So Savvy has decided to start a brunch menu on the weekends. Myself and Hubby stopped in today to give it a try. There were 5 different brunch options on the menu. I went with the Eggs Benedict (first time ever having Eggs Benedict but the sausage and sweet potato hash sounded too good to pass up). Hubby tried the Belgian Waffle with Bananas Foster. Both meals came with hash browns and a side of grapes. I have to say the Eggs Benedict was delicious. I can't compare it to others since it was the first time ever having it, but I can say I would order it again. It was really tasty and the sweet potato hash was fantastic. I could just order that as a side, hint hint. Hubby really liked his waffle as well. If you like a sweeter brunch option this may be for you :) Serving sizes were pretty large as well, we both didn't eat it all (although we gave it a good try and ate most) :)
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Another great new recipe today. I have been craving some of my Mom's homemade Shepherd's Pie for ages now. It's something I really enjoy as a comfort food but very rarely make myself. Now that we are eating less processed foods I had given up on Shepherd's Pie because it calls for canned soups and they often have too many additives. I decided to give the Shepherd's Pie a try tonight without the canned vegetable and canned tomato soups. I am happy with the outcome :) I thought it was delicious :) Hubby grilled lamb instead (not a fav of mine) because he doesn't like ground beef and that's what I used in tonight's recipe :)
So we decided to try a new restaurant tonight in St. John's. We tried The Adelaide Oyster House on Water Street. Have been meaning to try it lately but it is often mobbed when we pass by; which is a great sign of course. Went tonight at 5 pm (when they open) and had no trouble getting a table for two. They only take reservations for groups of six or more, I believe. They did end up mobbed as well, no free tables when we left and busy the entire time.
This is a restaurant with a great beer selection and the food is small plates. All food is like appetizers, not main course sizes. You may think you won't leave full but we did :) Hubby was so happy to see Murphy's Stout available on tap. In addition the service was excellent; couldn't ask for better. Food came out as it was done so if you order several things it comes out as individual plates, one by one, as it's ready. Myself and Hubby decided to get 3 plates to share (even though they are small) and a plate each to try. Afterwards we ended up getting two more plates each, and a dessert. We waited a little for the dessert but it was well worth the wait :) First round: Hubby order the Baked Oysters for himself; I tried one of the six but I am not a fan of oysters; at all. I ordered the Beef & Pork Lettuce Taco for myself. It is only 1 small taco but it was delicious. To share, we had the Chips & Guacamole, the Crispy Chicken and the Salt & Pepper Squid. Although plates are small they are a great way to try items and see what you want to order for round two :) Round two: I ordered another Beef & Pork Taco and the Beet Salad. Hubby had the Tuna Taco and the special; Lamb Taco. He loved both but said the lamb one was beyond fantastic. The beet salad was delicious but a very small portion. To end the night we had the brownie with gelato and candy....this was to die for, absolutely delicious :) Still trying to use new recipes more often. A friend of mine shared a recipe ages ago on Facebook. I have been meaning to try it for awhile but something keeps coming up. Finally made it tonight for dinner. I tweaked the original recipe a little to better suit us and it was really nice.
Tonight we made Cajun Chicken Pasta (thanks Tanya). It was really good. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning to better suit your tastes. I also find the brand of spice you use can range a lot on the amount of spiciness, so judge accordingly. I would suggest getting into a habit of making a weekly meal plan; especially if you are trying to eat healthier. There is nothing worse than coming home hungry and there's nothing planned for dinner; unhealthy choices and take-out becomes way too easy.
Every weekend I jot down a meal plan and plan my grocery list around it. I start my plan on the coming Monday and tend to only plan for 4 or 5 days. I find if I over plan and try to have meals for all 7 days it becomes too much. Things don't get made and food gets wasted. Keep in mind that your meal plan is also flexible. It's not written in stone, make changes when needed. It's just better to have some ideas for the week to better help you stay on track. This week I plan to have: Monday - Stuffed Peppers (these were planned for last week but didn't get made so I still had all the ingredients) Tuesday - Soft shell chicken tacos (made with leftover meat from stuffed peppers) Wednesday - Cod au Gratin with dressing (I try to have a fish each week) Thursday - Cajun Chicken Pasta (new recipe) Friday - not decided Plan foods you and your family enjoy. Look for new recipes and ideas. Plan around the things you have going on in the day or evenings. For evenings you have less time to cook and prepare, perhaps do a slow cooker meal to have when you get home or something quick and easy. I suggested in an earlier post a great, easy meal is a roasted chicken from the grocery store and a garden salad. Start off slow, maybe plan a couple of meals for the week and start making it a routine :) Tonight, our Stuffed Peppers were delicious :) Forgot to take a picture until after we had eaten. These are lunch leftovers :) I haven't blogged in a few days due to the stomach flu. Got hit hard on Monday and was too ill to blog and also figured pictures of water, ginger-ale and Popsicles wouldn't be very blog worthy :)
Getting back on track today. The mere thoughts of food doesn't make me ill now. Tried a new recipe today. Found it in a 2015 Milk calendar my Mom received in the mail :) It was Margherita Penne and I thought it was pretty good. Hubby ate it but said it's not his thing. I only made half the recipe and it was plenty for dinner and have leftovers. I think it would go great with some garlic bread and a nice garden salad. I think this is one of those recipes that has a lot of potential. You could easily dress this up by adding some grilled chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted asparagus, etc... I would also add a little more heat. I used crushed red pepper and it wasn't spicy at all, maybe extra next time :) One of the things that bothers me most when trying to eat healthy is how hard it can be to get groceries. Every week we head to the grocery stores with our list and most often do not get everything on that list, and we go to at least 2 different stores each time. This does not include stopping at the local farm for veggies or going to the Real Food Market or Taylor's for local meats. Living on a rock in the Atlantic has many a downfall when we depend on shipments coming in; and it will only get worse as the weather turns :(
Today we went to 3 different grocery stores to try to get what was on our weekly grocery list. We also stopped into O'Leva Oils to get oil and vinegar and we stopped for local onions at Keith's farm in Kelligrews :) Once home there were still 4 items we didn't manage to get this week, sigh, better luck next week. Busy day once we got home as well. One of the items we couldn't get today was bread. There are only 2 brands of bread I have found so far at the grocery stores which are 100% whole grain, no refined sugars, and no artificial additives. Couldn't get either brand today and haven't been able to all week, so I made bread once I got home. Also made a batch of chocolate (with almonds and coconut) and a batch of Granola for breakfasts. Finally I made a pot of Beef Stew which we had for dinner with the warm, homemade bread and butter; delicious :) I always say when you are trying to eat better one of the biggest downfalls people have is thinking their food is boring or bland. It doesn't have to be. It is easy to fall into a rut and eat the same things over and over again. Things that are tried and true, family favorites, and all things familiar. Don't be afraid to get outside your comfort zone and try new foods and new recipes. You don't need to experiment everyday but maybe try something new once a week or so. Plan to make a new recipe or browse the grocery store for something different that looks interesting.
Tonight we made Bruschetta Chicken. A recipe I found this year and have made only a couple of times before. It's good and simple. As a side we tried black rice. Heard of this rice recently and found it at Real Food Market. It was pretty nice. The rice is black in colour but when it cooks it has a deep purple tinge. It tastes like brown rice to me but Hubby thinks it's more like quinoa. Overall we liked it and will use it again :) No time to cook a great, real-food meal for your family? Forgot to take meat out of the freezer? Just not in the mood to cook today? No worries you can still have a great meal that isn't deep-fried take-out or an overly processed food from a package. Today I suffered from all three of these excuses so I picked up a roasted chicken from the grocery store, and simply reheated it in the oven, and bought a store-made salad. I went with a simple salad of veggies, fruit, cheese and nuts because these tend to be real-food options. I also didn't take the free salad dressing packets that come with the salad because they are often full extra additives and sugar. We simply tossed the salad with olive oil and strawberry balsamic vinegar from home.
I am still here and still trying, although not trying as hard as I should be lately.
I am going to change up this blog a little. I wonder if many people are getting bored just seeing what we eat on a daily basis. I know I am, especially lately where we fall off the wagon way too many times. We are getting back into preparing food again and trying new recipes. New recipes are always great to blog about and help give people ideas. I will also blog regarding tips and info about eating real food. These tips are something I need to be reminded of as well and to get back into :) |
AuthorMy name is Michelle and I am tired of struggling with my weight. I am stopping the struggle. Archives
September 2020
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