Eat, Drink, and be Bloated!

Our tour through Belgium, we consumed lots of beer, food and chocolates. It was worth every pound I gained :-D. Aside from the food, Antwerp, Bruge, and Brussels are lovely, beautiful cities.

On our first lunch in Antwerp, we were recommended towards a Bistro right in the city center. Note to self= Never eat at a crowded restaurant in the city center because it ain't gonna be that good! I mean it wasn't bad per se but we felt we could have had a better first meal in Antwerp.

The menu had a bazillion choices on it so I just chose something spur of the moment... The shrimps were drenched in olivey garlic sauce.

the chocolate waffle was amazing!

We stopped to have a beer before heading to dinner at Grill 77.

http://grillhouse77.be/

We started with some fried cheesy croquettes.

I don't quite remember what soup this was.. guess it wasn't too memorable

I had a lot of meat on this trip. This filet was delicious!

mushroom gravy for my filet

mas beer and people watching

although Mcdonalds sounded pretty good after a late night, I managed to grab a cous cous salad for lunch

hearty bread on the side..yum!

Who knew there was a pickles flavored chip! On our way to Bruge...

We watched In Bruge after sightseeing the first night and can I tell you I LOVED it! It made staying in Bruge all the more fun :)

Bruge was such a quaint and pretty town with lots of stores,restaurants, and chocolate shops

sort of broke the cardinal rule of eating right before dinner but I was really craving a pot-o-mussels!

http://www.parkrestaurant.be/

T took me to Park restaurant in Bruge for dinner.

We started w. a lovely complimentary smoked salmon dish

We each ordered the set menu and started with the scallop served gratin style on the shell. All I can remember is that it was full of lots of cheesy goodness!

shrimp bisque- it was a very thin broth but it had a lovely seafood flavor

I ordered the beef filet with potaters and roasted veggies

T had the dover sole

my dessert was really good- chilled nougat with pistachios on a bed of fruit. Yum!!

grand marnier ice souffle

Our last meal in Bruge was at Den Amand

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g188671-d741849-Reviews-Den_Amand-Bruges_West_Flanders.html

We started with some crackers and some type of pesto dip.. maybe aubergine?

Parmesan crackers

I don't know what inspired me to get an Asian dish at this restaurant but something about homemade spring rolls with veggies inside sparked my interest. The portion was HUGE and really tasty

T had the pasta with prawns

chocolate waffle for dessert! Off to the Brewery tour..

http://www.halvemaan.be/

We each had a beer before heading on the Half Moon Brewery tour.

I bought some hazelnut Belgium chocolates before heading out of Bruge and onto Brussels!

On our first night in Brussels I made sure to have the famous "Mussels from Brussels!"

T ordered his gratin style with snail butter and cheese. Snail butter?!? Yes please!

I had a whole pot to myself and boy did I enjoy it :)

Have you seen a happier face?

lord help me! I'm not gonna be able to fit in my jeans..

Our lunch was also recommended to us by our hotel concierge.

They brought out three different sauces- Bearnaise, Peppercorn, and a gravy type sauce.

This restaurant serves you a full plate of food and also walk around and offer you seconds.. more steak? more frites? more veggies? You got it! Needless to say I only had what was on my plate.

Sadly, even though the food was delicious, I felt like such crap afterwards.. Such a heavy meal for lunch!

Towards the end of our trip, I needed some green and fresh so T and I decided to stop by a sushi restaurant for a quick snack. Seaweed salad never tasted so delicious in my life!!

we washed the sushi down w. an 11 euro ice cream treat

I was pleased but my partner wasn't..apparently a 15 dollar dessert is deemed too expensive ;-)

http://www.marcolini.be/

couldn't resist stopping by Pierre Marcolini for their macaroons.

Dinner was an Italian restaurant near the city square. I forgot the name!

pesce carpaccio to start

Pasta alla vongole for ME

trio of pastas for HIM

Well.. it seemed like a good idea at the time..

http://www.deliriumcafe.be/

We stopped at the Delirium cafe to try their some 2000 Belgium beers on offer....I'm sure they don't have all 2000 in stock but seriously?! 2000 beers? Who knew!

Our last meal in Brussels was at this quaint Italian restaurant right by our hotel. Who knew there was good eats right where we stayed!

He had the quatro pastas

Trio of pastas for me!

So happy to be back in London. Call me crazy but I'm even welcoming the rain.

Time to detox!

What I've learned in Antwerp

• Don't travel early morning because you'll spend most of the afternoon sleeping in the hotel
• Trust your instincts- Don't eat at a restaurant that's super crowded in the city square (the food will just be mediocre!)
• Always save room for dessert (the Belgium waffles are amaaaazing!! They are chewy and the dough is delicious!)
• Order the mussels.. even if a restaurant IS called Grill 77
• The men in Antwerp are pretty dang attractive! (Sorry T, don't read this part)
• People watching is fun, no matter what city you're in
• Antwerp has reminded me a bit of Milan, Paris, and Budapest
• There is a bar that has over 300 Belgium beers and 18 on tap. I think we got through 4 or so.. 
• McDonalds closes super early but there's always late night shwarma (and a guy that speaks Arabic!)
• It's cold here and next time I think I'll pack shoes other than flip flops and sneakers... oh and I'll bring a jacket too!
• I love traveling...

Off to Bruge today!

Belgium

Chocolates, Waffles, Beer, Mussels... What more could a foodie ask for?

We can talk about healthy living later. :-)

The Skin I Live In

evoo, salt, pepper, minced fresh garlic

after a successful PUNCH class, I was craving a salad for lunch. I peered into Pret a Manger for a split second but wasn't really feeling anything in there so I came home to find a sirloin steak in the fridge just waiting to be used!

a bed of herb salad with rocket leaves

portobellini mushrooms

these mushrooms have so much more flavor and are meatier than just plain button mushrooms.

I spread some goat cheese on top of the steak a few minutes prior to taking it out of the oven. Goat cheese + steak= brilliant!!

it was missing a little something something...

a HA! A squeeze of siracha and honey balsamic dressing did the trick!

I couldn't resist an afternoon shortbread, caramel, and chocolate bar. yummy!!

The movie last night was awesome! I really enjoyed seeing it at the Somerset House. If you aren't aware, Somerset house has an outdoor area that turns into a movie theater during the summertime. Its usually a place where people can chill out in the sun during the day. When the weather is actually nice, I've seen kids play in the water that shoots up from the ground . We saw "The Skin I live in" last night and it was the strangest plotline I had ever seen but it was a really great movie. I highly recommend watching it! Bonus, we also got to see Pedro Almodovar and one of his movies stars Elena Anaya (beautiful!!) in the flesh! I won't lie, he was a bit hard to understand with his thick accent but it was really cool all the same.

Note to self: Bring blanket next time!

We unfortunately forgot to bring blankets so we sat on the cold hard ground!

Breakfast this morning: I decided to forgo the carbs and have scrambled eggs w. sauteed mushrooms. I might have had some McDonalds healthy fruits and veggies last night. ;-)

snack prior to hitting the gym later in the morning/afternoon

Workout: 8-10 reps

• Incline bench press
• Lateral raise
• Rest 2 minutes and repeat 2x
• Incline lat pulldown
• Cable reverse flye
• Rest 2 minutes and repeat 2x
• Gym ball jackknife
• Gym ball alternating superman
• Rest 1 minute and repeat 2x

mmmm.. I was craving Chilangos!

its somewhat healthy! I got the grilled chicken salad with pinto & black beans, chix, tomatoes, medium salsa, and lettuce

I also added an additional topping of cottage cheese at the last minute. It was really delicious on top!

Agenda: research, study, teach zumba, relax!

Holy crapballs! This season looks insane and I love it!! :-D muhahahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75jnazn_JpY

2 for Tuesday

ham, pineapple, mushroom, cheese stuffed crust pizza!

When I'm sick, I like to indulge in some comfort food. I promise it makes me feel better! Case in point: Pizza :)

and it was 2 for Tuesday and who can resist such an offer?!

I had 2 slices of my Hawaiian pizza

and one slice of T's veggie pizza with some sauteed peppers on the side. I can usually crush 4-6 pieces but it was either the heaviness of the cheese crust or the fact that I ate the peppers but I was STUFFED crust pizza (no pun intended!!). We watched the most recent episode of True Blood and called it a night :) I'm glad that I'm enjoying this season so far because I was starting to get sick of the show last season. I think it's Eric's childlike behavior that's doing it for me. :-)

 

mas fluffy eggs for breakfast!

w. antioxidant blueberries

proper brain fuel!! I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon doing some more research into my program and keep trucking away on my personal statement.

Agenda: writing, researching, PUNCH class, subbing Zumba class, then it's off to Somerset House to watch Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In" --uhhh.. creepy??!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/may/19/cannes-2011-film-festival-pedro-almodovar-review

Cucs and Goat cheese

talk about a random but healthy snack: cucumbers with a tablespoon of goat cheese. crunchy and savory just how I like it :)

Dinner last night was Bigham's Indonesian chicken satay with some added prawns and broccoli. I managed to sub another zumba class and not totally fall apart from my recovering cold..

eggs and toast for breakfast

I proceeded to go for a run later in the afternoon. BAD BAD idea. About 20 minutes into the run, I started feeling a.w.f.u.l! I guess I'm not completely over my cold after all! My bad.. :(

Most of my morning/afternoon was spent researching and working on my personal statement. Thankfully I have my brilliant husband tearing it apart editing it. ha! Red ink EVERYWHERE. Bad Hanna Bad! :-) Not that I mind though because I'm always grateful for help---lord knows I could use it! I'll just have to keep on truckin! More on this later...

I stopped by Pret a Manger for lunch after my run. Don't ask me how but I managed to get lost while trying to get home from Regent's Park so I was actually running/walking for an hour!

I really love Pret a Manger's soups because they are filling and very hearty. Mmm.. soup when you're sick is peeerfect!

 

an afternoon snack that's pretty much dessert: banana bread w. a spread of nutella.. Yum!

Agenda: teach zumba, rest