Enjoying Healthy Food

from my SparkPeople blog:

I went to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner last night, The Birchwood Cafe, which serves organic locally grown produce, including many vegan and vegetarian dishes. (It's a little tough to track SparkPoints when I eat there because many of their dishes are so unusual that there is nothing to compare them to in the nutrition tracker. So tracking things eaten there is pure guess). When I had finished eating, I told them to send word to the cooks: I had ordered the Golden Beet Risotta, which included carnaroli rice with roasted golden beets, arugula, grand padano cheese, heirloom tomatoes, chevre, purple basil chiffonade, and pine nuts. "Tell them that it was so good I almost cried. It was the best meal I've eaten in a couple of months. Tell them I had to stop myself from making orgasmic sounds as I ate, for fear of scaring the other diners."

I love eating at the Birchwood because it's a terrific example that healthy food can be absolutely delicious. I had gone a little bit high on calories for the day before I had gone there, which was part of the reason I chose that restaurant: I knew that I could find a reasonable calorie option that would be a memorable dining experience.

What Would Dumbledore Do (Again)

For those of you interested in my earlier post on What Would Dumbledore Do, you might be interested in the website What Would Dumbledore Do and the HP Alliance on MySpace.

A Collie Down is Not a Collie Beaten

Quick movie recommendation: Lassie is worth it. Excellent cast (mmm, Peter Dinklage), gorgeous cinematography. Okay, yeah, sentimental, but still, done with care and taste. The girls were a little reluctant when I urged them to go, never having read the book. But when we walked out of the theater, they told me that they want to own the movie when it comes out.

Recommended.

Kudos to whomever recognizes the author of the title of this post. (It's not Eric Knight, the author of Lassie Come-Home). (Oh, except for you, kijjohnson. I told you years ago.)

[Aside: It's nice to know that my girls do not feel too grown up to sing "Waltzing with Bears" along with the radio in the car on the way home.]

Edited to add: Well, that wasn't difficult for this bunch! Yep, Albert Payson Terhune.