“A Conscientious Carnivore.” pt. 1: Eat your veggies!

Let’s evaluate the “healthy diet”…

low carb…

low cal…

small food portions…

no dessert…

no taste…

grumbly tummy…

No thanks!

This world has way too much to offer for me to eat chicken breasts and dry salads. What about Lasagna and cheese enchiladas and Ben n Jerry’s ice cream?? hell no I won’t pass that up!

So, here is my method and since its inception back in November of ’09, I have had noticable results. I can share that later, if you’d like, but first, my method to dietary zen…

Rule 1:
Go Veggie! And if you really want to go extreme, go vegan! Not all the time, though!! Sin! Be a sinful vegetarian! Make the food gods weep and eat meat, too!

Meat can be a part of a healthy habit, just learn when its right to eat meat.

You might ask: “When is it right for a vegetarian to eat meat??”
Ok, what I’m really saying is, pick up the veggie habit. Eat vegetarian dishes. Order a portabella steak instead, get a veggie patty on your burger. (mmmm… they sound scary, but they are actually very tasty!) The veggie options are full of flavor and full of feeling good!

Rule 2:
Actually, my best suggestion… and this will satisfy your craving for meats, plus make it easier to order off the restaurant menu… go pescatarian.

“What’s a pescatarian?”
Pescatarians have a vegetarian diet that includes fish and shellfish but excludes mammals and birds.

Now your new diet opens up to include fish tacos, sushi, and a yummy fillet o’ fish.

Rule 3:
Cut the cheese… seriously! No cheddar, no swiss, definitely no American. Cut out all fatty cheeses. You will notice a substantial change in your body and health within the month. This doesn’t have to be a permanent thing but do try it for a month and see how you do.

Extreme alternative:
If you can stand it, 86 all dairy for a month! Milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, cream sauces, anything cream. Don’t do it… for a month!

Then, after the month, ween yourself back into dairy by using fat-free milk or soy milk. Use italian dressing as a condiment instead of mayo or miracle whip (ew!). Use goat cheese. Aged cheeses. And many cheeses come in a low-fat form.
Once you have completed a month of the no cheese program, don’t destroy your success by eating tons of cheese again. Build a controlled relationship with cheese. Include it only some of the time. When you cook or when you order prepared foods, ask for no cheese. This technique will keep cheese in your diet and the fat out of your arteries!!

Rule 4:
We can explore organics and farm-raised together later but what I want you to know now is that eating mammals and birds is ok… just KNOW WHERE THEY CAME FROM!
It may cost you more to buy farm-raised meat, but keep this in mind; supply and demand changes everything. In time, the prices will go down, as they already have. Then again, if you’re following this diet anyway, you should be saving some money.
The concern here shouldn’t be your bank account. If you have to, sacrifice somewhere. The concern you should have is what you are putting into your body!
Hormones, animal antibiotics. Unhealthy living conditions. The various parasitic outbreaks should give you an indication on just how disgusting the meat is for you.

Go ahead! Try this plan out for a month. Make note of your favorite dishes and make note of how you are doing. Writing down your progress can serve as encouragement. If you slip up, no big deal! This plan is to guide you! Not make you into a veggie control freak! Look for restaurants that serve up quick lunch dishes and see if they have a veggie option. Search for vegetarian recipes online or through other veggie friends… or I would love to share a few of my own that are freakin’ delicious.

When you go out to eat, simply ask where the meat comes from. If you can’t get adequate info, then order the fish or a vegetarian substitute. Veggie items are always cheaper anyway!

This is NOT you being snotty. This is your life. Not everyone will get it and you can’t force them, but through your actions you can set an example for others! And that’s our goal, right?

After a month, you will notice a change in mood, in body, and in the physical way you feel. Your fatigue will be less and you will start to develop a control over your bodies dependency on certain foods.

Gaining control and being conscientious every step of the way is the path to dietary zen! heehee.

Dig in!  

A new location for an Austin original?

If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant industry, then you’re aware of the employee’s favorite amusement…Gossiping!

Mostly, it involves fellow employees, but the gossiping frequently extends to the customers, especially the regulars. Now don’t judge me, we all do it! In some form, how ever you take it, you get your satisfactory fill of other peoples drama.

Some rumors do have more depth to them than others. For instance; is there or is there not another Opal Divine’s in the making? Since the last time I heard this little piece of news, it has kept up with the trend of spreading and morphing just like any other good little rumor should do.

At first, I heard the Parker’s, (owners) were setting up shop in Westlake. However, yesterday I was told it was going to be in Round Rock. Hmm, so which is it? Or is it simply a rumor that will never materialize?

Personally, I think Westlake is a much better choice. Although Round Rock, as a whole, has less diverse hangouts than west Austin, west Austin can provide the type of customer that Opal’s is looking for. With their wide selection of fine malts, a tasty collection of 100% blue agave tequilas and beers that would give any connoisseur butterflies, Opal’s deserves a crowd that has an adventurous palate.

That is not to say R.R. doesn’t have its perks as a location for any joint, it just seems like the better choice; for 1) the demographic of Westlake is perfect for the type of resaruant/bar Opal’s is, and 2) if you are going to offer said selection of booze then go where the money is! I just don’t see Round Rockonites with that type of enthusiasm. In addition, Opal’s doesn’t really seem to cater to the sports crowd and they will loose out significantly on profits in R.R. since there is so much competition in Round Rock to be the cool sports bar hangout.

Either way, good luck to the Parker’s! This restaurant is one of a kind!

Then again, this is my humble consumer opinion and I could be dead wrong. Who’s going to listen?

Finding sushi…for lunch?

Monday afternoon, as I was driving in circles running errands and meeting people, a friend invited me to join him for lunch. A locally owned and nicely decorated shop called Midori sushi. You can find it tucked away in the shopping center of 183 and Anderson Mill, next to the Blockbuster.

As you walk in you think, “cool place”! All of the wait staff greats you,  ”Moshi Moshi!” and there is your traditional Buddha and the accompanying Japanese text and flashy art of cherry blossoms. There is the Japanese customary seating (shoes off) and your modern Americanized compromise; shoes on.

…So, sushi for lunch anyone?

Their lunch combos range from $10 to $16 and they come with your option of a roll, a house picked roll, and the chef’s choice of sushi which the very sweet waiter told us was escolar, salmon (sake), tuna (maguro), crab (kani kama) and white tail (hamachi). Plus, you get a small bit of salad and a cup of miso soup that you consume by sipping out of the bowl. It doesn’t sound like a lot but at the end of your lunch you are full and can hardly finish your last piece of sushi!

Now how was it? Eh, it was ok.
The ambience does great for the place but the sushi was a bit lacking and only supermarket quality.
Automatically, you can see the salmon isn’t right. It was a bit fatty. You could tell because usually salmon has a nice gradient of orange and white stripes but today, at Midori, the white stripes were thicker than, well…pretty much any other salmon I have ever seen before! The escolar was great though, like melt in you mouth great! It had a nice soft texture and a buttery taste. I ordered the spicy tuna roll and my friend ordered the rainbow roll. My tuna roll was a bit sweet but other than that, yum! His rainbow roll was fantastic, but I’m a sucker when it comes to avocado. The house roll was a kind of tempura roll and that was the best thing on the plate! Delicious!

Yes, I have had better sushi, but I think when it comes to lunch sometimes all you want is to get in and get out with a full belly. We all know how hard it is to get your fill on sushi, but somehow it works here.

Midori is a super cute place to grab quick sushi for lunch. Plus, it’s priced reasonably and definitely a healthy alternative to the fast food joints!

As you can see, the experience was average.

Ambiance: 5 stars

Price: 4 stars, especially when considering the amount of food you get

Food: 3 stars

Will I go again? Yes. Only for lunch and because it’s a great price for sushi.