Over the last few years in Vancouver, it's become a whole lot easier to get meals from your favourite restaurants, thanks to all the food delivery services popping up; from corporate and office deliveries with Foodee to home delivery with DoorDash. Whether you’re too busy to leave your desk at work, running around with kids at home or just want a meal delivered so you can watch Netflix and chill, these services have got you covered. It’s dangerously convenient.

We offer our cold pressed juice and plant based lunch options from The Juice Truck on DoorDash and Foodee but we’re also frequent users on an individual basis. Too make it easy for you, we’ve highlighted our favourite healthy options available on DoorDash.

The Top 10 Plant Based Options on DoorDash:

The Juice Truck:

Guilty of being biased, but we want to highlight that all of our cold pressed juice options as well as our plant based lunches and snacks are all available for home or office delivery. Keep things healthy and get your green juice and kale caesar delivered right to your home or work.

Virtuous Pie:

This pizza is next level. There’s no reason for meat or dairy on your pizza once you’ve tried the addictively good offerings that these guys dish out. The Stranger Wings with spicy buffalo cauliflower, crisp fried shallots, scallions and a vegan blue cheese drizzle is our favourite.

Field and Social:

You can definitely win friends with salads when they’re from Field and Social. They make some of the best gourmet salads you’ll find in Vancouver. Carefully crafted, using fresh, local ingredients with local produce and a regular rotation of menu items with seasonal inspiration. They even use Blue Heron’s Vegan Cheese on their Market Bowl.

Indigo Age Cafe and Kombucha Bar:

Some of the cleanest cuisine in the city. Fresh, health forward ingredients. Indigo Age Cafe has everything from juice and smoothies to vegan Ukrainian dishes like borscht, cabbage rolls and perogies… and the perogies are amazing! They also have nutrition packed lattes and lots of raw food options.

Freshii:

If you’re looking for some healthy comforts, Freshii has got you covered. Salads, wraps, bowls and burritos. Smoothies, juices and soups. Freshii has a very well rounded menu for whatever your mood might be.

East is East:

We can never get enough of East is East! We love the ambiance of their restaurants, but if you can’t make it to one of their locations, getting delivery won’t leave you disappointed. Their Eggplant Bowl might be our favourite dish available on Door Dash.

Shanti’s Curries:

We love everything about Shanti’s Curries. The team is amazing and so is the homestyle Indian food. Their vegan samosas and pakoras are drool worthy and the dhal curry and korma are both so rich in flavour….just delicious all around. You can’t go wrong with any of the vegan options on their menu.

Pacific Poke / West Coast Poke:

Poke is blowing up in Vancouver and these two restaurants are leading the way. Pacific Poke has some amazing vegan options. Their wasabi spicing has the perfect kick and the seaweed salad is the perfect addition to any of their vegan options. Make sure you get their Coco Panda to drink. It’s one of the best coconut drinks we’ve had (and we’ve had a lot of coconut drinks). For West Coast Poke, we love the build your own bowl option. Their ingredients are fresh and full of flavour and the value for all that you can add is incredible.

Calabash Bistro:  

Caribbean cuisine at its finest! They have a Vegan Meal for 4 if you’re dining family style. Their curries and plantains are layered with rich, delicious flavours that all balance together perfectly. Don’t be shy on your coconut dumplings either… there’s a good chance you’ll want more than one.

JamJar:

Who doesn’t like a good hummus? And their hummus is more than good. Their hummus flavours are rotating. We usually go with the Hummus Trio just to be safe. The falafel has that perfect crunch to softness ratio and if you’re looking for something on the lighter side, the Cabbage Salad is one of our favourite salads out there.

I like to delight in the daydream (plant-based weirdo dreams), that if pregnant Beyonce was a smoothie bowl it would be a luscious papaya smoothie bowl with moringa cashew yogurt, activated chia seeds, earthy spices, tropical fruit and coconut syrup.

I think she would approve.

Ps. this juicey recipe is below!!!

So what’s the deal with super-foods anyway and do you need them during pregnancy? Are they really an integral thing or just some way to market expensive, fancy foods to the rich and famous?

Superfoods ARE totes for everyone, I promise. Not just supa stars. And definitely not a trend, but instead a proven proactive way to support pregnancy health like the Maven you are. Eating superfoods during pregnancy will support your body in staying clear from pregnancy related anemia, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.

I hear this particular argument a lot: they are expensive and hard to find and how will you integrate them into your life on a regular bases? Also, which ones are the best for you? How much of what is safe to take while preggers and how do you chose them? Right?!

That argument ends here. You’re going to fall crazy in love with how easy and fun it can be to integrate superfoods into your baby body and most of them you probably already use or have in your kitchen..

As promised I want this to be affordable, doable and specific to you. Below I will share the easy principles of integration for the top 17 irreplaceable superfoods to eat while growing mini bae...

Choose one super-weird/ superfood from this list:

• Spirulina -  single cell algae
• Moringa - plant also known as kelor
• Chlorella - multi cell algae

All of these super greens are leaders in the superfood category and boast iron, antioxidants, protein, vitamin B1, B6, copper, GLA and Omega 3’s. My current favourite is moringa (maybe because I am living in Bali and can pick it from my garden FRESH, oh bliss!).

The key thing to remember is you do not need them all, just chose one.

Choose three of these super-fat/ superfoods from this list:

• Cashews - fatty fat fat
• Skinless almonds - protein and fat
• Coconut meat - fatty ultra fat
• Sesame seeds - calcium and fat
• Pumpkin seeds - iron and fat
• Hemp hearts - protein and fat
• Sunflower seeds - fat and B6
• Avocado - the bestie fat

The above list includes some of my favourites. All of these contain good fats and fats in combination with proteins increase the uptake and bioavailability of vitamins and nutrients from the aforementioned green baby we have chosen from the first list.

Smrt.  

Store your nuts and seeds in airtight glass containers on your countertop so you can easily see them and add them to your morning smoothie/bowl, scramble or avo toast.  

Obvi, the avocado does not need to be in a jar.

Check out this avo chart to know when your avo is ripe.

Choose three of these super-sustaining/ super foods from this list

• Cinnamon - blood glucose stabilizer
• Turmeric - anti-inflammatory properties
• Pink salt - micronutrients
• Chia seeds - fibre, phosphorus and omegas
• Cacao powder - magnesium
• Whole Oats - selenium, zinc

I find it really hard to choose just two from the above list, so go ahead have them all, but if you are on a budget then choose two of the spices (the first three) and then one from the remainder of the list for optimal results.

Choose one meal daily that you imbibe completely with your chosen superfoods.

One meal usually translates to a morning smoothie, smoothie bowl, loaded toast or scramble of some kind with your super-food Love On Top!!! (that’s the last Beyonce song reference, I swear).

So, what kind of smoothie bowl are you? Maybe straight up classy blueberry/banana with seeds and cinnamon, or what about spicy pear, ginger, turmeric with activated chia and cacao hemp hearts? The options are limitless.  

The Beyonce - A Pregnant Goddess Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:

½ cup frozen papaya  (I usually buy a whole papaya, peel, seed and chop it into pieces then freeze it in a zip lock)

½ cup frozen butternut, kabocha or spaghetti squash (bake the squash the day before whole, peel, seed and then store the flesh in a ziplock in the freezer - or by pre cut frozen squash for simplicity) or use 1 frozen banana, but I like the squash option for less sugar myself

¼ cup water or almond milk

Pink salt to taste (a little sprinkle of makes magic)

¼ cup chia seeds, covered in 1 cup water to activate for 5 minutes

½ cup cashews soaked for 15 minutes

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tbsp moringa powder

Pink salt to taste (a little sprinkle of makes magic)

Raw pumpkin seeds

Unsweetened coconut shreds

1 tbsp coconut sugar

½ tbsp hot water

Or

1 tbsp coconut syrup

¼ tsp each cinnamon and turmeric dusted over the top, or add the turmeric to your chia for fun

(golden chia)

Fruit of your choice for the top to make it super sexy like Beyonce, or better yet like you.

Method:

Place chia seeds in jar with water and shake it like crazy, then rest it for a minute, then shake it again-5 minutes-ish total

Soak your cashews in a bowl covered in water for 15 minutes

In a small jar combine 1 tbsp coconut sugar and a little hot water to dissolve it into a thin syrup.  This stores in the fridge for a month or longer so double this recipe or even triple it if you would like. Or buy this amazing coconut syrup

In a blender blend the papaya, squash or banana, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water or almond milk.

Pour smoothie mixture in a bowl and set in fridge for a few minutes while you make the yogurt.

(I like my smoothie bowls cold, hence the frozen fruit and a little fridge hang time)

Drain the cashews and blend them in Vitamix or blender equivalent. Add moringa, lemon juice and zest, pinch pink salt until smooth and creamy. Put a good sized dollop on top of your bowl.  This yogurt stores in your fridge for up to a week and gets more active live culture as it sits.

Top the smoothie bowl with the yogurt, chia seeds, coconut shreds and syrup, pumpkin seeds, spices and fresh fruit for garnish (passion fruit, berries, pineapple and dragon fruit are my fav)

Now take five minutes for yourself and lavish in the gift of superfood sustenance, then get out there and Run The World!

(Aaak!! Sorry, I couldn’t resist another hit)

Love, G

This article was written by the lovely Georgia Morley. Georgia is the Founder of Built For This Baby (B4TB). Georgia is also a Certified Doula, Holistic Nutritionist/classically trained Chef and Registered Yoga Instructor. Follow her adventures at Built For This Baby.