This weekend was jumping.
We had dinner out with friends on Friday night, where we have only one rule for our little gatherings: the restaurant choice has to be somewhere new for all of us. This time, it was my pick (woo hoo), and I chose India Garden in Lakewood since none of us had ever eaten Indian food before. I’d heard good things, and let me tell you, we were not disappointed. The food and the service were amazing. I was blown away by the number of vegetarian options, but also by their willingness to make anything vegan, if interested. And, they customize the level of spiciness to each person’s taste. Since every entree is made to order, you could have two people order the same dish with completely different degrees of heat. Pretty impressive in my book.
There were so many appealing things on the menu, so my friend and I decided to order two and share. We ordered the Aaloo Gobhi and the Aaloo Korma, and I still can’t tell you which one I liked better because they were both so delicious. The Gobhi was “fresh cauliflower and potatoes cooked with fresh coriander, tomatoes and spices,” and the Kormas was “potatoes cooked in a tangy tomato and coconut cream sauce with nuts and raisins.” Both entrees came with seasoned rice and herb infused Naan bread.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about this meal. I can’t wait to go back to India Garden; it’ll just have to be with a different set of friends.
Other than an amazing meal on Friday, my family came to town for a visit. They arrived early Saturday afternoon and stayed through Sunday, and we literally ate our way through their trip. Since I haven’t really cooked for them since we changed our eating habits, I wanted to impress and show them clean eating not only tastes fabulous, but makes you feel good too. Some of my family is already on board, at least in part, with this way of eating so I had support going in. As for the rest, I’m not sure if I converted anyone, but there were no leftovers.
When they first arrived, I had some homemade trail mix and roasted almonds ready because I’m not the only one who gets “hangry.” Eating regularly and well keeps us all balanced, which ensures a nicer visit. Shortly after their arrival, we dove into lunch: an asparagus quiche and a cucumber, tomato and basil salad. Both were delicious and while they left you full, you never felt heavy.
My eleven year old niece made the salad, with minimal instructions from me, so if eleven year old can do it, we can all do it.
Here are the links to these recipes:
Cucumber, Tomato, Basil Salad: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tomato-basil-and-feta-salad/
Asparagus Quiche: http://thehealthyfoodie.com/2012/04/13/asparagus-quiche/
Quiche Crust: http://www.food.com/recipe/quick-n-easy-quiche-crust-18185
My family is a competitive bunch, so we had some great laughs over board games before heading to the park to work up an appetite for dinner: grilled barbecue chicken, homemade macaroni and cheese, Parmesan roasted broccoli and multi-grain rolls. We scarfed down most of the food before I could even take any pictures, although I managed to snag one of the broccoli.
Everyone was a fan, and the eleven year old even went back for seconds. How many kids do you know who go back for seconds of broccoli. Success! After dinner, we hit up the Sweet Spot, which “features gelato made in house with fresh, local and/ or organic ingredients.” They even have vegan flavors made with coconut milk. Since I’ve always been an ice cream junkie, the Sweet Spot is one of my favorite places. It allows me to still indulge, while supporting the local community. It’s a win win situation.
On Sunday, some of the family and I headed back to the park for a rousing game of tennis, which let me tell you, is one hell of a workout. I juked, I jived, I swung and I missed the ball a lot, but I had great time and I got my sweat on. We all went out to brunch for Mother’s Day, so I just put out some fresh fruit and a coffee cake for munching before the real feast.
Someone picked out all the raspberries before I could snap a photo. Confession: it was me.
All and all, it was great to spend some time with the family and I don’t think anyone left hungry.
I am very thankful be be served fresh clean food. I am a single guy who eats all day, I don’t put a lot of thought into different food terminology of even recipes for that matter. I eat almost everything that Meghan has on her site and the results are visual. Food is my gasoline, my medicine and antidepressant,,,, so I wont be eating any dirty food!
The terminology (clean, dirty) is just words. What it really boils down to is how you feel. I find eating great tasting healthy nutrient rich food makes me feel great and that’s what truly matters.