What I Ate Wednesday #12 – Baltimore Restaurant Week

Baltimore Restaurant Week is one of my favorite weeks of summer. I guess winter too, but someone summer just seems better!

I absolutely love trying new restaurants and this is the time to do it. You get to taste 3 courses for $30, and if you choose the right place, you’re really getting a steal! Often, the restaurants on the list serve entrees ranging from $20-$40, so to add an appetizer and dessert to that makes it all worth it.

This time around, we decided to check out Salt. It’s a trendy little restaurant that we’ve been to before, but it’s been years. And while we usually use restaurant week as an excuse to try something new, we just couldn’t pass up the incredible menu.

Being that we went out on a Friday, the first part of my day is uber normal. Aka not so exciting. Except for this awesome pancake!

[Breakfast]

Chocolate coconut protein pancake topped with Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Spread, coconut, and cinnamon plus Bombshell Spell with ZICO. I’m absolutely obsessed with the coconut peanut spread. It’s like a little taste of heaven melted over chocolatey goodness!

[Snack]

(not pictured)
Apple

[Lunch]

(not pictured)
Mixed green salad with cucumber, tomatoes, onions, green bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, diced avocado, & chili sesame tofu. This tofu recipe is divine and so simple. I’ll be sharing it soon!

[Snack]

(not pictured)
thinkThin Creamy Peanut Butter Blizzard + a few pieces Almond Maple Pecan Snackle Mouth. The blizzard was a fun way to mix up my usual protein bar and the little chunks at the very bottom were so tasty! And the Snackle Mouth is really something special.. I was lucky enough to win a couple boxes and I hope to be featuring these (or some new products soon to launch!) in a giveaway very soon!

[Dinner]

The most exciting part of the day. Everything on the menu sounded absolutely phenomenal and we couldn’t make any decisions without asking for recommendations (of course!)

Primaterra Pinot Noir • Roasted Red Pepper Tapinade with freshly baked bread

Cool Vichyssoise Soup
Dungeness crab, pommes frites, chive oil

Country Pork Terrine (not pictured)
Pistachios, figs, dijon mustard

I went for the soup, Nathan for the terrine. We were both equally pleased with our choices and it was something new for each of us to try.

Grilled Swordfish with Charred Gazpacho Vegetables
Lemon and olive quinoa, avocado puree

Crispy Creek Stone Farms Beef Belly Confit
Ginger glaze, white kimchi with asian pears, spicy sriracha creamed corn

The swordfish had been recommended to me by a friend and the side dishes sold me. It was delicious and I savored every last bite. But Nathan totally won. The beef belly confit was rich and savory with a slight sweetness from the creamed corn, which wasn’t all mush, as some would assume. If I went back the next day, I’d get the beef belly confit, hands down!

Key Lime Tart
Coconut meringue, blue berry coulis

Goat Cheese Donuts
Lavender honey, vanilla sea salt, coffee ice cream

Finally, the best way to end a wonderful meal; with an even more wonderful dessert. I opted for the tart while Nathan chose the donuts. Really, he’d choose anything fried, but drizzled with honey and ice cream on the side? He couldn’t say no! They were fantastic, but I definitely preferred my key lime tart. It was light, sweet, and tart, and just the perfect ending to the meal.

[Summer Staples]
Fresh fruits and veggies. Not a day goes by that I don’t get my fill of all of the freshness that summer has to offer and Salt definitely feels the same way. All of my favorite restaurants are those that take advantage of the freshest ingredients available and plan their menus around that. Why offer farm-raised tilapia when rockfish are jumping?

Speak Up!

What would you have ordered? Are you a meat-and-potatoes kinda person or a sea-foodie?

Recipe Remix: Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Last week, while scouring Pinterest for some new recipes, I came across this tasty breakfast option: Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes from My Little Celebration.

With my recent love for turning dessert breads into protein pancakes, as seen in my 2 recipes for Zucchini Bread Protein Pancakes (and Take 2), I couldn’t help but get excited by this recipe! The one thing I did notice, however, is that they were definitely not protein pancakes. So I got to work!

Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Serves 1
Adapted from My Little Celebration

Ingredients
1/2 cup carrots, finely shredded
2 egg whites
1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 tbsp milk – I use almond milk
1/2 tbsp ground flax
1 scoop protein powder – I use Cinnamon Swirl About Time Whey
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Optional Toppings
Greek vanilla yogurt
Sliced almonds
Unsweetened shredded coconut
Walnuts

Directions
Put all of your ingredients, except the finely shredded carrots, into a food processor. Process until everything is fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Add the finely shredded carrots and pulse 2 – 3 times until the carrots are just mixed in.

Put your mixture into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, allowing everything to set.

After 10 minutes, preheat a skillet over medium heat and remove your mixture from the refrigerator. Once the skillet is preheated, split the mixture into 3 or 4 small pancakes and cook on the first side until medium sized bubbles form. When they’re ready to flip, you’ll know it. They will come right up!

Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes on the second side. Spread with greek yogurt, sprinkle with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

Speak Up!

Do you prefer carrot cake or zucchini bread? Is there another dessert bread you’d like to see in protein pancake form? Tell me!

And don’t forget to enter my CalNaturale Svelte giveaway! The lucky winners are chosen this Friday!

“KIND” Bar Crumbles

Before every vacation I scour the internet looking for fun, healthy snacks that are easy to take with us and with our upcoming Cali trip, I was on the prowl! Bars are always the way to go, so why wouldn’t I attempt to make one of our favorites? KIND Bars are the real deal.

I found this recipe from Peas and Thank You for homemade KIND bars and decided to take that and run!

Recipe adapted from Peas and Thank You

Ingredients
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp flax seed
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave
1 tsp salt
1 cup almonds, roasted & chopped
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup rice cereal <– Loved the added crispiness from this!
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix ground flax seed, flax seed, honey, agave, and salt. Mix everything until well combined. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix until everything is evenly coated.

Spread everything onto a parchment covered baking sheet in ~1/2″ layer. Make sure to really smash it all together so it really sticks!

Bake about 20 minutes, turning half way through, until the bars have become slightly crispy.

Let cool completely before breaking into pieces. And try not to eat too much of it while packaging it up! 😉

Speak Up!

When you go on vacation, do you pack snacks? What’s your favorite travel snack?