Falafel Dinner

I love falafel, and I had been wanting to make some for dinner for a while. I didn't have much to do this weekend, so I decided to make it for dinner Friday night. It was a simple, inexpensive, healthy AND delicious dinner that almost anyone can handle.

Falafel mix from the organic food section at Publix.

Just followed the instructions on the package, which were just to add water to the mix, wait 15 minutes and form the mix into 1" balls brushed with oil.

Made cucumber yogurt dipping sauce. Instructions were on the back of the box also. It was plain non-fat yogurt, garlic, cucumber and dill. So easy!

Falafel balls in the oven!

Finished product- whole wheat pita with lettuce, onion, falafel, cucumber yogurt dipping sauce with a little hot sauce on top. Bon appetite!

Food from the cruise

I was a lucky girl this spring. I was able to go on a 7-day Carnival cruise though the Western Caribbean for spring break with some friends. One of the things I was most looking forward to was all of the food that was going to be available. From breakfast in bed, lunch on the lido deck during the day, sit-down dinner at every night and maybe even a late night snack, I couldn't wait.

The cruise food definitely did not disappoint! My favorite part was our 8:15 dinner in the Washington Dining Room, table 326. The table was me, Brett, Schilero, Jackie, Amanda, and two German friends, Steffan and Benjamin. Our waiter was Nils from Guatemala and our assistant waiter was Marcel. Both were amazing! Brett, Schilero and I usually ordered way more than we needed, and Nils loved us for it. Nils made fun of me when I ordered off of the healthy menu.

Check out some of the food highlights!

Best Appetizer:

a study of sushi

(tuna, salmon and shrimp)

Best Dinner:

shrimp & lobster with mashed potatoes and broccoli

Best Dessert:

Bread Pudding!!!!

(When it was brought out, Nils took my spoon & jabbed a hole in the middle. He then filled it with milk, making it extra creamy and delicious!)

Our Before-Dinner Ritual Snack:

assorted veggie platter with ranch dressing

(often ordered with a side of pretzals)

Midnight Buffet:

assorted desserts

Favorite Food Sculpture:

chicken spotted on the Galley Tour

and finally- it wouldn't have been a cruise without some tropical drinks!

Best Drink:

the signature Carnival cocktail- a yummy mix of vodka, 151, rum and assorted fruit juices

I've had to work out extra to make up for all the eating I did, but I still can't wait for my next cruise!

MenuPages

MenuPages is an amazing resource for finding restaurants, reviewing menus, checking prices, etc. MenuPages currently services seven major cities: New York, San Fran, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. and one major area: South Florida. The site recently updated their design, and the new retro style is really cool. You can search for restaurants based on area, cuisine, rating, neighborhood, price and more!

I used the NYC MenuPages almost every time I went out to eat during my summers in the city. The NYC MenuPage had a LOT of reviews and ratings from people, and these honest opinions are really helpful in picking a restaurant. The SoFla MenuPages is relatively new, so there aren't as many ratings. Hopefully people will start reviewing the SoFla restaurants to make it more effective.

Check it out!

It's strawberry season!

Attention all Catie Eats! readers - THE STRAWBERRIES ARE IN! I bought a carton of strawberries today at Publix because they were THREE FOR $5! What a steal! They look so juicy and delicious. I found this news article from a few weeks ago talking about Florida farmers harvesting the first fruit of winter strawberry season.

I found a recipe for a low calorie strawberry shake. (This blog, called Yummy Diet Food, has a lot of delicious-sounding healthy recipes, so check it out.) This would be amazing with these fresh strawberries. Hopefully I'll make one soon! For tonight, its strawberries with fat free cottage cheese.

Adios.

P.S.- Made turkey burgers for dinner- so good!