what i ate in nicaragua

I was lucky enough to go to a Nicaragua Yoga Retreat by Karuna Collective. Nothing quite beats doing yoga surrounded by lovely people in a tropical paradise! It was a transformational and super relaxing experience that was accompanied by a lot of amazing vegan food. The retreat organizers did an incredible job getting the women on staff who made the meals to get creative with their vegan options. As you’ll see below, there was a ton of vegan food in Nicaragua and I was super impressed!

hot for food approved

Casa Analucia Boutique B&B

For this trip, our breakfasts and lunches were usually provided by specific restaurants and we ventured out for dinner. Casa Analucia is where our breakfasts were served! I was always given something delicious that fuelled me up for the rest of the day. Here’s a recap of all the different things I got to indulge in:

squash scramble...

fruit salads...

avocado toast, fried plantain cakes and homemade pico de gallo...

granola...

bread with sun butter and bananas...

breakfast burritos... and lots of rice, beans, and dry toast.

verdict: I had such a wide range of options throughout the trip! Every one of these breakfasts was something I got outta bed looking forward to.

Casa Oro (San Juan Del Sur)

This is where all of our lunches were provided! I’ll highlight the three best lunches for ya from here. The first was a chickpea curry with rice and pita wedges. You know I love curry flavas! The second was an amazing quinoa salad with a quesadilla stuffed with avocado, beans, and local vegetables. And the last impressive lunch was mango salad, yellow coconut curry with chickpeas and vegetables, and rice!

verdict: it was amazing to have so many healthy, nutritious, and delicious vegan options for my mid-day meals!

For dinners, we often wandered around and found places that seemed inviting and interesting. One night because it was raining, we ordered a cheeseless vegan friendly pizza! Unfortunately I don’t remember where we ordered it from, but just know a place exists in town for all your vegan pizza cravings!

Buddha's Garden (San Juan Del Sur)

I was basically clicking my heels when we visited this vegan restaurant for another one of our dinners! We had popcorn as an appetizer, which was a nice lil’ salty snack to start the meal. Then we had spiced Jamaican sangria and butternut squash noodles! Usually I’m not a fan of vegetables masquerading as noodles, but these ones were especially tasty.

verdict: not only did they have great vegan options, this restaurant was adorable too! DISCLAIMER: unfortunately, Buddha’s Garden is now closed.

Taco's Locos (Playa Maderas)

During one of our beach trips, we got veggie tacos! They were EPIC and had gigantic slices of avocado on them which I was definitely a fan of. I washed it down with the local beer, Tona, and couldn’t have been happier!

verdict: beer and tacos on the beach? There’s no place I’d rather be.

The Beach House (San Juan Del Sur)

It was bittersweet to celebrate our last dinner of the retreat together! One of the best combos in my opinion is soup and a sandwich, am I right? I got the avocado sandwich with a side of gazpacho, and both had me praising the vegan gods.

verdict: this was the absolute perfect place for us to have our last meal together! Be sure to check out this spot on the beach, day or night, if you’re ever in San Juan Del Sur.

Nicaragua is officially brimming with some SERIOUS vegan digs! I was so impressed by everything I ate here. Every meal was delicious, and there was a huge variety of things for me to indulge in… which isn’t always the case for us vegans! I’m so happy to have enjoyed all this vegan food Nicaragua, and to have participated in the yoga retreat! I have lots of love for Karuna Collective.

noted, not notable

• Barrio Cafe (San Juan Del Sur)