Semi-Extravagant

You may know that today is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French) a day of self-indulgence and the last big hoo-hah before Lent begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday. However, for the past few weeks I've made quite a few poor food choices and over the past weekend my digestive system cried uncle. Today I tried to mix my decadence with some common sense.

I started off with a hearty breakfast, then followed that up with a healthy lunch. Mid-afternoon I was on the road and hungry. When I drove by a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant I thought spicy chicken sounded good. However, I found out I couldn't buy just a piece of chicken, and I didn't want a whole meal. I settled for a bowl of red beans and rice. Even though the red beans were pureed and more like refried the dish hit the spot.

For dinner I made some smashed white bean salad and served it with good wheat bread. Earlier in the day when I stopped in the grocery store to get a stalk of celery a bag of New Orleans style potato chips jumped into my bag. I don't know who suggests the serving size for snack foods, but I ate way more with my meal than what the back of the bag told me I should.

In the afternoon Hubby Tony and I walked to a local bakery to get some dessert. They were sold out of king cakes, Mardi Gras cookies, and paczki (Polish donuts), so I chose their variation of a fudgie. Tony got a flat cinnamon apple strudel. After dinner Tony plated both, then cut them in half so we could each sample.

And because one dessert didn't feel like enough, after my sweets were gone I followed them up with a big handful of frozen blueberries. Their frostiness tricked my mind into thinking I was having ice cream, and my stomach thanked me for doing without the extra fat and sugar.

Five years ago today: A Jeans Challenge Met