August 2024: Plant-Based Updates from Melissa

My latest cruise and eating tips, back to school, eggplant and apple recipes for the fall.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! It's great to be back home after a fantastic vacation cruising the Mediterranean. I have a lot to share from my trip, which I will be doing over the next few months of this newsletter. 

I always hear from people who have traveled to Italy (and Rome in particular) that they loved the gelato. And having read “Eat, Pray, Love” I expected it would be mind-blowing. But my reaction was eh - just OK. Not as good as virtually any ice cream I have had. And I know everyone on TikTok says to make sure to look for authentic gelato with a covered metal lid instead of in a mound, but let me tell you, we could not find any like that in the ports.

But what I did find and love in Cadiz, Spain, was lemon granita! Perfectly cold but not solid, and flecked with lemon zest and tart lemon juice - it reminded me of the homemade “water ice” at authentic Italian places I could find growing up in Philadelphia.

Here are some of my tips for healthy vegan and vegetarian eating on cruises.

Back to School

It's not too soon to start to think about back to school, so please check out these ideas for breakfast and snacks.

• Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

• 21 Terrific Vegan and Vegetarian Breakfast Ideas for Teens

  I have just perfected a zucchini muffin recipe: look for it on Instagram and I’ll share it in the next newsletter.

Seasonal Recipe Roundups for Not Entirely Average

• Eggplant Extravaganza – 10 Must-Try Recipes for This Summer

• Fall in Love with These 10 Apple Recipes

Probably the very best thing that I tasted on this trip was sticky toffee pudding. If you have a favorite recipe please click on reply and send it to me - I will definitely be making that at home!

Cagliari, Sardinia

-Melissa