Tag Archives: Tour Florida

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 I love avocados. I don’t eat them that often. The price is pretty high on the east coast, about two to three dollars an avocado. When I use to work at a restaurant I would take them all the time, my bosses would charge me less or nothing at all. Once I left I faced the harsh reality of paying retail for avocados.

Then there are the draughts in California. I mentioned on my blog about how almonds use up lots of water, and I therefore tried to cut down on my almond consumption. I subbed soy milk for almond milk, and made rice milk at home (instead of almond milk). Yes, I was buying and making almond milk each and every week. 

So what about avocados? How much water do they use? The answer: a lot, but not as much as almonds.

A huge portion of avocado production in the United States happen in Southern California. Then when the United States season ends for avocados, Chili starts their season. And just like Southern California, Chili is going through their own drought.

Being an East Coaster I have an option that is better for the environment: the Florida Avocado. Yes, there are several different types of avocados, though Haas is clearly America’s favorite. The avocados grown in Florida have a smooth green skin, a much larger size, lower fat content, and less calories. Because of the lower fat content, there is a larger amount of water, and a milder flavor. There are a few things I’ve learned about this variety, and will share to anyone who wants to make a more eco-friendly decision.

Their Cheaper (for me at least)

It’s hard not to choose the Florida avocado over the Haas on price alone. One haas avocado is $2.50 a piece while the Florida avocado is $2 each. Sure it is only about fifty cents less, but the Florida avocado is about double the size of a Haas. I can find some cheaper Haas avocados in “bulk bags” but only gets down to about $1.75 each, which still is more expensive due to size. Part of the cheaper price is because cheaper transport, New Jersey is closer to Florida than California or Chili.

Sometimes it is Called a Slimcado (get over it)

You might see this in the store with stickers claiming it is a “slimcado.” I think this label can hurt and help sales. Yes, it has less calories and less fat, which for some people is important. But on the flip side, some people care more about those healthy fats and having non-GMO foods. The name gives a vibe that this is a Haas avocado that has been altered to fit a specific demand in the market. It isn’t. This is a species of avocado that grows in the West Indies, and has been around for years. 

Let it Sit For a Few Days to Ripen

When I first tried these guys I hated it. I mean disgusted. I knew I wasted my money. A few years went by and I figured why not give them a second chance. Over the years I learned more tricks about keeping and picking Haas avocados, so applied those rules to the Florida avocado. So I sat my new avocados on the counter and waited a few days. The difference in taste is huge. Many reviews online had people saying they hate Florida avocados, but I think people are just eating unripe fruit. The color of the skin may change color, depending on the variety. The main way to tell if your Florida avocado is ripe is my checking if the flesh is soft. When it is ripe, toss it in the fridge to eat later, or consume in 2-3 days.

It Just Doesn’t Make Guac (sorry)

I think we all love guacamole for it’s velvety and fatty consistency. I’ve tried using a Florida avocado several times, and failed. I kept getting guac that was over powered by other flavors, garlic, salt, lime, etc. I also got a weird watery spread, that just didn’t seem right. If you grew up eating guac from Florida avocados, then you might think it is the only way to eat guacamole. If Haas avocados shaped your guac standards you will just be disappointed. Keep in mind other recipes that use raw blended avocados for a thick food like puddings, probably will need modifications.

Firmer Skin

Since there is less fat in Florida avocados they are much firmer and keep their shape. There has been many times where I’ve made a salad and added avocado chunks, only to have them mush up when tossing it. The other day I used my Florida avocado in my sushi rolls. They ended up being the most beautiful sushi rolls I’ve ever made since the avocado flesh was firm enough to cut up. So if you want the flesh to stay together I would recommend the Florida variety over Haas.

Still Tastes Great In Shakes

Some of my favorite shakes use avocados. But I never actually make them because of price. Well, the Florida avocado easily subs in, and one fruit can last all week. Even with the lower fat content, the it’ll still delivers that thick velvety quality that you look for. Since Florida avocados are bigger I would “halve” the amount used in the recipe. For example if a shake calls for half of an avocado, use only a quarter of a Florida avocado.

Anyone had a chance to try a Florida avocado? Love it or hate it?


I first heard of Loving Hut from Eat Your Kimchi. They visited one of the Korean branches that catered their menu to have more traditionally Korean foods. The name and logo looked familiar, which I later found out that there use to be a Loving Hut chain on South Street in Philadelphia that I would pass by on a weekly basis. I never had the chance to eat there before it closed down. But I always wanted to give this all vegan chain a try.

When I flew into Orlando to visit my Grandparents, I knew I wanted to go to a vegan restaurant before heading down to a small town. By chance I found out that there was a Loving Hut in Orlando, about 20 minutes away from the airport. Unaware of how the chained worked, I was surprised to see absolutely no Korean food like in the Eat Your Kimchi video, nor did it look like that restaurant. When I returned home, I learned a little bit more about the chain.

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Loving Hut is owned by spiritual leader Ching Hai. She leads the spiritual movement called the Quan Yin Method, in which one of the rules is that followers maintain a vegan diet. Loving Hut was opened to show the world how delicious vegan cooking could be. As a marketing tactic, all stores are allowed to alter the menu. This is great to make the menu reflect the tastes of each region. For example a vegan living in Korea might want Korean styled food over a vegan burger. The downside is that not all Loving Hut chains are created equal. I’ve read reviews that the Philadelphia Loving Hut was embarrassingly bad.

The setting of restaurant was pretty laid back, and reminded me of most Chinese and pizza takeout shops in New Jersey. The store had posters hanging with Vegan “celebrities” including Leonardo da Vinci (which he wasn’t rumored to be vegan, just a vegetarian). There was also a big flat screen TV showing videos of Ching Hai. Aside from the videos, the atmosphere was very open with a wonderful server who was happy to ask where all guests were from. I assume that they got lots of people who were traveling to Disney World and other theme parks.

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This location carried foods that had Southeast Asian influences and some Americanized foods like burgers. We were pretty hungry so we got the Happy Half Moon wontons. They were perfectly deep-fried, the wraps weren’t chewy or oily. This would be a dish I would of recommended to anyone who enjoys dumplings and wontons.

I got the King Spice Cha Cha, Oyster Mushrooms that have a spicy breading and are deep fried. They are served with sauted peppers and onions with a large scoop of rice on the side. Everything was a little more oily than I was use to, but never overwhelming. There also wasn’t too much food, just enough for one really hungry person.

My husband got the Lemongrass Noodles, which had a faux beef topping the noodles. Even though my husband isn’t a huge faux meat person, he loved the dish. For anyone who doesn’t like faux meats or TVP, there is a tofu option. The noodle to protein ratio might of been a little high, but it didn’t seem to bother my husband.

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We finished the dinner with an avocado shake and rose cappuccino. The avocado shake could of been better, as it was little watery. The cappuccino was delicious, not too sweet and it didn’t have a pool of syrup on the bottom of cup. The rose flavors actually worked well with the espresso. Although there wasn’t enough foam to make it a “cappuccino,” it was a pretty tasty latte.

If I had this restaurant nearby me, I would get all my takeout from it. Sadly, even though the staff was very open and welcoming, I didn’t like the atmosphere enough to come back and sit down. It was fine since we was a stop in between traveling.


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I’ve been so busy with work lately. I’ve started to feel a little stressed. Oddly, since I am stressed I decided to start walking to work again. Which is weird since it cuts out a total of 40 minutes out of my day, but it really just clears my mind. I can think, get a little exercise, and some fresh air. Plus, I haven’t been running lately in part that I don’t have adequate running gear for the winter. *crosses fingers for Christmas* But all that walking cuts into time that would normally be used for the blog.

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Since I’ve been in a weird writing funk I haven’t posted anything from my trip to Florida. I visited my Nanna and Pappy for their 60th wedding anniversary. They live in Sebring Florida, which I am sure 99.9% of my readers are going “huh, where?” It is 2 hours south of Orlando, or 2 hours east of Tampa Bay, pretty much in the middle of the state.

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There isn’t much in Sebring. It is a pretty small town. There use to be a big botanical garden named Cyprus Gardens but it was bought out and turned into Legoland. I was little sad since I remember loving their winter light displays, and I always wanted to dress up as a Southern Belle. I remember the gardens being particularly cool since it had flowers AND animals.

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I know I would go to Disney World with my Grandparents, but oddly I have more vivid memories of Cyprus Gardens, the Everglades, and Hammock State Park. I remember getting on a boat in the Everglades and being terrified about falling out and being eaten by an alligator.  My sister and I both got close to a manatee, we just watched him bob in the water.

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When I was little, I remember walking around Hammock State Park. Most of the trails are boardwalks that go over swampy areas. At one point I remember having to turn around because there was a mother alligator, and my Nanna thought it wasn’t smart to walk by a mother alligator and her babies, which was probably a smart idea.

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Coming back to the park as an adult was pretty exciting. Jon had never been to Florida for anything outside Disney World, so it was fun seeing his reaction to the wild life. The landscape is very different from the deserts of Utah or the temperate forests on the east coast. Jon described it as being in Jurassic Park, which isn’t entirely wrong.

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I remember all the citrus when I was little. My Nanna and Pappy pointed out every citrus orchard we passed, and they even had a lemon tree in their backyard. The lemons weren’t smooth like the ones you buy at the grocery store. It was bumpy and huge. As I got older, I learned a lot about citrus (like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit are all the same species) so I was a little perplexed by this citrus plant. It was growing in the park, and makes me wonder if some one planted a tree, or if maybe a seed started to grow. There were two “wild” citrus trees growing in the park.

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Jon and I saw this written on the trail, and thought it pretty interesting. It had our initials (I mean how many J + J’s really get together?) and 55 years on it. We were at my Nanna and Pappy’s 60th wedding anniversary, so the numbers were really close.

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I don’t think I’ve seen so many spiders in one spot in awhile. It probably makes sense that there would be a large amount of bugs that spiders could catch. Autofocus always tries to focus on the trees and not the spider and it’s web, so I was proud how focused I got them with manual focus.

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No alligators this trip, but we did see a bunch of cool lizards and a snowy egret. The lizard just plopped from the sky and down on the leaf while we were admiring the scenery. He didn’t seemed to freaked out about us. Jon and I have seen snowy egrets in New Jersey before, but it was magical seeing it in a totally different surrounding (and not in a backyard). I tried to switch lenses but he flew away before I could get a good snap.

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I think convincing my husband to make another trip to Florida won’t be hard. It is beautiful and completely different than what we are use to. I wasn’t thrilled by my photos, so that gives me even more incentive to go back down, maybe to the Everglades.