Ok, so I know that is the Boy Scout motto, but I have adopted it as my own. As a motto, it serves me well. Being prepared helps me stay on task and eliminates questionable decisions. I am writing all this for MY benefit. You see, it has been a KrAzY week.
Being prepared usually means I have pre-planned meals, have cooked ahead some and have plenty of grab-and-go items at the ready. This week has been anything but the norm. I had a issue with my knee, Baby Gabe had a birthday, I had a wonderful surprise and my Aunt and Uncle from many miles away stopped for a visit on their way to another destination, Baby Gabe has been very sick and work was just BUSY......this week being prepared means I have known where I could go to get a meal that is already prepared AND totally within my WOE.
Since we all have weeks that go the direction mine has, I thought I'd share with you what I've been eating.
Monday was the day I was dealing with a knee issue -- I came into work anyway. I had taken way too much Advil and was dealing with a tummy ache along with the bum knee. I knew I wanted soup for lunch and trying to be proactive went thru the Panera webpage and looked up nutritional info on their soups. I ended up ordering a bowl of the Creamy Tomato BUT told them to not include the croutons AND the *freshly baked bread*. They were happy to accommodate my request and the soup was super yummy and 25 net carbs for the bowl. I will tell you that is about my daily limit so I had to adjust my eating for the rest of the day but that wasn't much of a hardship. I do make a pretty good tomato soup (actually plan to blog that soon) but in a pinch, I would do that one again.
Tuesday was baby boy's first birthday (where has the last year gone?). He was home sick with his Momma so I decided to take lunch to them -- She requested Jimmy John's. YUM -- IF you are lucky enough to have Jimmy John's in your area, they are VERY low-carb friendly. Every sandwich on the menu can be ordered as an UN-wich (wrapped in lettuce instead of on bread).
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| Jimmy John's Un-wich |
Tuesday evening I had the nicest visit from my Aunt and Uncle who I don't get to see too often. We headed to our local Applebee's for dinner. Now, honestly, it is somewhat harder to eat at Applebee's -- I've figured out what I can eat there and what I can't but you have to be willing to order EXACTLY what you want. My meal was a Bacon Cheeseburger plate -- now I KNOW that doesn't sound very low-carb friendly but the way I order it, it is -- no bun and the fries get swapped for steamed broccoli and a side of butter. A very yummy meal.
On Wednesday my plan was to eat the salad I had brought for lunch on Tuesday BEFORE thinking of treating daughter and grandboy to lunch. It was a good plan except my friend declared she owed me lunch and that was the payback day. We ordered Qdoba. I really LOVE Qdoba. If you are not familiar with them, they are very much like the Chipolte chain. Since they build your meal in front of you, it is easy to skip the higher carb ingredients. They also have a great nutritional calculator on their site which really makes it easy to know what works for you and what doesn't. My standard order is a NAKED Taco Salad (romaine lettuce) with grilled chicken, pico, guacamole and a small sprinkle of cheese -- no dressing, no corn and no beans. Now honestly I don't go there too often BUT I guess when you live in Nebraska, known for their corn and you are adamant about NO CORN, they remember you, lol. They remember me but are always nice and accommodate my WOW. Best part is lunch was 450 calories and 6 net carbs. That is a winner in my book.
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| Qdoba's Naked Taco Salad |
Back to baby Gabe...he has a staph infection in his leg. Please pray from him. This morning I stopped at my daughters and sat with him for a couple hours so his Mom could attend her college class. My master plan was to head into the office as soon as she came home -- I had to leave my house extra early this morning so my choice was take time to make myself something for breakfast OR something for lunch (that salad made on Tuesday wasn't going to be good at this point)....not enough time to do both. I chose breakfast (who didn't see that one coming, lol).
When I was ordering my soup from Panera on Monday I noticed their Hidden Menu. I ordered from that for lunch. I got the Power Mediterranean Roasted Turkey Salad -- I was very, very impressed. KUDOS Panera!! For a place known for their bakery items, they are doing a bang-up job of low carb. If you have a Panera near you, please visit them and encourage them to keep their Hidden Menu. I plan to make them a regular lunch choice -- especially thru this busy season at work. Oh, and the counts comes in at 360 calories and 9 net carbs.
Now to round out my week, I have a lunch meeting tomorrow -- pizza is on the menu. I usually bring my own salad and MAYBE indulge in 1 piece of pizza -- of course, I separate the toppings from the bread - eating the former and tossing the latter. And supper tomorrow night will be a rotisserie chicken from Sam's. GLAD this isn't the way I usually eat but very thankful for choices that fit into my WOE. Do you have a strategy for dining out? or favorite restaurant who gets it right?
