Vegan breakfast at A Votre Sante in Brentwood, CA

A Votre Sante: vegan pancakes, scrambled tofu, potatos, and fresh squeezed OJ

Vegan bakeries in L.A.

Today my office and I wanted to buy a cake for someone's birthday, and naturally I started thinking about where I could get a vegan cake. And my mind went blank. So I reached out to my Twitter friends to compile a list of vegan bakeries or places with vegan options in Los Angeles.

• A Votre Sante - Brentwood
• BabyCakes - Downtown LA
• Golden Mean Cafe - Santa Monica
• Hansen's - Beverly Hills & Tarzana
• Jamaica's Cakes - West L.A.
• Kiss My Bundt - West Hollywood
• Lark Cake Shop - Silverlake
• Little Spoon Desserts - Downtown, food trucks, Groundwork Coffee
• Madeleine Bistro - Tarzana
• Mani's Bakery - West Hollywood
• M Cafe - multiple locations
• My Sweet Cupcake - Pasadena
• Real Food Daily - Santa Monica & West Hollywood
• Seed Kitchen - Venice
• The Sensitive Baker - Culver City
• Shojin (special orders) - Downtown
• SunPower Natural (raw desserts) - Studio City
• Sprinkles
• Urth Caffe - multiple locations
• Whole Foods
• Yummy Cupcakes - Santa Monica & Burbank

Here are some bakers without store-fronts:

• Bunny Muffin Bakery
• C'est La V
• Earth Cafe (raw cake)
• Fabe's Bakery (you can find them in Whole Foods)
• The Fakery Bakery
• Fork in the Road Foods (cookies; you can find them in Whole Foods)
• Ghalia Organic Desserts
• Luscious Organic Desserts
• No Whey - they have Twinkies!!!
• Pattiseraw (raw desserts)
• Vegan Bake Sale

If I forgot anyone please comment below and I'll add them to the list. = )

Eco-Vegan Birthday

My birthday is this Saturday (first day of Spring) and I'm living it up eco-vegan style!

Today we're having a staff lunch to celebrate. I bought a beautiful Mixed Berry Cake from A Votre Sante.

The cooks at my job made a special plate of vegan nachos with refried beans, homemade guacamole, and Teese cheese - YUM!

On my actual birthday I'm going to Recess Spa to have my first eco-friendly manicure and pedicure. Can't wait! And then maybe a good meal at one of my favorite vegan spots.

Restaurants with vegan options - Los Angeles

• Kreation Kafe - Santa Monica - I haven't been here yet, but it looks delicious and I love that the menu specifies what is vegan
• A Votre Sante - Brentwood - I recommend the Dragontail (tofu), the Tempeh Burger, and the Mediterranean Platter
• Le Pain Quotidien - (many locations) - their daily soup is my favorite (it's always vegan). They also have great muffins - blueberry and apple cinnamon are vegan. 
• Mao's Kitchen - Venice & Hollywood - the Mapo Tofu is excellant.
• China Beach Bistro - Venice - Vietnamese. I'm obsessed with the Vegetarian Fried Rice (#24, no egg)
• Swingers - Santa Monica & Hollywood - they have vegan pancakes! I also like the Vegan Wrap and the Hardcore Soy Shake. Plus they're open early and late. 
• Urth Caffe - Santa Monica, West Hollywood, & Beverly Hills - I love the Portobello Mushroom Panini, and the chocolate vegan cake is heavenly!
• Organic Panificio - Marina Del Ray - only been there once and it was ok, but apparently their vegan selection is going to grow. It's a nice atmosphere. 
• Chandni - Santa Monica - an entirely vegetarian Indian restaurant with a great $8 lunch buffet
• Siamese Garden - Marina Del Ray - Thai. Nice location right next to the Venice canals. I like the vegetarian Mushroom Soup and any of their vegetarian entrées. 
• Interim Cafe - Santa Monica - I love the Tofu Scramble and Tofu Steak sandwich. 

Entirely Vegan

• Real Food Daily - Santa Monica & West Hollywood - the ultimate vegan restaurant. I get the Burger with the Works 95% of the time. I also love the Better with Chedder Nachos, Ying Yang Salad, Chocolate Pudding, Oreo Cake, and the cookies. 
• Native Foods - Westwood - similar to RFD. My favorites: Portobello & Sausage Burger, Soul Bowl, Mama Mia pizza, and Peanut Butter Parfait.
• California Vegan - Santa Monica & Hollywood - Thai. I love the yellow curry. 
• Raw, by Juliano - Santa Monica - Raw. One of my favorite restaurants in town. I love the Pesto Pizza. I've heard great things about the Chocolate Parfait. 
• Euphoria loves RAWvolution - Santa Monica - Raw. My favorites: Cocophoria, Mock Tuna, Eggless Egg Salad, Marinated Greens, Chocolate Coconut Haystacks, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

BYOBag & container

Today I got take out one of my favorite organic restaurants, A Votre Sante in Brentwood, and I made sure to tell them "no bag and no utensils". Whenever I get take-out I always bring my own bag and never take their plastic utensils or napkins.  

I also recently started bringing my own to-go container to some places, for my leftovers. And, I when I order over the phone from another one of my favs, China Beach Bistro in Venice, I also tell them I'll bring my own container. When I arrive there I hand them my container and they put my take out in it (or else they'll use styrofoam)!

Also, consider buying glass food containers over the standard plastic (like Tupperware). Chemicals from the plastic can leak into your food, and glass is also more durable.