Thanksgiving in Ottawa – Veggie Style!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend! It was such a perfect weekend for me to get away. My boyfriend decided to take me to Ottawa for the weekend. I had never seen Parliament, and it was about time! I also knew that Ottawa had some other amazing things to offer – so we took off and had a fun filled, veggie eating weekend.

I was also actually surprised to find out that Ottawa had quite a bit to offer in the way of vegetarian, healthy living and local fair. It was so nice be completely accommodated for in a new city. We frequented a delicious restaurant called The Table. It is buffet style, and I am normally not one for a buffet – but this was the freshest and tastiest buffet I have ever been too. I don’t even really want to call it a buffet, but it was more like a table topped with organic, local and vegetarian goodies – and mostly gluten free too! The first night we were there, I was in heaven, I just filled up my plate with quinoa, squash, cabbage, broccoli, tempeh, spinach and seaweed, lentil dhal. I love when I can pick and choose everything what I want on my plate (especially when I am not home). I also love when all the ingredients are listed for me on a little card, so I know exactly what is in it!

So being more than satisfied the first night – we made sure to come back on our way back to Toronto – here is what my take out dish looked like! Can you say YUM!!!

We were also so lucky to find an amazing Farmer’s Market on Sunday morning. It had such a nice community feel and was loaded with some goodies. We went there on an empty stomach – which is never a good idea but we found some local pears and carrots to munch on. There was so much amazing produce, but I didn’t have a kitchen to cook in or else I would have gone wild! Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, squashes, greens – all of the ingredients for the perfect fall harvest vegetarian warming meal! I had to hold back and now I will have to wait until next weekend at the Brickworks market to stock up.

After we left the market, I was still hungry of course – and we were lucky enough to find this cozy little bakery called The Wild Oat – which featured an amazing menu like toasted spelt veggie sandwiches, salads and soups. So we sat down to a chai latte and a toasted spelt sandwich with tahini and roasted veggies. It was fantastic!

We spent the rest of the day perusing through Ottawa, the Byward Market, Parliament Hill, The Rideau Canal and other little nooks. So I have to say, for a first trip to Ottawa, I was not only impressed with the city itself and all of it’s history but the amazing culture and organic veggie food that it had to offer!

BY the WAY: For those of your with your FAVOURITE VEGGIE MEAL posted on my blog – tomorrow is the day where I am going to list the top three picks (so you still have today to GET POSTING!) and then YOU my readers will vote which ones (out of the three) are your favourite posts and why! Then the lucky winner will be selected, contacted and will attend any one of my classes for FREE!