Vancity Amy
Photo taken by Nhi Le of Noyo Photography (noyophoto.com)

Not all foodies run a food blog! Amy aka VancityAmy is a prime example of this. Amy has amazing taste in food and wine and is quite the connoisseur of delicious Gluten-Free and Vegetarian dishes. If you’ve ever met Amy, she’s wonderfully sweet, bubbly, brilliant and outgoing. I recently asked Amy to share her thoughts on some of her favourite dishes and places to go since it seems to me that our city is expanding it’s knowledge and variety on Gluten-Free and diet-specific dishes!

 

Name: Amy Elderkin

Chat with her on Twitter: @VancityAmy

Her (Foodie) Specialty: Vegetarian and Gluten Free Food

Her Most Recent Discovery: I am OBSESSED with the Gluten Free Peanut Butter stuffed cookies that you can find at most Bean Around the World’s and Milano coffee shops. I cannot remember the name of the bakery, but they are gluten free and sugar free (sweetened with coconut). It’s the perfect treat on a weekend!

One Thing She Will Never Eat: Any sort of pork or bacon! I am a vegetarian so that just will not fly!

Tell us a little about yourself: I have been a vegetarian for about 7 years and feel great! I have always had a love for good food, so tweeting about it is just natural. I am blessed to work with some great people as part of POPCORN where I get to work with some great restaurants and food brands in Vancouver. It’s the perfect match of social media and food! I am very lucky. I like to balance out my constant eating with dancing at Harbour Dance centre on Thursday nights!

What Restaurant Do You Want To Try Next?: The Acorn on Main street has finally opened! I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks amazing. It’s great to have a high end vegetarian restaurant in this city. Our city is really lacking in inventive vegetarian food, so this will be a great addition to the community.

What’s a Common Misperception of Your Diet?: A lot of people worry about me getting enough protein which is just silly really. I eat a lot of beans, nuts and tofu to substitute. I also eat an excessive amount of green things which some people feel is an impossibility to incorporate in to their diets. Really, being open minded to vegetables and vegetarian food is the smart thing to do. It’s good for your body, for the environment and it just feels good!

What is Your Go-To Dish?: Kale salad! My boyfriend introduced me to the recipe and it is INSANE! It’s totally raw and amazing. You take some organic kale (I prefer the red/purple variety), and wilt the leaves a bit by massaging it. You then chop up some raw beets, avocado and almonds (roast them in a pan first for extra flavour). The dressing is a free pour to your taste of EV Olive Oil, Braggs and red wine vinegar. Pair that with a glass of Blasted Church, Hatfield’s Fuse and you are good to go.

Amy’s Top 5 Under $10:
1) Juice Truck  – (ask for the Hybrizzle AKA VancityAmy)

2) Akira Sushi  – Black rice avocado rolls

3) Bella Gelateria – a scoop of dark chocolate sorbetto

4) La Taqueria – Rajas Con Crema Taco

5) Kingyo – lunch time rice bowls or their tofu salad! A must try!