Day 295 in my eating my way to a healthier me to meet up with Mickey in October (4 months and 13 days to go)

My plan for today is to make the healthiest choices possible for my meals today.

1. Breakfast:  We went out with our friends John and Joan Webster to celebrate Mike’s and my birthdays.  We’re a little behind; our birthdays are in November and December.  🙂  We went to a restaurant  called The Point Pancake House in Gurnee, IL.  I ordered a Multigrain Waffle with Yogurt and Strawberries.  The yogurt was plain, unsweetened.  (Ish, right?)  I can’t eat many strawberries because I have diverticulosis, so I ate a couple and gave the rest to Joan.  I asked for and was given sugar-free syrup. I ordered a side of bacon as a treat.  And I had a cup of coffee. I put some syrup on my plate and gently dipped a forkful of the waffle at a time.  It was so good!
2. Lunch:  After writing out my bills for this pay period, I skipped to town (Lake Bluff) to mail them.  While there I decided to go to brunch at Maevery Public House.  Monday through Friday they are only open for dinner, but on Saturday and Sunday they are open from 10 to 3 for brunch.  I ordered an egg white frittata with locally grow seasonal vegetables and goat cheese.  The locally grown seasonal vegetables turned out to be clover. (Early Spring-sheesh!) This was unexpected to say the least.  It was served with tomatillo salsa.  I opened my small mind, and decided to give it a try.  OMGoodness!!!!  It was to die for and was complimented by a cup of black coffee and the cold water that they serve in a refillable bottle.  Mike and I will go there tomorrow after church, so he can see how wonderful this place its.  What a local gem!
3. Dinner: Back to my favorite cookbook: Betty Crocker’s 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes.  On tonight’s menu: Chicken Rigatoni with Broccoli and Peppers.  We haven’t tried this one yet.

1. Ingredients:
2. 2  1/2 (does anyone know how to type this as a number on a MacBook Air?) cups uncooked rigatoni pasta
3. 2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
4. 1 medium red, orange or yellow pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
5. 1 cup cut-up cooked chicken
6. 1/2 cup reduced-fat Alfredo pasta sauce (from 10-oz jar)
7. 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (1oz), if desired

1. Directions:
2. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli and bell pepper for the last 2 minutes of cooking.  Drain; return to saucepan.
3. Stir in chicken and Alfredo sauce.  Cook over low heat about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken and sauce are hot.  Sprinkle with cheese.

Betty Tip: Any tubular-shaped pasta (I’m using whole wheat elbow macaroni), such as penne or ziti, will work fine in this dish, and , to make it vegetarian, omit chicken and increase broccoli to 3 cups.

That’s my eating day today.  Meet you at the Kingdom!