The first thing that’ll wow you at Better Life Cuisine is the water — the delicious, fruit-infused water.

We’re not talking a simple lemon spritz. Better Life takes its unbottled water seriously, steeping it with yummy, flavorful, organic fruits. Just as soon as you sit down, a reusable glass of this thirst-quencher will be placed before you — and your meal will only get better from there.

A mere block from the famed raw restaurant Juliano’s Raw, Better Life’s a raw, organic, vegan restaurant for the masses — meaning that the place has crowd-pleasing nibbles at affordable prices. I stopped by here on Friday with my friend Jolia, Associate Editor at Vegetarian Times, and enjoyed a sumptuous healthy meal at a quiet restaurant that has yet to be discovered by the regular health-conscious Santa Monica crowd.

Better Life’s so committed to organic, raw, vegan food that it actually labels the items that aren’t organic. Granted, only one item — the coconut juice — gets that label, but this goes to show how eco-friendly the restaurant is.

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>> Santa Monica’s celeb-studded sushi spot The Hump could be shut down for serving endangered Sei whale meat, after Heal the Bay president Mark Gold called them out. The restaurant’s on city property, which means the city can terminate its lease if restaurant owners commit a crime. More in two weeks, after the city investigates the issue.

>> Love Tender Greens‘ local, organic produce paired with organic wines? A new Tender Greens location opens at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood today.

>> Grace restaurant will move to downtown L.A. later this year — and plans to get up to a quarter of its produce from its own garden. to the rectory of St. Vibiana’s later this year, Owner Neal Fraser “has an idea for taking diners into the garden to pick, say, five ingredients for a tasting menu.” This feature article from the L.A. Times also highlights the green efforts of many other local restaurants, including Tender Greens, York, Comme Ca, Napa Valley Grille, and Mixt Greens.

>> The City of L.A.’s growing gardeners with a green gardener training course intended to give eco-friendly and marketable skills to lower-income residents:

Thirty-one gardeners participated in the pilot training program that began late last year, and 89 are expected to be trained soon through the program, which was funded with $250,000 in federal stimulus money, through the city’s Community Development Department, and conducted in partnership with the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, an immigrant education group.

Earlier: A Green landscape design contest — and 6 free green garden events

Photo by Jory .

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After Blogger Beach Cleanup last year, we knew where to go for our celebratory dinner: SEED. This Japanese-American fusion vegan macrobiotic restaurant in Venice donated prizes for Blogger Beach Cleanup volunteers, after all!

So The Daily Ocean’s Sara Bayles and I headed over to try the vegan fare, made with local, organic ingredients. My curry smelled so amazing I quickly stuck a biodegradable fork in it to take a bite — then remembered to take a picture (above).

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If you’ve ever tried to opt for sustainable seafood dishes at a restaurant using Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide, you know that the seemingly-simple guide can be tough to follow. Why? Often, the restaurant staff isn’t knowledgeable enough to tell you what you need to know — like whether the grilled salmon’s the sustainable kind that’s wild-caught in Alaska, or the farmed kind known to wreak havoc on the environment.

That’s why eco-pescatarians love dining at Santa Monica Seafood Cafe, with its sleek oyster bar and always-busy dining area. While not all seafood here’s sustainable as at Border Grill, the staff at Santa Monica Seafood’s knowledgeable about their food and where it comes from — which makes it easy for diners to make greener choices.

I went for the Grilled Mahi Mahi Flat Bread when I stopped by a couple months ago. According to the oyster bartender, the mahi mahi was caught in Hawaii — making my fish dish a “good alternative,” according to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. Plus, the tasty dish came with organic greens –

Of course, I’d love Santa Monica Seafood even more if all its seafood was sustainable. The family-owned and operated company is, on the bright side, taking some steps in a green direction. Last October, Santa Monica Seafood announced a 5-year partnership (PDF) with Monterey Bay Aquarium. The goal: To shift Santa Monica Seafood’s purchases toward sustainable sources — a pretty big feat, considering the fact that the company’s the largest seafood distributor in the southwest.

It’s unclear, however, how green Santa Monica Seafood will go. The agreement simply states that Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program will “support” and “help” Santa Monica Seafood find greener seafood suppliers, and make “a stepped-up outreach effort to its 1,500 client chefs and restaurants.” And the quote from Michael Cigliano, executive vice president of Santa Monica Seafood — “Ultimately, our goal is to reach a point where a majority of all our seafood purchases come from sustainable sources” — implies that 100% sustainable seafood isn’t the goal, and that currently, not even 50% of what the company sells can be considered sustainable.

All that’s to say that Santa Monica Seafood’s making green strides — but discerning eco-pescatarians should take advantage of the knowledgeable staff and still ask questions when making their seafood choices.

As for the dining experience itself: The mahi mahi flat bread was deliciously warm with a tasty pesto aioli. And though the popular cafe was full, my friend Bryan and I found seats at the oyster bar where service was friendly and efficient. Next time I want to try the grilled salmon — after verifying it’s wild-caught.

Santa Monica Seafood. 1000 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica. 310.393.5244. Also a retail store and cafe in Costa Mesa.

Earlier: A Sustainable seafood guide for the digital age

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Counting calories to lose weight? Forcing yourself to eat sad, overpacked Lean Cuisine meals to drop pounds? Then be prepared to inflate the calorie count on that package — by 45%, in some cases — for accuracy. The New York Times’ Nicholas Bakalar reports that fast food and frozen meals contained an average of 18% more calories than listed, according to a new study.

Some of the disparities were startling. At Denny’s, a serving of grits, listed at 80 calories, tested at 258. The label on Lean Cuisine’s shrimp and angel-hair pasta says it has 220 calories, but the researchers measured it at 319. They found 344 calories in a Wendy’s grilled chicken wrap listed at 260.

That 18% average is actually below the 20% variance the Food and Drug Administration allows for packaged food — but certainly more than enough to foil your New Year’s resolution to lose weight. In fact, foiled weight loss plans are exactly what got Dr. Susan B. Roberts, one of the researchers behind this study, looking into this calorie issue!

If you read my post about how Regal theater’s medium popcorn contains 1,200 calories — not the 720 calories that Regal lists — this widespread calorie count discrepancy might not come as a surprise to you. According to the New York Times, reasons for discrepancies include everything from the inevitable variability of handmade foods to manufacturers’ penchant for making packaged foods heavier due to the FDA’s “significant penalties for selling underweight packages.”

Will calorie count info ever get more accurate? One expert, Jennifer L. Pomeranz of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Nutrition at Yale, is quoted saying that government regulation requiring posted calorie counts will then lead to goverment monitoring for the accuracy of the information. We’ll soon find out if Jennifer’s speculations are correct in California, where restaurant chains have been required to make calorie information available to customers since mid-2009. In Jan. 2011, the chains will be required to post calorie information directly on the menus.

In the meantime, dieters would be well-advised to try cooking healthy, eco-friendly meals instead of relying on fast food chains and frozen dinners.

Earlier:
>> How eco-foodies are losing weight
>> How to eat sustainably on a food stamp budget
>>The Poverty Diet: Guatemala vs. U.S.
>> Eat Junior Bacon Cheeseburger now, pay for heart attack later

Photo by Robert S. Donovan

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Were you at the The Great L.A. Walk Saturday? I joined the annual many-mile trek down major thoroughfare (or two)  of the sprawling metropolis on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This year, the Walk was a 14-or-so-mile trek starting at the Shrine Auditorium.

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Always miss your local farmers’ market day, despite your best locavoring intentions? In Hollywood, farmers’ market day’s now everyday thanks to The Farmer’s Kitchen, which celebrated its grand opening and dedication yesterday.

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For fans of The Veggie Grill who had to go all the way down to El Segundo or Irvine to enjoy the restaurant chain’s vegan meals: The Veggie Grill’s now in West Hollywood too!

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I know I never really NEED to eat past 2 am, but I still end up at Swingers Diner from time to time.

Hey, the late-night eatery’s got organic eggs and produce — and lots of vegetarian options. Both the L.A. and Santa Monica locations have free wifi — but no outlets for battery-challenged bloggers to plug in — so if you’re looking for a place to get some serious blogging done, go elsewhere.

But if you want some organic eggs while taking a break from a hard day of work — or hard night of partying — you now know where to go late night to get the yummy protein sans weird antibiotics.

Swingers Diner. Two locations: 8020 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. 323.653.5858; 802 Broadway, Santa Monica. 310.393.9793.

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Coffee addicts in downtown L.A.: Get thee to Lot 44 Coffee, if you haven’t already.

Whether you’re an eco-ethical activist who won’t sip anything but fair trade, organic coffee — or a simple hedonist in need of a caffeine kick — or an artist with a conscience — Lot 44’s got you covered.

Fair trade, organic coffee? Check. Local artist showcases? Check. Organic sandwiches and wraps? Check.

I first stopped by Lot 44 during Downtown Art Walk — and loved the coffee shop’s commitment to environmental and social justice causes — despite the fact that the shop didn’t bother to hire a copyeditor to correctly communicate said commitment to the customers.

Case in point: Lot 44’s got an informative poster about its eco-ethical commitments to “free trade” (right) — but I’m quite certain that whoever wrote said poster actually meant fair trade….

Coffee-enthusiasts will love Lot 44, regardless of the eco-ethical angle. Each cup of coffee gets made individually — which means both a wide selection for your cuppa and a tasty fresh brew. If you’re hungry, you can nosh on organic wraps and sandwiches by Urban Green — or locally-made cupcakes and pastries.

Lot 44 Coffee. 257 S. Spring St., Ste. 115, Los Angeles. 213.626.4646.

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