The Good Life Eatery - Review

My rating out of 5: 4.5

I think it's safe to say that this new healthy eating craze has hit London hard. It's not uncommon to be confronted by a paparazzi shot of a trendy celeb sipping from the straw of an ultra green hulk-like coloured smoothie as they walk to the gym. Just a quick trip to M&S will further this newfound health craze where you can easily grab a bag of salt and pepper kale or vinaigrette and beetroot crisps. Am I complaining? Absolutely not, I love it! Forget about Crocs and UGG boots, this is the best trend that has hit the UK in a very long time.

 Situated on 59 Sloane Avenue, The Good Life Eatery is a little gem bursting full of health and happiness. After walking through the tiny entrance, you're instantly hit by the overwhelming popularity of the place. This little eatery is buzzing with young energy and enthusiasm about all things healthy. Everywhere you look, there are beautiful, young (monied) ladies filling up the limited 25 seats, having their weekly gossip or planning which exotic holiday they intend to experience next. Funnily enough, on the table next to me, there sat a well dressed French male catching up with a slender American lady who (of course) came with her overly spoilt precious pooch which sat quietly beneath the table.

Entering the café, it wasn't clear at all if you're meant to find your own table, order your own food straight away or whether someone is meant to come to you. This was a little confusing at first, but in no way spoilt our overall experience of the eatery. Yet, for future reference, do try and find your own seat, go up to the till and see the menu to order your food and drinks. 

The sense of 'organicness' runs throughout this café. From the earthly wooden entrance sign, to the nutshell interior with exposed brick walls, ricketty wooden tables and metal stools. This organic feel is accomplished terrifically and is only the tip of the iceberg of what this eatery has to offer. Now onto the important bit - the food and drinks.

It serves delicious food which leaves you filling perfectly satisfied, guilt-free and not bloated. The lunch menu is scribbled in a school-like manner on a blackboard behind the counter and consists of a mixture of salads, sandwiches and smaller plates such as avocado chilli toast.  The salad prices range from £10.50-£11.25 and the sandwiches from £7.10-£9.00 (plus a little more £'s for optional 'extra protein.')My friend Annabel and myself wanted to have a protein shake and a lighter dish for lunch and trust me, it was incredibly fulfilling. I had the beautiful sweet potato and dukkah dip (£3.75) with spelt crispbread and Annabel had the avocado chilli (wheat free) toast (£5.50). Both were absolutely delicious, the generous serving of sweet potato dip was seductively smooth with a hint of spice and worked terrifically with the crunchy crispbread pieces. I would have preferred it being served warm rather than fridge cool, but that's just me being picky! Annabel's avocado dish both looked and tasted amazing. The avocado was the perfectly ripe and the eatery was not stingy on its portion sizes.  I recommend that if you visit this eatery, you can not leave without trying one of their raw pressed juices or superfood protein shakes. At £6.55 each, they aren't cheap but they're totally worth it! If you're the tropical type, why not try the Coco Verde or the Pineapple Immunity pressed juice but if you're into the green health kick, the Drink Your Salad looks like the juice to get. However, the crème de la crème was the superfood protein shakes. There are four mouth-watering shakes to choose from and each one is contains 15g of protein powder plus the added protein from the nutritious ingredients. I have listed below the shakes so that you can have an idea of their incredible nutritious qualities.

Incredible Hulk

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Wheatgrass, Spirulina, Raw Almonds, Coconut milk, Pineapple, Banana, Madagascar vanilla, Fresh Basil GF/DF

Berry Sunrise

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Blackberry, Blueberry, Banana, Almond, Milk, Raw Almonds, Honey GF/DF *high in anti-oxidants*

Choc Norris

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Almond/Hazelnut Milk, Avocado, Cacao, Cacao Nibs, Maca Powder, Banana GF/DF

Ninja Turtle

Sun Warrior Vegan Brown Rice Protein, Kale, Spinach, Coriander, Avocado, Cucumber, Ginger, Vanilla, Lime, Almond Milk, Chia Seeds GF/DF/SF

It was not an easy decision, but I had the Choc Norris after a recommendation from a regular standing in the queue. Annabel had the gorgeous Berry Sunrise. Both smoothies were absolutely delicious and really did keep us full throughout the afternoon. When (not if) I go again, I think I'll give the Incredible Hulk a try as that was another recommendation and one of their most popular shakes. 

All in all The Good Life Eatery is a fantastic place to visit for that on-the-go smoothie/juice or a fantastic health kick lunch. The eatery closes at 8pm on weekdays so if you're wanting to visit for dinner, then go at at least 6:30/7 to avoid disappointment. The lack in space and confusion of what to do upon arrival was the only reason for my 0.5 rating drop, but given it's popularity, no doubt it'll be upscaling or have some new larger eateries popping up some time in the near future. I simply can not wait to visit again.

Steamy Salad

I love a good salad. It fills you up the perfect amount without leaving you feeling stuffed and sleepy. Salads don't always have to be cold and consist of a handful lettuce leaves. There's nothing more annoying for me when I order a salad in a restaurant and all I get is a bowl full of salad, a few tomatoes, shredded chicken and croutons. Worst of all, it can set you back about £8 and really does not seem worth it when you can make something much more fulfilling and delicious at home. 

This steamy salad is quite literally completely steamed! It takes no longer than 15 minutes to make and it is so delicious simply served with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. This salad is super healthy and packed with health benefits. Best of all, it contains two of my favourite ingredients: sweet potato and avocado. Absolute heaven. Sweet Potatoes are packed with vitamin A, which is essential for strengthening your bodies immunity against infection. By adding the extra virgin olive oil and avocado to the sweet potato, you can get the full health benefits of the antioxidant beta-carotene. I've talked a lot about avocados but they're one of the healthiest foods on the planet containing in excess of 25 nutrients.  Kale leaves are genuinely the kings of nutrition. Did you know it contains more iron than beef and more calcium than milk per calorie?! But it doesn't stop there. Just one cup of kale gives more than 1,000% of your daily intake of vitamin K which supports good blood regulation. It also contains nearly four times your recommended intake of vitamin A and 100% of your vitamin C that together support bone and skin health and strengthen the immune system. I could go on and on, but I wont. It's just amazing and one of the most underrated vegetables on our supermarket shelves today. 

Serves 2 

1 large sweet potato

2 large tomatoes 

1 spring onion

1/2 avocado

1 handfuls of kale

1/2 courgette 

1-2 tsp paprika (to taste)

salt & pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Method 

- Put a large pan of water onto boil then simmer over a medium-low heat. Peel and chop up the sweet potato into medium sized chunks. Steam the sweet potatoes for 7 minutes. Add the kale to the sweet potatoes and steam for a further 4 minutes. Slice the courgette and add to the kale and sweet potatoes steaming further two minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the paprika. 

- Slice the tomatoes, spring onion and avocado. Once the courgette is soft and ready, remove the pan from the heat. Add the tomatoes and spring onion and gently mix in. 

- To serve, add the sliced avocado and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Top tip: Add some feta cheese for added flavour. 

Enjoy! 

Coriander & Chilli Sweet Potato Cakes

You probably know by now about my worrying obsession with fishcakes, I really do love them. I spent the day craving my fishy fishcakes but there was one tiny problem; I had no fish. Therefore I had to find an alternative way to fulfil my bazaar cravings. This was perfect opportunity to make use one of my favourite orange foods, the sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are packed full of vitamin A which is essential for strengthening your bodies immunity against infection. They also help regulate blood sugar levels and are jam-packed full of fibre, with nearly seven grams per serving - twice the amount of normal potatoes! Not only are they super healthy, but they're wonderfully tasty too. They have a delicious creamy texture and a sweet-spicy flavour which makes them the perfect component to a savoury dish. 

These sweet potato cakes are the perfect replacement to that fishcake craving, with the same mouth-watering crispy outer and squishy inner of my fishy fishcakes. To all you meat eaters out there that scowl at the sight of this vegan dish - stop right there! The chilli kick combined with a good seasoning completely transforms these sweet potatoes and stops you from missing any meat on your plate. Trust me, I'm a meat lover but would have them every day of the week if I could. The crushed coriander seeds and tomato puree brings the cakes to the next level. I like to enjoy these squishy orange delights on a bed of homegrown salad with juicy tomatoes and sliced avocado.

Makes 2 cakes

2 sweet potatoes

1 tsp hot chilli powder

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 dessert spoons tomato puree

1 tablespoon quinoa flour (or wholemeal flour/ brown rice flour/buckweat)

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

Method

- Preheat oven to 200C/ Gas mark 6

- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into equal sized chunks. Steam the chunks for about 10-15 minutes or until they're soft and easily pierced with a fork. 

- In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork until they're nearly smooth but still a bit lumpy. Grind the coriander seeds with a pestle and mortar. Stir in the crushed coriander, chilli powder, seasoning, juice of 1 lemon and tomato puree. 

- Mould the mixture into 2 even sized cakes. 

- To ensure a crispy outer, dust the cakes with flour, place in a baking tray and cook for about 7 minutes at 200C. Then place them flour side down in a frying pan over a high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Leave for about 5-7 minutes or until brown and crisp. Do the same with the other side and flip the cakes over until brown and crisp. 

Serve on a bed of fresh salad and enjoy!