I had my first Pulp Kitchen sandwich years ago during a jaunt to the east end for brunch. In a word it was: heavenly. That was way back when Pulp Kitchen was on the north side of the street at Queen and Logan.
Pulp Kitchen has moved locations a few times since then, but it’s been a Riverside staple for almost 15 years now. Owner, Marie Crawford, stays true to her mission of making healthy food more available for everyone.Pulp Kitchen prides itself on their lunch combos, which they say is one of the most affordable in the city (in terms of healthy food, of course). You can get a sandwich and a fresh pressed juice for 10 bucks. If you’re into juices and smoothies, then you know this is a steal!
Although it’s a vegetarian eatery, it doesn’t advertise itself as such. Marie prefers to stay away from labels and just focus on health. My kind of gal! Instead, she ensures that all her food is made fresh daily and contains all the nutrients the body needs. PK uses local and organic products when possible and offer a range of juices, smoothies, soups, salads and sandwiches.
When I visited Marie in the PK shop on Queen East, we decided to make the “Vitality” green smoothie because it’s popular, nutritious and easy for you to make at home. If you follow me on social media you will see that I am a sucker for a good smoothie. I have one almost every day. They’re quick and easy to make, you can pack a ton of healthy, whole foods into them and they’re portable. Plus, because they’re pureed, they’re easy to digest. Win. Win. Win.
In addition to Kale, Marie uses ginger and cayenne pepper in this smoothie, which is an interesting addition. It adds a flavour kick and a nutritional punch as well. Cayenne is known to increase metabolism as well as support the immune system and ginger is good for just about everything including supporting digestion, reducing inflammation and fighting pathogens.
- 1 cup frozen chopped
banana - 1 (overflowing) cup of ripped kale
- 1 tbsp juice of ginger root
- 1 cup unpasteurized apple juice
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 23g veggie protein
- Add all ingredients into blender and mix until well combined and creamy!
- * GINGER JUICING TIP: to get juice from
ginger root without a juicer: simply grate ginger root on smallest setting of a hand grater. Collect resulting pulp from inside and squeezeginger pulp in hand until all the juice comes out!
Happy blending!
KD
