Dragos in the French Quarter

Dragos in New Orleans.
This is a newer location for Dragos into the French Quarter.
They are the home of the charbroiled oysters. That actually didn't seem appealing to me, as I tried oysters once and didn't care for them.
However, my sister likes oysters, so she got some and I tried them.

They were fabulous! You could taste the chargrilling and they had the most wonderful buttery garlic sauce on them, plus parmesan cheese. Soaking up the sauce with the french bread on the side was heaven!

For dinner, I had the
CRESCENT CITY SHRIMP
Large Gulf shrimp seasoned with fresh herbs and spices, served the “New Orleans Way” with French roll and a baked potato.

These were quite spicy instead of regular bbq shrimp, which is more garlicky and buttery. This dish had a ton of blackening seasoning. Quite good. The potato on the side was okay, it was on the edge of it's holding time.

My sister had the Shuckee Duckee
Blackened duck breast over linguini pasta
with oysters and cream sauce.

Cafe du Monde

Back from the trip to New Orleans. What a great time! If you have never been, you must go - it is so much more than Bourbon street.

The very first stop we made was, of course, Cafe du Monde for warm beignets with piles of powdered sugar and cafe au lait. For those that have never had a beignet, they are like a french donut. A cross between a cake and yeast donut. Dense, moist and a bit chewy, but with pockets of air in them, and no hole.

Pumpkin Oats!

One of my favorite brekkies!


1/2 cup oats with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice cooked in.
When done I stirred in protein powder and 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin. Normally I do 1/2 cup of pumpkin, but this was the end of the can and I'm going out of town, so I didn't want to open a new one.
Topped with toasted slivered almonds.

Getting ready to go to New Orleans tomorrow!!

Panera Bread Dinner

Went to Panera for a You Pick Two meal combo.
I tried the Lowfat Chicken Tortilla soup. Very tasty! Paired with a Cafe Classic Salad and an apple on the side.
Did not like the apple at all. It had soft spots and was too sweet for me.

Loribar - Chocolate Coconut

Yummiest Loribar yet!


This time I soaked the dates. I have noticed a big difference in dates as far as moisture content goes, so keep that in mind when you make these. I currently have Amport Foods Pitted Dates, and these are drier than say the Dole brand. I poured boiling water into a dish with some dates, and then let them sit for several hours. Then drained off the water.

Ingredients:
20 grams of dates (about 4)
13 grams of Designer Whey natural
28 grams of almond meal
15 grams of coconut flakes
6 grams Giardhelli cocoa powder

In a food processor, pulse the dates, almond meal and cocoa powder until well combined. It will ball up into the processor, then you will know it's mixed. Put into a bowl and add the protein powder. Mush thoroughly until well combined. Keep mixing - it will add in, even though it will seem dry at first.

Toast the coconut in a fry pan and allow to cool. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll into bars. Divide the coconut in half and roll each bar into the coconut - pressing to make it stick.

Voila - 2 yummy bars! These are almost like under done brownies. A bit chewy, chocolately and good. I really couldn't taste the dates in these at all with the cocoa.

Stats:

Approximately 175 calories, 10 grams of fat, 15 carbs, 3 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein per bar.

Roasted italian squash

I got this italian squash the other day, which looks suspiciously like a zucchini:



I cut it into sticks, rubbed with olive oil and S&P, then roasted in the toaster oven:


It had a very mild flavor, and was very soft - not crispy at all. I don't know as roasting is really the best cooking method for this veggie.

Home made Larabar

20 grams of dates (this is about 4 - no sugar added, just plain dates)
13 grams of protein powder (I used whey)
1/2 oz of cashews
35 grams (about 2 tbsp) reduced fat natural peanut butter. (I used Smuckers)

In a food processor, chop up the dates into small pieces. Remove and put in a bowl. Add the cashews to the processor and chop until they are tiny pieces. Add to the dates. Add the protein powder and mash the mixture together. I found it was easier just to use my hands to smoosh it all together to get an even mixture. Heat up the peanut butter for 20-30 seconds in the microwave so that is is more liquid. Add to the bowl and mix really well. This will still seem somewhat dry, but form into 2 bars by pressing the mixture hard and wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. As it sits, the protein powder hydrates more and the bar will stay together. Not quite as moist as a Larabar because of the protein powder, but very tasty! This tastes a lot like a peanut butter cookie!

Makes 2 bars

Stats per bar: 197 calories, 11.5 gram of fat, 16 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 10.5 grams of protein.