I've spent the past two weeks carefully weighing and measuring my foods at home so that I can be honest with myself about portion sizes. I've had some surprises, mostly with some of my favourites (go figure!). For example, my estimation of a cup of cherries came out to be a 3 point (approx 225 cal) serving, instead of a 1 point serving (approx 75 cal). Bummer! Anyway, feeling that I've got a pretty good handle on the portion sizes now, I enjoyed three of Edmonton's restaurants this week. All three were fabulous (two are favourites of mine and one new one was a big hit)... here's a replay for any of you who live in or visit Edmonton.
My man and I went on a fabulous date last night. It was his turn to choose the movie, so we saw The Book of Eli (violent, post-apocalyptic... pretty blah, but made bearable by the delectable presence of Mr Denzel Washington).
More importantly, we tried out a restaurant we had heard about... the Wild Tangerine (10383 112 St, http://www.wildtangerine.com/old%20site/menu.html). I had the Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry with Steamed Organic Wild Rice. No, silly, not that goopy, pineapple sauce crap that you find in food fairs... fresh slices of pineapple stir fried with green beans, red, orange and yellow peppers on top of wild rice. Deliciously fresh, appropriately portioned (what a miracle!), and healthy... no tell-tale oil slick left at the bottom of my plate.The night before, we celebrated my sister-in-law's 40th birthday (actually, she just turned 39 but I put 40 on her cake to get it out of the way and make next year easier...hee hee) at Sweet Mango at 9120 82 Ave. I discovered this Vietnamese restaurant a couple of months ago and my family loves it. I go for a big bowl of steaming hot, healthy Pho (Vietnamese soup). I choose number 32, Pho with chicken breast pieces (comes beautifully cooked and skinless), squid and shrimp... I get them to leave out the squid and add a couple extra shrimp. It's a beautiful lemongrass broth (not salty) and is full of vermicelli noodles (too many for me, so I carefully eyeball 1 cups worth... I've practiced this at home against my scale and am pretty darn good at it). It comes with a side plate of fresh basil, bean sprouts and lemon that you can add in to your taste. I LOVE it! As for the cake I brought from the Bee Bell Bakery... I had a bite and skipped it. It was darn tasty, but creamy is a trigger for me and not worth it at the moment.
My last yum yum of the week comes from the Millcreek Cafe at 9562 82 Ave... the kind of place I would open, if I were in the biz.
It's a casual, completely homemade joint where business folk can hang with Whyte Ave tattoo artists and families alike. They're best known for their baked goodies (especially cinnamon buns)... What I love 'em for is their two homemade soups each day, their couple of salads and their fresh sandwiches on their homemade oat and carrot bread. You can order half salads and half sandwiches, which is great for portion control. The roast turkey sandwich is my favourite... real roast turkey and I load it up with sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. My favourite salad is the spinach salad which is topped with fruits like strawberries and blackberries, a small handful of seasoned, roasted pecans (approx. 4 points worth) and a lovely mustard dressing (which I get on the side and portion appropriately). Scrummy!Don't fear the food! I purposefully choose local, independent places where they take pride in their ingredients, work hard to make little adjustments that customers request, portion more appropriately, and have the expertise and passion to flavor food with herbs and spices... instead of fat and salt. If you have a favourite healthy Edmonton eatery, I'd love to hear about it!
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