Not too long ago, Hollywood got an eco-friendly pizza joint — a family-owned Pizza Fusion franchise serving delicious pizzas with organic crusts, organic and natural meats, and lots of vegan and gluten-free options. Pizza Fusion Hollywood is no more — but the family behind the spot’s still serving delicious eco-friendly eats at the same spot under a new name and with an expanded menu.

The new spot: EVO Kitchen. The remade restaurant still boasts organic crust pizzas and retains its eco-creds — but the menu now includes more upscale entrees and unique menu items crafted by Michele Orlando, one of the co-owners of EVO (her brother and mother are the other co-owners).

Among those one-of-a-kind dishes is the Fig Tapenade — served with house-made hummus and raw veggies. Get this appetizer and you’ll be treated to a healthy tapenade treat that combines the sweet jamminess of figs with the smooth rich taste of kalamata olives.

Pescatarians won’t want to miss the Salmon Filet — a generous portion of sustainably farmed fish served with a delicious mushroom and zucchini sautee and roasted potatoes.

EVO offers many of the popular desserts — like the vegan gluten-free brownie — that were on the old Pizza Fusion menu. But for my last visit, I tried something new: the Black Cherry Float with vegan coconut sorbet, a creamilicious sweet drink that comes with an extra sidecar of natural black cherry soda.

Next time I visit, I plan to try the Breakfast Pizza — topped with breakfast favorites like organic eggs, natural bacon or sausage, and potato!

Best of all, EVO Kitchen still offers something for everyone. Vegan and gluten-free menu choices are plentiful. And picky eaters can always substitute the cheeses for the vegan Daiya cheese or the organic crust for the gluten-free crust.

EVO Kitchen. 7950 W. Sunset Blvd. #104, Los Angeles. 323.375.3390

Photo of Raw Veggies with Hummus and Fig Tapenade by Zach Behrens; all other photos by Siel

Getting local produce is easy — except when it’s not. Farmers markets happen all over the city and community supported agriculture programs have popped up in many areas — but not everyone have the flexibility to pick up the box of produce at a set time every week — and lugging home a week’s worth of produce can be a real challenge for car-free environmentalists. Plus, until now, organic produce delivery services have been either expensive — or not quite that local.

But all that’s changing, thanks to CSA California. This local company’s been offering organic, local produce for pick up at locations all over L.A. for a few years now, selling each big bag of produce for just $25. Now, CSA California’s added a delivery service. For just $5 on top of that bargain $25 price, you can get that load of organic goodness delivered right to your doorstep.

As soon as I got an email letting me know about CSA California’s new delivery service, I cancelled my subscription to Farm Fresh to You, because their produce comes mostly from Northern California and is more expensive to boot. Earlier this week, I finally got my first box of CSA California produce delivered!

I got the “Full” box, the smallest option, which cost just $30 including delivery (bigger “Family” and “Large” options are also available) — and got home from a long day of teaching Wednesday to find a small but very tightly packed box in front of my door!

Inside I found tiny apples, strangely dirty oranges, a small melon, an eggplant, little squashes, broccoli, and lots and lots of greens. I’m slowly eating through it now — and it’s all delicious.

The one not-so-great aspect of this service. When I signed up online, I opted to have my produce box delivered on Tuesday — only to get a random form email a day before that delivery date with this note: “subscription being switched to wednesdays.” Um, why? Sure enough, the box arrived on a Wednesday — a bad day for me, since I teach all day — so I’m not sure how long it had been sitting on my front step when I got home mid-afternoon. The produce looks fine — but I’m concerned that the stuff won’t keep as long after having sweated it out for hours outside….

So be warned: Your delivery date choice may not be honored by this company. Aside from that, so far, I love the CSA California service. Where are you getting your produce these days?

Earlier: Locavoring in a box: Organic CSAs in Los Angeles

Love the sweet, lemony flavor of lemongrass — but haven’t mastered the art of Thai cuisine to cook with it? Taste it in a ready-mixed tea. I discovered Rishi Tea‘s Orange Blossom Organic Green Tea at Co-opportunity a few weeks ago, and recommend it to all who love lemongrass.

The floral, citrusy fragrance and flavor is wonderful to wake up to. This loose leaf tea mixes green tea not just with lemongrass, but also lemon myrtle and essential oils of orange, lime and tangerine for a complex mix of citrus flavors. Plus, the tea also includes osthmanthus flowers, rose flavor, and jasmine essential oil. In fact, if you’re not actually a fan of the taste of green tea but like to drink it for health reasons, the Orange Blossom tea’s a good choice for you. Each cup a rich, drinkable bouquet, with the floral and fruitiness much more noticeable than the smooth and mellow taste of the green tea.

Plus, the Orange Blossom tea’s organic — and fair trade certified too. The green tea’s grown by the Xuan En Fair Trade Organic Cooperative in Hubei, China.

Recyclable 2.4-ounce cans of Orange Blossom Organic Green Tea’s available for about $9 at Co-opportunity and other stores. Oddly, Rishi Tea’s own web store only sells it in bulk packages, ranging from $4 for an ounce to $45.75 for a pound.

Earlier:
>> A Taste test of 4 organic rooibos teas
>> How a fair trade coffee blogger (me!) quit coffee

Fellow Larabar fans: I’ve discovered a raw-er, superfoodier, organic version of those simple fruit-and-nut treats — Navitas Naturals Power Snacks.

These grab-and-go Power Snacks are like Larabars — a favorite snack of mine I’ve raved about before — but with an extra nutritional boost. Like Larabars, Power Snacks are made mainly with dates and nuts — with no processed sweeteners or other fats — for that pure, natural sweet-and-nutty combo. But unlike Larabars, which are made with just two to five ingredients, Power Snacks are made with about a dozen — with the additional ingredients being mostly superfoods growing in popularity like goji berries, chia, maca, lucuma, and camu-camu. Plus, the Power Snacks are all raw and organic certified — a big plus for eco-foodies and rawgans alike.

The Citrus Chia‘s my favorite. It has a complex fruity taste from maca, apricots, oranges, raisins, and dates — which is combined with creamy cashew and coconutty goodness plus the crunch of chia and sesame seeds.

But I loved the Cacao Goji too, which tastes like a rich raw brownie and appeals to the chocoholic side of me — especially since the snack doesn’t taste too much like goji berries, which I’m not a huge fan of. The snacks are made with goji powder instead of chunks of the goji berry — a choice that effectively masks the goji taste while retaining the superfruit’s health benefits.

A Blueberry Hemp flavor’s supposed to launch later this year, but for now, you’ll need to content yourself with Citrus Chia and Cacao Goji. I recommend enjoying them with a lot of water — since those chia seeds will soak them up and keep you full for a good long time. An 8-ounce pouch costs $8.99 at Whole Foods and other natural food stores, as well as online at Nativas Naturals web store.

Earlier: Try new superfoods — or enjoy Raw Maqui Fudge Truffles

Flower power’s getting redefined. A pretty green company called Lotus Wei has launched a collection of flower essences — described as “energetic infusions of flowers” that have the power to lift moods and brighten spirits. Can what is basically scentless water in which organic flowers once soaked really change how you feel? Well, I’m guessing your answer to that will depend on your current beliefs about aromatherapy, vibrational healing, and “What the Bleep Do We Know?”

What I do know, however, is that chocolate can provide instant calm — which is why I’m really glad Lotus Wei has a sister company called Wei of Chocolate. I met the women behind both companies at Evolue’s party for Environmental Working Group last month — and got to sample some of these eco-ethical treats.

Even flower essence skeptics will love the taste of Wei of Chocolate — deliciously creamy organic, vegan, and fair trade dark chocolates in decadent flavors. My favorite? Wei Love — Chocolate with a kick of cayenne, plus cinnamon, ginger, mace, and maca, all of which give this treat a creamy yet grainy texture.

I also loved Wei Inspired — a mocha-flavored treat, and Wei Gratitude, a chai-spiced dessert. Wei Joyful has a nice citrus flavor, while Wei Relaxed and Wei Pure are both rich and creamy — and milkier, with slightly lower chocolate content.

All Wei of Chocolate flavors are infused with flower essences from Lotus Wei — that are supposed to enhance the feelings the chocolates are named after. After eating a small piece of each flavor, I did indeed feel a little more joyful, relaxed, inspired, and grateful with a little more love for the world — kind of like the way I feel after any delicious organic chocolate treat.

With just 30 calories a piece, Wei of Chocolate won’t guilt your health-conscious mind. I like the way the chocolates melt really slowly in your mouth, so you can really savor each piece for a long time. A 2.25-ounce tube with 9 pieces costs $10 at Wei of Chocolate, while a 6-ounce bag with 24 pieces costs $21. I recommend going for All the Wei — a 6-ounce bag that’s an assortment of all six flavors — to get a taste of each.

As for the Lotus Wei products? Though the claim to fame for the line are the scentless flower essences, Lotus Wei’s serums and energy mists contain sweet-smelling organic essential oils. I got a sample of the Inner Peace mist and have been spraying it intermittenly throughout the day. The gentle spiced lavender scent reminds me to chill out — and works nicely as a not-too-pungent perfume.

Well, I’m dessert deprived no longer! My favorite so far’s I Am Bliss — the chocolate hazelnut cream torte that’s light, creamy, and more delicious than nutella.

A close runner up’s I Am Adoring — the raw tiramisu — perhaps because it has a little of that coffee flavor I’ve been missing lately.

I’ve also tried I Am Awakening — the key lime torte. Key lime isn’t my favorite flavor — I prefer chocolatey and creamy to tart and fruity when it comes to desserts — but the coconutty goodness on top was a delicious touch. Those who love the conventional version should give this light, raw alternative a try.

I love how Cafe Gratitude’s mousses, pies, and other desserts are light and fluffy — quite the opposite of the dense, heaviness of Cru‘s desserts. Apparently, the secret ingredient in many of the desserts is the irish moss — an ingredient I’ve yet to try using at home.

Want to try making your own Cafe Gratitude dessert? KCRW’s Good Food blog has the recipe for Cafe Gratitude’s Coconut Cream Pie. Make it — and invite me over for a taste test!

Eating raw can be a really time consuming endeavor when you’re just getting started — what with all the new sprouting, fermenting, dehydrating, and spiralizing involved. But there is an easy option for raw foodies on the go: The Box by raw food company Rawvolution. Best known in the Los Angeles area for its raw restaurant Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, this company also offers a weekly box filled with ready-to-eat organic raw food for both pickup and nationwide delivery.

I’d been curious about The Box for a long time, so when the raw week of my Fresh Start Cleanse came up last month, I decided to take the plunge and shell out the $120 for the box. After all, the box promised 12 unique dishes including soups, salads, entrees, and desserts — all made raw from fresh, organic, local ingredients and superfoods.

So I picked up my box excitedly one Monday from Euphoria Loves Rawvolution — and tore into it just five minutes later. Sure enough, the reusable box was filled with all sorts of goodies — like raw pizza, pasta, and cookies!

Of course, the box also came with a little pamphlet advising me to make sure to my greens too — because simple green salads aren’t included in the box. Salad greens are easy to add on at home — so Rawvolution just focuses on unique, more substantial dishes that busy foodies may not have the time or energy to prep after a long work day.

Well, I took that tip to eat my greens very seriously — a decision that made The Box last me pretty much all week — an effect that had both positive and negative results (read on). I made my own green smoothies for breakfast, ate fruit from my organic produce delivery for snacks, and added my own greens — but other than that, was able to avoid all food prep for the week by relying on The Box.

Basically, I turned every dish into a salad. And if the dish was already a salad, I made it an even bigger salad. How? Take the Mock Tuna Salad, for example — which filled a sizeable sandwich container to the brim with a heavy nutty faux-tuna nut mix. Like real tuna salad, this would’ve been far too heavy just to eat on its own. So I chopped romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions — then threw about half the container on there for a filling, raw meal. Does raw mock tuna taste like real tuna salad? No — though you can detect a slightly fishy taste in the concoction, which has a nice nutty flavor that’s lovable for itself.

So I got two meals out of that one package, as I did for the Veggie Cakes & Dill Sauce. The Veggie Cakes were savory, nutty and oniony — but also extremely dry and a bit too intense (dehydrated onions can pack a powerful punch!) to eat on their own. So I broke these into croutons and threw them on a green salad. Topped with the dreamy, creamy dill dressing, the salad was perfect — sort of like a Ceasar salad with less cheese and more intense croutons.

I turned the pasta dish — the Indonesian Noodle Affair (top photo) — into a pasta salad too. This was probably my favorite dish. The spicy and creamy sauce on the kelp noodles made the raw dish a decadent affair.

I got so into this “throw it on greens” habit that I even added greens to the Seaweed Salad and Bok Choy Salad, which were already made with greens! Both those salads were made with a generous amount of delicious marinades — which doubled nicely as dressing for the extra greens.

No, I did not put the two soups on greens. Those I enjoyed as cool midafternoon snacks! The French Onion soup was just so so, but I loved the kick in the Spicy Sesame Cream Soup — a nuttalicious, thick broth with cilantro, onions, and red cabbage.

I kept my salad on the side when I ate the Greek Pizza. The pizza actually needed assembly, with the tangy topping of sundried tomatoes and olives placed on what I think was a collard leaf so the whole thing could simply be set on top of the dehydrated crust, which was packed separately. The concentrated flavors in the dehydrated crust — combined with the concentrated flavors of the sundried tomatoes and olives — was a bit intense for me, though I realize some raw-gans love dehydrated raw food specifically for that concentration of flavors.

By the time I got to the Vegetable Lasagna though, I’d had the box for about five days — and the remaining items were looking a little — wilted. The dish tasted creamy — but had gotten mushy and slightly discolored with a sort of marinated look by the time I got to it. The only dish I actually disliked was the Mashed “Potatoes” — made of pureed cauliflower, I think. It tasted strangely sour and acidic — though I wonder if that effect was due to the fact I ate this dish last and the dish had gone bad (though I didn’t get sick).

The dishes I ate first? Those would be the desserts. The Tropical Fruit Parfait was like a creamy, pineapple-flavored tapioca, with coconut on top and a yummy nut crumble at the bottom. The three Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls were a sweet, rich mix of maca, coconut oil, and carob chips — which I really should have cut into halves to enjoy a half piece a day instead of eating them all on the first day!

If I go on a raw kick again, I may try the box again — but will make sure I have a person to split it with, as super fresh raw dishes really are just not made to last all week. The green downside to this organic, vegan raw service: Though the recycled cardboard boxes themselves can be taken back to Rawvolution for reuse, the individual containers can’t. And the biodegradable containers are not accepted in most cities’ recycling programs — including in West Hollywood, where I live.

Want to try The Box yourself? Check out next week’s menu and order it for $120 at Rawvolution’s website. You can pick up your order if you’re in New York or Los Angeles; otherwise, FedEx delivery will cost you extra.

Earlier:
>> Raw vegan restaurants in Los Angeles
>> Organic meals, delivered in Los Angeles

Did you know yesterday was National Mai Tai Day? It’s been just over a year since I’ve had an alcoholic drink, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a Mai Tai — or any other frou frou cocktail. Sometime in my twenties, I decided those sugary, high-calorie drinks just weren’t worth the calories — or hangovers.

But I love the idea of tropical fruity cocktails — which still make me think of a deliciously decadent beach vacation (ah, the power of advertising). And this week, I’m rediscovering the taste of these treats — minus the sugar, fat and alcohol. How? Zhena’s Gypsy Tea.

This organic, fair trade company — which made me really sad by no longer making its delicious biodynamic green teas — is back with a perfect-for-summer tea line: Tropical green teas.

My favorite so far: Coconut Rum. Just pour hot water over this pretty sachet and you’ll be greeted with a luxurious coconut-meets-pineapple flavor, spiked with a hint of rum. It’s like a summer indulgence — with green tea antioxidants! I also liked the Berry Bellini — a more tart, fruity brew made with organic apples, orange and lemon peel, raspberries, and peach flavor.

I discovered those two at Evolue’s fundraiser party for Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic safety database earlier this week — and I’m already looking forward to trying out the other three flavors: Mojito Mint, Strawberry Kiwi, and Papaya Mango. Want to try one of these cocktail-teas yourself? A tin of 22 sachets costs $6.99.

Earlier: Tasty teas — that are fair trade and organic too

I picked up “The Compassionate Diet” because it’s written by Arran Stephens, co-founder of Nature’s Path Organic Foods — a company I adore. As a former vegetarian turned ethical omnivore who eats about 95 percent vegan, I thought perhaps this book might convince me to return to vegetarianism or even try total veganism, and opened it with an open mind.

Alas, “The Compassionate Diet” is heavily inspired by Arran’s spiritual beliefs — that are highly unconvincing to an atheist like me. Arran kicks off the book by pushing for lacto-vegetarianism — which he clearly believes to be the best diet. Eating dairy’s just fine, but in his opinion, ovo-vegetarianism is a contradiction in terms. How so? Well, Arran’s best argument is a quote from a “poet-saint” called Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, who argues that even infertile eggs “represent a form of life which cannot fulfill itself” and eating them “stupefies the mind and enflames the passions.” That sounds — scientific!

To attract readers to his version of vegetarianism, Arran spends a big chunk of his book naming famous people who happened to be vegetarians — as proof that the choice didn’t hold them back in their field. As you may have guessed, Hitler does not nab a mention in his roster of star vegetarians. He also devotes a big chunk of the book to linking various religions to vegetarianism — including making a case for why Jesus was really a vegetarian — which also didn’t do much to convince a nonbeliever like me.

When I read Arran’s argument that if people gets sick on a vegetarian diet, they shouldn’t blame the diet but know the illness was caused by other reasons like “karmic destiny,” I actually laughed out loud. His suggestion for avoiding B12 deficiencies on a vegetarian or vegan diet? Eat processed foods manufactured by companies with B12 artificially added in!

Of course, I still agreed with Arran on a lot of issues — from the evils of factory farming to the health problems associated with meat-heavy diets. Those are facts backed up by many studies by environmentalists and health professionals. But as with many pro-veg books, Arran extrapolates from the fact that a diet of mostly plants makes for better health and environment to argue that a diet with no meat (and eggs) is the best choice. He big ups organic farming, but stays mum on how on organic livestock often take a central role in keeping farms sustainable.

As you can tell by now, I wasn’t moved by “The Compassionate Diet.” Still, the book managed to nab jacket quotes from eco-luminaries like Jane Goodall, Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey, and “Diet For a New America” author John Robbins. Want to give “The Compassionate Diet” a read yourself? The book is available now for $17.99.

Some love maca for its alleged libido-boosting effects. I just love the stuff because it’s sweet and yummy — especially when combined with chocolate. My favorite way to eat maca? Biting into the Chocolate Maca Chunk bar from Lulu’s Chocolate.

I discovered this organic, raw, vegan, handcrafted raw chocolate at Lightning in a Bottle, when I stopped by the Lulu’s Chocolate booth (below). Inside, visitors were invited to sit on cushions, sampling bites of the chocolates along with free tea.

After tasting the Chocolate Maca Chunk, I had to buy it. The bar brings together the best parts of two other Lulu’s Chocolate bars — The Maca Love Bar with its sweet maca taste and the Aztec Crunch with its high chocolate content and crunchy cacao nibs. Combined, they make the Chocolate Maca Chunk — a dreamy, melt-in-your-mouth raw treat made with 13 percent maca and 62 percent cacao, sweetened with Coconut Secret coconut crystals, and flavored with organic mesquite, vanilla bean, and sea salt.

The bars are smaller than most chocolate bars — which I think “right-sizes” the snack to prevent overindulging — though after finishing a bar, I immediately wanted more! Each 1-ounce bar has 142 calories. And all that yumminess comes wrapped in compostable natureflex with a recycled paper sleeve.

I regretted not buying more bars while at Lightning in a Bottle, but luckily found the bars again after I got home — this time at Erewhon, a popular natural foods store in Los Angeles! You can also find the bars at Euphoria Loves Rawvolution in Santa Monica — or buy them at Lulu’s Chocolate’s online store for $4.44 each.

Earlier:
>> Nicobella Munch: Get your organic, vegan, fair trade chocolate snack fix
>> Try new superfoods — or enjoy Raw Maqui Fudge Truffles