You are here: Home / Archives for Dining Out

Cake Denial

October 7, 2009 by

Hi everyone!

I am so excited! I arrived home today to find a HUGE package of goodies – all food samples for me to try. I won’t reveal what products they are just yet – I need to arrange a really cool picture displaying my new bounty!

Today was a no-run Wednesday, so I promptly got up around 6:30, ate some breakfast, and was at work at 8:30 (yippee, I was early!). Before leaving the house, I had a light breakfast – a super ripe and juicy nectarine…

10.7 breakfast

I just wasn’t very hungry (that happens when I don’t run) but I knew I needed to eat something. 

Work was very productive again today. Thankfully, my projects are beginning to wind down. But, it really is just the calm before the storm, so to speak. Because, in about 3 weeks, everything culminates at our big meeting in San Diego. I will be traveling and working for 7 days straight – working 12-15 hour days. Although some people at the office may not agree, I really do have fun at the meeting. I find all of the hustle and bustle exciting and energizing.

I’m a little worried about my posts for that week though, because of the long days. Also, I’m still not sure how I’m going to take pictures of all my meals – and we usually have GREAT meals/dinners at these meetings – very high class. I promise I will try to sneak in a few good photos!

Around 1:30 PM, I thought it was about time to grab lunch. I called ahead to Go Roma to check out their soup du jour – it was cream of chicken with wild rice. Sold!

10.7 lunch

Oh, this soup is fantastic! But I really felt like I was eating 1,000 calories because it was so rich and creamy. That definitely kept me full for the rest of the day!

Dinner was a superb meal of chicken tacos prepared by Scott The Chef/Computer guy – aka my husband.

10.7 dinner2

He actually made me chicken tacos while he had the steak variety, because I don’t eat beef. Hmm..so good that I actually had two full tacos! As you can see, I made the first one and completely forgot to put lettuce on it – so here  is my taco re-do….

10.7 dinner3

To finish off the meal, I had a little taste of chocolate that someone gave to me at work…

10.7 chocolate

This was a Lake Champlain maple crunch chocolate made in Vermont. Don’t you just love the cool fall design? It’s so Vermont-ish too.

OK, I wasn’t going to mention this, but my conscience got the best of me. After the chocolate, I had another piece of chocolate cake with Breyer’s vanilla bean ice cream. No photo though because I’m in cake denial. Part of me thought that if I did not have a photo of it that there would be no proof that I ate it. I’m sure you’ve all been there!

Ok, enough blabbering for tonight. See you all on Thursday!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , ,

Workplace Yoga!

October 3, 2009 by

Hello out there!

I’ve had a great Saturday so far today, although I didn’t make it to yoga class. I’m beginning to think I should just cancel my membership at the gym because I only keep it for yoga classes. Yet, I can’t seem to get my rear end out of bed in time to go! However – good news! My work announced that, starting in November, we will actually have yoga classes brought to us onsite!!! How awesome is that? So, it will be about $60 for 6 classes (one hour per week) and my company with subsidize at least 50% of it. Plus, it will be held during our lunch hour – now if that isn’t motivation to attend class, I don’t know what is!

Instead of yoga, hubby and I went to the mall (seems like we’ve been doing a lot of that lately) to do a little shopping. However, before heading out, I fueled up on another cereal bowl…

10.3 breakfast1

This was a little different than yesterday. I mixed Multi-grain Cheerios, Kashi Go Lean (mostly for the fiber), and the rest of Bear Naked banana nut cereal – extra crunchy goodness!

10.3 breakfast2

Our mall trip was specifically to pick up some last-minute birthday presents for a party we’re going to tomorrow. But, I was also side-tracked at looking at clothes and shoes – such a girl thing, ya know? I was also excited to hear that on Tuesday, Macy’s starts its Clinique bonus time. I’ve been waiting for this because I need to stock up on a few essentials before my big San Diego trip at the end of the month.

For lunch, we opted for Americanized-Thai/Asian food at Big Bowl. This restaurant reminds me of a PF Changs or even a little of Wagamana in England (also in Boston). They serve Thai-Chinese food with an American flair. I’ve had some pretty scary Thai and Chinese food in my day so I stayed away from it for a LONG time. Then, after moving to Chicago a few years ago, I tried Big Bowl and have loved Thai food ever since.

Before ordering our main course, we started with some of the best chicken egg rolls I’ve ever eaten…

10.3 lunch2

If you ever have the opportunity to eat here, you must try these!

Next, my husband and I split the make-your-own stir-fry bar..

10.3 lunch1

Which has all sorts of yummy and locally grown fresh produce – like carrots, snap peas, broccoli, etc, plus standard Asian selections like water chestnuts and baby corn. You basically tell your server what meat you want (we chose the crunchy chicken), the sauce (we ordered spicy kung pao), if you want rice or noodles (we chose brown rice), and then you fill up a big red bowl (hence the name Big Bowl) with all the veggies you can fit in the bowl. You put the bowl, along with your order receipt, at the order station, and a few minutes later, your fully cooked meal comes out.

10.3 lunch3

Hmmm, so yummy! And you really can easily split one order of the stir-fry bar between two people. Sometimes, we even have leftovers!

Now I need to be heads down working for the rest of the afternoon – although it’s going to be tough because I’m really easily distracted right now.

See ya all later!

Filed Under: Lunch Tagged With: , , , ,

Food and Football – A Perfect Sunday

September 27, 2009 by

Hello Girls! Wow – what a beautiful day it was here! It was about 72 degrees and sunny – just perfect! 

Well, in honor of my 8th wedding anniversary, I thought I’d give you a preview of the anniversary photos for tomorrow’s post….

Cruise 2006 273

This is Scott and I while on a cruise a couple years ago. You might not be able to tell, but we were quite tipsy from all of the wine! Believe it or not, I ran 5 days on our 7 day cruise – even in choppy waters! As for my husband, I don’t think Scott saw the inside of the fitness center at all that week – he he! Ahh..good times! Stay tuned for more pics tomorrow….

Now, onto today…

I was out the door by 7:30 AM to go for a fast 6 mile run – it took me just over 48 minutes – yeah! I love when I have really good runs, they usually put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.

I did have a 1/2 Luna bar just prior to my run which I think helped with my endurance and speed immensely…

9.27 breakfast1

This Luna bar was pretty tasty with a great peanut butter flavor. It only has 3 g of fiber though which is not terribly high for a power bar. After my workout, I was running late to make 9:30 Mass, so I ate the other 1/2 of my Luna bar in the car. I was so glad that I did because Mass ended up being nearly 25 minutes longer than expected. I think I would have passed out if I wouldn’t have eaten ahead of time!

9.27 breakfast2

After church, we headed back home for an hour or so then it was back out to lunch at Go Roma. Between work and home, I eat at this place WAY too much – but it’s so good and convenient – not to mention relatively healthy.

9.27 lunch2

I had the vegetarian panini with spinach, red peppers, tomatoes, onions, and goat cheese. It was quite good, although I stopped eating about 3/4 of the way so I wouldn’t get too full.

The rest of the day consisted of cleaning (outside and inside) and watching the Chicago Bears beat the Seattle Seahawks! Scott was very happy of course.

For dinner, Scott made his awesome turkey tacos with all the fixins…

9.27 dinner1

I only had two soft tacos – full of lettuce, meat, salsa, cheese, and guacamole – and I was pretty full by the end.

Now, I’m off to do a little light reading and then to bed. I have another early and jam-packed Monday planned, that starts with a 5 mile run!

Night all!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tapas Anniversary

September 26, 2009 by

Morning Girls!

Did you miss me last night? If feels weird not posting in the evening – like I’m forgetting something. If you were all wondering why I didn’t post last night it was because I was out to dinner with my husband celebrating our anniversary! 

My husband and I love tapas restaurants. A few years ago we traveled to Barcelona and had authentic tapas which were just amazing! So last night, we decided to try a new tapas restaurants called Emilio’s Tapas. The whole restaurant was Spanish-themed, including these little windows on the outside…

IMG_5063

Seriously, if you’ve ever been to Spain, this is just how the windows look! 

For dinner, we started with a complimentary appetizer…

9.25 dinner1

I don’t remember the exact name of the dish but it consisted of two pieces of crusty bread topped with a ham and veggie pate.  

While we were eating our very tasty appetizer, we also had some lovely Spanish cocktails. I ordered white wine sangria – LOVE this stuff!

9.25 dinner2

In keeping with tapas tradition, we ordered our tapas in “courses”, or two by two. We started with tapas frias (cold tapas) first…9.25 dinner3

We had a small plate of pollo al caserio (chicken from a small village?), which was cold chicken stuffed stuffed with mozzarella cheese serve with roasted bell peppers. This dish was so good I could have ordered it again!

9.25 dinner4 

Then came another Spanish specialty – dates wrapped in bacon! I can’t recall ever having a date before tonight but if I was ever going to have one again it would be wrapped in bacon – 🙂 The combination of the savory bacon mixed with the sweet, plump dates was perfect – as well as the red pepper aioli sauce for dipping!

After that, ’twas a Mediterranean salad for me. This was not the best Mediterranean salad I’ve had, but I haven’t had a salad in like 10 days so it was very nice to eat lettuce again. I really don’t know why I haven’t eaten much salad – could be that it’s so much trouble to make! The salad last night had shredded lettuce (not a big fan), hearts of palm (Love!), onions, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese. It probably sounds good to most people and it did taste fine, I’ve just tasted better. The presentation was also a little blah.

9.25 dinner6

Anyway, my husband proceeded to order and eat by  himself, two more dishes – the gambos a la plancha (shrimp cooked in a skillet) and the lamb with Spanish potatoes. Because I don’t eat seafood or lamb, I just kept enjoying my drink while he ate.

We opted to not get dessert there but came home and had ice cream, mostly to save money but also so that we could watch our favorite show – Psych!

I woke up this morning at 7:50 AM – this is sooo late for me even on the weekend! There was no way I was getting to the 8 AM yoga class and besides, I was feeling a little queasy. I’m not sure if it was something I ate or the fact that I had very little food last night to soak up the alcohol that I drank 🙁

Now, we’re off and running again – this time to do a little shopping.

See you all later!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , ,

Williams Sonoma French Weeknight Dinner

September 23, 2009 by

Evening girls! I just returned from my first Williams Sonoma cooking class! It was more of a scaled down cooking show really…

9.23 WS cooking1

where the Chef stood behind the counter/stove and prepared a variety of dishes while giving us step by step instructions. There were about 10 people in the class, sitting in chairs in front of the stove, 3 men and the rest women. I was one of the youngest people there!

Tonight’s themed menu was French Weeknight Dinners and included:

  • Citrus marinated olives
  • Lentil, bacon, and frisee salad
  • Pan-seared chicken with mustard sauce
  • Apple tart

I asked the chef what made the dishes “French” and she said that olives, lentils, mustard, and anything with puffed pastry (like the tart) are all considered French. 

First up, were the marinated olives, which were quite tasty, although I would do the recipe with all green olives. I can’t divulge the recipe for copyright reasons but you can find the recipe in Williams Sonoma – The Weeknight Cook.

9.23 WS olives

Next, was the lentil, bacon, an frisee salad…

9.23 lentils1

This salad was fantastic! It was made with brown lentils, carrots, and celery (among other things) and placed over mixed greens (the chef chose not to put it over frisee like the recipe called for because she said it was too bitter).

9.23 WS chicken

The chicken was cooked at the same time as the salad. It was thinly pounded (or bought thinly slice) and then pan-seared in butter. The mustard sauce was then made from all of the drippings and spooned over the chicken. Again, I can’t give you the recipe but this chicken dish was amazing – especially if you like mustard flavor!! Everyone in the class was raving about the chicken.

9.23 cooking4

I think both the salad and the chicken recipes are keepers! If you want to try them, the lentil salad can be found in Williams Sonoma’s Food Made Fast, Salad and the chicken dish in The Weeknight Cook.

While we were watching the demonstration, we were encouraged to sample WS’s many varieties of sea salts. I didn’t know there were so many varieties! I tasted the Pink Sea Salt – loved the color and the taste!

9.23 WS Pink Sea Salt

I liked it so much I even sprinkled a little over my chicken and salad.

Finally, the apple tart – I am kind of appled out these days between all of the apple cake, apple pie, and apple slices I’ve had the last few weeks. So, apple tart was not high on my list to sample tonight. It was made with puff pastry, apples, and sugar – no more, no less. This recipe was very simple, easy to prepare, and tasted light and fluffy. I thought it was tasty, but I still prefer something chocolate for dessert.

After eating a modified three-course meal, I was pretty full at the end of class. There was even food left over if people wanted more, but no one seemed to want to indulge too much at 8 PM and with everyone else watching.

I have to admit, it was pretty cool and quite relaxing watching someone else cook. And, just taking a cooking class is very different than my usual forms of entertainment and self-indulgence. I would definitely recommend the WS’s classes if you’re interested in trying something new and fun. 

Ok, all, I have a very early morning run planned for tomorrow so I must get to bed.

Night all!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , ,

Who Has the Best Veggie Burger?

September 19, 2009 by

Afternoon everyone! I didn’t get to bed until after midnight! I was sucked into watching V for Vendetta – one of Scott’s favorite movies. I’ve never had an interest in seeing it, but I caught the last half of it last night and decided to watch the rest of it. Pretty dark movie, but still entertaining and thought-provoking.

Because of my late night, I chose not to set my alarm for yoga. I wanted to see if I would wake up naturally, and early enough to make it there on time. Well, I didn’t get out of bed until 7:30 AM, which was probably plenty of time to make it to 8 AM yoga if I rushed out the door. But I really didn’t feel like rushing to yoga.

Instead, I opted for a nice leisurely breakfast. I have been eating so much cereal lately that I just had to have something different today. I’m out of Greek yogurt, so homemade oatmeal it was!

9.19 breakfast2

And so yummy it was too! I used a 1/2 cup of raw oats, combined with 1 cup of skim milk, topped with 2 strawberries and a dollop of MaraNatha creamy peanut butter.

After breakfast, Scott and I took a long walk in a forest preserve – something we used to do quite a bit before our schedules got so crazy.

9.19 forest preserve

The whole trail loop is about 2 miles long and we ended up doing 1 1/2 loops for a total of 45 minutes. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning outside, just cool enough for a brisk walk. I’m really looking forward to walking this route when the leaves are in full color.

After our walk, we headed home to get ready for our lunch date. I was in the mood for a chicken sandwich and french fries (a girl can’t always eat healthy!), so we headed to Red Robin. That place can be dangerous because of the bottomless french fries, but I do like their sandwiches. Today, instead of my usual chicken, I ordered the Garden Burger with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles…

9.19 lunch2

And, of course, it came with french fries.

9.19 lunch3

I’m usually a turkey burger or chicken sandwich kind of a girl. But, I’m really starting to like veggie/garden burgers more and more. However, I really haven’t eaten that many to really know which brand is best. 

So, my question to you all is this – what would you say is the best brand of veggie/garden burger out there?

Ideally, I’d like something that is not overly processed, all-natural, etc. as well as easy to make with a delicious taste. I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

After our very filling lunch, we’re relaxing until we head out to a late summer party tonight. One of our girlfriends is moving to Brazil on October 1 and her family is throwing her a going-away party. As of now, she only plans to be gone for a year – but you never know! I’m looking forward to the party because I know there will be a ton of fun people there, as well as great food and maybe a bonfire!

Must get back to relaxing, so I’ll see you all tonight!

Filed Under: Lunch Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Just one of those days….

September 16, 2009 by

Running With Cake Fact….I’ve run in 8 countries, not including the United States.

Well, it’s just one of those days. You know, when you’re so tired that you just want to go home and crash. I worked until 11:30 PM last night on “office” related-projects and then didn’t fall asleep until after midnight. And, I spent 2 1/2 hours in a work meeting this morning, to which I was very actively involved, regarding the new staff training that is occurring tomorrow. Blah!

When 1 PM rolled around, I was feeling very weak, and rightly so considering I had only eaten a nectarine since I woke up…

9.16 breakfast

It was very sweet and juicy, but still not enough to get me through 6 hours!  So, after my grueling morning, I decided to treat myself to lunch.

9.16 lunch

I had the most delicious chicken and wild rice soup EVER from the local Italian restaurant near work. It was incredibly rich and creamy and had the best flavor! I wish I could recreate this soup at home. If anyone has a great recipe for chicken and wild rice soup, please don’t hold back!

Gotta run now. I’m trying to get out of here by 4:30 so I can enjoy at least some of this gorgeous day!

See you all tonight!

Filed Under: Lunch Tagged With: , , ,

As American As Shopping and Apple Pie

September 13, 2009 by

Good evening everyone. Hope you had a great Sunday! Scott and I did a little house cleaning – OK, I did the cleaning while he made an apple pie – but that definitely counts as work.

9.13 pie2

Scott comes from a long line of pie-bakers so I was highly anticipating the first apple pie of the season. Except for the crust, my husband made this pie from scratch – even peeling all of the apples himself. But, at the end, I had the important job of taking the pie out of the oven.

With the pie cooling at home, we headed for lunch at the local Italian eatery.

9.13 lunch1

I had a cup of minestrone soup and a veggie-goat cheese personal pizza. I was getting full after the soup and two slices of pie (pizza, not apple) so I saved two pieces of pizza for lunch later in the week.

After lunch, we headed to Williams Sonoma so that I could sign up for my first-ever cooking class! It’s not that I don’t know how to cook (although Scott may disagree), but I’ve always wanted to take a culture-specific cooking class. This one, which is next Wednesday, is all about French cooking. So cool! And anyone who reads my other alter-ego blog knows how much I love France and Europe in general.

The rest of the afternoon was full of more shopping with a trip to Barnes and Noble and a highly worthwhile trip to Ann Taylor Loft! They have these new very feminine t-shirts in all different colors. I may or may not have bought the shirt in a few different colors, as well as a few camis.

For dinner, I made homemade chicken soup with orzo soup (see I can cook!).

9.13 dinner

The soup was really easy to make, full of flavor, and very low in calories. 

After soup, I got busy making homemade caramel sauce for the apple pie. I’ve made caramel sauce before but just couldn’t find the recipe anywhere. So, I found a simple recipe on the Internet and went to work. Well, the first batch I made burned so bad it turned back into hardened sugar. Not fun. The second batch turn out ok, although I did not let the sugar brown as much as I could have and the color looks more like dulce de leche, rather than caramel. But, it still tasted good over the apple pie…

9.13 dessert

So messy, gooey, and yummy – all at the same time! The flavor of the caramel was fantastic! Along with sugar, water, and cream, I also used a very posh vanilla that was sent to me called Nielsen-Massey Mexican Vanilla. Oh my gosh, if you’ve never had high end vanilla, this is so worth it! Nielsen-Massey also sent me several other extracts – coffee, lemon, etc. – which I can’t wait to try this holiday season! FYI – you can get the extracts at Williams Sonoma but they are expensive!

Now, it’s off to bed for me. Monday mornings have been coming very early these days.

Night all!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Hands Out of the Bread Basket, Please…

September 12, 2009 by

Wow, what a day! We went nonstop from about 1-9 PM and had so much fun! Right after lunch, we headed to Brookfield Zoo just north of Chicago. The zoo itself is amazing but it’s also featuring a traveling exhibit, Dinosaurs Alive!, until the end of September. A friend of mine had given us free tickets to the exhibit so we decided to go today.

9.12 dinosaur

The exhibit had about 10 life-size, animatronic dinosaurs, that moved and roared when you pushed a button. It was pretty neat – kind of like being on the Dinosaur ride at Disney World. The rest of our zoo time was spent viewing the animals – bears, gorillas, penguins, etc. While walking around, I got a little hungry so I tore open my third and final Odwalla bar…

9.12 Odwalla

Once again, I really did not care for this power bar so I only ate 1/2 of it. It was overly chewy and really did not have much of a flavor and what flavor it did have was not very good. I don’t plan on buying these bars again – unless I have no other options – give me a LUNA or LARA bar any day!

After the zoo, we headed to dinner at Antico Posto, an Italian restaurant, for dinner. We started with the typical Italian restaurant starter – bread and oil. But I do have to admit, this bread and oil combination was exceptionally good.

9.12 dinner1

That is my excuse for eating way too much of it! The bread basket is my #1 downfall at restaurants. I still haven’t figured out a way to control my bread habit. I always tell myself to only eat 1 or 2 pieces then push the rest away, but somehow I don’t hear that little voice when I’m actually munching on the bread.

For my entree, I ordered the cavatappi pasta with roasted chicken, fall veggies, and parmesan cheese all in a chicken-based broth.

9.12 dinner2

The dish was very good, although it seemed like it was missing something. I think a few red peppers or spinach would have made the dish even better. I ate about 2/3 of it then gave the rest to Scott.

After dinner, we did a little shopping. We hit Anthropologie, Lucy, and Nordstrom but didn’t manage to find anything within our budget to buy. For all you Foodie bloggers out there, Anthropologie had a ton of new dishes (plates, bowls, etc.) in all different designs and colors. They’re a bit expensive but worth a look if you’re wanting to spruce up your food shots.

On the way home, we stopped at Red Mango! I have been wanting to go to this place for months now. I’ve heard so many great things about it (as well as pinkberry) and really wanted to try it. I decided to get a regular size original yogurt with watermelon chunks and bits of Ghirardelli chocolate.

9.12 Red Mango

Oh my gosh – this tasted like pure Greek yogurt – and you all know how much I LOVE Greek yogurt! I loved this new treat and could easily see how a person could become addicted to the creamy, sweet taste. On the other hand, my husband did NOT care for the froyo at ALL. But then again, he does not like yogurt – Greek or any other kind. Thankfully, he tried a sample before buying a full cup. He opted for one of their flavored iced teas instead.

I am so tired now from walking around for hours and hours today – but it was great exercise! Tomorrow, I’m planning an 8-miler which should take me just over an hour to complete (hoping for no more than 65 minutes). So I’m off to bed.

Night All!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , , ,

My Favorite Starbucks is Closing!

September 10, 2009 by

Hey everyone! I’m doing much better today, although I am getting sick which is never fun. I’m still stressed over all the work I have to do, but today everything just seems more manageable. 

I started my day with a quick 4-mile run. I didn’t want to push myself too much due to being sick. I felt a little winded during and after running, probably because it’s getting harder for me to breath.

9.10 breakfast

Breakfast was a big yogurt bowl made with a carton of Trader Joe’s vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt, mixed with watermelon chunks and 1/4 of a nectarine. I topped it with the last of my chopped walnuts. I love this creamy, crunchy texture! I also had a shot of Zola’s Daily Wellness. The juice shot claims to help boost your immune system (ie. help you from getting sick). Maybe it just wasn’t strong enough to fight off the bug that I have.

As I headed to work, I heard Starbucks calling my name. I arrived at my usual store and found out that they are closing as of September 13! I was in shock as I walked out of the store holding what could be the last mocha frap I buy from that Starbucks. Boo hoo.

On a more positive note… since it was really the only convenient Starbucks on the way to work, this may be a great opportunity to reduce my Starbucks purchases. I’m sure my husband would be thrilled!

My morning at work was full of meetings, to-do lists, and tons of writing/work. There’s a seminar being held onsite at our office this week so there are twice as many people as normal stuffed into the staff lounge, to which I’m pretty annoyed. Luckily a coworker offered to pick up Potbelly for everyone and I quickly jumped at the offer!

9.10 lunch2

I enjoyed a super tangy turkey and provolone sandwich on whole-grain – skinny, with tomatoes, lettuce, brown mustard, extra pickles, and HOT peppers. Oh my, I haven’t had Potbelly in sooo long and it tasted awesome! I really had to stop myself from NOT inhaling this. And, it was all under 300 calories – bonus.

9.10 lunch1

Now that my tummy is pleasingly satisfied, I’m am back to work once more. I have a conference call in a few minutes, then it’s the first of two business reports that I have to draft. The fun never ends around here!

Have a great afternoon everyone!

Filed Under: Lunch Tagged With: , , , , , ,