Our Favorite Coffee + Food in Amsterdam, Netherlands

This past spring Josiah and I spent a week in Amsterdam and had the best time ever! We loved the culture so much! I wanted to put this list together and I hesitate to call it a guide because there is no way I can sit here and tell you I know the ins and outs of all there is to know about Amsterdam, but I can tell you a lot of awesome places we went so that you can add them to your list when you are planning your next trip! So think of it more as an inspiring outline of what we did while we were there and a little guidance to get you started. If you have any additional recommendations I would love to hear them! 

COFFEE

BLACK GOLD

This trendy, hipster's dream of a coffee shop-record shop combo was so fun to visit. It worked perfectly for the coffee-lover in me and my record-enthusiast husband. It's a former laundromat that is naturally lit with a neutral color palette and as you would expect from any vinyl shop, eclectic decor.  I ordered an oatmilk latte (which was basically my order at every single coffee shop in Amsterdam) and grabbed a seat in the back where I was surrounded by greenery in a cool bench area in a cutout window while Josiah flipped through all of the records. 

De Koffieschenkerij

This is actually a coffee shop we didn't get to visit when we were visiting, but it has really great reviews and it is in one of Amsterdam's oldest buildings so I am certain it will be on our list the next time we are there.  Below you can see their outside patio area and it looks so, so cute, 

White Label Coffee

This place had one of the most unique coffee shop set ups I had ever seen. When you first walk in you will immediately notice that the shop is broken up into multiple levels with the barista station being at the very top (see picture below). It was such a fun vibe and the coffee was so amazing. A lot of restaurants around Amsterdam carry White Label coffee, but I definitely recommend going to the shop to get the full experince of their brand.

Scandinavian Embassy

This coffee shop served up an amazing oatmilk latte! It's located right off of an adorable little park that Josiah and I spent a beautiful afternoon hanging out in before grabbing a little caffeine pick-me-up. My favorite part about this coffee shop was the fact that we could easily find a seat and didn't feel rushed to leave. Scandinavian Embassy boasts an award winning barista which was super fun to see too! 

FOOD

Hearth

I don't think Josiah and I are being dramatic when we describe the dinner we had at Hearth as one of our favorite meals we have ever eaten. This innovative, vegan restaurants really made us think differently about vegan cuisine. We had vegan sushi that quite literally blew out minds! The sushi consisted of quinoa, cucumber, roasted red bell peppers, and avocado rolled up with seaweed and topped with a spicy vegan mayo. We also tried a vegan pasta dish that consisted of ravioli-like pasta pieces filled with eggplants, red bell pepper, and zucchini served with a potato sauce and parlsey compote. We finished of our meal with a vegan tiramisu that we tried to eat as slowly as we possibly could. No matter how slow we went, it still was gone too quickly! I can not recommend this place enough! 

The Meets

This was one of the many places that came up when I searched "healthy eats in Amsterdam" so naturally it made my list of "must visits". When we arrived here the first time we were kind of still full from breakfast, but not quite ready for dinner so we ended up getting what they called "the meets platter" which consisted of falafel, beet bites, and sweet potato chips with a few different dips. We also ordered a slice of cashew acai cheesecake because when you're dairy free it's impossible to not be tempted by any and all treats you can have. We also made a second visit for dessert another evening during our trip because I HAD to try the vegan twix. Although we only tried a very small portion of their menu  I definitely would highly recommend this place!

CT Coffee & Coconuts

If you go to Amsterdam and can only visit one restaurant/coffee shop, this is the one to go to. It's located in an old movie theater that was built in the 1920's and brings funky, chill island-like vibes together to create a relaxing and entertaining experience. First, their drink menu alone is incredible! They have a million smoothie options along with some incredible coffee and cocktail options. My favorite was the coconut coffee. It's basically espresso blended with a banana, coconut milk, and chocolate. It's so dreamy and maybe eventually I can recreate a version to share here. Oh also it's three stories and it's GORGEOUS! We went here twice during our visit and if time would have allowed you better believe there would have been a third. 

Lavinia Good Food

This was hands down our most frequented place during our visit in Amsterdam. It was definitely delicious, but it was also convenient from where we were staying and included a ton of gluten-free and dairy-free options on their menu. Their service (despite what a lot of yelp reviews said) was so amazing! It was fun to have the same waitress every single morning that we went there for breakfast and she was a total gem. I absolutely loved the flatbread pizza that we got here and their avocado toast with lox was so, so good. I love that their menu included a lot of items that both tasted amazing and left you feeling great! 

Parallel

This place was recommended to us by our air b and b host as a nice place to go for a slightly fancy, but not too fancy dinner and she could not have been more spot on. We ordered five different tapas and all of them (except maybe one) were gluten-free and dairy-free. I loved how vegetable forward the dishes were and how they presented ingredients in a way I would never have imagined! They had a whipped coconut cream horseradish dip served with vegetable spears that I still think about all the time. This place was so fun and I would for sure go back again the next time we are in Amsterdam. 

The Avocado Show

This place made it to my "must-see" list before we left because my mother sent me a link to it and I immediately knew I had to go! As the name might lead you to expect, their menu is full of all things avocado. They have so many unique uses avocado that it makes this place a really cool experience. I got the avocado toast and Josiah got the avocado matcha pancakes (served with avocado between the pancakes!). It was super good! Fortunately we went during the week at an atypical meal time (2pm), but during the weekend and brunch hours it can be a multople house wait! 

 Bagels and Beans

This place might rank so high with me personally because it was the first place we ate in Amsterdam. After our long overnight flight it was the place that provided the caffeine I so desperately needed as well as a delicious breakfast. Although I was caffeine deprived and would probably have been thankful for even a dunkin' donuts coffee, I was blown away by how good their coffee was! I think almost twelve times while we were there I exclaimed how amazing it was! To eat, I ordered a prana bagel (low traces of gluten) with avocado, hummus, sprouts, dukkah, and lettuce. It was so delicious and I'm actually sad that we only made it here once during our visit. There are multiple locations throughout the city. There are so many in fact that I started to wonder if it was the starbucks of Amsterdam. Whether it is or isn't, their food and coffee are damn good and I highly recommend it. 

It's okay to not be okay

This year has been a tough one. It feels like shit will hit the fan and then we won't even finish cleaning it up before it strikes again.

Just in the past couple months months I've had to deal with two tooth infections, had an emergency wisdom teeth surgery,  got in a car accident, and I found out I had rheumatoid arthritis which left me unable to use either of my hands for a whole week (a photographer's nightmare!). On top of that Josiah had kidney stones that warranted an ER visit. It's been a lot. 

The event that did me in though was two months ago when we were forced to move out of our home after someone came and shot into our windows. Although we don't know all of the details on the case, the police are treating the situation as a targeted occurrence and strongly suggested we move out of our home. This would have been devastating whether or not we had just moved into that apartment or not, but we had only been living there for 6 months. We spent a month bouncing between friends and family and during that time I was held it together. I was okay. 

One of the friends we had been staying with reached out to take the urgency off of our apartment hunt and offered to let us stay with them until we found a place. Soon after moving in with them the idea of staying in Chicago started to feel less appealing. Details are still being improvised on our next move, but I can fill you in on that as we make it up. Now I'm sitting two months past the day we had to move out of our apartment with less of a plan for the future than I did before. I can not for one second forget to acknowledge how generous our friends and their offer are, but the unsettledness of it all in combination with all of the other things going on in our life is really getting to me. I like plans. I like goals. And right now I feel like I'm in a middle season of loss. Loss of safety. Loss of security. Loss of inspiration. Loss of joy.

I want so desperately to be okay. But I need to remind myself it's okay to not be okay. And right now, I don't feel okay. 

How to Stay Healthy When Traveling

This post is about staying healthy both physically and mentally while traveling. I've long struggled to not let going on a trip rock me completely off the "healthy boat". I've always felt like trips were a time to indulge like you'll never go back to a place and completely live it up, but here are some things that I have found helpful to live my best life -- enjoying traveling while simultaneously staying healthy. 

Elderberry syrup 

Before we went on our most recent trip to Europe, both Josiah and I starting drinking a tablespoon of elderberry syrup every morning to help support our immune system. It's definitely a new thing for us, but neither of us got sick before, during, or after our trip so I think it is going to be something we do in the weeks leading up to traveling from here on out. 

Other supplements 

Bring whatever supplements you take daily. You're already going to be thrown off your routine in a lot of different ways, you might as well try to keep that on track. Really the only supplement that I take daily is vital proteins collagen.  I've been taking it faithfully for almost a year now and can definitely notice the positive effect it has had on my gut health. For that reason, I never want to miss a day of taking it, especially when traveling. Vital proteins has single servings of collagen that make it convenient for travel. Personally, I prefer just to scoop what I think I need into a baggie or glass container and travel that way because it is much more cost effective, but it's really nice to have the option. 

walk as many places as possible 

Walking is my favorite way to see a new place. Not only is it free, but when you walk you are able to go at a slow enough pace that you can fully take in your surroundings. The fact that walking while exploring a new city doubles as exercise is just a bonus. If walking isn't your thing or you're a little tight on time, rent a bicycle. You can still get a little exercise in, but get around a lot quicker. 

SLEEP if you have an overnight plane ride

This was a game changer for me. The last time we traveled abroad our flight was overnight, but I didn't sleep. That probably was mostly because I was so excited about everything that we were about to see, but this time I forced myself to sleep a good portion of the flight and it made it much easier to adjust to the local time once we landed. 

Get on their time zone 

This goes along with sleeping on the plane. If you had an overnight flight, once you land, change your watch to match the local time immediately and stay awake until that evening. We landed at 7am Amsterdam time and although it felt like it was midnight for us, we went and had breakfast and then continued to explore until it was an appropriate time to go to sleep (which I think we decided was 7:30pm). We then slept the entire night and were able to wake up and fall asleep at an appropriate time the rest of our trip. Staying awake the entire first day was a struggle towards the end, but it made the rest of the week so much easier. 

Research restaurants in advance 

As someone who has dietary restrictions, this was so important. I researched restaurants that not only met my dietary requirements, but also had creative and interesting dishes. Taking that little extra time to research made the trip less stressful because we knew we had options that would leave us feeling great. 

Indulge when you want

Give yourself permission to enjoy whatever food items you want. If you're up for some crepes, even though you just had some gelato, go for it. Listen to your body and do what it wants! Obviously I'd recommend still respecting your dietary-requirements, but you're the judge of how each food makes you feel, so if it's not worth it, don't eat it. And if it is, go for it! 

Don't indulge if you don't want To

If you're not feeling like indulging in some Parisian chocolate, skip it. Just because you likely won't be back for a while doesn't mean you HAVE to EAT ALL THE THINGS. Before this trip to Paris I kept dreaming about chocolate croissants. The first time we were in Paris I LOVED the chocolate croissants and imagined I would want to eat as many as I possibly could in the short time we were there. Ironically, as soon as we arrived in Paris, I didn't want a chocolate croissant anymore. The craving had passed and I ended up not eating one at all during this trip. If you don't really want to indulge, don't. 

try to maintain some form of routine

When traveling, life can feel so hectic, so I feel that it it is very important to maintain even a small amount of routine. For me that was journaling and reading a short devotional before heading out to explore for the morning. It was very brief and might sound meaningless, but it helped me feel grounded. 

Hydrate

If I don't drink enough water I feel sluggish and often times get a headache.  Do not forget to drink water! Even if you're on a plane and worry about bugging your neighbor to pee, drink, it will make you feel better. 

BYOS

Bring your own snacks. Especially as someone who has dietary restrictions this is a must! Here are some of my faves: Epic bars, Kitchfix granola, and Larabars. 

DOn't plan too much

This one might not work for everyone. For Josiah and I, this looks like not having a hard and set schedule. Although we research restaurants and attractions that we want to visit, we try to give ourselves a lot of room to let the day take us wherever. It keeps our stress levels low and allows room for spontaneity, which for us, is what travel is really all about. 

Skip the makeup

Don't wear makeup on the plane.  I did this once and immediately thought, WHY. It always exaggerates the amount that planes already dry my skin out so I always just sport a bare face when flying. Then, when I arrive at my destination I'll moisturize and apply some makeup. 

Peppermint oil

I get a lot of headaches when traveling. Mostly related to motion-sickness (it's how my motion-sickness first shows itself before I start to get nauseas) so when I start to feel one coming on I just rub a little bit of peppermint oil on the back of my neck and it usually goes away pretty quickly. 

So there you have it, my current tips and tricks to stay healthy while traveling! If you have any additional tips for traveling healthy, let me know! I would love to hear them! 

Inside Out Peanut Butter Cups

I think obsessed is the word I would use to describe my relationship with peanut butter. And that might even be downplaying it. It's always been a favorite food of mine, especially in the form of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. my problem with those however was that there were never enough peanut butter. Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, I do, but when it comes to peanut butter in desserts or candies, I think the more the merrier. These peanut butter cups provide my preferred ratio and utilize much more health conscious ingredients than any packaged peanut butter cup ever will. Make these and keep them in your freezer for when that post-dinner sugar craving strikes. These are only slightly sweetened, which is my personal preference, but if you prefer them much sweeter, just increase the amount of maple syrup and enjoy. 

INSIDE OUT PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Makes 9

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 TBS maple syrup
• 2 TBS cocoa powder 

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Melt together the peanut butter and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. When the mixture has melted completely take out 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. Add in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup to the peanut butter and coconut oil mixture you set aside. Using the peanut butter and coconut oil mixture that is still in the saucepan, pour the mixture into the paper liners in the muffin pan. Only fill the cups about half full and then place in the freezer. Allow that layer to freeze and then pour the chocolate layer on top and then allow that layer to freeze. Finally take the remaining peanut butter coconut oil mixture and pour it over the top of the chocolate layer and then place in the freezer. Once the final layer has frozen you can enjoy. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.