Wondering where to get the best Tulum vegan eats? Keep reading…

If you’re planning a trip to Tulum and are wondering how the vegan options are going to be, fear not. I literally think Tulum was one of the most vegan-friendly places I’ve ever visited. It was honestly on par with LA, and seemed to surpass other big US cities like DC or San Diego in my experience.

However, just because there are vegan options doesn’t always mean they’re good. I had some hit or miss experiences while dining in Tulum, but there is definitely a lot of good dining options for vegans, vegetarians, or flexitarians. In fact, half of this list is places that aren’t solely vegan, so they have options for your not-so-vegan friends too!

Norita – Aldea Zama

While Norita’s menu isn’t fully vegan, its chef is a former vegetarian (now a self-proclaimed “flexitarian”) so there are a lot of great options. I put this at the top of my list (although it’s not necessarily in order) because it was definitely the most inventive menu I tried while in Tulum, which is always what I value highest when eating out. I tried the Zucchini Tempura, which consisted of: Gluten-free marinated zucchini slices wrapped in nori seaweed, then deep fried served with smoked eggplant puree, fried yam and arugula pesto. This was sooo good! There were so many textures and flavors and I loved how the chef incorporated different flavors from Asian, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern cuisines.

When I first visited Norita, I co-worked there during the day (it was very quiet and a great spot for that), and got the vegan Caesar salad and the Key Avo Lime pie. Both were super light, tasty, and vegan, although tbh the Caesar salad didn’t really taste like a traditional Caesar.

The Pitted Date – Aldea Zama

Can you say breakfast goals? Both breakfast sandwiches I tried from this vegan spot aimed to please, and I feel like I could’ve gone at least 5 more times and gotten something equally delicious for breakfast. This spot, which also has an outpost in Playa Del Carmen, is another potentially good co-working spot, although in my experience it can be pretty busy. Not only in that there may not be tables, but it was short-staffed both times I visited and things took a bit long (to be fair, they warned me it would).

La Hoja Verde – El Centro

You know how people like fast food restaurants because they know what to expect? Sometimes I feel that way about vegan restaurants. No matter if you’re in Bangkok, Madrid, or Tulum, you can bet that a vegan spot like La Hoja Verde will have cute e-girl-ish servers, digital nomads working away at the tables, a super-tatted couple that looks straight off Tumblr, and some kombucha. La Hoja Verde probably had one of the most expansive vegan menus of the spots I visited, and although I only got to try their pizza, it was super tasty and I would definitely go back!

Burrito Amor – La Veleta

The atmosphere of Burrito Amor is very Venice beach-y to me, and so is their menu. It’s got lots of juices, tonics, and smoothies, but also fan-favorite burritos and a vegan chilaquiles dish for brunch that was all sorts of delicious. If you’re looking for an affordable spot that’s a mix between local and tourist, this is your spot. I feel like it’s a good bet that everyone will be relatively happy here. My first meal left me unimpressed (I got the vegan burrito, which was fine but just kind of average), and the guac which I definitely don’t recommend. It was super plain and unseasoned—almost tasted like the kind you buy pre-packaged from the grocery store. However, other people I know swear by their vegetarian (cheese makes everything better) and shrimp burritos, so maybe it’s just the vegan burrito that’s lacking. I did really enjoy my falafel salad and chilaquiles the other times I visited though, and the atmosphere is really nice.

Bonita’s – El Centro

Love stories are better when they end in onion rings, and that’s exactly how Bonita’s came to be. The two owners met in Tulum, fell in love, and opened this beachy burger joint which has lots of vegan options (including some delicious vegan nachos—ask for extra guac), and great options for your meat + fish eating friends as well.

Lief’s – La Veleta

Lief’s is technically a food truck, but the little wooden tables and bar make it more like a casual, outdoor restaurant (also a great late night coffee + dessert spot). It’s fully vegan, and while the menu is minimal, the sandwich I had was super tasty.

Raw Love – Hotel District + El Centro

If you were out all partying all night and need a delicious detox, Raw Love may be your move. With two locations (the other is in El Centro), the raw vegan restaurant offers Acai bowls, juices, a super tasty avocado toast, and a “raw pizza” (obviously does not taste anything like real pizza, but still good).

Kin Toh – Hotel District

Okay, we all know this treehouse-like restaurant is more about the Instagram pics and views than the food, but the food was surprisingly bomb too. Although they had limited vegan options, the vegan entrée option did not feel like an afterthought at all and I ate every last bite. There were so many textures and flavors within the dish that really made it stand out. They also made us fabulous mocktails. 

Kitchen Table – Hotel District

Another spot with a really fun and always-changing menu, this restaurant is very classic Tulum vibes (think outdoor seating with an open outdoor kitchen and a jungle trail to the bathroom). Everything we had here was delicious and the service was excellent as well!

Tierra – Aldea Zama

I made the mistake of visiting Holistika’s restaurant, Tierra, when one of their seminars had let out, and the restaurant was absolutely packed. I snagged one of the last seats at the bar, but it seemed like every few minutes someone was walking up to the bar to pay their tab, complain about the waiter going MIA, etc.

The business of the restaurant made it feel like I was in LA–and not really in a good way—which kind of soiled the experience for me. I got some sandwich that I don’t see on their current menu, and it was fine but nothing to write home about. However, some of my friends love this place, so maybe I just went at a bad time!

More spots…

There are definitely some vegan spots I didn’t get a chance to visit, so I’ll list them below in case you want to check them out and tell me what I missed (or what I need to check out next time I visit).

Other spots: Laylo Tulum Vegan Lounge, El Vegetariano Mar y Tierra, Co.ConAmor, Charly’s Vegan Tacos, Macondo at Nomade

Feel free to comment below with any additional questions!

Looking for the best non alcoholic bottled drinks to sip on while you take a break from booze (for now or forever)? Here are my faves.

To drink or not to drink? That is the question.

For you it might just be a question you ask yourself on January 1st when you wake up hungover from way too many glasses of champagne. For me, it’s a question I ask myself nearly every time I go out.

I took a month off of drinking in December of 2016, and I ended up keeping my “Dry December” going for about three years. It was just this past summer that I really started getting a lil tipsy again—but now I only drink champagne and I skip the tequila shots.

Needless to say, I like to think I know a bit about the non-alcoholic beverage options you need in your life if you’re taking a break from your beloved vodka-sodas or French 75s.

Here are the best non alcoholic bottled drinks.

1. TÖST

TÖST, $17.99

Out of this entire list, TÖST is definitely the one you want to bring to your classy (and instagrammable) summer soiree.

The bottles are super cute and will blend in perfectly with all your friends’ rosé drinks, and the look of TÖST when poured into a glass is similar to that of Champagne or Prosecco.

The taste of TÖST is a bit sweeter than your standard dry brut, but this is still definitely a great option for those who are sober and longing for a glass of bubbly.

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2. Honeydrop

Honeydrop Cayenne Honey Lemonade, $25 for a 6-pack

Certain flavors of Honeydrop lemonade are kind of like a classy cocktail, minus the booze. My personal favorite is the cayenne honey flavor for a little kick.

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3. Wild Tonic

Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha, Mango Ginger, $2.96

As far as kombuchas go (and I am a big fan of kombucha), Wild Tonic might have the prettiest bottles I’ve ever seen. Their flavors all sound equally fabulous—from mango ginger to raspberry goji rose to blueberry basil.

If I’m honest, the flavors don’t taste quite as exciting as they sound, but the bottles are so pretty and these jun kombuchas are not as potent as standard kombuchas, which means they’re a good option even for your friend who isn’t a fan of the ‘booch.

Oh, and if when February 1st runs around you’re back to boozin’, they have hard kombuchas in the same exact flavors!

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4. Ginger Beer

Fever Tree Premium Ginger Beer, 4 Count, $4.99

As soon as I quit drinking, ginger beer became my go-to. Not only because I love all things ginger, but because most bars (even really shitty, dive-y ones) have ginger beer behind the bar.

In fact, a lot of people (even some servers I’ve had at restaurants) don’t even realize ginger beer is non-alcoholic. I’ve totally had random guys buy me a ginger beer at the bar, and they probably thought they were getting me one step closer to getting tipsy and accepting their invitation to dance.

I like Fever Tree’s Ginger Beer because it comes in a bottle like a real beer and sort of reminds me of champagne because it’s light and bubbly, but I like Gosling’s too and that’s usually what they have behind the bar at most spots.

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5. Fre Wines

Fre Non Alcoholic Wine Premium Blend, $18.74

If you’re desperately missing the flavor and body of a red wine but are off the booze, Fre Alcohol-Removed Wines are probably your best bet.

You might be thinking, “isn’t that just glorified grape juice with a steeper price tag?” But it’s not. Fre wines are made the same way that regular wines are made (fermentation and all that jazz), but they use a “state of the art spinning technology” to remove the alcohol post-fermentation. It really does taste pretty dang close to red wine, but of course it’s missing the warmth and flavor of the alcohol (mostly in the aftertaste).

And also, regarding the price tag, it’s $18 on Amazon where I linked it. But, if you go to their website and find a store near you, you can probably find it cheaper. I bought mine at a local liquor store for about $7.99.

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6. Frassers

Frassers Hemp-Infused Peach Green Tea, $42/pack of 6

If you’ve sworn off alcohol but are down with CBD (not to be confused with THC), you might want to try Frassers’ iced teas.

Think of them like your traditional Arizona Iced Teas, but with a super flavorful twist. I prefer the peach green tea because I’m not a big fan of hibiscus, but I can get down with their hibiscus tea too.

As for the CBD, I’m not really sure if it actually does anything, which is how I feel about all CBD products. But, they do donate a percentage of their profits to local social justice organizations in Venice Beach, which is rad.

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7. Spirity Cocktails

Spirity Cocktails Margarita, $14.99 for a 4-pack

Want a quick margarita, negroni, or mule that won’t leave you stalking your ex’s new girlfriend on Instagram? Spirity Cocktails has the solution.

They launched their three non alcoholic beverage options in September of 2020 and are sold exclusively on Amazon.

While again, they don’t really taste exactly like the real thing, they’re a fun and easy option. Plus, chances are your drunk friends won’t even realize that what you’re sipping on is zero-proof.

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8. Liquid Death

Liquid Death Sparkling Water 12 Pack, $15.99

Okay, so this isn’t exactly a “drink,” but this is the coolest looking water (still or sparkling) you’ll ever find, IMO. And really, if I brought this to a bar or a party and was chugging it, I know for sure that all the tipsy people there would think it was a beer.

Their branding is fucking sick. They’re all about saying “F U” to plastic with aluminum cans and by donating 10% of profits to nonprofits that fight our plastic problem.

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Comin’ at you with another gluten-free vegan meal-prep recipe!

This recipe was inspired by Brandi Doming, creator of The Vegan 8. She shared her meatless bean balls recipe with me and I ended up making one week’s lunches around them!

Below is Brandi’s recipe for the meatless bean balls, and if you keep scrolling you’ll find my recipe for the zoodles that I paired them with.

Meatless Bean Balls:

PREP: 25 minutes

COOK: 38 minutes

YIELDS: 5 servings

3⁄4 packed cup (120g) finely diced red onion

1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry, or 1 1⁄2 cups cooked (255g)

4 tablespoons (60g) tomato paste

2 tablespoons (30g) vegan Worcestershire

1 to 2 teaspoons (2 to 5g) mild chili powder

1 teaspoon (3g) smoked paprika

1⁄2 teaspoon (3g) fine salt

1⁄4 teaspoon (1g) ground black pepper

1⁄4 cup (40g) fine cornmeal

1⁄4 cup (40g) brown rice flour

Parchment paper

1. Add the onion and 3 tablespoons (45g) water to a small stainless steel pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the water is gone, cook for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly, to brown the onions a bit. This will give the balls a lot of flavor. Turn the heat down if the onion is browning too quickly.

2. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

3. Add the cooked onions, chickpeas, tomato paste, and Worcestershire to a food processor, and pulse several times or just until the chickpeas are broken up into smaller pieces and have a rough, chunky texture. Don’t puree this. You will need to scrape the sides after the first pulse. If there are whole chickpeas remaining, then mash them with a fork so no whole chickpeas remain. Set aside.

4. Add the chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cornmeal, and rice flour to a large bowl, and whisk well. Add the chickpea mixture to the spice mixture; stir and press the mixture together for several minutes until it is well moistened and comes together. Using your hands, form the mixture into a sticky, cohesive ball. You will need to rotate and knead the mixture several times.

5. Scoop 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of chickpea mixture out, and press together to form a ball. The mixture is too delicate to roll into balls with my palms, but I found placing a ball in one hand while pressing and piecing it together with my fingertips worked well. Just make sure each ball is compact and smooth. This will yield 15 balls. Place them on the prepared pan.

6. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes, flip over, and bake 15 more minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes so they can firm up. Store any extra in the fridge.

7. If desired, serve with pasta and sauce. Add the desired amount of sauce to a large stainless steel pan over medium-low heat. Add only the balls you want to eat at that time to the sauce and rotate them carefully for 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through. The balls will soften too much if stored in the sauce overnight.

Nutrition per serving: 158 calories | 2.3g fat | 6.3g protein | 29.8g carbs | 5.8g fiber |

5.4g sugar | 519 mg sodium

Ashley’s Notes:

• I used Trader Joe’s Soyaki Sauce to replace the vegan Worchestire.
• I used Trader Joe’s all-purpose gluten free flour instead of brown rice flour and it seemed to work fine.
• I found that this made closer to four servings for me (I ate 3-4  meatballs per serving), but maybe I made larger meatballs than I was supposed to.
• I only have a tiny food processor, so I used it to mash the chickpeas, then mixed the rest with a fork. If you don’t have a food processor, you should be able to do it all with a fork.

Zoodles:

2 packages Pre-Cut Zucchini Noodles (you can also totally make your own, but for meal-preps I’m all about convenience)

1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes

1-2 cans of artichoke hearts

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 can tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Tomato Sauce)

1 bag of pre-cut broccoli

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

2. Distribute broccoli even across sheet pan. Drizzle about 1 TBS olive oil over the broccoli and sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and oregano on top. Mix to distribute the oil and spices.

3. Cook for 20 minutes.

4. Make zoodles according to package instructions (the ones I bought were microwavable, but you can also make them in the oven or on the stove). Drain and distribute evenly into 4 tupperware.

5. Cut entire package of tomatoes in halves and distribute evenly into the 4 tupperware.

6. Open artichoke hearts can, drain, and cut roughly into bite-sized pieces (1/2s or 1/3s should be fine). Distribute evenly into the 4 tupperware.

7. When broccoli is done, distribute evenly into the four tupperware.

8. Sprinkle garlic salt, dried oregano, crushed red pepper, pepper, and any other spices you may like atop the four tupperware. You definitely can just sprinkle them instead of measuring, but in case you’re a newbie I figured measurements were nice to have.

For meal prep purposes, I waited to do these last two steps until the morning before I planned on eating them, just to make sure the meatballs and zoodles didn’t get soggy. But if you want to do this all at once you’ll probably be fine.

6. Distribute three tablespoons of tomato sauce into each tupperware, mix so that it coats ingredients evenly.

7. Place 3-4 meatballs in each tupperware.

8. When you’re ready to eat — microwave anywhere from 2-4 minutes (this really depends on the speed of your microwave and your tupperware — err on the lower end to start).

Viola! As I’m sure you can tell from the recipe, the meatballs are the complicated part, the rest are super simple. But even the meatballs were pretty simple and not a lot of cutting was necessary (that’s the part that always seems to take the longest IMO). I’m all for a protein source that doesn’t utilize gluten or other sus ingredients, and these meatballs def did the trick!

Looking for an easy vegan meal prep? Feel free to skip this block of text and get to the good stuff 🙂

In case you missed it, in the last two weeks I moved to LA and started a full-time job!

I’m definitely going to write a post on moving/my decision to take a hiatus from the digital nomad life/etc. (if you want to read about the feelings that somewhat led me to this decision, read this), but I want to make sure I have proper time to write it all out, and these past two weeks have been totally crazy and I haven’t had much time to sit down and write!

But, I did somehow have time to write a recipe for what I brought for lunch this week, so I’m sharing this with you here!

It’s a super, super simple recipe (as are most things I make for myself on the daily), but my co-worker asked for the recipe after eye-balling my lunch, so I decided to write one up all officially and send it to her. 

And honestly, it was so fun to write up a little recipe! After always reading recipes, and giving cooking tips via text to friends (and more realistically, all the men I date), it was cool to write my own. 

Anyway, I know everyone hates all the text on top of a recipe post, so sorry. Enjoy! (and sorry for the extremely low quality pictures—I hardly have any cooking supplies and I was not planning on making my lunch into a blog post!). 

Here’s what you need:

• 2 cups rice (I use Success Boil in Bag Brown Rice)
• 12 oz. Brussels sprouts (one bag will do)
• 1 bunch Kale (~8 stalks)
• 1 can cannellini beans (although any beans in your pantry will do)
• 1 zucchini 
• 1 TBS whatever sauce/dip you have in the fridge (I used Hope Foods Spicy Guacamole Hummus)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crushed Red Pepper or Red Cayenne Pepper
• Garlic Powder

Makes about 3-4 servings

This recipe is not an exact science, so feel free to adjust amounts of whatever—it’ll still turn out good!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line two large sheet pans with aluminum foil 
3. Cut Brussels sprouts in half, cut zucchini into bite size pieces, and rip up bite size pieces of kale (you can also cut them with a knife, I just always do it with my hands)
4. Arrange vegetables flat (or close to flat) on the two pans, then drizzle a generous amount of olive oil evenly over both pans.
5. Use your hands (or a spatula) to mix all vegetables so they’re evenly coated in oil (you can also do this part in a bowl for maximum even distribution, I just don’t like having to wash an additional dish).
6. Sprinkle a generous portion of salt, pepper, red pepper, and garlic powder over all vegetables. Feel free to add any additional spices as desired. 
7. Cook for 15-20 minutes (you may want to check on the zucchini and take it out earlier). Remove when the kale and Brussels are slightly burnt/crispy. 
8. While the veggies are cooking, cook rice according to instructions on the box and open cannellini beans.
9. Distribute ingredients evenly in bowls, starting with the rice as a base, then adding the Brussels sprouts, zucchini, kale, and beans. Add a dollop (or drizzle) of sauce on top. Sprinkle additional salt and pepper as needed. 

Here’s the visual assembly process for your viewing pleasure…

When I first made this, I had a super tiny sheet pan in my rental apartment so I ended up making the kale and zucchini one day, then the Brussels sprouts and rice the next day, then combining it the next day. The beauty of this recipe is you can kind of mix and match!