Eating Out

I really like eating out. I like the food you can get out at a restaurant, where someone can spend more time making food than I have time to prepare at 6 PM. But I really like the fact that eating out doesn't involve any dishes to wash!

This week has been crazy with kid activities, which started a trend of eating out. On Tuesday, I had to pick up the boy, feed us all dinner and take the girl to basketball practice very close to the boy's school in about 45 minutes. It didn't make sense to go all the way home in between the daycare pickup and the basketball practice, so eating out it was. Even better, there is a coffee shop with a vegetarian cafe just down the street from the school where practice was taking place. It was fantastic! I had a Greek pita with hummus, baked falafel, tomatoes and onions, and a tahini viniagrette, the boy had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with chips and grapes, and even a little toy, and the girl had a bagel and cream cheese. After running the girl down the street for practice, the boy and I came back to eat little treats and drink pink lemonade and a caramel latte. I was really excited to find a place that is totally vegetarian, although not at all vegan (I had to ignore the feta cheese on the side of my pita, and the boy had chips instead of the cheese stick that came with his boxed lunch).

Wednesday the girl had tumbling half an hour after I picked her up. Last week I made peanut butter and banana tortillas to eat in the car on the way to the center, but this week we were out of bananas, so we ate at the Subway in the lobby, at least for a snack. I had a veggie sandwich, and the kids had chips. When we got home, we supplemented with soy yogurts and fruit, and peanut butter sandwiches for the kids.

Thursday, the kids were at their dad's and I was feeling lonely and sorry for myself, so I went to my favorite Greek restaurant and had hummus and stewed Mediterranean Vegetables. Yumm! Last night, the kids were still at their dad's, and I got off work late, so it was out again, this time to a local brewery, Schlafly Bottleworks, for salad and veggie curry, which was amazing! Last time I had it (over a year ago at least), it was kind of bland, and the veggies were too crunchy. Last night the veggies were perfect, the spice was much more assertive--I added some Tabasco sauce, but to supplement the heat, not to add all the flavor--and the rice had some kind of garbanzo beans and daikon seeds that made it more textured and flavorful. I think I have a new favorite dish! This restaurant is so fantastic, with lots of vegetarian choices.

Tonight I am going to a trivia night, and everyone is bringing food. I am planning on bringing hummus and guacamole with chips, and I am sure there will be other things I can eat, so I think I will be skipping dinner. Tomorrow, I am scrubbing my kitchen and getting back to cooking!