Out to Birthday Brunch: The Breakers

Because why stop at one celebratory meal of unrestrained indulgence when you can have two?

Prime rib with bearnaise sauce, spit-roasted chicken, brown bread with sour cream and caviar.

Lettuce with balsamic-fig dressing, cornichons, two kinds of pate, roll, roasted vegetables, Caprese salad.

Egg Benedict, slice of bacon.

Cheese and fruit.

Dessert I: Tiramisu in chocolate cup, key lime pie, chocolate raspberry mousse cake.

Dessert II: Petit four, pistachio macaron, chocolate truffles, chocolate-covered toffee.

Not shown: The glass of Champagne that our dedicated waiters refilled whenever it got close to being empty.

A spectacular meal in a gorgeous setting. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for this fabulous experience.

(Healthy eating resumes tomorrow.)

Birthday Dinner

Because I like meals that are made up from little bits of things:

From top center: fig paste, salami, hummus, St. Andre, Manchego, four kinds of olives, deviled eggs, sliced baguette, devils on horseback (dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon), melon with prosciuto, Peppadew peppers stuffed with goat cheese, crackers.

A Few Leftovers

A couple of the past week's meals:

Beer Can Chicken

Burgers on the grill

Whole Foodie

Lunch at Whole Foods:

Reed's Light Extra Ginger Brew
Chicken and dumpling soup
Salads clockwise from top: Sesame tofu, orange ginger beets, curried chicken salad, lentil and quinoa tabouli, and cabbage crunch.

Out to Lunch: Seasons 52

Saturday's lunch was at the Palm Beach Gardens location of Seasons 52, a small restaurant chain which proclaims on its menu that no menu item is more than 475 calories. They put the nutrition information on their website, which makes it great for a calorie-counter like me. Each time I've been there, the food has been delicious. It doesn't taste like diet food, that's for sure.

Artichoke and goat cheese flatbread (370 calories):

This had a very thin crust, almost like a cracker, and in addition to the artichokes and cheese had roasted peppers, onions, and olives. I shared this with my husband as an appetizer.

Braised beef tacos (420 calories):

Braised beef in red mole sauce with pickled onions, cilantro, guacamole, and slaw on corn tortillas. If I had one criticism it would be that the tortillas were thick and stodgy, a little too heavy for the filling. I ate one whole taco and just the fillings out of the others. It had a great mix of flavors, sweet, savory, sour and herbal.

I'll definitely be going back.

Breakfast on the Beach

A perfectly fine way...

to start a perfectly fine day.

Cow Boot*

That's right, we had some delicious cow boot for dinner... wait, not cow boot.

Moo shu.

8 oz. pork tenderloin, marinated in teriyaki sauce
Baby corn
Broccoli slaw mix (shredded broccoli, cabbage and carrots)
Served with flour tortillas and hoisin sauce

4 servings, 300 calories per serving

*The 10-year-old in the house wants to make it known that he was the one who made the "cow boot" joke.