Sushi Night

Friday night is my favorite night of the week for several reasons, but mostly because it usually means sushi for dinner.   Lucky for us there is a fantastic sushi place about a mile from where we live so getting really awesome sushi is easy. Sometimes too easy. We save this treat for Friday since by that point we are all pretty worn out from the week and the last thing I want to do is cook.  Actually, if we're being honest, the last thing I want to do is clean up after cooking.  Our daughters especially love when we get sushi-even though they don't eat the raw stuff like we do.  Their favorite meal is chicken fried rice, miso soup ( even the Little One loves miso soup) and edamame.  They usually have a couple pieces of veggie sushi too.

My favorite is the volcano roll - I love anything spicy!

I like to share the volcano roll with my husband and get a veggie combo to go with my meal.  This way I can share with my daughters.  The Little One and Big One eat the avocado rolls and the Middle One likes the cucumber roll.  (The Little One doesn't eat the wrapper though.)

All of us girls get Miso soup with ours. 

Not the prettiest picture but it was so good!

And no sushi dinner is complete without an order of edamame, at least in my opinion.

Doesn't that just look so good? 

Nothing says TGIF like an ice cold Sam Adams.  

There is no better way to wrap up the week than with a no stress dinner. While I do love to cook and most of our meals are homemade, it is nice to get a break. Now I am ready to face the rest of my weekend, and I don't even have to do the dishes first! 

What is your favorite type of sushi?  Or if you don't eat sushi, what is your favorite takeout?

A Weekend of Good Eats

Last week was Valentine's Day so to celebrate my husband and I had planned a date night- dinner and a movie. The original plan was for Tuesday, but that got canceled because he ended up having to travel for work.   We are still working on fitting our date night into our jam-packed schedule, but he did do his best to spoil me all weekend by taking me to a few of my favorite places to eat.  

We try not to eat out very often at all for several reasons.  For one thing it a lot more expensive than eating at home.  For another, it's not nearly as healthy.  When you eat out you consume a lot more calories than you would if you made the food yourself.  As a rule we try to eat out only about once every 2 weeks.  I don't mind cooking dinner every night, but a break now and then is nice.  This weekend we actually ate out 3 times- totally unheard of for us!  But oh, it was soooo nice. 

Saturday night, after an afternoon and evening out clothing and shoe shopping for the two little ones, my husband ordered sushi for us from our favorite sushi place.  He ordered my favorite: vegetable roll combo, miso soup, and edamame.  (Yes, I do eat raw fish but I love the fresh veggies in the vegetable roll.)  After the little ones were all tucked into their beds for the night, we snuggled on the sofa with some wine, our sushi, and a movie.  It may not have been the fancy night out we had planned but a quiet night in is better in my opinion.  

Sunday we went back out to see if we could hit any good sales.  In our travels we stopped by the Le Creuset store and I picked up a new cookbook I cannot wait to try:

My husband did not tell me his plans for dinner, but instead surprised me by taking us to my very favorite restaurant "Food For Thought".  It's a slightly higher end restaurant, but they still cater to families with children so they have crayons and coloring pages for the kids- which they love.  Of course I still bring an activity bag for them just in case.  I have been dying to go there for several weeks because they have the BEST Pad Thai (it's better than the Thai place).  I always get it with fried tofu, which is cooked perfectly every time.  It's spicy but not too spicy, and it's not drowning in sauce.

(Pardon the picture quality- it was dark and I was using my iPhone. ) 

After dinner, my husband had yet another surprise.  We were stopping for PIZZA.  Now, you're wondering why we went to get pizza after we had already eaten, right?  There just happens to be a ZPizza near where we were and they make totally dairy free pizza with Daiya cheese!  

My husband's idea was to  get a pizza to go and to eat it later on as a snack, since we had an early dinner.  Oh how I love that man!   I cannot remember the last time I had a pizza from a real pizza shop- it's been YEARS.  I was so excited I just about skipped up to the counter to place my order.  I ordered the Berkeley Vegan with Pepperoni.  Apparently I was the first person they had order a vegan pizza with pepperoni. I dare to be different, what can I say? It was a fully loaded pizza with green pepper, mushroom, onion, fresh tomato, pepperoni, and soy meat crumbles. (next time I'll get it without those) 

Now that is a BEAUTIFUL sight!  And it tasted even better than I had hoped. I ate half last night, and saved the rest to nibble on throughout the day today.  Don't worry, it was actually their small personal size pizza.  I ordered  a regular pepperoni for my husband so I wouldn't have to share.  

I now have one more restaurant I can add to my list of safe places to eat out.  And if you have a ZPizza near you I highly recommend you try them out.  Or, if you can get Daiya cheese near you, try it.  It really is a great option, especially on pizza.  

Have you found any new restaurants that cater to dairy allergies?

   

The Challenge of Eating Out

If you are like me, you are probably sick and tired of being chained to your own kitchen for a good meal.  Anyone with food allergies or intolerances understands the challenge of trying to enjoy a meal out.  Most of us just resign ourselves to the fact that we will have to always eat at home or bring our own food. Or just be hungry.  If you even manage to find an allergen friendly restaurant that others in your group or family want to eat at, you still have to make sure the wait staff actually understands the menu and your requests. I am tired of living like.  I used to love eating out with my husband or friends, and I want to be able to do that again.

Up until recently I had found 3 restaurants in my area that I could eat at worry free. Two are higher end establishments, which means the food is always outstanding but it also means the price is a little higher than what we would like to spend on a regular basis for a family of 5.
 For the occasional date night we like to go to a place called Food for Thought. We actually go there so often the manager now knows me, and checks my food before it is brought to our table.   Because of where they are located they offer a few vegan options, even on their dessert menu.  I find it is easier to order vegan to ensure my food is "safe".   For family events, such as birthdays, anniversaries, or Mother's Day we go to Al Fresco's, an outstanding Italian restaurant. We request the same waiter every time so he knows exactly what I can and cannot have.  For our takeout nights we order sushi from the Japanese sushi restaurant near our house.
Three options for the past 4 years, that's all. While I am thankful that these options even exist, it's nice to have a little variety now and then. It's also nice to able to go with a group out to eat.  Food allergies/intolerances can be alienating because most social events include or revolve around food.  And who wants to eat just a salad every time they go out?

Up until rather recently most restaurants did not list their ingredients online, nor did they list allergens in their foods. It was like to playing Russian Roulette with my stomach. NOT fun.  However, over the past few months I have noticed more and more of the chain restaurants sharing this information.  There is always a disclaimer, of course, but at least they are getting the information out there for those of us that need it.

Here is a short list of  what my husband and close friends would call "Stephanie Friendly" options:

Chick-Fil-A:. While their menu is one of the least allergen friendly, there are a few things dairy free people can enjoy- and I did the other night for the first time in several years.  Their char-grilled chicken sandwich is Dairy Free, as are their fries, fruit cup, hash browns, oatmeal, carrot and raisin salad, and coleslaw.  For their complete list go to their Allergen guide. It's a great option if you are out and need a quick meal.

Chipotle: I have eaten here several times in several different cities with no problems at all.   I tell them I have a dairy allergy (no one understands what severe intolerance means) and I ask them change their gloves. Each time the server has washed their hands after taking off their gloves before putting on new ones.  I also ask them to use a fresh guacamole since it's next to the cheese.  The only dairy on their entire menu is in the cheese and sour cream- everything else is dairy free.  They are also great for people with nut allergies- they don't use any in their food.  For a complete list click Here.

Starbucks: They have redone the nutritional information on their site and now have the allergens and ingredients listed for most of the their products.  They seem to have added some more food options, such as a couple Bistro boxes, salads, and 2 dairy free baked goods.  There is also an iPhone App you can download and keep a list of your favorites.  For more information you can go to their nutrition page. 

Applebees: GoDairyFree.Org just posted this information the other day.  I have not yet eaten there, but I now know the option exists. And there are Applebees restaurants everywhere.

U.S. - Multiple Locations - Applebee's
Go Dairy Free - Thursday, 02 February 2012© Go Dairy Free

Panera Bread: Several of their breads are dairy free, as well as their plain bagel and blueberry bagel.  You can go to their site and use their nutrition calculator.  You have to choose meal options to get the information, but they do have lists of ingredients and allergens once you build your meal.

ZPizza: They have a vegan cheese option, and their crusts do not contain dairy.  I have not yet tried their pizza, but it's definitely on my list to try soon! I am just happy there is a pizza place I can enjoy too. You can go to the Ingredient list to see what is safe to eat. (they also offer Gluten Free options)

This is a very short list so far and I intend to write more posts like this about my experiences eating out.   There are more and more places catering to dietary needs, and we need to share the information as we come across it.  If you have eaten somewhere I have not listed, please leave a comment, email me, or leave a note on my Facebook page. I would love to hear about your experiences eating out.

My disclaimer: This is simply information I have collected personally over the past few months.  If you choose to eat at one of these establishments, please look at their allergen lists yourself to be sure the information has not changed.

Just another day in paradise...

Ever heard the song "Just Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Vassar? Well that's pretty much how it goes around my house most days! If it's not one thing it's usually another and this time it was the dishwasher.
On Tuesday night during a rinse cycle the spring mechanism on the door of my KitchenAid dishwasher snapped and the door flung open. In the process it dented the inside of the basin on both sides. Luckily it didn't crack my countertops! We called the company, and they sent out someone to repair it. However, the inside was so badly damaged that there is no way to fix it and the door will no longer shut. The kicker- we've had it 5 years- and the warranty just expired! So last night we got to go dishwasher shopping-yay. We decided on a Bosch, and it should be delivered and installed within the next couple of days. Until then, I am doing the dishes the old fashioned way- by hand.
The positive that came out of this is that at least the husband and I got an unplanned date night and dinner out. Huge thanks to my parents for taking the girls on no notice so we could get this taken care of! Since the Lowe's we chose was in Williamsburg, and my favorite restaurant also happens to be in the same town- my husband took me there for a late dinner.
Food For Thought has been voted one of the best restaurants in the area, and I can see why! They have something for everyone. What I love the most is, not only do they have a few good vegan choices, but their menu even says that they take food allergies seriously and do all they can to accomodate for each individual customer.

Last night I started with one of my absolute favorites- Roasted Veggie Bisque

I am definitely going to have to try and recreate this at home! It's just that good. And very filling.

For my dinner I had their "How About Hummus" appetizer platter. It's a roasted red pepper hummus served with sliced fresh veggies- carrots, celery, and cucumbers- and toasted flatbread.


This, paired with the bisque, and a glass of Williamsburg Winery's James River White wine was the perfect ending to our otherwise hectic day.