Weekend Adventures

This weekend I had a lot of 'me' time and I feel like it was well deserved. July was an amazing month, but boy was it busy! After Fringe, I was basically in the city for less than a week. I took off to Nashville for an incredible experience at Summit, came home for 4 days and then got back on a plane to go to Alberta for 10 days. I'll be blogging more about both of those trips -- I can't wait to share all that I learned / saw / did / experienced - ahhhh!!

My weekend started off with a super fun party in the east end of the city to celebrate the first birthday of the Confidential Musical Theatre Project. I've had the pleasure of performing in 2 shows with this company and both have helped me grow as a performer! It's an exhilarating (and terrifying) experience that I think every actor should pursue. I got to sing "I Still Believe in Love" from They're Playing Our Song and broadcasted it live on Periscope (you can follow me @ashleydtl to catch those sorts of things!) It was an awesome night and I had a blast connecting with fellow performers and reflecting on all that has happened in a year!

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing. Since I moved to the west end of Toronto (after being an east ender for a loooong time) I've been discovering all sorts of great places in my hood to substitute all of my old haunts. I decided to explore Roncesvalles on Saturday as I was looking for a dress to wear to a wedding in September.

Most of my wardrobe comes from Damzels and I had wanted to visit the west end location for some time - it did not disappoint! I found myself trying on countless dresses and had to choose between a bunch of dresses for the wedding. I found a beautiful green dress to wear and also grabbed a sweet bamboo t-shirt that is so soft! I love the service when I go to Damzels and always leave happy.

Since it was a 'me' day, I treated myself to a quickie mani at The Ten Spot and enjoyed some huevos rancheros for brunch at The Ace. 

In between brunching & my manicure, I checked out all sorts of neat little stores on Roncesvalles and had a lovely afternoon! I picked up some awesome cards at Scout and coveted some beautiful jewelry and handbags at Frock. After I nearly walked all the way down to Queen Street, I walked back up to where I had parked my bicycle and biked to the Junction in the sunshine to get a cupcake at Bunners.

Peaches and cream? Heck, yes!

It was a perfect day to be out on my bicycle and walking in the sunshine, exploring different neighbourhoods that are close to me. I maybe capped all of that off with a nap - that's what weekends are for, right?!

How was your weekend? Do you have any favourite spots in the west end of Toronto?

Love List - June

I'm so pleased that summer is here! In an effort to get some regular posts happening on the bloggy, I'm beginning a monthly series of my current loves including any places, sounds, treats and things that are making me happy. Here's June:

My new bicycle
I finally took the plunge and ordered a new bicycle!!

My previous bike was a beach cruiser that was too heavy and clunky for daily commuting and fun rides anywhere but the boardwalk. I opted for a Bobbin, and she arrived from England(!!) a couple of weeks ago. There will be a whole post dedicated to her in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! She is absolutely gorgeous. 

Royal Wood

Corbin and I went to see Royal Wood (with Peter Katz) a few weeks ago at the Winter Garden Theatre as I had bought him tickets for Christmas. It was well worth the wait! It was an incredible night and so awesome to see such talented musicians play stellar music. I'm loving Royal's new album, The Burning Bright. 

Pretty manis and pedis

Summer means open-toed shoes which means a sweet excuse for a pedicure. I got to pay a visit to the new location of The Ten Spot in the Annex last week and am enjoying my sweet gel mani and pedi. Purple and sparkles go with everything, right? 

OPI 'Don't be a Budapest' on my toes and Gelish 'Oocha Coocha Bing Bang Bam Alakazy Alakazam' on my fingers 

The Kind Exchange

The Kind Exchange recently opened a location on the Danforth and it's already becoming one of my very favourite places to shop. You can bring any unwanted clothes, accessories and shoes and the store's buyers will decide which of your pieces they would like to take and offer cash or a store credit in return. The store's inventory is then made up of other people's items at really great prices, with a portion of the proceeds going to local charities. My favourite finds have included brand new Dr. Marten's with floral insides and ribbon laces (for $45!!) and an adorable poodle dress that one of my co-workers spotted on The Kind Exchange's instagram  

New items are constantly being added, and the Danforth location's small size makes it easy and fun to shop. There are locations all over Toronto now with all different merchandise, which is awesome! 

The return of the summer of popsicles

I see many more popsicles in our future and I couldn't be happier. 

Trips to Target with Lindsay

Linz and I have started a new tradition where we take visits to Target to a) pick up anything we need and b) kick the blues if we're having a bad day. Our adventures have been hilarious so far... more to come. 

What's making you happy in June so far?

That time Spinzo saved me and paid for my groceries

A couple weeks ago this happened
 

So let's back up a little bit... it started when I saw some tweets to a new company called Spinzo and joined in the fun of their #SpinzoSavesTO contest

From Spinzo: Spinzo is a smart-buying company dedicated to offering great experiences at affordable prices, that aren't the typical 50-90% deals. Spinzo cares about merchants and is dedicated to Savings! The #SpinzoSavesTO contest was started to create awareness of Spinzo's presence in Toronto. In advance of offering smart-buy deals, Spinzo is giving out what people really want: cash savings of anything! All contestants have to do is tweet at @spinzotoronto or post on our Facebook page their requests and we draw winners weekly who receive cash savings in person from the Spinzo team. 

While shoes and clothes are fun, I was trying to be practical and tweeted about saving money on groceries. Spinzo made mention of lots of expensive cheese and when I said I didn't eat cheese, the hashtag #dufflebagfullofkalechips was created, which was definitely much more up my alley! I ended up being selected as one of the first winners, which was awesome!! It was even better when they gave me 100% of my grocery bill back in cash.

Fruits and veggies, stuff for juicing, coconut water, almond milk, almond butter, yummy raw granola, tahini, tamari and a whole lotta kale were all part of my haul - it was all very exciting!!

I want to disclose that I'm writing this blog post to say thank you to Spinzo - it wasn't required as part of my win. It was really cool to have my groceries taken care of and I was definitely smiling when I was making dinner the night I won! I'd also like to see more people win and since the #SpinzoSavesTO contest is happening until September 10, you've still got time! Go tweet. Or head over to their facebook page. I'm curious to see what Spinzo has in store for Toronto down the road!

If you could, what would you save money on?

Ashley Takes Manhattan–Part Deux

After less than 24 hours, I was already in love with the city.

I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to take a little solo adventure. I threw on a dress and some sunscreen, did a little google-mapping and headed to Chelsea Market to visit One Lucky Duck. While I knew that I was going to be having dinner at Pure (squeal!!), I was still looking forward to visiting One Lucky Duck for some yummy breakfast and some treats. While everything looked AMAZING I opted for some cinnamon crispies, macaroons and raw granola in a sweet pink tote. And a spanking of the smoothie variety of course!! Fresh coconut, blueberry, banana, cashew milk, cinnamon and vanilla blended together to make sweet sweet love in my mouth. It was stellar. Feeling giddy and full of deliciousness, I was fuelled up for some shopping in Chelsea which included a stop at Anthropologie where I found an amazing dress and skirt on sale for so much less than it would have been at the Canadian location.

I was thrilled for the next stop on my adventure, which was a tea date with the beautiful Sheryl!I can’t even remember how I found Sheryl’s blog, but it was certainly one of the first Weight Watchers blogs I started reading back in 2007-2008. It has been incredible to follow her weight loss journey and I think I cried when she reached her goal weight. It sounds so corny, but it was a dream come true to finally meet her in person and I loved how easily our conversation flowed and how much we had in common. We stopped off for iced tea and coffee at Starbucks before wandering around, ogling sailors and taking a speedy trip into Trader Joe’s because I had never experienced one! The two of us received lots of compliments on our outfits and Sheryl’s awesome Hello Kitty bike garnered lots of attention too.

Our time together also included a trip to Lula’s Sweet Apothecary. Oh. My. Gawd.

It was like I had died and gone to heaven in a sea of vegan ice cream. They had a huge selection of vegan ice cream, including soft serve! It was so hard to choose, but I opted for the cashew based peanut butter chip over a gluten free vegan brownie. I wish I had words to describe just how amazing this was, but it really made me long for something similar in Toronto.

I met back up with Jer and spent the afternoon wandering around Soho doing some shopping. My favourite stops included Cafe Kristall / Swarovski store where I purchased an amazing Swarovski ring (on sale, no less) and the Harney and Sons tea shop.

Jer and I had been texting when I was out with Sheryl and he let me know that he had found “tea heaven” for me and the Harney and Sons store did not disappoint! After falling in love with some of the Harney teas, I didn’t even know where to begin once we were in the store. They were sampling a variety of iced teas, which was a great place to start. I absolutely fell in love with the decaf hot cinnamon tea, which has taken on the title of the sparkle tea amongst my Tea Club gals. I also picked up some Paris tea and Peach Ginger, both of which I love. The person who was helping us at the counter was incredibly knowledgeable and obliged my many requests to smell and sample many teas. After I told him about my love of tea and about our little tea club he let me know that he was actually Emeric Harney, grandson of Mr. John Harney. How cool is that?!? Cue more skipping and squealing.

Stay tuned for part three… which will include my visit to Pure Food and Wine!!

Who wears short shorts?

I haven't worn shorts in, oh I don't know, 8 years? Maybe even more. And even then it was a mandatory gym uniform. I wear skirts, capris or pants, but no shorts. Even after losing 33 lbs, I never wore shorts outside the house (and even inside was rare) I didn't like the way my legs looked in shorts so I didn't want to subject anyone else to having to look at them.

This all changed last week after Monday's Boot Camp session. It was hot and I started thinking that maybe I would be a little more comfortable in a pair of shorts over the next few weeks? But wearing shorts, would mean going into a change room and trying them on, which would lead to buying them and then taking the plunge and wearing them in public - could it be done?

The answer my friends, is yes.

I took a trip to the Nike store last week and purchased two pairs of shorts. I would be lying if I said that trying on 6 different pairs in the change room was easy. Not only was the lighting bad, but the negative self talk in my head started up as soon as I had dropped my pants.

"Your thighs are going to look fat"

"You have cellulite"

"You are going to feel self-conscious"

SHUT UP!!!

I pushed out the negative thoughts by reminding myself of how hard I was working at boot camp. All of those squats, lunges, and burpees aren't just for kicks - as a result of doing them I am changing my body. I had an objective look at my body (in the horribly lit, full length mirror) and felt proud of how far I had come from 3 years ago. I told myself that I looked great. I told myself that I feel awesome and healthy. And I finally reminded myself how much cooler I was going to feel in shorts when it's 30+ degrees outside. After all of this tug of war I decided on a grey pair and a pink pair and took them to the cash.

I wore my pink pair to Booty Camp on Monday night.

Joey even told me that my butt looked good!!

I have to say that I felt a little self conscious after seeing that picture and stepping outside the comfort of my own home, but then I decided that I was going to rock my shorts. It felt really great to be kicking my issues to the curb and doing what made me feel good.

I reminded myself of all the things I've accomplished in the last three years and told myself that I looked great. I also thought about how silly it was to be obsessing over something like an article of clothing. Other girls in the class wear shorts. Heck, millions of people in the WORLD wear shorts! There was no real reason for me not to be wearing shorts.

The power of positive thinking is an incredible thing and I really encourage you all to rid yourself of those negative words and thoughts that have been swirling around your head.

The first step is to recognize those negative thoughts. Think about the words that you are using. I heard myself using terms like "self-conscious", "fat", and "cellulite" and realized how horrible I was sounding. Negative thoughts often have words like can't, never, only, but, or won't. Once you realize that you're thinking negatively you need to...

Challenge those negative thoughts! Just like I did with my own comments about my shorts, ask yourself if what you're saying is realistic or grounded in any sort of reality. Would you make these comments to a family member, friend or loved one? Then...

Replace the negatives with positives. Rather than focusing on the negative, find positive things about the experience. Maybe you're frustrated because you overate at dinner. Instead of thinking negatively, go through the situation in your head and see what you did do to help and think about what you learned from the experience. When my negative short thoughts crept in, I thought about all the weight that I have lost and the work I'm doing at Boot Camp and kicked my negative thoughts out the door with my much more positive thoughts.

Don't beat yourself up over negative thoughts - they do happen and it can take time to change your thinking and your habits. You can do it!

There have been a few posts in the blog world in the last week or so about loving your body and they've really hit home for me. Check out Leslie's post on her experience in the fashion industry. It is really brave writing and I really applaud Leslie for putting herself out there like that. You can also check out Operation Beautiful. Caitlin's initiative has really taken the idea of positive thinking to a new level. I think it's absolutely wonderful.

How do you get past negative thoughts? How has positive thinking improved your quality of life and/or your weight loss journey?

Adventures in Amherst

I love cross border shopping for a few reasons:
They have stores that we don't have in Canada
When the dollar is good, it's incredibly inexpensive
It's a good excuse for a girl's day!

Lori & I

I was looking for three things in Amherst - gladiator-ish sandals, stuff for the house and Barney Butter. Anything else was just going to be a bonus!


It was a beautiful day and such an easy drive across the border!! Lori and I always just chat away and the time passes by so quickly!


We began our day at Marshall's.


We don't always get to Marshall's because we usually go shopping on a Sunday afternoon and it's usually closed when we arrive and closed when we're done with our other stops. For my Canadian friends, Marshall's is like Winners but better. I found these awesome Aerosole heels for $20.


They are versatile and incredibly comfy!
Next stop was Target and I kind of went nuts! But for $134 I got:

• a t-shirt
• a super cute green polka-dot bikini (which you will see in my boot camp before & after pics)
• shower curtain & rings
• 6 towels
• garbage bin
• summer-themed plates, cutlery, napkins and name tags
• 3 cereal bowls
• 4 outdoor plates for BBQs
• 2 bamboo cutting boards
• treats for Joey (dill relish and pretzel bites)
• 8 glasses

Amazing!! A kitchen table caught my eye while I was there but I decided to think about it...
We went to Applebee's for lunch. I really enjoyed my Weight Watchers steak last time so I thought I would head to the WW menu once again. I went with the chili-lime chicken salad sans cheese



It was gigantic!! The dressing was pretty spicy so I only had a wee bit dipped on my fork.
We went to the Boulevard Mall for a little bit, but only went to a couple stores.
After the mall we went across the street to Pier One... the light did not want to change!!! That street is not made for pedestrians. Luckily we found some fun at the local church.


When we were finally able to get back to the car, we went to TJ Maxx where I found some cute Jessica Simpson sandals for $34 - I love them!


Of course we had to go grocery shopping at Wegmans! I've decided that Wegman's is like a cross between a Whole Foods and a Loblaws, with great prices! I didn't get a picture of everything because I was really tired when I came home but I got some fun things that I can't get in Toronto, plus some things that were just cheaper!

• Coconut milk yogurts in vanilla (they're kind of expensive, but very yummy!)
• Popchips in salt and vinegar flavor (these are quite crunchy and satisfying)
• Peanut Butter Puffins
• Bob's xanthan gum
• Bob's sorghum flour (keep an eye out for some gluten free baked goods!)
• Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla chamomile tea (just lovely)
• Justin natural almond butter in squeeze packets

Before leaving Toronto I had checked the Barney Butter website to see if they carried their products anywhere in Amherst. The website showed that all Tops in New York State carried their products - I was so excited!!


Sadly, we went to TWO different Tops locations and no one knew what I was talking about nor was there any Barney Butter on the shelves. I just want to try it!!!
I ended up dragging Lori back to Target so that we could buy the table and I'm so happy that I did - I love it!!


It's perfect for our space and a really nice addition to our kitchen!!
I had a really fun day with Lori (our trip and lunch was a belated birthday gift to me!) and I really look forward to another road trip in the future! I was disappointed about the Barney Butter, but I'm really pleased with the rest of my purchases, so I'm sure I'll get over it!

Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping - the Ashley way!

Since I started meal planning, grocery shopping has gotten a lot easier! I've always been one to make a list, but meal planning for the week makes it a lot easier to figure out exactly what I need. I wanted to give you some tips on how I do my meal planning and weekly grocery shopping trip:

1. Figure out your week - this might seem like a weird first step in grocery shopping, but it's an incredibly important part of meal planning as I learned during my show. The amount of prep time you have each day/night to cook is really going to dictate what your menu looks like. When I was rehearsing and performing in my show I relied heavily on my crockpot. Now that the show is over I've got more time at home to prepare meals. You want to determine when you and your family members are going to be home, any activities you have planned or any dinners out you may have scheduled.
   
   
2. Scope out your kitchen - get a sense for what's in your fridge, freezer, pantry and cupboards. This will help when you're going through the recipes and determining what you need to pick up at the store(s). Are you out of basics (milk, flour, frozen fruits/veggies etc.)? This is a good time to figure it out. 
   
   
3. Get out your cookbooks - or recipe cards or start surfing the net and figure out which recipes you are going to make. This is going to help you figure out what you need at the store and it also helps to keep things interesting throughout the week. Are you going to stick to old favourites? Or try something new? It also helps me to figure out if I'm going to have enough leftovers for lunch so I'll know if I'll need to plan to make a soup or something else to fill the void. I usually do this on Sunday morning while I'm eating breakfast. I pull out my cookbooks and start reading!
   
   
4. Write it out - I usually start with an 8.5x11 sheet of recycled scrap paper and fold it in half. On one side I write Sunday - Saturday and on the other side I have my grocery list. As I decide which recipes I'm going to make I write them in under the chosen day (sometimes the days I make things change, but I generally try to stick to the plan) I then write in the items that I'm going to need on the other side of the piece of paper. I usually list them by type of item - fruit/veg, protein, liquid or dry goods/pantry - so they're easier to find on my list when I'm in that section of the store.
   
   
5. Head out - I make three stops when I do the grocery shopping. This may seem like a lot, but the three stores cover my needs and allow me to get the best deals possible. 

• Bulk Store - We have a cute little bulk/health food store very close to our house and I love it! Here I pick up herbs & spices, cereal for Joey (he likes to make his own "raisin bran" with bran flakes and raisins - it's incredibly cost effective), stuff for baking, dried beans, brown rice pasta, nuts, canned goods and larabars ($1.69 each which is the cheapest I've seen in Toronto so far) They also have a great selection of teas and nut butters and today I actually bought tofu there because it was cheap! 
• Health Food Store - I feel so lucky to live so close to The Big Carrot, because I love it there! Here I get bread, meat, dry goods, soy & almond milk, oils & sauces and sometimes fruit and veggies. They also have a wonderful take away counter where they make amazing vegetarian food and list all the ingredients. 
• Fruit & Veggie Stand - I try to buy organic as much as possible and I love one particular fruit & veggie place near me because they often have tonnes of organics and local produce for low, low prices! The price of their regular produce is amazing and the quality is great. Today I got cauliflower, 2 pints of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, 3 green peppers, 1 red pepper, celery, zucchini, asparagus, and 5 lemons for $19.06 and about 40% was organic. 

After I stop everywhere I need, I head home and put it all away. It's quite a task, but I always feel very accomplished when I'm done, and I know that I won't be halfway through making a recipe one night and realize that I don't have a particular item. 

Do you have any tips for meal planning and/or grocery shopping?

Confessions of a Shop-a-holic

Yesterday I had the pleasure crossing the border with my dear friend Lori for some shopping in Amherst, New York! We've gone many times before, (usually every three months or so) but this was a special trip because of my food sensitivity results. In the past I've been excited to visit the Weight Watchers Center to pick up some of the products we don't have in Canada as well as shop for a large quantity of snacks at Target and Wegmans, but with my most recent lifestyle change that was not going to be feasible.

I started my day with a bowl of brown rice cereal with almond milk and some beautiful organic berries.

The cereal got soggy sort of quickly, but the berries were bursting with flavor. Sunday was such a beautiful day to do anything, but a wonderful day for a drive! The last time we crossed the border it has been foggy, cloudy and raining so the glorious sunshine was a refreshing change. It was a smooth drive all the way over (Lori's GPS system "Tom" made sure that he got us there) and there was only a short wait at the border crossing. Luckily I had brought along a Pecan Pie larabar to tie me over until lunch. 

We started off the day at Target.

I love that place. Target makes me really happy and I often walk out with a few bags of stuff. I didn't find any clothes this time around but did walk away with some amazing deals on other stuff. Organic Cotton Sheets - $50! New yoga mat -$9! Yoga block & strap - $9! New yoga pants - $21! I got a little bit sad while walking around the grocery aisles. Normally I would be stocking up on cool 100 calorie packs and Fiber One products, but I got over that quickly as soon as I focused on the other wonderful things I had purchased. I reassured myself that I would find lots of great things later on...

Our next stop was the Boulevard Mall.

Most people make that assumption that we go New York to hit up the outlet stores but that is not the case. We've never actually gone to the outlet stores together nor do we feel like we need to. Before we go I often print off a bunch of coupons for the stores in the mall and we're usually pleased by the fresh selection they offer our Canadian eyes!

Since Sunday was my first "official" day of the elimination diet, I had done some research to find a restaurant where I could eat. Lori and I have always had trouble eating in the States because she is a vegetarian and I look for things that are WW-friendly. We've never gone hungry but I wanted to be prepared due to my new way of eating. I searched 'gluten free Buffalo' and came across this site, which directed me to a list of restaurants that had gluten free options. I chose Carrabba's Italian Grill because it also had some vegetarian-friendly options for Lori!

Carraba's has an entire gluten-free menu

I had determined in advance that I would have Chicken Gratella because it seemed to work with my other sensitivities. I started with a salad.

I asked for my dressing to be put on the side (realizing fully that I wouldn't be eating it because it had vinegar and potentially other things that I can't eat) I picked out the tomatoes (can't have) and olives (don't like) and topped it with some of the olive oil with herbs that had been left on the table. When our server let us know that the vegetable of the day was green beans, I realized that I had a problem. I can't eat green beans. So I opted for just mashed potatoes. 

Ummmm... Ashley? Mashed potatoes usually have milk, butter or cream in them

I had been so focused on selecting a gluten free entree that I had forgotten about some of my other sensitivities. My meal arrived with three scoops of cream-laden mashed potatoes and my chicken was coated in black pepper.

Oh dear, I forgot about the pepper.

I tried to scrape most of the pepper off and despite the dairy, I decided to have some of the mashed potatoes. It was day one and it was an educational experience for me. The people at Carraba's were lovely, the food was very good and they were really accommodating to my requests.

Since we were all fueled up, our next stop was TJ Maxx.

For my fellow Canadians - TJ Maxx is kind of like Winners, but usually better! I almost always walk out of there with something fabulous and well-priced! (Last summer - Liz Clairborne boots for $15!!) This time my sights were set on a fantastic Michael Kors handbag.

It was love at first sight. I had seen a bag at Banana Republic a few days before in a similar colour, but had wanted a different style. I tried to find it at the Banana Republic at the Boulevard Mall but they didn't have anything left in that colour, so finding this bag was like fate! The bag was priced at a fraction of what it would retail for in stores and I simply adore the colour. Lori found some great workout gear and a fantastic trunk that she is going to use as a coffee table - I wish I had taken a picture as it's super nice!

With the handbag and trunk stored away, we gleefully started the next part of our journey: food shopping.

We made a quick stop at Feel Rite.

Do you find that all "health food stores" have the same smell?? This place smelled just like the Carrot which smells like Noah's which smells like every other health food store I've ever been in. I found some gluten free cookies that worked alongside my other sensitivities and some Better N Peanut Butter. I found the prices to be similar to what we have in Canada and other than those two items there was nothing that screamed I MUST HAVE THIS.

People laugh when I say that my favourite store that we visit in Amherst is Wegmans but it is honestly great!!

Lori and I signed up for the Shoppers Club because I had read about it online. We always go there when we're in the US, so why not save some money too? We were probably in there for at least an hour. Again, I was a little sad about all the things that I couldn't have but they have a fairly extensive natural section with a dedicated gluten free aisle and I was able to find a lot of fun things that I can have. I got some items I had never seen before but also picked up some items because they were just really good prices compared to what I pay here (Puffins - 2/$5, case of larabars - $20) Here is a picture of all my food purchases!

Two varieties of Enjoy Life  gluten free granola, Pamela's ginger cookies, Better n Peanut Butter, sweet coconut thai chai tea, vegan grated topping, Earth Balance spread, ricemellow fluff, corn tortillas, Wegmans soy chips, 2 jars of Dark Chocolate Dreams, Tofu Shirataki noodles, Peanut Butter Puffins, Envirokidz Gorilla Munch, coconut milk yogurt and a whole lotta larabars. 

Since our Wegmans stop was a little bit long and there had been a number of people crossing the border on our way in, we decided to have dinner before heading home.

Um, what do we eat?

We decided to check out the menu at Applebee's since I recalled seeing that they had a Weight Watchers menu.

They have a number of selections on their menu that are labelled with the WW logo with the number of Points listed (although I just read that there was a lawsuit filed against Applebee's for giving false nutritional information...eek!)

Since I had chosen chicken for lunch I decided to branch out a little bit and select the Steak & Portobellos:

Juicy, flame-grilled 4 oz. sirloin steak topped with sliced, sautéed portobello mushrooms and a savory brown sauce. Paired with steamed herb potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Learning from my earlier experience, I asked for the entree to be served without the mushrooms and brown sauce and asked that the chef not use any black pepper on my medium-well steak.

It arrived looking like this...

which was perfect! (There was a runny substance on the potatoes that I suspected was butter-based, but there wasn't very much and I scraped it off) It tasted great and my body was very happy that I chose steak. 4 oz was the perfect amount for me and was cooked exactly how I liked it. Lori's Veggie Patch Pizza was a little less successful, but only due to the sheer amount of cheese they used. Overall it was a great way to end the day and it was great for me to utilize some of the knowledge I had gained from earlier restaurant experience.

It was a great day of shopping and a fun way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon! I know that things will get easier as I get to know the ins and outs of my sensitivities and learn what I need to look for and ask for. Day one really wasn't so bad and now I'm stocked up with some exciting products to make the next few weeks that much easier!