DAY 12 - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

The suggestion to eat lunch at The Pantry in Cahaba Heights (by Yucatan) was a fabulous one! It is owned by Debra Stone (yes, THAT Debra Stone) and may just be the coolest place ever!!! She opened this location after the holidays and now has everything up and running. She obtains only the best of the best with many of her foods coming from her very own STONE HOLLOW FARMSTEAD in Harpersville. It is a juice bar...smoothie bar...lunch/dinner place...and serves as a perfect spot to buy her delicious jellies and gourmet goat cheeses. She serves only organic fruits and veggies and clean meats. She is collaborating with Auburn University (WAR EAGLE!) to evaluate all of her dishes, juices, and products to determine their calories, fat content, and nutritional value. Leigh went with me and we started out by tasting the 'Organic and Vibrant' juice. It is a combination of romaine hearts, celery, apples, kale, and lemons. It was bright, bright green (think WICKED green) but totally delicious. AND according to Debra, has more calcium than a serving of milk without the fat. And for those of you paying attention...it has KALE in it-something new for me. We next sampled her tomato soup (her grandmother's recipe)...also to die for. So fresh and tasty! Lastly, I ordered the OSTRICH salad with quinoa and lentils, served with a roasted shallot vinaigrette with lavender. DELICIOUS - REALLY! Ostrich is like the perfect meat...it has 66% less fat than beef, 50% less fat than chicken, only 120 calories per 3 oz serving, more iron than any red meat, and less cholesterol. HOW'S THAT FOR VARIETY WITH A BONUS (kinda like today's workouts...that extra something something at the end). Calories for the salad...around 250. Little to none in the juice and soup and I'm not sure about the smoothie (but it was just a little taste). I'm going to add an extra 100 calories to bring my lunch to 350 because I'm not sure of the other things we sampled. I will definitely be going back soon and get all that info when it is available.

Other, non-exciting things I have had today...grande skinny vanilla latte 130 calories, bar mid-afternoon 110 cal, almonds and a diet coke 150 calories. I am about to go out to dinner with my hubby (no kids until 830pm) and plan to run in the Village 2 Village in the am so may eat a little more for dinner. May have to blog that in the am-sorry leigh!