On my way to the Whole Foods Market I always pass Notting Hill Gate and there is this cafe/smoothie bar, called ‘Crussh’. I really liked there logo and name and it just looks very appealing. Also.. reviewing smoothies is never a problem, so I went for it. I went before Christmas (I know little late to post it now, sorry!) and I was having a terrible cough at the time. They say they serve ‘fit food’, so I thought, that is what I need. I needed to be fit again! Loading myself up with a boost of vitamins and goodness, seemed like a great idea.
They have a lot of choice and you can even add extra shots of extra healthy things. Great to cure my cough, haha! I went for a strawberry smoothie and added an echinacea booster. As it was lunch time, I also ordered an avocado, red pepper and cashew nut tapenade wrap. Doesn’t that sound awesome?! It sounds awesome.. but it tasted even better. It was a super delicious wrap, with lots of nice, fresh and crunchy veggies. I really enjoyed that. They do have a few more vegan options for eating.. like a sweet potato falafel salad wrap! Gosh, that I do need to try too. The smoothie was really good too, sweet and fruity. I should come here for lunch more often.
Like I said earlier, I really like their design, the logo and the name. It’s simple, but catchy. I went to the one in Notting Hill Gate and I like that one, because you can sit upstairs. It’s quite big and because it’s upstairs, it’s quiet too. They have comfy sofa’s , but also proper tables and chairs. It’s perfect to bring your laptop and so some work (I might do that next week actually!). They have quite a lot of locations, which you can all find on their website. Go have a look to find out where the nearest one is for you. Their website is amazing btw, because you can find all their food there and filter the vegan food. How handy?! There is so much choice too. Crussh is definitely worth a visit!
WHO? Crussh.
WHERE? 59 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3JS.
CUISINE? Fit food.
VEGAN? No! (omni)
OVERALL? 8 (great, healthy and fresh food/drinks/snacks, great locations, good for working)
Do you know Crussh already? Did you try one of their super smoothies or juices yet? Or are you going to try it now? Please let me know! You can do this by leaving a comment below. You can also show me by tagging me on Instagram or by using #PlanetManel. Thank you! X
UNROASTED ALMOND MILK
COCONUT CURLS
On Portobello Road, around the corner from Oxford Gardens, there is a lovely Juice Bar, called ‘Portobello Juice’. You can’t miss it, because it’s very colourful and it looks very.. juicy, haha! As you know, I love Portobello Road and many times I walked past this juice bar, without going in. This is actually because I always get a Starbucks whenever I’m around there and as the drink I order there is so filling, I never got around to try a juice here. Until one day I saw that they had Acai bowls too and they actually had quite a lovely juice/smoothie menu. So there we go.. I had to go for breakfast!
As I like to test Acai bowls, I ordered that. I did mentioned that there couldn’t be any animal products in there, so they would put only fruit and seeds on it instead. I also ordered a tea. As an Acai bowl and a juice would look like each other so much. Next time I will try one of their juices or smoothies. Also I would like to try one of their many vegan desserts. They have all sorts of vegan raw goodies. I never knew that. You can only really find out when going inside. What do you think of raw oreo’s (chocolate or salted caramel), raw snicker bars or some other raw cakes (chocolate or raspberries).. That sounds amazing doesn’t it? I’m very curious about them, especially about the salted caramel oreo’s! Then there is a salad bar with quite some vegan options and the salads look good. If I was here for lunch instead, I might have gone for that. You can have it with ciabatta bread and grilled veggies if you like. So they do have some vegan options, also for lunch. Which is great! But about the Acai bowl.. it was very tasty, though I think they could have done a little better with the presentation. Maybe the fruit on one side and the seeds sprinkled over/next to it? Would have looked fantastic!
There is something about the place I really like and that is the art. There is amazing art painted on the walls (outside and inside). Of ladies drinking juice.. It’s made really well and I think they’re real eye catchers. There is also art hanging on the wall, art you can buy. I like this a lot. The tables and chairs look all very nice in the whole juice-look. I do think that some things make it look a bit cheap, like the salad bar itself and the orange/purple coloured counter. It just doesn’t match with the nice things they have. It could have looked much more modern and attractive, even though I think they did a really good job with the rest. The staff was very friendly and helpful, what is always nice. So I will definitely go here again to try a juice and a salted caramel oreo. Oh yes!
So in the morning I always start with a big glass of water with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Then I tend to wait for 30-60 min before I drink my green smoothie (
obsessions. I love sesame oil, I think it makes all salads delicious! I also use a bit of balsamic vinegar, a dash of lemon juice and ground black pepper corns. Salads like this will keep me going until about 16:00. To not feel hungry until dinner I eat a snack. This day I ate a Nakd bar and normally I tend to eat 1-2 pieces of fruit too, but that day I was too busy. I work until 18:00, what means that dinner is mostly around 19:00. Sometimes I have a little trouble eating a proper meal in the evening, because I just want to relax or have lots of other things to do. I always have to push myself a bit to look after myself in the evenings. This day I did and I ate some rice (white this time, but I mostly eat brown) with slow cooked tomatoes, pak choi mixes with spinach and chickpeas and some raw mangetout peas on the side. I love meals like this, it’s really a feast! A meal like this keeps me going the whole evening and I didn’t feel like snacking.
Planet Organic.. almost Planet Manel, haha! There are 7 stores throughout London now, but they opened the first store in 1995. I really like the Planet Organic stores. They look amazing and you can just see it’s good food. They also definitely remind me of the 
weekly groceries. It’s definitely a reason why I would like to have a lot of money, haha, so I can buy all my food organic. A dream! I try to buy organic where I can though. As I believe that the organic stuff out there is not necessarily too expensive, but the cheaper products are just too cheap, as cheap stuff is mostly mass production made with less quality products. I also think that if we buy more organic, the price will go slightly down. So let’s vote with our wallet! One of the best thing about Planet Organic is that they sell absolutely nothing containing artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours, flavours or anything what has to do with GMO. Also they avoid hydrogenated fats in their products.
They try to be as sustainable as possible and encourage others to do so as well. For example, you can bring your own container and fill it up with cereals, coffee beans, seeds, nuts and lots more.. Which is so cool! They don’t use plastic bags and they use compostable take-away coffee cup lids. All very sustainable and truly great! Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that it’s all vegan. They are not even vegetarian as they still sell meat. And there is no such thing as sustainable meat.
Like I said in my 
took a little longer, as I think my order was given to somebody else by accident. I really didn’t mind because the staff was so friendly and they apologised. In the meantime I ordered a cupcake for dessert and an apple juice. It was all very delicious. I was so hungry (I didn’t really have breakfast) that I ate all the fries and the whole burger until the last crumb. Then I was so full, that it was impossible to eat the cupcake too. So I had that take away to enjoy later. The fries were definitely one of the best fries I’ve ever had and the sauce that came with it was ahhhh-mazing! The burger itself was a bit like a falafel burger and the bun it came on was lovely and fresh. I so enjoyed this meal. Dophert is not only a restaurant where you can eat, they also do catering and you can order cakes. You can go to their 
and the bagels are delicious. In the same street I found something so nice, called ‘The Tea Bar’. A store all about tea!! I’m a sucker for tea and I love the idea of a tea bar. They have more than 100 unique flavours and also lots of nice gift ideas. Next time I’m in Amsterdam I’d love to go here, but I was just too full at that time to even have one sip of tea. So I walked towards the Prinsengracht and then I just got so lucky with the weather. The clouds were dark grey on one side and the sun was fully shining on the beautiful autumn coloured trees from the other side. It gave such an amazing contrast that I was able to make some lovely pictures. Then a little bit later it started raining and I was blessed with a rainbow. Rain, sun, rainbow, autumn, Amsterdam, canals, boats.. it really was my lucky day! I loved the rain on my skin as I walked past the canal.
‘Bolhoed’ and I really liked that I accidentally found it. I heard about this restaurant a lot and it must be really good. Next time I think I’m going to have a meal over here. It’s a shame I couldn’t stay in the evening, otherwise I could have had my dinner here. A little bit further I found this lovely shop called ‘Varsana’. A shop with everything you could possibly need for yoga or pilates. I really loved this shop and I think anybody who is into yoga will love it too. The last thing I found on the Prinsengracht is the ‘Tulip Museum’. For only €5 you can learn within 20-30 minutes all about tulips. You can also buy a lot of tulip things, including tulips itself. I love tulips and because it’s not that long I think it could be a nice thing to do.
I walked via the Westermarkt and Raadhuistraat to the Kalverstraat. The Kalverstraat starts at Dam Square (most famous square in Amsterdam) and is the biggest shopping street in Amsterdam. You can find all the well known shops like H&M, Blokker, TheBodyShop, Forever 21, Lush and River Island in this street. If you keep walking straight, you will end up on Rembrandtplein. This is a square with a statue of Rembrandt, surrounded with a lot of bars and cafes. I walked back via Rokin where you then come back on Dam Square again. From there, via Damrak, it’s only a 5 minute walk back to the station. At the station I discovered a little cafe called ‘Yoghurt Barn’, where you can get yoghurt with the most amazing toppings (think ‘mango, brownie and walnut’). You can choose any yogurt you want and it turned out they have 2 (!) vegan options: Soy and Coconut. They also have coffee, tea, smoothies and juices. It looks great! Next to Yoghurt Barn you can go downstairs and the first shop on your left is ‘WAAR’. I did post about this amazing shop before, because there is also one in Groningen. I love this shop. It has such lovely gifts (what most probably ends up in keeping it yourself) and they sell (and I bought) the ‘Tony’s Chocolonely’ chocolate. Theeeee best!
In the next train we directly opened the Lifebars and shared it so we could all try every flavour. Omg, they are so nice! My favourite was the ‘Brazil Guarana’ and my mum agreed with me, but my sister liked the chocolate one the best. It didn’t take long before we arrived at Rotterdam-Blaak and when you get out of this station there is a lovely architectural surprise waiting for you. The ‘Cube Houses’. It’s an amazing piece of architecture by the architect ‘Piet Blom’. When I was studying Interior Design I’ve been inside one of them and it was such a cool experience. If you like to go inside yourself, you can, because there is one open for the public. The real reason we came to this station was because here is the ‘Markthal’, what literally means ‘Market hall’. 
It’s an amazing building and inside there is a market, some restaurants and there are flats where people are actually living. It opened on the 1st of October 2014, so it’s quite a new concept. I love the building and then especially what they did with the inside. If you look up they decorated the ceiling with massive flowers, fruits and vegetables. Lovely! In the end I was slightly disappointed with the lack of vegan options though, especially because my hopes were up high walking inside and vegan treats was the first thing I saw. Silly me forgot to remember the name of the company that sells them, but if you use the entrance closest to the station, it’s right in front of you. I did like the big range of tropical and rare fruits and I got myself some red bananas which were delicious. Also there is a juice bar and a ‘Jamie’s Italian’, but overall it wasn’t what I expected. On a cheerier note, behind the Markthal is burger restaurant ‘Burgertrut’, where they sell yummy yummy vegan burgers. They’re not 100% vegan, not even vegetarian.. but they have amazing vegan options!
In the meantime it was lunchtime and we were all so hungry. I wanted to have lunch at ‘Spirit’ as I heard so many good things about this restaurant. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the Markthal and on the way we also bumped into ‘Poké Bowl’, what is a little restaurant with Hawaiian food. It’s actually a fish restaurant, but you can fill your own bowl and the options include tofu, rice and lots of veggies. A lot of people are crazy about this, so I’ll try it one day. Restaurant Spirit is part of a little shopping mall called ‘De Groene Passage’ and there 
is also a health supermarket called ‘Gimsel’ and a shop what is called ‘the Wereldwinkel’, where they sell all fair trade stuff from all around the world. But first lunch.. omg, they were right, Spirit is amazing! It’s a vegetarian buffet, but almost everything is vegan too. I was being so greedy and I wanted to try it all and I ended up with a very big plate of food and it’s not very cheap. I had to pay €20, what was a bit of a shock, but I also didn’t really care as it was my holiday and I really wanted to try all these things. I forgot all about that 
price too when I tasted it, because it was soooo good! I really want to go again, haha! Big pieces of seitan, things with seaweed, tempeh, corn cakes, fried veggies, chunky guacamole.. I’m seriously getting hungry writing this all down. My mum and my sis really liked the food too, but they both got the same drink which they didn’t like at all. It was a ‘matcha latte’ and I agree the matcha was wayyy too strong. Only after a while the matcha sunk to the bottom and though the taste was still quite strong, I actually liked it. It was just not possible to drink the last few sips. I can’t imagine that anyone will like this, so maybe a little less matcha powder is an idea?!
After our tummies couldn’t even stand the thought of another bite we went to Gimsel. It was a good tactic, because walking inside I knew straight away that walking around here with an empty stomach was a bad idea for my bank account. It was a lovely supermarket with lots of great products. You could taste oat yogurt, what my mum and my sis hated, but I absolutely loved (I had to taste it twice.. hehe..). In the end I did buy 3 things. A ‘wooden toothbrush’, what was on my shopping list since forever, ‘dried grasswort’ which you can use as a salt substitute and what do you think they had there too? Lifebars! I was hoping for the ‘Brazil 
Guarana’, but they didn’t have it. They did have ‘coconut’ (hallelujah), so that was that, easy decision. I loved it btw.. this flavour was very tasty too. I didn’t see them in London yet, but I’ll keep an eye on it. We also did have a little wander around the Wereldwinkel, because it’s a lovely shop and my mum and sis bought some Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate. Can’t blame them. On our way back to the station we passed ‘Foodelicious’ and that looked so nice and bright that we had to go inside. You can get so many nice things here. They have a big range of lovely oils, vinegar, tea, beautiful bowls and dishes, books and so much more.. and a lot of very nice gift ideas too.
Back at the station we decided to go to the centre of Rotterdam and that is not even 5 minutes by train. Rotterdam central station is such a cool station. It’s really one of the reasons I love Rotterdam, it has amazing architecture. Rotterdam has a very nice centre for shopping. It actually has 3 shopping streets/areas: Lijnbaan, Coolsingel and Koopgoot. Walking from the station first ‘Lijnbaan’ will appear and then you can via ‘Coolsingel’ go to ‘Koopgoot’, but before we got there we had a little break at ‘Green Delight’. My mum and sis ordered chocolate milk and I ordered the tastiest Chai latte (+ an energy bomb) I’ve ever had. What a lovely place! It’s so different from other cafe’s. We sat in a very comfy sofa and it felt like we were sitting in a living room. On the table there were lots of nice magazines, like the Happinez for example and the atmosphere was just so relaxed. In order 
to go into the cafe you have to go through a very nice shop with amazing goodies, gifts and cactus plants(!). This is a very nice concept, but unfortunately it’s a pop up, so go before it’s too late! After we walked to the ‘Koopgoot’, what is very close from there. I think I like ‘Koopgoot’ the best, because they made it look so cool and there is a Lush. My sis got some new tooth tabs as she nearly run out and I got a new pair of comfy jeans at C&A. Then it was really time to go home, because it’s about 3 hours by train and my dad was picking us up. We didn’t want to make it too late. But before we got to the station we past this really nice restaurants called ‘Freshii’. They just closed it, but I looked them up and I think they’re pretty good. They do burritos, salads, wraps, soups and more.. all fresh and they try to make a lot of sustainable choices. They’re not 100% vegan though, but there are a lot of veggie choices and you can even custom make your own lunch.. so do I need to say more? Great for a next visit!
FRUIT PACKS
SOUP
Who likes avocados? I know you’re all raising your hand right now.. haha! Though there are actually a few people who really cant stand avocado’s (like how??), this recipe will I think satisfy everybody. There is not a very strong avocado taste and the structure obviously is way different as it comes in a smoothie. What basically leaves us with a nice creamy goodness with lots of good fats and vitamine E! Also, did you know that the potassium in an avocado can regulate a high blood pressure? So many reason to try this delicious smoothie. It’s great for breakfast or as a post work out snack!
AVOSMOOTHIE
Do you love avocados? Or you really hate them? Either way I hope you will try this amazing smoothie and please let me know if you liked it! You can let me know in a comment below, but you can also show me by tagging me on Instagram or by using #PlanetManel. Thank you! X
I know.. London isn’t a very tropical city and now Autumn started we can expect a lot of wind, storm and rain. That’s why I thought, let’s do a last summery recipe, just to end summer properly on this last day op September. Though there was quite some rain (I actually like summer rain.. a lot!) and cloudy days, I think we also have to be very grateful for all the lovely sunny days we have had. So let’s celebrate summer one more time. Let’s honour all our summer memories. Let’s relive them one more time, before all the leafs have fallen of the trees. Invite the friends you have spent this summer with and make this delicious tropical smoothie together. Cheers to summer!
Serves: 2
Very very very close to me there was this cafe called ‘Zest’. The funny thing is that you kind of ‘forget’ about the cafe’s which are very close to home. It feels like normal or I think ‘I can review whenever I want to’. But then it never happens. So it took a while until I went to Zest. I always saw these very nice salads when I walked past them. So one afternoon I decided to have lunch there so I can tell you guys about it. Then the owner had some AMAZING news. From the beginning of August they were gonna go 100% vegan!! I was jumping up and down (in my head), this was really good news. Very bad news for my bank account though.. haha! 
I decided not to review Zest and wait until it was all vegan. I had lunch anyway, which was very tasty. Luckily they were going to keep a lot of the lovely salads they already had.
put in my mouth I was happier knowing this was so so so close to me. How lucky am I?! I really still cant believe it.
Please let me know if you already went here or if you’re planning to go after reading this! You can let me know in the comments below or show me on Instagram by tagging me or using #PlanetManel. Thank you! X
Planet Manel 