Honey nettles and wild flowers for dinner? Exotic, but it doesn't sound very filling.

The BBC has the scoop on a hot British restaurant where the star chef Sat Bains ordered an employee to use her foraging skills to expand the kitchen's repertoire. Rosy garlic and kitchen honey nettles grow just a few feet away from the restaurant, so picking them seemed natural to Nanna Vestergard, a kitchen worker. Talk about local!

Vestergard learned how to forage in her native country of Denmark. Don't try this at home! You shouldn't try your luck at foraging without doing serious research. Vestergard warns that unless you're 100% sure, "you shouldn't be picking anything at all." Another basic rule is "if it tastes really horrible, usually it isn't good for you."

If foraging isn't  your thing, you might want to try gardening, instead. Learn how to create a kitchen garden for free. You'll know what all the plants are (and that's it's safe to eat them) and you won't have to worry about big wig British chefs taking the fruit you had your eye on.

Image Credit: Minds Eye

Welcome to a magical place where grab and go, decadent comfort food blissfully coexists with super high nutrition and globally good underpinnings…The Veggie Grill’s got it all.

“Our overarching purpose is to show people how delicious and enjoyable plant-based food can be when prepared the right way,” says T.K. Pillan, one of The Veggie Grill’s owners. Goodbye bland tofu, uninspired bean sprouts…hello Chipotle BBQ, Grillin’ Chickin’ and Carne Asada sandwiches…all of which are made from 100% plant-based, veggie protein blends.

“The Best Chicken Sandwich I Ever Had!” Veggie Grill converts regularly proclaim that The Veggie Grill’s Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’ (crispy fried chillin’ chickin’, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, southwestern spiced vegan mayo on a wheat bun with a side of red cabbage ‘slaw) is ‘the best chicken sandwich I ever had!” The irony? There’s no chicken in it!

By using its signature marinades and sauces, The Veggie Grill converts super nutritious plant-based proteins patties (which in their base form, are pretty much flavorless) into familiar and yummy all-American comfort food.

“There’s a certain stereotype about vegetarian and vegan food being boring and tasteless,” continues Pillan. The Veggie Grill busts through that myth, despite its cholesterol-, trans fat- and high-fructose corn syrup-free menu offerings.

Another amazing side effect? No bloating or sleepiness, as you might feel after a guilty indulgence in ‘conventional’ fast foods. What you eat affects your vitality, and The Veggie Grill is on the right side of your energy and nutritional levels.

Eco Bite The Veggie Grill takes a decidedly non-preachy approach to their vegan comfort food…but Pillan adds that 100% plant-based food is as sustainable as you can get.

The huge carbon foot print of cattle and other animals raised for food has a greater impact on the planet than even transportation, a little known fact.

“Meat is simply an inefficient use of the planet,” says Pillan, citing Brazilian rain forests that are currently being cleared to make room for raised-for-meat cattle grazing. You can get much more from land – and for people – by growing plant-based food versus animals raised for food.

Sourcing wise, The Veggie Grill strives for local and organic whenever possible, especially when it comes to produce.

Check out Fox’s Good Day L.A.’s recent visit to The Veggie Grill and plan your outing to this amazing eatery soon (there are two locations in Irvine and one in El Segundo, CA). Staying at home? Pick a new dish from Laura Klein’s huge offering of healthy organic recipes!

Know any other ‘comfort food’ vegan or vegetarian restaurants? Let us know!