BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — If something is vegan, you might assume it's healthy, right? Or you might assume it's going to be a bland meal. But in this week's Foodie Friday, Vida Vegan co-owner Alejandro Ocampo explained why neither of those things are necessarily true.
"We feel that a lot of misconceptions come from people think that vegan food or plant-based food is just spinach and plants... Although a lot of the food is plant-based and it's not made with meat or dairy, we end up with beautiful [dishes]," said Ocampo.
He said there are unhealthy and unhealthy vegan meals.
"Just because it's vegan doesn't automatically mean it's healthy. A good example of ordering healthy and not healthy would be our pad see ew. If you order it with the fried chicken, the vegan fried chicken is deep fried and it takes on a lot of oil, where as if you get grilled tofu, it's going to be better for you," said Ocampo. "Same thing for our appetizers. [Chili] cheese fries. Those look amazing and they're delicious, but if you do want to watch your oil intake or [just] not eating so much fried food, then the better option would be this amazing, refreshing, delicious cauliflower ceviche."
Ocampo showed us how even desserts, like Vida Vegan's donuts, can be vegan.
"There's no dairy. No eggs. Just deliciousness," he said.
Ocampo hopes community members will give his restaurant a chance and see just how many ways their favorite meals can be served vegan.
"We hope the community comes out and let their taste buds make the decision, do you like vegan food or do you not like vegan food?" he said.
Vida Vegan is located at 4530 Stine Rd, and its hours and full menu can be found here.
