Restaurant Reviews | healthy laps

eastern market & le pain quotidien

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Jen

Don’t forget to check out my post on Living Harvest about Staying Healthy, Active and Motivated All Winter!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before heading the the airport, we had some breakfast and checked out the famous Eastern Market which features a flea market, farmer’s market and craft fair!

Breakfast was first..at Le Pain Quotidien.

The restaurant is all over the world in various countries, including the USA. I have been to the NYC location before, so I was excited to see it directly across from our hotel.

They use all local and sustainable ingredients in their meals.

Everything on the menu looked great, but I decided on the Harvest Porridge and some toast.

Farro with almond milk, cranberries, mixed nuts and garnished with strawberries.

And, a side of toast with their amazing hazelnut spread and jam!

A bit later, I ordered a Hot Chocolate while waiting for others to finish up breakfast.

Oh my gosh! Delicious!

My hot chocolate was served as a cup of steamed organic milk and a side of melted chocolate.

I poured in the chocolate to get the best hot chocolate yet!

Once we were fueled for the day, we headed to Eastern Market.

If you haven’t noticed recently, my favorite thing to do while travelling is to check out the local farmer’s markets. 🙂

This one had a variety of produce.

And, holiday vendors.

We strolled through the neighborhood eyeing the adorable houses.

And, our view of the Capital.

And like that, I was off to catch my flight…

It was a wonderful few days in Washington DC!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Restaurant Reviews | Tagged: farmers market, oatmeal, Restaurant Reviews | 1 Comment »

happy birthday to me!

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Jen

Yesterday was a big day for me – I turned the big 3-0!

Don’t mind the half eaten cake! We forgot to snap photos before digging in. 🙂 It was delicious chocolate cake (my favorite!) from Party Favors! Yum.

We celebrated with a low-key weekend with family. It was great!

On Saturday morning, Brant took me out for breakfast to The Friendly Toast in Cambridge.

(Source)

I loved the atmosphere of this old school diner and the very extensive menu!

I started with a coconut hot chocolate.

And, ordered the Huevos Rancheros for my meal. It was delicious! A thick slice of anadama bread with avocado, poached eggs, melted cheddar and homemade salsa.

Brant ordered the Mexican Mash, which also looked great! Mashed potatoes, eggs and sausage with cheddar chipotle toast. Yum!

We will definitely be back for the laid back atmosphere, the great prices and the amazing milkshakes I heard about. 🙂

Filed under: Eating Laps, Restaurant Reviews | Tagged: birthday, Restaurant Reviews | Leave a comment »

seattle center & the triple door – seattle, wa

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Jen

Before heading back to Seattle on Thursday, we made a pit stop at a farm stand to pick up some local Oregon hazelnuts and prunes.

Did you know that over 90% of hazelnuts are grown in Oregon? I had no idea! But, once I saw them on every menu, I knew that I have to bring some home.

Back in Seattle, we opted to stay in a different area for this half of our stay – Seattle Center. After being in the car for 3+ hours, we needed a walk! So, we walked around the center, which is home of the Space Needle, Monorail and Fountain built for the World’s Fair in 1962 (?).

Walking around Seattle Center reminds me of a carnival! There are carnival games, like skiball. There are video games. There are popcorn carts.

And, there is the Space Needle, which is actually pretty cool!

That night, we headed to The Triple Door for dinner and a concert. The Triple Door is a fun music venue that serves food from Wild Ginger upstairs, a delicious Seattle restaurant.

The tables are big booths that you can relax in while you eat, drink and watch the concert.

We decided on 3 plates to share – Orange Chicken, Seven Spice Beef and Vegetable Pad Thai.

The show was very fun! I loved eating dinner while watching a concert.

We jumped on the Monorail to get back to Seattle Center after the show.

We walked back to the hotel with a view of the Space Needle at night!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Restaurant Reviews | Tagged: concert, Restaurant Reviews, seattle | 2 Comments »

food carts and breweries – portland, or

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Jen

On Wednesday, we spent the day in Portland, OR visiting some family and sightseeing! Compared to Seattle, Portland is a really small city, but still lovely!

We started out by exploring the Pearl District and all of it’s loft’s, cafe’s and boutique’s. And, stopped by Powell’s bookstore, which takes up an entire city block!

After visiting with some family, we hit up another trendy area – North Mississippi Ave. This street is lined with shops, cafe’s and food carts!

Food carts are a big part of Portland’s food scene. They are not like any cart’s I’ve seen, but instead, they serve a bit higher end food. They were all packed!

I decided on something sweet and hit up The Sugar food cart for a brownie sundae!

They had quite the menu for a food cart.

All of the sweets were handmade and everything else used was local.

After some more exploring and hitting up a local farmer’s market, it was time for Brant’s treat – a brewery tasting at Rouge!

As I mentioned before, Portland is known for their brewpubs, so this was a must-stop on our list. 🙂

We went with a sampler to make sure we tried a variety.

Verdict? Everything was pretty good!

We hit up Meriwether’s in NW Portland for an early dinner before meeting some family at a swanky wine bar!

They use only local ingredients, many of which are grown in their garden.

We started with a sampler plate – risotto fritters, lamb meatballs, chickpea fries, tomato ricotta toast and gorgonzola stuffed dates.

And, a salad with ingredients solely from their garden.

For my entree, I chose a homemade pasta dish with mushrooms, tomatoes and Parmesan.

Brant went with the crab risotto.

We had a great time exploring Portland!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Restaurant Reviews | Tagged: food carts, local, portland, Restaurant Reviews | 1 Comment »

north fork of long island – weekend eats

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Jen

We had a busy, but fun weekend in New York! I have a lot to tell you guys about, so I will split it up into multiple posts the next few days.

Saturday morning we were up early to catch a ferry to the North Fork of Long Island. If you have never been there, I really recommend it. Their are quaint towns and lots of vineyards. 🙂 Plus, while you are there, you could take a trip across Shelter Island and to the Hamptons for some more fun!

I was feeling like I needed a pick-me-up to get going, so I mixed up a Green Monster Smoothie for the ride.

1 banana
2 cups frozen spinach
1 scoop Sun Warrior protein powder, vanilla
1 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 cup almond milk

This was not my favorite, but I slurped it down anyways…

Once at the ferry I got out my overnight oats that I had mixed up last night.

Last night, I mixed up 1/3 cut oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, 4 oz vanilla yogurt, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 heaping tbsp unsweetened dried coconut and 1/2 banana. It sat in the fridge overnight and was a perfect breakfast for our ferry ride. It really thickens up overnight which makes the mixture the perfect dish to travel with. 🙂

Before eating, I topped it with 1/4 cup Kaia Raisin Cinnamon Granola.

We arrived in Greenport, NY and headed straight to the Greenport Tea Company for some tea!

We split the most delicious Orange Cranberry Scone and I had their Secret Stash Tea – a mixture of vanilla, caramel and white chocolate. Delicious!

I love when tea shops use gorgeous teacups!

After meeting up with Brant’s parents, aunt and uncle, we spent the afternoon at a few vineyards (full posts to come!) and ended up at Chef Noah’s in Greenport, NY for dinner.

It was a very modern restaurant with a lot to choose from on the menu. I particularly liked it because they offered a variety of ‘tastes’ and ‘small plates’ along with entrees. The small plates were a decent size for me to order a few for my meal, and there were a number of veggie options!

(I have to show you Brant’s choices too because they looked so good!)

I started with the Roasted Beet Salad served with local goat cheese from a farm down the street!