The husband does it again. I know he means well but he always seem to pick the worst times to want to go out. It’s 2 days into the New Year, I’m finding my groove again and he wants to go to carb central, the Japanese Steak House. Unbelievable, right?
We started going to this particular restaurant a lot when the toddler was "the baby". They cook in front of you at the table, Teppanyaki style. It’s perfect to distract babies and toddlers of all ages. Plus it’s louder there so you don’t have to worry about the occasional child outburst. :)
I love it. I really do. The food is delish. They cook right in front of you so you know what you’re getting and there are lots of lean protein options (salmon, tuna, chicken breast.) The only problem is the portions are out of control. Really, they are insane. Each entree comes with soup, salad, appetizer shrimp, hibachi vegetables, noodles, rice, hibachi ginger sauce, and white sauce and that doesn’t include your protein source. To make it worse most people get combos like steak and chicken or shrimp and scallops. Seriously, by the end of all the courses there’s enough on you plate to serve 4. (and don’t think there haven’t been times I didn’t need a doggie bag)
Like I said, we go a lot (and that’s not going to change) so I needed a strategy.
The restaurant we go to has a complete sushi bar. Now I was a sushi virgin until this year but I have to admit I fell in love. It’s totally a texture thing. Your basic California roll has about 35 calories a piece (250 for the entire roll that’s 6-8 pieces). It’s very satisfying and fun to eat. Seriously, I was scared of it for years and now I love it. (side note: This site has a great table of nutrition information for your sushi basic rolls)
Sorry, that was a total side bar.
Where I was going with that is I order sushi instead of an entree. Normally an avocado, California or spicy tuna. The husband get’s his usual Habachi Shrimp and (here’s why my frugalness comes in) we order a child’s portion of Habachi chicken or Shrimp for the toddler.
Now you have to realize the child portions at this place are no different then a regular portion. I swear (well maybe a tad bit less.) It’s insane. So I figured out the toddler and I could share (he’s not going to finish it anyway) and we save money and calories! Double bonus!
So tonight I ate the soup and salad (1 WWPs), an avocado roll (3 WWPs), and fried rice with shrimp from the toddlers plate (estimated 8 WWP). The toddler ate the noodles (his favorite.) I had fun, wasn’t overstuffed, totally satisfied and saved about 20 bucks. Can’t beat that!
Other then dinner not much happened today. I had a great workout with the trainer this morning. The toddler and I ran some errands. We even bought a booster seat. I guess my baby’s not a baby anymore. :( Soon he won’t even be the toddler! He’ll be "the child." …. OK, I can’t think about it. Time flies WAY too fast when you have kids.
Here’s the menu today. I’m not tracking Activity Points right now. I’m just getting a total for my day and keeping tabs. It works for me in maintenance. Unless, that is, it doesn’t than I’ll go into "loss mode." (Full fledge Weight Watchers)
Oh and P.S. Eat with chopsticks! It slows you down!
| Food | Units |
|---|---|
| banana on the way to the gym | 2 |
| sandwich sushi I made it for myself as the toddler “doesn’t like em” anymore. lol +nibbles | 5 |
| cocoa crisp zone bar – one of those hungry I don’t know what the heck I want to eat moods. | 4 |
| yelatin and pudding experiments with the toddler. I figured out next weeks video! | 3 |
| out for japanese – avocado roll and kids portion habachi shrimp meal split with the toddler – total estimate | 12 |
| rice crisps from trader joe’s | 4 |
| Total: | 30 |
Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.
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About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
Preschooler. PRE-schooler!! Then he doesn’t have to be a child for another year and a half!
I need a booster seat too… ugh.
(Enjoyed this post btw!)
Actually he’s a preschooler NOW! LOL So I stretched the toddler stage a bit further then I should. ;~P
One day he’ll be THE TEENAGER!
*shudder*
:)
Hey Roni, I’m wondering which place you go to. There’s one near us, but it’s so wicked expensive we hardly go. Can you email me the name of it please? Thanks!
I order child portions for “baby” when we go out too… she’s only 6 months, so its not like she eats it, but they don’t argue. I just can’t trust myself with adult portions.
Good for you for coming up with a strategy. I’m learning how important that is to make this journey liveable. It’s not about avoiding the foods we love it’s about learning to work them in, in manageable portions and being satisfied. What a success!! :)
HUGE Thank you to the link with sushi calories! I’ve been meaning to try it, and since I do have a Whole Foods near me I was thrilled to see they actually have a list of some from there. :D
I LOVE avocado sushi! That has replaced my old donut and frappacino breakfast :D
Awesome strategy! We got to a similar place – until we figured out that when we sat in front of the “chef” my step-son would only eat the shrimp! So we were paying $24.99 for him not to eat everything else that came with his meal!
He’s since gotten a lot better now that he’s 19!
Happy New Year Roni – I have my first of the month giveaway up on my site until Monday in case any of your readers are interested – its health inspired too!
Great strategy!! I have a hard time w/ buffets and it would probably be easier if I just ordered off the menu too :-)
fitforfree – I swore off buffets a long time ago. I decided that they are not even an option! LOL Thankfully hubby doesn’t like them either. If he did… Yikes! I can’t even think about it.