Lemon Grass Restaurant

Happy Monday All!  I have been looking forward to today for over a week now.  I knew we would be having a few team celebrations at work and they would all involve some of my FAVORITE foods.  Sometimes you have to join in the food fun and live a little!  I knew exactly what I was going to pick for breakfast, lunch would be up in the air and I’d make sure to balance it all out with a lighter dinner.  You know what ~ it totally worked and I enjoyed every single bite (tracking it even!) without guilt!

My indulgent day day started with my absolute FAVORITE BAGEL in the world….(well aside from Blueberry with Fresh Blueberry Cream Cheese)

Panera’s Cinnamon Crunch Bagel ~ it’s worth every single 11 points+…..it’s doughy, chewy, topped with a buttery cinnamon sugar crunch topping.

I LOVE naked bagels….but, sometimes they can get even better when they get dressed up with flavored cream cheese like this 1 oz Reduced Fat Honey Walnut Cream Cheese (2 points+)

My co-workers picked the place we went out for our team lunch today and we ended up at Lemon Grass Restaurant.  I LOVE Thai Food and Vietnamese too ~ mix them together and you get delicious Asian Fusion cuisine!

I knew I’d like this place because we actually ate at one of their Grills when we waited at the Sacramento Airport this past year.

Let me just preface this by saying, I am adding this to my list of top 10 BEST RESTARAUNTS in Sacramento.

There were so many delicious things to try on the menu and we couldn’t decide.  I am lucky that my co-workers like to share ~ we ordered family style and split it with everyone at the table.

Salad Rolls ~ soft rice paper, wrapped shrimp, pork & mint, served with a black bean peanut sauce.

Fresh, crisp and the “secret” is totally in that amazing sweet, spicy & nutty peanut sauce.

Basil Chicken ~ Grilled Lemon Grass Chicken with crisp spring veggies in a delicious sweet chili sauce. (One of the daily specials).

Mixed Grill ~ Grilled Beef & Chicken marinated in garlic, soy & citrus, then served with crisp steamed veggies and jasmine rice.  I LOVED that sweet sauce with the carrots in it at the top.

Pad Thai ~ rice noodles with garlic-tamarind sauce, chicken, prawns, broccoli, a little egg, red bell pepper, snap peas and peanuts.

What is not to LOVE about peanutty noodles ~ they literally melted in your mouth!

Seared Beef on Cool Rice Noodles with garlic, lemongrass, onions, fresh herbs and roasted peanuts.

These noodles are covered in this light sweet sauce that flavors the entire dish and pairs so well with the crisp raw veggies and crunchy peanuts.

I am SO GLAD they gave us small salad plates for sharing ~ built in portion control!! 

I did my best to estimate my portions and calculate the points+ on the Weight Watchers Online Tracker.  Here are my guesstimates.

To balance out all of my treats, we switched up the menu to fit in some healthy greens and lightened things up with Chef Salads.

I am totally addicted to crunchy salad toppings as you all know…..usually it’s nuts, but, now these Crispy Onion Straws one crunchy, peppery and quite possibly addicting addition.

1 Points+ and a lot easier to measure when you weigh them.

This totally hit the spot and it clocked in at 6 point+ ~ not too shabby!

• Organic mixed greens & romaine tossed with red cabbage, carrots and green onions
• Organic cucumber slices & organic cherry tomatoes
• 1 oz 97% FF Brown Sugar Ham (1 points+)
• 1/2 oz 97% FF Honey Turkey with 1/2 a Lite String Cheese (1 points+)
• 1 svg each ~ Almond Slices & Crispy Onions (2 points+)
• 2 Tbsp Light Bolthouse Yogurt Ranch (2 points+)

For a TREAT DAY, my daily total clocked in at 35 points+ !

Just another reason why I LOVE Weight Watchers.  You can join in all the fun in MODERATION ~ don’t be afraid of your WPA, balance it out with a lighter meal, focus on tracking it all and still lose weight!

Tomorrow I am definitely getting my walk on and I plan on staying on track the rest of the week to balance it out.

Night all!