Friday, February 24, 2012

Eating out

Yes I eat out - a lot!! This has got to be the hardest part of living a healthy lifestyle - at least here in America where food is served in HUGE portions and made from heavily processed and fat-saturated ingredients. This week I picked up a grocery store lunch, had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant with a friend and then today: lunch out with another friend. And I'm proud to say, I did pretty good….

When I haven't any groceries at home to make a decent lunch I will stop and pick up a ready made salad. The dressing is usually the killer for me since my fav is a vegetarian Santa Fe salad from QFC - jicama, corn, black beans, lettuce, some cheese.   It ends up being a simple "fast food" lunch that I can eat at my desk.

Next was dinner at Riyadh's - a simple little Lebanese place on lower SE Hawthorne - where a friend and I are regulars. We usually split a plate of chicken kebab mezza (2 skewers of charbroiled chicken breast served with hummus, tabboui, 2 falafels, and tahini sauce). Their pita bread is to die for - luckily it's not ginormous & we each get only one pita. The atmosphere here is laid back and relaxed, perfect for a mid week dinner with a close friend!

Then today lunch at another of my favs - the Doug Fir Lounge with another of my favorite people and her brand new adorable baby girl who actually took two little cat naps while we ate our lunch. I've had breakfast here a couple of times - perfect egg white omelets - but this was my first Doug Fir lunch. So I went with the server's recommendation - the Chopper Salad, a mix of chopped romaine lettuce, chick peas, tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, chopped mint, peppers, red onion, parsley tossed with a red wine vinaigrette. How perfect is this!!!!! We were never rushed (!) so we spent 2 1/2 hours catching up, holding baby, taking photos, and sipping Stumptown coffee. A delightfully relaxing afternoon.

Will my weigh in reflex these outings? I seriously doubt it! Will my heart reflex the joy shared with close friends?  Absolutely!!!

Hasta la Pasta
Deb

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