I hope you all had wonderful weekends! It was chilly and rainy here in DC so I had a weekend of grocery shopping, working, meal planning, and cookbook reading. Sounds fun huh? Only a foodie would have a blast! 
On Friday I had lunch with my parents and grandfather at Victoria Gastro Pub. The menu looked so decadent including duck fat fries, kobe beef hamburgers with Gruyere cheese, cornmeal fried oysters, and lobster grilled cheese. Ummmmm yum! It took me forever to figure out what I wanted, and I tried to pick the healthiest meal on the menu, or at least the one with the most veggies! I chose the nicoise salad, but instead of tuna I asked for shrimp. I had tuna the day before in the sushi, and I wanted something different.
Field greens topped with green beans, tomatoes, red baby potatoes, kalmata olives, onions, hard boiled eggs, and shrimp with balsamic dressing on the side.
Everything came out with beautiful presentation, but it was a lot smaller then I thought for the price. Good thing I wasn’t paying! Thanks mom and dad! 
But seriously-I couldn’t believe this salad was $18! Don’t get me wrong, it was very good, but I don’t know if it was worth $18.
Random Question-Do you eat the yolks out of the hard boiled eggs? A long time ago I stopped doing that because I hate the texture and taste of them, but give me a devil’s egg and I will own it!
I spent most of Saturday grocery shopping. For the first time in forever, I felt extremely overwhelmed at the grocery store. Nothing unusual was going on, and it was the same grocery store I always shop at-actually one that I LOVE shopping at. But I felt so overwhelmed because I’ve been reading so many books and websites about nutrition and about different *diets*, and I feel like all the information out there contradicts itself. Maybe I’m reading too much into these lifestyles, but I am trying to follow a fairly healthy and nutritious lifestyle, and I have so many ideas of what that is floating around in my head. There are some *diets* that call for all raw ingredients, and some *diets* that say to just eat REAL WHOLE FOOD, there are some that say to look for the shortest ingredient list and make sure the ingredients are items you would find in your grandmothers pantry, and some call for non dairy, non meat ingredients.
However, when I was out shopping, I would find a product that I thought was a healthy non dairy product, but when I looked at the ingredient list, it was a mumble jumble of ingredients I could not pronounce. I don’t get it! Here I was trying to limit dairy from my diet (since I *hear* it’s not good for you) but the non dairy product has so much junk in it that I don’t want to put in my body. What’s a girl to do?
What do you do in these circumstances?
I guess this is where it is important to follow your own body and your own beliefs. I figured going with the REAL ingredients was the better option *for me*. After a long day of grocery shopping I finally picked up all the ingredients for some fun new dishes this week. I decided I’m going to meal plan this week since the last time I did that, I made delicious healthy meals even when I did get home late from work.
Speaking of meal planning, I bought The Kind Diet and received Ellie Krieger’s, The Food You Crave, cookbook as a gift. I spent a lot of Saturday night perusing the recipes and planning what dishes I wanted to try. I bought The Kind Diet to see what it was all about, but to also get some great vegetarian recipes. I tend to stick to basics like roasted, steamed, or sautéed, and I want to shake it up a bit. Alicia Silverstone has some yummy looking dishes in there!
I made her warm rice with cold lemon, tomato, and basil recipe on Saturday night, and then re-vamped it for lunch on Sunday. I used brown rice instead of white. Flavorful, comforting, and fresh. It was a great combination of food!
And jazzed up on Sunday
I also made a spinach dish that was inspired by one of my favorite tapas dishes as well as one of the recipes in The Kind Diet. I have to get it at every tapas restaurant. Sautéed spinach with raisins and pine nuts. However, for my dish I didn’t really sauté the spinach but just wilted it in a pan on low heat (much healthier), and used organic dried mixed berries, and sliced almonds because that was all I had.
WOW! This was sensational. The spinach was fresh and organic, and you could taste it! I loved the sweetness of the dried fruit with the crunchy almonds. This is a great way to eat spinach.
Along with meal planning my Saturday night was quite busy prepping veggies and snacks for this week. I made Anne’s famous granola bars, and this time I followed the original recipe, but I also added goji berries, organic dried apricots. World’s Largest Granola Bar!
These make the best snacks during the day. Tons of protein, nutrients, antioxidants, and good fats.
Sunday at work we had 2 Argentine wine makers in the store. I actually really like their wines, and was so excited to meat them.
We tasted:
- Vina las Perdices Viognier 2009
- Vina Las Perdices Cabernet 2008
- Vina las Perdices Malbec 2008
- Familia Mayol Sauvignon Blanc 2008
- Familia Mayol Quatros Primos 2007
- Familia Mayol Malbec 2008
On Sunday night I made one awesome dinner. Both recipes come from Ellie Krieger’s cookbook, The Food You Crave, and are recipes you all must try. But of course, in true EDBH Style, I changed up the ingredients a bit using ingredients I had on hand.
Soy glazed cod with sauteed baby bok choy and brown rice
Original cod recipe found here.
The sauce I made for the cod was Nama Shoyu soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in the raw. The original recipe is for a miso glazed salmon, but I didn’t have miso, mirin, or brown sugar so I made this up on a whim. I don’t really measure ingredients because I always go on taste so I don’t have the exact measurements for you.
Besides changing up the ingredients for this dish, I followed the recipe to a T. I brushed the beautiful cod fillet with half of the sauce and put it under the broiler for 5 minutes. Then I added the rest of the sauce and stuck it in a 375* oven for 6-7 more minutes. The fish came out buttery and flaky, but still moist.
I did however follow the original recipe for the bok choy since I had all the ingredients for that one. The baby bok choy was added to a hot oiled pan for 1 to 2 minutes and then I added the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. After letting it get all steamy for a few more minutes, I finished it off with toasted sesame seeds.
Sweet and savory all in one.
The combination of flavors couldn’t have been better. Everything was sensational. It doesn’t take much time to make everything, but it does take some work. I promise you it is so worth it in the end!
Whew-what a weekend. I have a full day of work ahead of me, and then I am attending an exciting Austrian wine dinner at the famous Lauberge Chez Francois tonight. I will tell you all about it tomorrow!
And don’t forget I have a fun giveaway tomorrow!!!!!!! Gotta love those giveaways.
Have a great day everyone!!
Question: Have you seen the commercials for the new cooking channel launching on May 31st? I noticed it the past few times I have watched The Food Network, and it looks really exciting!
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Yummy good idea with the goji berries! They make them pretty, too
I haven’t heard about the new cooking channel?! Details?
What a great weekend!!! Your dinner especially sounds AMAZING! I love cod! It’s so flaky and buttery and just yummy! And sometimes the best dishes come from improvising!
As for the grocery store thing, I just go with what I feel is right. I’ve heard all of the things about dairy but you know, I love it. I prefer it over soy milk, almond milk, etc.
The new channel is going to replace the Fine Living channel, which unfortunately I don’t get right now. Looks like I need to call Time Warner. Also – the bok choy and cod looks delicious.
I love eggs in any way. The yolk doesn’t bother me. And I can’t resist Deviled Eggs either! YUM!
Deviled eggs? I could eat 20 of them in one sitting. Your rice looks D-Lish!
That huge sauteed bok choy looks so interesting, but so tasty all cooked up! I’ve never had it before, but just may have to try it after seeing it here!
I haven’t seen anything about this new cooking channel, but I’ll have to look into it…have a great Monday!
oh cool- u bought the kind diet. i was flipping through it in the bookstore and was impressed with the recipes. alicia def. produced an amazing book. great blog btw!
That is a very fun foodie-weekend!
I have been trying to cut back on dairy as well, but I haven’t been replacing stuff with non-dairy science projects.
I am loving my Chobani greek yogurt, my clean string cheese, and I do use some almond milk. But, other than that I try to stay far away from both dairy and fake “dairy” products. The ingredients lists are just plain scary.
I have been to Victoria’s Gastro Pub too and was disappointed in the plate sizes. Did you try the duck fat fries?!? They were amazing. But overall I can’t really say that I would eat there again.
WOW what a weekend! That cod looked really good. I love the grocery store and cook books and meal planning too. It calms me. Here’s the answer to your random question, I eat the yolk. I hate the thought of wasting it. If the dogs were around when I ate them, I would gladly eat a couple whites and give them the yolk. As to the overwhelming grocery trip, think about it. When something that you enjoy becomes overwhelming with information, that is BAD. Worse than eating something REALLY bad for you. Moderation is my best friend. I don’t completely eliminate anything BUT I really think about what I do eat and the nutritional content. I look at a bagel and think, “How much of that helps me and is the flavor worth the empty cals?” As to the ingredients, be careful. I LOVE me some Silk Vanilla Creamer but I know it’s probably not any better than half and half. If they have to manipulate too much it to make it taste good, it’s probably not good for you.
Dinner with mom and dad looks delicious! The shrimp on the side is definitely something I would order too
I bought that Ellie Krieger cookbook recently, and last night was looking through it to find recipes…how funny! I stopped when I saw that recipe but wasn’t sure where to buy the fresh miso. I guess it’s worth trying to look for, eh? Your version looks delicious!
Wow! Look at all those delicious eats. The Spinach salad is definitely something I would LOVE.
Great post, Lauren!
Wonderful pics
Have a nice week!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
Personally I don’t believe in diets because they don’t work. I think eating habits are more like a lifestyle…you don’t go on and off of them temporarily.
Also, it does seem like there’s a lot of conflicting info out there, but a lot of it isn’t coming from very reputable sources. I’d encourage you to stick to info coming from registered dietitians, who are the health and nutrition experts and have gone through at least 5 years of in depth schooling before becoming RDs. I also think that balance is a good key word to use. I avoid anything that sounds too extreme. It sounds like you are doing that, too! I think it’s great that you are following a nutritious and healthy lifestyle.
Wow, you’ve been making some awesome meals! I find myself getting into food ruts often, and I am totally inspired by some of your meals. Especially that cod, it looks so delicious. And bok choy! I think a lot of people forget how good it is. I want to get some now!
Wowza – don’t know where to start, so I’ll just say a couple things! First off – you had me at lobster grilled cheese – I can’t believe you were able to pass that up, but then again, I love all things cheese!
And yes, thankfully your parents were paying
but $18 for that salad??!! Was there maybe a gold leaf on the plate for decoration!
All your eats look wonderful!
that shrimp looks awesome! i do eat the yolks~ love ‘em~ but i don’t always eat all of them because of the higher fat content. favorite line on this post: “I guess this is where it is important to follow your own body and your own beliefs. I figured going with the REAL ingredients was the better option *for me*.” AGREED!