Indigo Age Cafe which is 100% vegan restaurant in Vancouver is also known for being one of the few restaurants that is gluten-free. We also only serve organic almond milk which we make in-house and serve fresh daily to provide an alternative to milk for our warm beverages as well as smoothies. Soy milk is not a healthy alternative because soy is known to be thyroid-suppressive, meaning it can cause glandular imbalances which is dangerous for those with hypothyroidism, as written in David Wolfe’s “Longevity Now” newest book. He also specifies that just two servings per week of soy may influence hormone metabolism.
Also 90% of all soybeans have been modified in North America, so the chances of any soy product (soy cheese, soy milk, soy burger) being a GMO product is very high. Essentially, now every soy bean is hybridized so far out of the natural wild state, so switching to almond or hemp milk may be a more wholesome idea. You can buy our almond milk to go, both original and with turmeric and spices known as our “Golden mylk!”
Grains are also hybridized foods, known also as weak seeds, which also means they won’t metabolize properly. Cooked grains, and to some extent sprouted grains, such as rice and oats, and especially gluten in wheat, may leave behind a gummy protein residue that will cause digestive irritation. The best way to take grains into your diet is to sprout and cook a wholesome grain like quinoa and millet (no true grains but they are closer to their wild state). They have a higher ratio of fat to protein than other grains, although they are protein-dominant.
That’s why you will find quinoa on our menu and not brown rice. Vegan restaurants with a raw food focus have a tendency to build their recipes around the nutrition of nuts and seeds such as flax and hemp seeds; and that is also how we make the plant-based protein in our signature vegan burgers known as the Addiction Burger and Portobello Burger.
Seeds in our opinion is one of the best foods you could eat, if you think about it, Nature has invested so much in one seed for the potential for the quick growth of a new plant. Therefore they contain phosphoric compounds and are acidic in nature, but they are more digestible than nuts. They also contain more protein than nuts, think about hemp seeds which are the ultimate protein alternative as they are also rich in omega 3 and 6. A couple of spoonfuls of hemp seeds packs a serious amount of essential nutrients, which is why we sprinkle hemp seeds on our signature kale salad for a complete protein meal! They have a pleasant nutty taste, like a cross between a sunflower seed and a pine nut. You can get hemp protein as an add-on to our smoothies as well as in the Muscle Mylk-shake, blended with cacao, banana and peanut butter.
I visited Vancouver and had the pleasure of visiting your wonderful restaurant a couple of times over the last weekend. i would really appreciate it if you could share the receipe for the Addiction Burger with me.