vegan selections at grocery stores in Asheville. None of them have everything, but a few of them have an awful lot. Around here, just about any grocery store will have plenty of vegan options and good organic local produce to take home. I'm listing here only those grocery stores that seem to go above and beyond in their raw and vegan offerings.

• Earth Fare
  675 Merrimon Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-1281
  Vegan: The first time I saw Earth Fare's refrigerated section, I nearly wept tears of joy. They have the widest selection of prepared vegan meals and snacks I've ever seen. I've tried most of them, even the gluten-licious ones I'm not supposed to eat. Chicken nuggets, dumplings, chickpea "tuna" salad, quinoa salad, mushroom cakes, BBQ tofu, and a seaweed salad that I am addicted to. I regret that I never tried their delicious-looking tiramasu and other amazing pies, cakes, and cookies and have sinse sworn off sugar - for real this time. I don't especially recommend their hot and cold food bar. It's an ok place to eat if you're hungry and always has a lot of vegan options, but the food tends to be mediocre.
  Raw: Earth Fare often has one or two raw entrees in its refrigerated isle. The raw lasagna is worth trying once but it's too hard to eat and isn't earth-shattering. Their collard wraps are a nice treat. Sometimes they have really good flax seed crackers, but they are very expensive. They have a good selection of raw nut butters, agave, snack bars, and other pre-packaged raw foods and also carry the incredibly delicious but expensive containers of raw chocolate truffles.
• Greenlife Grocery
  70 Merrimon Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-1281
  Vegan: Greenlife has a small hot and cold food bar, but it is much smaller than Earth Fare's. Still, it always has hot vegan options in addition to salad. Their deli case and refrigerated section has a decent selection of vegan food. It may sound dull, but they really have a way with tofu. Try the Green Gorilla smoothie. I think it's even raw, but I'm not 100% sure.
  Raw: Greenlife has the best raw food selection in town. They have very little in the way of raw prepared meals or deli items, but they have an entire section of the store devoted to hard-to-find raw snacks and ingredients. For items that you can find at Earth Fare, Greenlife has them cheaper, such as those little heavenly chocolate truffles. Their produce usually (not always) seems to be fresher and less expensive than Earth Fare. They often have organic produce items that Earth Fare does not.
• Haywood Road Market
  771 Haywood Rd.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)225-4445
  Vegan: This is a small co-op, but much of the store is devoted to vegan items. They have a small refrigerated section with many vegan meals and snacks and the other standard packaged vegan foods.
  Raw: I love that this co-op exists and is so close to where I live. I hate to say anything bad about it. But they have almost nothing in the way of raw food. You can pick up your spices and maybe some dates and agave nectar, but not much else. They don't carry any raw nut butters (although I have requested it). What's most unfortunate is that their produce tends to be way past it's prime to the point of being gross. But I do support them as much as possible by buying any non-food items there. They also host the West Asheville farmer's market every Wednesday from 3:30-6:30, which always has great stuff.

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