Tuscan Grill

Last night I had dinner plans with my friend Jimmy. Our original plan was to go to Tempo on Moody Street, but apparently they had no open reservations for last night, which I thought was strange for a Monday night, holiday or no. I hate restaurants that only take reservations and give you attitude if you show up without one (Melting Pot, I'm looking at you). So already I am a little soured on Tempo. The backup plan ended up being the Tuscan Grill right across the street, which was also on my list to try. The ambience was lovely, very rustic and intimate. The restaurant itself is on the small side, but they more than make up for that with the decor and the service (not to mention the food).

I was ravenous by the time we sat down to eat so I was VERY excited when I saw a bread basket coming my way...but oh wait. Where's the oil? Or butter? Dipping sauce? None of the above friends. Just bread. I will say the bread was really good, soft and chewy with a nice flavor, but it felt so wrong eating bread without the normal accoutrements (that is my big word for the day). They also give you unpitted kalamata olives, which I thought was strange. Why would they give you a plate of olives with pits? Puzzling.

For my entree I ordered the Wood Grilled Stuffed Chicken (stuffed with pork, herbs, and garlic) with a side of crispy red potatoes and roasted butternut squash. The chicken was amazing. Very juicy and flavorful. I will say that visually it was lacking, as the pork and garlic were the same color as the chicken, so you couldn't really see the "stuffing" so to speak. The potatoes and butternut squash were equally as amazing. The portion size was perfect. I have a huge appreciation for restaurants that don't give you a dinner for four when you order your entree. I apologize for the picture, the lighting was dark in the restaurant so I didn't want to do a retake as I was already drawing a lot of attention to myself taking pictures.

For dessert we ordered the Chocolate Budino, which was the best budino I have ever had. I typically order the chocolate budino for dessert when I go to Bertuccis, but the one at Bertuccis is more of a mousse than a pudding. This one was more like a pudding, but homemade pudding with homemade whipped cream and little homemade sticks of chocolate. The chocolate flavor was rich and deep, you could definitely tell immediately that it was homemade from scratch. I may or may not have moaned a little taking the first bite. I would've licked the bowl clean if we weren't in a very visible part of the restaurant.

I would most certainly eat there again. The great thing about Tuscan Grill is that their menu changes frequently (the menu online did not match the menu we got at the restaurant) so they are always coming up with new dishes to try, so I will definitely be back. If for nothing else than for that budino.

This morning I took a Bodypump class. I drove all the way to the gym this morning and then almost didn't go in. I just wasn't feeling it for some reason. But I made myself go anyway and I'm glad I did because I ended up increasing my squat and back weight!

Warmup: 15lbs

Squats: 25lbs
Chest: 15lbs
Back: 20lbs
Triceps: 10lbs
Biceps: 15lbs
Lunges: 15lbs
Shoulders: 10lbs
Abs: Body weight

Breakfast was a cantaloupe bowl with pineapple chobani and a little granola on top. Snack was a banana. On the agenda tonight is a turkey penne casserole and a 2 mile run with the boy. Today is the restart of his running (he ran track in high school) and I'm excited to see what he's made of (besides milk duds and pizza).

As a side note, I saw this post this morning and just had to share...Red Velvet Cookies. Oh. My. God. These are getting made this weekend. I can hardly wait. I'm thinking about taking the rest of the day as a sick day to go make these. Oh wait, I gave my notice and don't have any more sick time. Damn.

I Can Bench 250...Grams That Is

Good morning bloggies! The rain is a bummer this morning. I'm tired of the dark and drearies...fall is supposed to be one of my two favorite seasons. Bring on the cool crisp air and sunshine please.

I've been going to Bodypump at least once a week (sometimes twice) for the last month, and today was the first day that I actually felt like I had the right amount of weight on every track and left feeling like I had a good workout (it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what weight you need) and today I am documenting the amount of weight I use so I can track my progress. My goal is to get stronger...I have always been a cardio girl...have never had any problems with intervals or breaking a sweat for an hour, but I have never been able to stay consistent with a weight training routine. I'm trying to change that because I know how good it is for you for your muscles, bones, and metabolism. So, here are my current weights not including the 3 pound bar:

Warmup: 15lbs
Squats: 20lbs
Chest: 15lbs
Back: 15lbs
Triceps: 10lbs
Biceps: 15lbs
Lunges: 15lbs
Shoulders: 10lbs
Abs: Body weight

A lot of these weights seem low, but remember I'm a beginner. I'm actually going to see how I feel tomorrow from today's class and make the judgement if I can go up. I'm probably going to increase my squat and back weight on Sunday.

Today's breakfast was pumpkin oats. This weekend I found the pumpkin butter is back at Trader Joe's so of course I stocked up and have added it to my oats the last 2 mornings, along with some cinnamon, walnuts, and a half a scoop of vanilla protein powder. A perfect breakfast. My mid-morning snack was a 1/2 of a banana (the bottom half had a yucky black spot) and a pear. Lunch was a nice surprise from the boy...my favorite basil fried rice :) I had leftover steak tips on the menu, but the basil fried rice was perfect for this cold rainy day. I had a piece of banana bread for dessert and shared it with the boy, about which a convo ensued:

Me: If I hadn't told you it was healthy, would've you have known it was?
Boy: Yeah, it kind of has that bland taste that only healthy things have
Me: You think my banana bread is bland???
Boy: It's actually the best banana bread I've had in a long time
Me: That's because it's been a long time since you've had banana bread, isn't it?
Boy: Maybe...

I guess my banana bread isn't as good as I thought! Oh well, you slather anything with as much butter as I put on my banana bread and it's bound to taste good!

What is your weight routine like? Do you find weight lifting or cardio easier/more fun?

Solea and New Friends

Hello blog friends! 


So I just had the most fabulous time at Solea on Moody Street in Waltham. Jimmy was having a case of the blahs today so to cheer him up I decided to forgo our run and go out to dinner instead. I suggested Solea, a tapas bar that I hadn't been to before but had heard great things. Plus Jimmy wasn't feeling that hungry, so I thought a few tapas plates would be good.


When we sat down to dinner, we were seated in close proximity to two other two person tables. I usually hate this type of set up in a restaurant. You are constantly hearing other people's conversations and constantly thinking about them listening to yours. The diningroom itself was extremely loud and actually made conversation difficult. I was surprised that it was so busy for a Tuesday evening, but every table in the diningroom was occupied.


After a while of trying to engage a sullen Jimmy into conversation, we noticed that the table next to us had gotten their first plate, even though we had ordered before them. The other table noticed this as well and made a joke about it, offering us some of theirs. We soon were chatting away with them and naturally they noticed me taking pictures of our food, so I had the opportunity to tell them about my blog (hello Kelly and AJ!) and come to find out that they had met there exactly 8 years earlier to the day and were coming back to celebrate the occasion since they had moved to California and were just visiting for a wedding. Further along in conversation Kelly and AJ told us about their move from Boston to California to begin a wine business. AJ sells over 100 boutique wines and in 2007 began his own label. If you are ever in the area, visit AJ Pearce Wines. AJ and Kelly were fantastic and I'm so glad we met them. It certainly cheered Jimmy up considerably and I love meeting new interesting people. Now on to the food!


We ordered five plates as well as dessert:

Queso de Cabra Montaٌnes, Baked Goat Cheese with Tomato & Basil. I got a little overzealous with this one and dug in before I remembered to take a picture, but I assure you, it was much more delicious than it looks. I used the bread basket for dipping. It was so rich that I didn't end up finishing it, but I really really wanted to!

Chorizo a la Plancha, Grilled Spanish Sausage. Fried to perfection. 

Buٌnuelos de Alcachofas y Espinacas, Artichoke & Spinach Fritters. These were easily my favorite. They were crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside. The cheese sauce underneath added just enough to make them unbelievable. 

Pato Braseado, Roasted Duckling with Berry Sauce. I don't love duck, but as far as duck goes, this was quite good. The berry sauce was exquisite.

Solomillo con Chimichurri, Beef Tenderloin with Spicy Herb Sauce. This dish was my second favorite. The beef came on crunchy french bread and though the spicy herb sauce was a little spicier than I had expected, I was pleasantly surprised at just how delicious this relatively simple dish was. It's hard to go wrong with beef tenderloin.

Tarta de Chocolates, Chocolate Almond Cake Fresh Berries & Whipped Cream. I was actually quite disappointed with this dessert. The cake was extremely dry and there was no almond flavor whatsoever. Our new friends actually ordered my original choice (that Jimmy vetoed) of the bananas with butterscotch and pistachios. Kelly was kind enough to save me a bite and every last morsel was heavenly. Dessert regret. I get it often.




In short, the food at Solea gets a 4 out of 5, but the atmosphere gets only a 2 out of 5. I may go there again, but never on a weekend and I may try sitting in the bar area next time just to see if the noise level is any different.


So I am about a week away from finally being able to divulge my really great news and I am just DYING to tell you all (I'm teasing now I know). The only bad part about my news is that it will leave me unable to complete my goal of getting fitness certified, which makes me a little sad :( Instead I just have to focus on being the fittest I can be. Speaking of fit, my ass still really hurts today, so I didn't make it to BodyPump this morning. I will definitely be attending on Thursday morning though, it's such a great workout. For those of you who are lucky enough to have it at your gym, try it out! Then your ass can be sore too!

My Aching Butt

Monday came awfully quick, didn't it? I literally feel like I just left work.

So you're probably wondering about my post title this morning. Yesterday I finally made it to Bodypump and wow I'm sore today. Particularly my butt, quads, and hamstrings. Even my chest a little bit, but really, the sorest is my butt. Apparently I lunged a little bit harder yesterday than usual. I will say, the one area I don't feel I NEED to work on is my butt, so it's unfortunate that clearly it got the biggest workout instead of my "problem" areas (abs, inner thighs, etc. you ladies know what I'm talking about).

My workout this morning was a spin class. The Monday morning instructor was shameless plugging his new small group training class (which you have to pay extra for, even if you're a member of the gym, which I personally think is ridiculous to the tune of $190 for an 8 week class). Funny enough, the class he's teaching is a TRX (previously reviewed by Rachel here) and I have to say, I am really intrigued. I would like to give it a shot before committing to a class, but unfortunately you can't try it before you buy it.

Breakfast this morning was a cantaloupe bowl. Apparently I waited just a touch too long to eat this guy because it had fruit flies flying around it and a soft spot (that I cut off) but that didn't deter me from eating it. Yes I know I'm disgusting. I cut mold off bread and cheese and eat it. I've never gotten sick from doing this. I don't believe in wasting perfectly good food because it's gotten a little old. So, the cantaloupe got eaten this morning. My cantaloupe bowl ingredients:

The pineapple chobani is my absolute favorite greek yogurt ever. And I actually managed to also photograph my morning snack today! I usually miss the snacks with the camera and often forget to even mention them on the blog, but I was on top of things today! Mid morning snack was a banana (I love spotted bananas, however I know this will gross a lot of you out too if my mold thing didn't already get to you) and a Vans organic blueberry waffle.

Lunch today will be a big salad. I'm going out to dinner tonight so I have to save some of my lunch calories for the beer or two I'm going to have with dinner ;)

How was everyone's weekend? Does anyone else just cut the mold off?