Minneapolis Archives - PlantBasedMN

Finding Plant-Based Street Food in Summer

We spent the afternoon looking for plant-based street food at Open Streets Minneapolis Lake Street.

Looking east on Lake Street during Open Streets Minneapolis festival.

People often think you can’t find plant-based street food options at summer festivals.

Just last year I mentioned to a coworker that I was going to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. She asked why I’d even bother, since I wouldn’t eat anything there anyway. It got me thinking: Too often people just assume that events like these aren’t going to be fun for you if you’re not eating the food. For us that simply isn’t the case. We are there to enjoy the experience, surroundings, and people, not the food. To paraphrase Joel Fuhrman (who himself is paraphrasing multiple historic figures) we would rather eat to live than live to eat.

Thankfully, we are finding that over time there are more and more food options available for plant-based eaters at local and regional festivals. Although the selection can be limited, it’s heartening to see the improvements.

Take for example Minneapolis Open Streets on Lake Street this past Sunday. We went up and down the entire length of the festival at least twice and managed to find multiple vendors offering foods friendly to plant-based eaters. While it may not seem like much, it’s a big improvement over previous years.

The City of Minneapolis sets up portable drinking fountains with bottle-filling attachments to keep thirsty revelers hydrated.

Plant-Based Street Food Highlights from Sunday

Free organic sweet corn courtesy of the Midtown Farmers Market.
Free fruit-infused water courtesy of the Minneapolis Health Department.
Multiple vendors selling fresh fruits, including mangoes, pineapple and watermelon.
Plain grilled corn with nothing added.
Fruit-based ice lollies from Frio Frio that are plant-based friendly.

Grabbing a quick mango is a great plant-based street food option in summer.

In Minnesota it’s not real street food until you put it on a stick!

Besides the plant-based food, there was live music, dancing, free bike tune-ups, art and artists working in real time, and just the excitement of being able to use a normally busy thoroughfare as a pedestrian zone. This is the only time I would ever consider riding my bike down Lake Street.

In addition to scoping out food at the festival, we also packed a snack just in case we weren’t able to find anything. Generally speaking this is a really good idea, because you just never know what to expect. We’re looking forward to the next Open Streets event to see what other plant-based offerings we might find.

What do you do to get through summer festival season and maintain your plant-based diet? Let us know in the comments!

July 25, 2016 by Theresa

Budget-friendly, Lifestyle, Shopping

My Favorite Farmers Market Tips

Here’s what $10 bought us at the market last Saturday: collard greens, summer squash, broccoli, and 5 lbs of potatoes!

For me, eating plant-based isn’t just a diet, it’s a lifestyle. When I changed the way I was eating, it had an effect on nearly every part of my life, and I mean that in the best way possible. I started to change my perspective on many things and open myself up to new ideas and activities.

One of the things I started to appreciate much more after becoming plant-based was the farmers market. Once a casual observer of going to the market, it became a near-necessity after switching to a plant-based diet. With farmers market season just getting underway here in Minnesota, I thought this would be a perfect time to share my favorite farmers market shopping tips:

Midtown Farmers Market in Minneapolis on a perfect June day.

Walk the entire market before buying anything. Get a feel for the variety, pricing, and quality of what’s available before committing to your purchase.
Go later in the day. This seems counter-intuitive, but this is a tip that has worked well for me. At the end of the market day, I’ve had an extra squash or two thrown in my bag or a 2 for 1 deal on bunches of kale. I find that the produce is just as fresh as it was in the morning and very rarely miss out on the variety. And bonus–you get to sleep in!
Get to know your growers! Not only does this make going to the market more fun, but developing a relationship with the people who grow your veggies makes it even more likely you can get some of the deals I just mentioned!
Go as often as possible! At the height of the summer, our local market meets twice a week and we make it count! Market season is the best time of year to buy produce that is fresh, affordable and local. Buying in-season fruits and vegetables ensures the best taste and pricing.

Where we live in Minneapolis, there are tons of neighborhood farmers markets. Many not only offer fresh, local produce, but also live music, games, and food trucks! I’m a big fan of the Midtown Farmers Market close to our home, which is open every Saturday (and Tuesday starting in June). Visit this link to find your neighborhood farmers market!

July 4, 2016 by Theresa