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Low Calorie Choices at Panda Express

June 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Eating out and sticking to my diet is always a challenge. I usually try to find a restaurant that serves salads, but I recently discovered that Panda Express has entrees that are less than 250 calories. That’s great news to me because I absolutely love Chinese food.

The staff at the Panda Express on Parmer Lane was extremely helpful and patient with all my questions about the food. I chose the black pepper chicken with white rice. They were especially nice to give me some broccoli as a side from the broccoli beef entree. Everything tested fresh and cooked just right.

Black Pepper Chicken at Panda Express

Black Pepper Chicken with broccoli and rice at Panda Express

About Panda Express

http://pandaexpress.com/

Panda Express on Urbanspoon

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Relax and Refresh at the Treehouse Bar & Grill in Marble Falls

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After walking around Marble Falls in the 100+ degree Texas heat, the Treehouse Bar & Grill is the perfect place to stop and have a cool refreshing beverage and a relaxing meal. That’s just what I did last week.

The bar at the Treehouse Bar & Grill - Marble Falls, Texas

With bar stools covered with cowhide and Hawaiian-themed decorations, the Treehouse Bar & Grill is a fun and casual mix of ranch and tropical island.

The Menu

For those watching their calories, the menu has several delicious-sounding salads. I was extremely pleased with my choice of the Treehouse salad—grilled chicken in a fresh salad mix with crisp apples, glazed pecans and bleu cheese crumbles, served with a balsamic vinaigrette and oil dressing.

The menu also features burgers, sandwiches, wraps, nachos, fajitas, steak, chicken and seafood. Save room for dessert—cheesecake drizzled with raspberry and chocolate or skillet apple pie or skillet brownie with cinnamon vanilla ice cream and butter brandy sauce!

Tree House Salad

Treehouse salad—grilled chicken in a fresh salad mix with crisp apples, glazed pecans and bleu cheese crumbles, served with a balsamic vinaigrette and oil dressing.

About the Tree House Bar & Grill

Website: http://www.thetreehousegrill.com

The Treehouse Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon

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Happy About Blue Bonnet Cafe’s “Pie Happy Hour”

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After a fun day of shopping and sightseeing in the Texas Hill Country’s beautiful Highland Lakes with a BFF this week, we decided to visit the Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls for their “pie happy hour.” For only $3.50, Blue Bonnet Cafe serves a slice of pie with a beverage each weekday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Happiness on a plate!

Peanut Butter Pie and Coffee

Peanut butter pie and a cup of coffee

Happiness on a plate—peanut butter pie—served with a bottomless cup of coffee.

So many choices—apple, sugar-free apple, pecan, fudge, cherry, coconut cream, coconut meringue, chocolate meringue, chocolate cream, German chocolate, banana cream, lemon cream, and lemon meringue. Then I saw it—peanut butter pie. Oh my! I knew immediately what I was going to eat. Ribbons of chocolate sauce drizzled over melt-in-your-mouth creamy deliciousness is the only way to describe the pie. A bottomless coffee cup was the perfect accompaniment to the perfect slice of pie.

Lots of pies

Beautiful pies greet you as you walk into the Blue Bonnet Cafe.

Great Food, Too!

Chicken fried steak with cream gravy, green beans and fried okra

Chicken fried steak and cream gravy with three sides—mashed potatoes, green beans and fried okra.

Blue Bonnet Cafe is so much more than homemade pies. In addition to breakfast all day, they serve everything from salads to burgers and sandwiches, to savory pot roast, fried catfish and fried chicken. The last time the hubster and I ate at this delicious diner, he had the chicken fried steak and cream gravy with mashed potatoes, green beans and fried okra. I ordered the charbroiled Teriyaki chicken breast, with green beans and two servings of salad. The chicken breast was juicy and tender.

Charbroiled Teriyaki chicken breast

Charbroiled Teriyaki chicken breast.

And don’t forget to save room for pie.

About Blue Bonnet Cafe

Blue Bonnet Cafe website

Blue Bonnet Cafe on Urbanspoon

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So Much More than Burgers at Novrozsky’s Hamburgers

May 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When visiting Sulphur, Louisiana, we always take time to eat at Novrozsky’s Hamburgers, a small chain of restaurants that started in Beaumont, Texas. Novrozsky’s serves hamburgers that are thick and juicy, great chicken fried steak, fried boudin balls, humongous stuffed potatoes, nachos, sandwiches and more. Best of all, they have a variety of heart-healthy items on the menu, such as grilled fish, salads and healthy burgers.

One of my favorite heart-healthy dishes at Novrozsky’s is the grilled mahi-mahi. Served with a fresh leafy salad, it’s a dieter’s delight.

Grilled Mahi Mahi with a salad

Grilled Mahi Mahi with a salad

Last time we were in Sulphur, the hubster tried the Philly cheese steak sandwich—all natural thin-sliced steak served on French bread with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and a side of au jus.

Philly Cheese Steak

Novrozsky's Philly cheese steak sandwich has lots of meat and lots of flavor.

Did I mention the thick and juicy burgers? The photo below tells the story!

Bacon cheddar burger

Bacon cheddar burger

To see their menu, visit novrozskys.com. Or like them on facebook.

Novrozsky's Hamburgers Etc on Urbanspoon

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Fresh & Fit—and Breakfast All Day—at Mimi’s Cafe

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The hubster and I were looking for a place to eat last Saturday that was between Ikea and the Round Rock Outlet Mall, and it needed to satisfy both our needs—great comfort food for him and something low-calorie for me. We had never been to Mimi’s and didn’t know what to expect. We found a staff that was extremely friendly and welcoming, and food that was fresh and flavorful.

Breakfast All Day

Mimi's Banana Nut and Chocolate Chip Muffin

Mimi's Banana Nut and Chocolate Chip Muffin

Mimi’s serves breakfast all day, so the hubster selected the Monterey omelette—three eggs with bacon, avocado and jack cheese, served with a muffin, potatoes and orange juice. He chose the banana chocolate chip muffin and was delighted when he bit into a warm muffin with melty chocolate chips. I took a bite and was pleased to find that the banana flavor was not overwhelming. The omelette was perfectly cooked and the bacon was delicious (I also had a couple of bites of that).

Monterey Omelette

Monterey Omelette

Fresh & Fit Menu

Citrus Salmon

Citrus Salmon

As someone who has lost over 80 lbs. on Jenny Craig, I’m cautious when eating out. I usually stick to salads with grilled chicken and nothing else. I was extremely elated to find that Mimi’s has a nice selection of dishes that are 650 calories or less. I absolutely love salmon, so I selected the Citrus Salmon—grilled salmon with baby spring greens, strawberries and fat-free balsamic vinaigrette—for only 539 calories. It was really delicious and well within my calorie count.

Dessert

Mimi’s also has a great selection of desserts. Hubster was stuffed, so he chose to take the Classic Ensemble of bread pudding, apple cinnamon crisp and a triple chocolate brownie home. He ate them later that evening and raved about them.

Etc.

Since we were Mimi’s Cafe newbies, the manager presented us with two huge muffins to take home with us. One of them was a fat-free blueberry muffin made with applesauce. How great is that? He also gave us information about joining the Mimi’s Cafe eClub, where we will receive a free breakfast and coupons. I’m going to sign up now!

To find a location near you, visit Mimi’s Cafe website.

Mimi's Cafe on Urbanspoon

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