Babs' Life Journey - New Challenges and Adventures: A Week of Dining Out

This week has been more of a challenge than most. Our kitchen was out of commission the entire week as we had a team of workers re-painting, tiling the floor, and putting up a backsplash. I love the results - but I did have to deal with dining out every day and still stay OP (on the program). According to my tracker, I went over about 2 points each day - honestly, it's hard to keep to 26 points when one is constantly having to eat out. I know it would have been much worse if I hadn't at least looked up the nutritional values of food items before heading out to various restaurants. I've made the mistake in the past of not looking up the nutritional information until AFTER we dined out - finding out what the nutritional values of foods that appear to be healthy can be a real shocker!

So what did I learn from this experience? It does indeed pay to "plan ahead" by looking up nutritional information prior to eating out. For example, I found out that Denny's Fit Fare menu items are generally point-friendly - with a few exceptions. I ordered the Fit Fare veggie skillet which comes out to 8 points - though I did not eat all the potatoes. Very tasty dish, indeed! I also found out that the Power Panini Thin sandwiches at Corner Bakery Cafe - even though Panini and "thin" may seem a bit like an oxymoron - are not only delicious, but also very point-friendly, especially the avocado and spinach sandwich. I also ordered their yogurt parfait - but without the granola. We also ate a local place called Buon Giorno Caffe - which focuses on healthy menu with organic items. It doesn't have the nutritional value of its menu item - so I played it safe and had a veggie salad with balsamic dressing on the side. All in all, it's about "mindful eating" and making healthy choices. Nevertheless, since I know that nutritional values posted online are not always accurate, my results for my next WI (Monday) may not be what I would like it to be. Whatever it is, I'll simply take it and move forward.

Now that I've gotten my kitchen back, and I love the new look, I'm even more motivated to try out new recipes, and continue experimenting with our newly-established juicing routine. In making room for the juicer on the counter, I had to change things around. I actually ended up with a lot more "food prep" space on my counter than I had before!

Here are a few photos of our "new" kitchen: