Bunch of Neanderthals

Yesterday was such a great Saturday. I got Kevin a new golf bag for his birthday, so he took it out on its inaugural trip yesterday with some of his buddies. While he was golfing, I met up with a couple of my friends at Fiesta in the Park at Lake Eola. It was a beautiful, brisk day, so I decided to take Parko with me, who was super excited about the cool weather.

Fiesta in the Park is basically a giant art festival that wraps around Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. I underestimated how crowded it would be. Between the tents, it was pretty much shoulder to shoulder people, but Parko was on his best behavior, stayed close to me and let everyone pet him.

Besides the art, there was also typical fair food and animal shelter adoptions. Parko almost came home with a little brother or sister.

It’s so hard for me to see all the rescue animals because I want to take them all home. Parko is a rescue dog, and I’m thankful every day he was adopted.

After a fun day at Lake Eola, I came home and got all dressed up because Kevin and I had tickets to the Neanderthal Ball, the largest annual fundraiser for the Orlando Science Center, presented by Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

The event was held at the Orlando Science Center amongst their normal museum exhibits, so we got a chance to see some of their displays up close.

Their fourth floor terrace also had a beautiful view of downtown Orlando, even though it was a little misty out.

The event was catered by Stonewood Grill & Tavern, and all of the food was delicious. You never know how the quality will be with catered events, but I was going back to each of the food stations for seconds and thirds, and every time the food tasted just as fresh as before.

My favorite item was the smoked salmon on baguette. The attendants at the station had the huge slabs of smoked salmon out, and you could watch them flake off the fish onto the bread. I also really loved the lamb chop and sirloin. Unlimited meat? Yes, please.

They had enough food stations set up where there was really no line for each. They also had a fair number of bars scattered throughout, so you didn’t have to wait for a drink either. I didn’t photograph my drinks, but their pear martini and pomegranate martini were both excellent.

Jeremiah’s catered dessert.

The Neanderthal Ball was such a fun event with great food supporting a great cause. I can’t remember the last time I went to a museum, and it was so fun to see the different exhibits. When I have kids, I hope to take them often.

When was the last time you went to a museum?

Short lived

As I’ve been trying to work out more and eat healthier, I’ve been experimenting with different ways to hold myself more accountable to make sure I wasn’t overeating.

I had heard many people swear by counting calories, so I thought I would give it a try. I thought it would help me to manage my food intake and to make sure I wasn’t sabotaging weight-loss efforts.

You thought Kim Kardashian’s wedding didn’t last long? I made it through three days of calorie counting before I threw it all out the window.

After doing some research, I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app for my iPhone, which I heard has the largest database of foods, and it allows you to log your workouts in addition to your meals.

It just didn’t work for me. I can see how counting calories could really hold you accountable and help you to plan out your meals, but I just felt guilty every single time I ate something.

I’ve always had a healthy appetite and would indulge in moderation when I felt like it. I’ve also always truly enjoyed my food. Once I started logging my eats, all I could focus on was the daily allotment of calories going down and wondering whether or not those calories were worth it. It just took all the joy out of my meals. I was stressed, unhappy and hungry.

It was also a lot of work. I would often forget to log something then try to retroactively remember all my snacks.

I think that as long as you are diligent and able to be exact with logging your food (it helps to have a food scale), and you don’t take the numbers too personally, calorie counting really could work. But I hated the feelings of guilt and resentment that I was feeling, so I quickly gave up the attempt.

I’ll just have to find another way to stay accountable!

Do you or have you ever counted calories?

Boathouse of Winter Park

Today is my younger sister’s 20^th birthday! Happy birthday Kathryn!

To celebrate, last night we went out with my family to Boathouse of Winter Park, which just opened on Fairbanks in Winter Park where O’Boys used to be. It’s been a long while since a meal exceeded my expectations, but everything was just really good. Upon seeing the exterior of the restaurant and looking at their website, I expected more of a casual, run-of-the-mill restaurant. Although casual, the food was not at all run of the mill. Everything was prepared really well and tasted wonderful.

My family always orders appetizers. We had to restrain my dad by limiting him to two. He’s known for filling all of us up before our entrees even arrive. We ordered their house smoked salmon and dry rubbed smoked wings. The smoked salmon was the best smoked salmon I have had in a long time. It had a little bit of sweetness and was served with toasted baguettes, whipped cream cheese, chopped egg, onions and capers. This alone is worth a return trip.

The chicken wings were also delicious and flavorful from the rub and the grilling. It was served with a wonderful bleu cheese dipping sauce with huge chunks of bleu cheese.

For my main course I ordered a crab cake sandwich served on toasted ciabatta bread brushed with olive oil or butter (making it delicious even without the crab cake). The crab cakes were topped with a coarse mustard sauce, which was wonderful. The crab cakes were high quality with savory lump crab meat. There was hardly any filler. I couldn’t taste anything but rich crab meat. The fries accompanying the sandwich were also very good. They were waffle fries with a little bit of salt and other seasonings.

Kathryn ordered their braised short ribs, which were amazing. They were fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth good and served with garlic mashed potatoes.

Kevin ordered their smoked tenderloin filet, which he enjoyed but agreed that the braised short ribs were the better beef dish.

For dessert, we ordered a slice of coconut key lime pie and peach cobbler. The table was divided between which was better. Both were amazing but the pie won my heart.

It was a great meal with my family. I still can’t believe my sister is 20. When did she become an adult?

Workout

Today I took a walk with my next door neighbor and our dogs to and around Lake Eola then continued with Women’s Health Magazine’s Sculpt Sexy Arms. I can feel myself getting more upper body strength, and although I have a long way to go, it is great motivation to see small changes.

Eola Farmer’s Market, Bite and Jeremiah’s

Yesterday morning started off with a stroll to the Eola Farmer’s Market with my next door neighbor, Vanessa, and our puppies. I was incredibly impressed because it was very hot out even before noon and my next door neighbor is six months pregnant with her first baby. I don’t know if I would be walking in the Florida summertime humidity if I were with child.

The puppies were excited to be out and we were excited because Bravo TV’s Top Chef Tour would be at Lake Eola that day. We watched a little of the cooking demonstrations but didn’t partake in any sampling as it smelled like fish, and it was just too hot and early for fish to sound appetizing.

Vanessa enjoyed a pina colada smoothie (virgin of course!), and Parko thought it was very generous of the vendors to have bowls of water out for all of the dogs. He liked the idea so much that he made himself right at home, plopped down and prevented any other dogs from partaking in the water. I think he may be suffering from only child syndrome.

That night I had plans to have Kevin grill hot dogs for our lazy Sunday dinner but then Kevin’s brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Maggie, suggested we make our return to Bite Hot Dog Company. Obviously we were in.

The second trip to Bite was just as delicious as the first. This time I got their chili cheese dog and asked for onions to be added on. It was a winning decision if I do say so myself.

The chili recipe is really tasty with or without the hot dog, and I love that they offer you the option of chili with or without beans. The chili is so good that I already plan on ordering chili fries on my third trip to Bite.

On our way home from Bite, we decided to stick with tradition and stop by Jeremiah’s Italian Ice for dessert. Vanessa looked so happy sipping on her smoothie that morning that it must have triggered something in my subconscious because I ordered the pina colada gelati at Jeremiah’s. It had fresh chunks of pineapple, and it tasted extra creamy when combined with the vanilla soft serve.

Have you seen the Top Chef Tour? What did you think? You can see all the cities they’re scheduled to stop in at http://www.bravotv.com/thetour.

Colibri Mexican Cuisine

First of all, I’ve been having a great time trying all my goodies from my Fresh Box Organics delivery. Everything thus far has been so fresh and crisp.

Both the apples and the pears were the perfect ripeness, sweet and refreshing.

I chopped up a banana and some strawberries yesterday for breakfast and my pre-gym snack. I was going to put yogurt on it, but I’m glad I refrained. The flavors of the fruit were so fresh and vibrant that they didn’t need anything else.

I really wanted to make a salad out of the head of lettuce, but I didn’t have any salad dressing on hand. Instead I used a dollop of roasted garlic hummus and it was delicious. The lettuce was surprisingly hearty and held up to the hummus well, and I didn’t encounter any bitter or old leaves.

Last night’s dinner involved a trip to Baldwin Park for Colibri. The atmosphere is great. You can sit outside on the lake or inside where it’s dimmer with high ceilings. I ordered their enchiladas dinner, which came with four enchiladas and a choice of sauce. The poblano sauce I chose was delicious, and I used the rice and beans to sop up all of the remaining sauce after the enchiladas were long gone. The platter came with four different kinds of enchiladas: beef, chicken, cheese and beans. They were wrapped in corn tortillas, which I always prefer to flour. I love the texture and bite you get with corn tortillas. I did think that the filling could be seasoned a little more. The sauce and the tortillas were delicious but the proteins inside were bland in comparison. The guacamole helped with that as it was very flavorful with large chunks of avocado.

Also ordered at our table were steak fajitas, sopas (corn patties topped with meat, veggies and cheese) and flautas (rolled, deep fried tacos).

The prices were very reasonable and the atmosphere was wonderful. Despite the under-seasoning, I would return.