Healthy and Sane

Entries Tagged as 'bakeries and more'

It’s just a material thing

September 18th, 2009 · 20 Comments · Ellie Krieger, Mexican, bakeries and more, breakfast, dessert, pizza

Sorry kiddos for being MIA last night. I had a little incident that threw me off. I lost a very nice earring that my husband got me for my birthday. :cry: I had a rough day at work and was on my way to the gym to relieve some stress and realized that one of my earrings was missing. Of course the next half hour was spent walking over and over around my work, checking every inch to see if it fell off my ear. No luck. Walked all over the mall and the farmers market where I’ve previously been. No luck. I definitely felt tears forming in my eyes and desperately just wanted to get home. No gym. Losing this earring made me really upset. I know my husband spent a lot of time, trying to pick the right gift for me, and I really loved these earrings! I wore them almost every day. But instead of crying I decided to think about all the things I’m happy about. I’m healthy; I have a husband who loves me, great family and friends. And I have you guys :) This earring is just a material thing. It can be replaced (not that it will be…). As upsetting as it is, it’s not important in the big scheme of things. So I made dinner ;)

Dinner was part of the CEiMB installment. On the menu for the night: Ellie Krieger’s mexican tortilla pizza. I actually made the black bean dip the night before. Planning ahead worked out well since I was still a little shaken up by this lost earring thing. I omitted the onions from the dip, and added cheese to the “pizza.” I told my husband we had pizza for dinner. There was no way in hell I could omit the cheese on this one. Treaky, Ellie. Don’t omit the cheese next time you present us with a pizza recipe :lol:

The husband’s 2 “pizzas”

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Mine:

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The black bean dip is definitely the star of this! It’s quite yummy. The jalapeno added a nice dimension to the dip, without being overpowering spicy. We have a bunch left, which I’m sure will be gobbled up with some tortilla chips. :)

REST OF THE DAY’S EATS:

Man this breakfast was delicious! I planned to have some yogurt with the leftover nutty topping for breakfast but waking up to a freezing cold house, I was craving something warm. The solution? Combine the 2! :D

Breakfast: 2 Nature’s Path wildberry buckwheat waffles with Barney Butter, oikos plain organic greek yogurt, Maine organic blueberries + nutty topping

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I love how the Barney Butter is oozing out. Rocking breakfast!

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Lunch: leftover almond crusted pork with brown rice and Asian cucumbers

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Remember these guys?

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These little beasts definitely tasted like cucumber. As you can see they were quite seedy and spiky. The skin was also quite tough and a little bitter. I didn’t have too many of them. A little too intense for me :)

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Dessert: Flour Bakery banana chocolate bread pudding

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I was in the hood by Flour Bakery during lunch, and decided to stop by to get a tiny cookie. I almost had a heart attack because I just couldn’t decide what to get. At the end the banana chocolate bread pudding jumped out at me, although now I’m dreaming of just about everything else I saw there. Not good. I savored this guy throughout the day but to be honest I’m now feeling guilty about it. :( Too many super indulgent treats lately, and at the end I didn’t even make it to the gym! I’m going to try to eat a little cleaner today, and try limiting the crazy indulgent treats to once or no more than twice a week. I haven’t gained any weight yet but I know these can add up.

Pre-workout (that never happened) snack: 100 calorie pack of pistachios

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Post dinner snacks: 1/2 FFL cinnamon raisin english muffin with pb

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+ roasted almonds:

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Have you ever lost a material thing? How did you handle it? The first thing my husband looked at when I told him I lost something was my hand. I guess it could be worse (although my ring is insured…) :D

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Cake for dinner

September 14th, 2009 · 23 Comments · bakeries and more, breakfast, chicken, dessert, product reviews, salad, sandwich, snacks

I’ve been dreaming of a creamy cake for days now. Not sure why. I always crave sweets, but a cream filled cake is typically not my favorite. I prefer flourless chocolate cakes and dense brownies (the more chocolate you can pack into 1 bite, the better!). The worst part about this craving is that I didn’t have a specific cake in mind. There seemed to be no easy fix to this problem, since I also had no intention of searching for the perfect recipe and baking for hours to satisfy my crazy sweet tooth. And then the stars aligned… I happened to be in the neighborhood of my favorite bakery, Tatte. The second I realized this, I knew what was for dinner: cake! :mrgreen:

Not just any cake – a chocolate mousse cake (read: creamy = exactly what I’ve been craving!!!)

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My guess is that this is white and milk chocolate mousse, covered in a rich dark chocolate ganache. There is also a bottom little chocolate crust with nuts.

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Absolutely perfect with a skim decaf latte!

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This slice of cake was actually gigantic! I drew a line on top where half of it was, and made sure to save that half when I got to the line. I also only drank maybe one half of the latte. Too much of a good thing. While enjoying my cake, I found a fun magazine:

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Can you think of a better way to spend an evening when your husband is out watching football with his friends? I can’t!! ;)

OTHER EATS

Breakfast:

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Looks like my usual Food for Life english muffin with Barney Butter and organic Maine blueberries, doesn’t it? Today there was a special little twist to my breakfast… cinnamon raisin FFL english muffin! Can you see the raisins hiding in the dough? Loved this kind too!

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Mid-morning/pre-workout snack: 2 Ryvera crackers with toasted almond dessert hummus + 1/2 pear:

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Lunch: mixed greens, roasted beets, pulled chicken, cucumber, goat cheese and cranberry salad:

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Lots of great flavors going on here:

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Mid-afternoon snack: 1/2 Koka Moka Pro Bar that I got at the Summit

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I’ve seen these bars on blogs before and REALLY wanted to try them. At 360-400 calories, the bars are meant as meal replacements, packing a lot of nutritional punch on the go. There are lots of oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate in this guy. I loved all the chocolate chunks and the almonds but overall found the bar to be a little weird. The seeds with the oats made for a strange chewy consistency and I thought they were a bit bitter. I may buy this bar if I’m away from home, in a hurry and really need a meal in a bar, but I won’t voluntarily buy these for snacks (only eating 1/2 at a time of course). Just my opinion :)

Lastly, I got a little hungry later in the night and wanted a savory snack. I guess cake for dinner doesn’t totally work ;) I made a half ham and cheese melt (with a little dijon mustard).

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Say cheese! :grin:

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I’m off to do some foam rolling. My muscles are SORE. Took a power yoga class today that wasn’t particularly hard in general but kicked my butt legs. My foam roller came with a little video I think I’m going to watch to learn some fun stretches with that beast. I’m just so wild when my husband is gone! :cool:

Cake may not be the most nutritious choice for dinner, but I ate lots of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains during the day (+exercised) so I thought it was important to satisfy my craving so I could stay sane. :D How do you feel about cake for dinner (on occasion)?

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Finally running again

September 14th, 2009 · 18 Comments · bakeries and more, dessert, pizza, running, sandwich, snacks, yogurt

I finally ran again!!!!!!!! It felt absolutely amazing. As promised I took it very easy, pace wise, and there were a ton of walking breaks. This was basically a run/walk/run kind of a run, and it was exactly what I needed. My new running buddy Molly (who I seriously think I can no longer run without!) and I were just chatting the entire time. It’s been 3 weeks since we saw each other last so we had lots to talk about :) I apologized a few times when I had to take breaks to walk but she was super understanding and just said she wanted to have fun. We certainly did that and I’m SO proud of myself. I ran/walked 11 miles (average speed 10:57) + walked probably another 1.5 miles during warm-up and cooldown. That’s a lot of miles covered for someone who just recovered from the flu. I’m just amazed at what my body can do. Yay!!!!!! (PS – when did running become so fun?! I can’t get enough of it!!!)

Pre-workout breakfast: 1 ww toast with Barney Butter and 1/2 banana + coffee

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During the run I had 1 Clif shot block (strawberry flavor). I thought the flavor was really delicious (like strawberry preserves in a block) but the texture was not at all was I was expecting. I was expecting a firm gummy bear type thing, but this thing was sticky!! Really sticky. I don’t bring water with me on my run and this was a problem right away. The second I put that thing in my mouth I instantly started mentally thinking about where I could buy water. Thankfully there was a gas station only a few minutes away. I don’t know if it was the shot block or the fact that I didn’t push myself very hard, but I had plenty of energy the entire time. I’m looking forward to having more of these on my next run. I will make sure to have water with me, though. Otherwise it’s not pleasant :lol:

Post-workout lunch: grilled zucchini, eggplant, roasted beets, tomato and goat cheese paninis

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I grilled the veggies while getting for the run in the morning. A little planning goes a long way. This was exactly what I wanted after recovering from the run -  lots of warm veggies + goat cheese. Mmm :D

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Then Adam and I continued our sofa bed hunt (I think we’re getting a fancy futon) and I got a sugar craving. Wow that never happens ;) I got a craving for a very specific cookie from When Pigs Fly when I realized we were in the neighborhood of the bakery, but they were out of it :( I had to get a different cookie – chocolate heath bar and this guy was nearly the size of my head!!

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This cookie was actually kind of dry. It wasn’t bad, just not great. I ate it throughout the day, and at the end finished it. Not sure if it was worth the calories but I was a hungry monster all day so whatever (I burnt ~1300 calories during the run/walk!)

Mid-day snack: oikos, peanut butter granola + organic berries (raspberries, strawberries, Maine blueberries)

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Open wiiiiiiide

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Dinner: CPK wild mushroom pizza (on thin crust)

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I swapped a slice of my mushroom with my father in law’s chicken bbq. Yummy :)

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I ate 1/2 pizza at dinner, and then another 2 slices as a late night snack. The pizza seriously doesn’t taste unhealthy although I know it’s still caloric. Does running so much justify all this food? Probably not. I was listening to my body, though, and fed it. I’m cool with that.

At night, a little champagne was also consumed (I only had a few sips)…

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… and a few caramel filled milk chocolate turtles:

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Plus some roasted almonds and pecans (unpictured). No more nuts straight out of the bag. That’s a new rule in this house. Dangerous habit.

Do you run by yourself or have a running buddy? Which one do you prefer? I just love chatting with Molly during our runs – it makes the time fly by. Most of the time I even forget I’m exercising! :mrgreen:

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So much good food, so little time – CPK, Tatte and Church

August 9th, 2009 · 28 Comments · Boston, bakeries and more, breakfast, comfort foods, dessert, pizza, restaurant reviews, salad

Oops – sorry for the late post. It was sitting in my drafts folder and I forgot to publish it. :oops: Hope your weekend was as fun as mine! :mrgreen:

Yesterday was such a fun day. Lots of fun foods and good times with friends. I started out a little stressed out about everything that needs to be done before the big move (it’s in 2 weeks, yikes!) but slowly loosened up and decided to just go with the flow ;)

The morning started with a blueberry muffin + coffee:

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+ very soon after a peach chobani + fresh peach and Kashi Golean cereal was consumed:

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For some reason I just had a crazy hunger all morning. What’s up with that?! I had the other half of the Goji Moji bar while waiting for our appointment to see our new condo the last time before closing (we brought the color wheel to finalize paint colors, measured the outdoor space so we can order furniture, etc.). This time I still tasted the orange peel but also the flavor of the figs stood out. K was right that it tasted a bit like the filling of the fig newtons… but more wholesome of course :)

By the time our condo “inspection” was over, Adam and I were both STARVING (seriously, this should not have been the case. Something was up with my metabolism) so we went to the first place we saw – California Pizza Kitchen. Despite loving the pizza I’ve had lately, I’ve been lately slightly jealous of Adam’s selections, so he agreed upfront that we could swap 1 slice of each other’s. This meant we had to “approve” each others’ toppings and after much consideration chose 1/2 original bbq chicken (bbq sauce, smoked gouda and mozzarella cheeses, bbq chicken, sliced red onion and cilantro) and 1/2 wild mushroom (cremini, shiitake, portobello and white mushrooms, fontina and mozzarella cheeses with a wild mushroom walnut pesto; garnished with chopped Italian parsley).  We asked for no onions on anything and requested a thin crust instead of the original (it’s $1.50 extra but saved about a million calories so it’s worth it in my opinion).

Here is the whole pie (about 12″):

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My first 2 slices (I had another mushroom one):

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This was honestly amazing, and I’m not just saying that because we were really hungry. The thin crust was really thin so I felt like it was a significantly healthier option – and it was really flavorful! The toppings were also quite creative in my opinion – not just your standard mozzarella/red sauce combo. Have you had CPK pizza? What’s your favorite?

We were still a little hungry after this lunch, so dessert was in order! ;) I knew exactly what I wanted – a nut box from Tatte (if you don’t know what a nut box is – I raved about it and Tatte here). I am absolutely obsessed with this bakery. It’s just the cutest thing and everything is super fancy and amazingly delicious. Just look how adorable the decor is…

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As you can see below – what I actually got was not a nut box. The desserts in the back refrigerator started talking to me when I saw them :lol: I got the raspberry cheesecake and a coffee. Doesn’t it look wonderful?

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It was light and fluffy and just rocked my world. I was eating it very quietly while enjoying the cute bakery scenery. This dessert was a larger treat that I allow myself on a daily basis but was just an amazing weekend splurge. Good thing I burnt over 1,000 calories on my Sunday run (more details in a separate post). Everything balances out :D

Adam chose a much healthier dessert – Berryline. I had to get a little tasting of the rose flavor. Yum! I keep forgetting how indulgent these nonfat frozen yogurts taste. Very creamy. I think there is some Berryline in my future over the next 2 weeks (it’s currently located in the building we’re moving out of).

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Oh yeah – when I got home I had a package… 6 flavors of the Crazy Camel dessert hummus (thank you, Chuck, for sending me these!). I’ll do a separate post on them but basically they are pretty awesome and healthy. I’m a big fan!

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Oh man, this has become a marathon post – sorry to bore you, but I guess this was a happening Saturday :) We ended up going to Church for dinner. I knew I’ve been quite indulgent over the course of the day, so I tried to keep it kind of light with my food choices. Not everything was waist friendly, but I tried to keep the portions reasonable.

I started the meal with the shrimp bruschetta (spicy pepper sauce, oven roasted tomatoes, feta cheese) my sister ordered and was kind enough to share with the table. These guys were spicy! Adam and I have actually ordered this exact appetizer before and recommended it to my sister. It was a winner once again :)

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Knowing that I’ll be tasting other people’s food, I got the salad appetizer as my meal. This salad is off Church’s summer menu – tomato salad with mixed greens, kalamata olives, feta & lemon-mint vinaigrette.  The dressing had onions in it, so they brought me the balsamic vinaigrette on side + some EVOO and balsamic vinegar as well. I only drizzled a bit of the vinaigrette over the salad greens. Everything was so fresh and flavorful there was no reason to doze it in dressing.

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The tomatoes were the coolest! There was a mix of yellow and green tomatoes and they were literally melting in my mouth. Oh and mid-way through the meal I noticed that it was goat cheese, not feta that was in the salad. Works for me since I love goat cheese more than feta :D

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All right on to other things I tried/ate. I had some of the baked mac and cheese (sinfully cheesy, crispy bread crumb crust) my sister and I ordered together. This stuff was rich! We ordered a “small” since I knew it would be one of those things that you can only have a few bites of before getting into a food coma. This was still a very generous portion.

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The mac and cheese was on a drier side (i.e. not runny) – just the way my sister and I like it. The topping was especially buttery – we think they used ritz crackers or something. I tried not to eat too much of it, but my fork definitely was reaching for more when I wasn’t paying attention ;) Good stuff!

I also had 1/2 of my dad’s scallops – isn’t the presentation awesome?

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It was perfectly cooked. Unfortunately the risotto had onions in it, so I can’t speak for how that was. I tried 1/2 of my mom’s crab ravioli and wasn’t a big fan. It got cold by the time I was ready for my tasting so that could have something to do with it :?

After chatting for a bit, I realized I was still hungry, so I had a slice of the white bread with some butter from the bread basket. The butter was very yummy but I’m not sure what was in it – maybe roasted garlic and thyme, but it was also a little sweet. Yum! Btw, I do this often – leave the bread basket to the end of the meal. I’d rather have the bread if I still have stomach room instead of overfilling on it and being unable to eat the actual meal.

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Everyone really enjoyed their meal at Church! The restaurant is a block away from our current place – I’m going to miss having such a great venue so close to home!

Finally – seriously I’m going to end it soon – I promise :lol: … we went to a drink-off party. This was part II of the original drink-off (where someone you may know came out victorious ;) ). I’m retired at this point, so this time it was between our friend Tiffany (Tiffany, do you want to say anything for yourself in the comments section? hehe) and Gary. Man, this was a hilarious night! I had 1 Organic Peak pomegranate wheat beer. That’s it for drinks for me. Actually this beer was too hoppy for me, otherwise I would have had another.

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At some point during the night, I had a few handfuls of Smart Food. I actually checked the ingredients list before diving in and it wasn’t that bad. Nothing alarmingly scary. I forgot how much I liked this stuff!

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And 1/2 of a Hershey’s bar was also consumed.

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My friend Jim wanted to be on the blog, I think, so he stole a bite of my chocolate. I had to document it. Ok, maybe he just wanted chocolate. ;)

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Mmm, sweet ending to a wonderful day. I’m off to do more packing!

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Major IE setback + Tendercrop farm and Newburyport

July 27th, 2009 · 20 Comments · Boston, bakeries and more, breakfast, dessert

Hi all. Sorry I took a few days off blogging. I had some rough time with intuitive eating. Not sure what happened; I just snapped and binged for what seemed like 2 days straight. I’m learning that Intuitive Eating is in a sense like dieting – you need to be careful and not only be aware of how you feel (i.e. whether you’re hungry, eating out of emotion, etc.) but also make the decision to “do the right thing” (i.e. stop eating if you’re eating for all the wrong reasons). It’s the last part that I was having major problems with this weekend. I knew I was just stuffing my face and not even enjoying it; yet I couldn’t stop the train wreck. Clearly I have issues. I’m working on figuring out what the triggers were and why I keep doing this to myself. Anyways, I’m writing this not because I want you to feel sorry for me; neither because I feel like you guys can “figure it out for me.” I’m even embarrased to admit that this madness was going on this weekend, but at the end I want to be honest and share this journey to Intuitive Eating without editing. Know that it is hard but I think the end justifies the means. I’ll keep you posted on how everything goes. Today has been going great so far. :)

Before the stupidity began, I actually had an amazing time with Adam. Breakfast was another apple cranberry muffin with crunchy Barney Butter (new shipment – oh how I missed crunchy BB!)

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Then we decided to go to Tendercrop Farm to buy some local/grass fed meat. Since we were in the area, we decided to stop by Adam’s hometown, Newburyport, pretended to be tourists (window shopped and took lots of pictures) and had lunch at the famous Michael’s Harborside. The weather was gorgeous! I really felt like we were on vacation :D

Oh on the way to Newburyport I busted into this passion fruit/macadamia nut KIND bar. I actually had a few bites from it at a time throughout the weekend. This was when I was still trying to eat intuitively and tried to balance not ruining my appetite with not letting myself starve and trigger overeating.

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Some pics in Newburyport…

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This duck was so cute! It was just chilling by its little “Inn” :)

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Newburyport is right on the water and is known for their fresh seafood so of course I got seafood for lunch.  Before our main course arrived, we were served some fresh rolls with butter

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… but after having a bite of it I realized it tasted like regular bread and just “wasn’t worth it.” The appeal of warm bread kind of dissapears when it’s sweaty mid-80’s. For my entree I got the grilled swordfish in citrus ponzu glaze, with asparagus and rice on the side.

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The asparagus was drenched in butter. I was so disguisted. Thankfully they had some steamed asparagus in the kitchen (waiting to be buttered) that the waitress was able to snag for me. It made this meal a little better. The citrus ponzu I thought was too intense and actually masked the flavor of what otherwise was a nicely grilled fresh piece of fish. It’s a little sad that this is what most people want – butter on asparagus and thick sauce on their fish. Most food was fried of course, so I guess this was still one of the healthier meals.

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After lunch we finally drove to Tendercrop farms. We were both happy to find out (especially me!!!) that we could pick our own blueberries. Yay!! My outfit doesn’t exactly scream “ready to blueberry pick” but it was actually really easy (i.e. no crawling required) and sort of therapeutic. The best part – a whole pound of blueberries was $2 (if you picked them yourself). We got 2 pints for $3. Sweet! I was really happy at this moment.

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At Tendercrop farms we got some local meat, fruits and veggies and these 2 baked goods that I had to dig into in the car (ate the rest later that night). First up: whoopie pie – tasted like chocolate cake with frosting. Yum!

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And a rocky road bar. OMG SO good! I want more now (actually that’s a lie… after a weekend of serious overeating all I want it salad and fruit to cleanse my body but this brownie thing really was amazing!) :)

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Dinner that night was a whole bunch of (unpictured) walnuts and probably more than 1/2 a box of these Russian chocolates (they have some kind of peanut paste in them that doesn’t taste like peanut butter). 

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Addictive stuff. I basically finished this box on Sunday morning. Yeah, good times. Anyway, that’s Saturday’s eats. The first half of the day was so amazing, I just had to share it with you. Hope your weekend was good. I’m back at work today with a reignited fire to eat healthy. What else is new?! :?

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