Napa Chicken and Portobellos from Applebee’s ATL

For just $11.49US, I enjoyed a Grilled Chicken breast topped with Portobello mushrooms and onions smothered in a rich red wine sauce and parmesan cheese.

This was served over sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onions and crispy red potatoes.

The dish was so savoury and imagine I had it for take-out!

A full belly for just 490 calories. Thank you Applebee’s!

Get to It! Exercise! Do not Procrastinate or Make Excuses

The gym is too crowded?

‘Do a workout that keeps you in one area of the gym’ or just work out at home for January.

Do NOT use your Treadmill for storage, to hang clothes on, or start to consider it as a piece of furniture

Use your Treadmill during Cardio circuits or Interval workouts.

Your Gym clothes are dirty…really?!

No excuses there. Try pajama friendly workouts such as Yoga or a Total body Kettlebell or Dumbbell workout. You could also wash your clothes regularly and not have them pile up in the hamper!

You would rather do housework instead of working out in your room or living room?

Make your workout or exercise fun to take your mind off of housework or reorganising your closet, because clearly it was not fun before. Joining a gym is an option as well. Change your workout environment from time to time.

Having a salad for lunch is not an excuse to skip a workout

Great, you have restricted your calories for the day, but ‘dieting without exercise not only hampers your weight loss, but it can also cause you to lose muscle mass.’ In order to burn fat, tone and get overall results, muscle mass is needed.

This blog was inspired by Calorie Count. For more information and workouts or ideas, check out this article by Exercise Expert, Paige Waehner, ‘Exercise Excuses to Ditch this Year’ from Living Healthy by Calorie Count by clicking on the link below:-

http://exercise.about.com/od/motivated/tp/Exercise-Excuses-to-Ditch-This-Year.htm?

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Shake Shack on Peachtree Rd. in Atlanta Serving Kid’s Size Burgers

20141222_170527-1 I heard that Shake Stack was a hot spot in New York and decided to go to the franchise in Atlanta. I was extremely disappointed. Firstly, it was in a highly upscale plaza, but when you enter persons are practically sitting on top of each other. They definitely needed a bigger spot. Also, combos are not available. Everything has to be ordered separately, hence hiking the price. Perhaps their burgers are considered gourmet, since one of the least expensive burgers that I ordered, the Shack Burger costed $4.99US that was a regular cheese burger. Friesn costing $2.90 US and my Strawberry shake ($5.15US) was additional. So I exprected a decent size burger with the name, ‘Shack Burger’. When it arrived, it looked like a slider! The Shack Stack Burger (Veggie burger with Portobello Mushrooms) for $9.15US that my friend ordered was practically the same size, with the patty being slightly bigger. Perhaps they were putting all their customers on a diet to fit into their small seating space. Thankfully, the burgers at least tasted good. Drinking a milk shake with their burgers is highly recommended to help fill the void.

Garlic Shrimps at The Wine Shop

Happy New Year! Everyone should be back on the grind this Monday. But SuGa will be reminiscing on yummy or not so yummy bites consumed over the Christmas season.

The Garlic Shrimps at The Wine Shop in Southdale Plaza were delish. Definitely a better option than their Pastas. I just had the appetizer, however the main course is served with a side order of your choice. It complemented my glass of white wine well. Though I still think a bigger variety of and better quality wines should be offered by the glass.

The Wine Shop continues to have decent service and is a comfortable spot to dine.

Rich, creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Applebee’s! Learn how to make your own here

 

The Spinach and Artichoke Dip from Applebee’s was on point! A warm crock of creamy spinach, tender artichokes, and melted cheeses, served with freshly made Spicy Chipotle Lime Salsa and tortilla chips. Try to make your own as an appetizer for your guests on Christmas Day while they wait for the big dinner.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

(original url: http://www.allthecooks.com/hot-spinach-artichoke-dip.html)

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INGREDIENTS

8 oz – pkg cream cheese

1/4 cup – mayo

1/4 cup – parmesan cheese

3 clove – garlic

1/2 teaspoon – dried basil

1/4 teaspoon – onion powder

1/4 cup – romano cheese

14 oz – can artichoke hearts

1/2 cup – frozen chopped drained spinach

1/4 cup – mozzarella cheese

1 salt

1 pepper

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DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 350*

2. Grease small baking dish

3. Drain and chop Artichoke

4. Drain and squeeze out water from spinach

5. In bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayo, parmesan and Roman cheeses, garlic, basil, salt and pepper

6. Add in Artichoke and spinach

7. Transfer to baking dish and top with mozzarella

8. Bake for 45 min till it’s golden and bubbles

Recipe found with Cookpad (http://cookpad.com/en)

IHOP’s Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Pancakes for Christmas!

IHOP is still holding strong for breakfast! A friend ordered fish and chips and the fish seemed to be frozen and heated up so the inside was not heated through, but who goes to IHOP and orders fish and chips?! Serve her right.

I ordered the Split Decision Breakfast with eggs, 2 bacon strips, French toast, switched the sausage for ham and the regular pancakes for the Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Pancakes. Oh my, presentation was lovely and it tasted divine! I made sure to eat it as it was served so all that raspberry goodness didn’t have time to make the pancakes soggy and I could enjoy those white chocolate chips inside. That Christmas special is a winner!

Service was awesome too!

Ruby Tuesday in ATL just Average

On Saturday, I just needed a quick, late afternoon lunch. Decided to dine at Ruby Tuesday, since it was at a location close to some stores I needed to go to. I was greeted pleasantly and seated quickly but had to wait too long for a waitress to take my order. I requested same and one came shortly after with a smile and apologies.

I ordered the New Orleans Seafood (Spicy broiled Tilapia topped with sauteed Shrimp and rich Parmesan cream sauce served with a choice of two sides) for $14.99US +tx. I have to mention the bread biscuits that followed. Soft and flavourful. Best I’ve tasted. I would take those over garlic bread any day. The food came in a reasonable amount of time and was hot! Loved that. The dish looked nothing like the picture on the menu though. The presentation was not appealing and the portion size of the Tilapia that was not even near spicy, could be slightly bigger. The fish and shrimp were overcooked and the sauce was nothing to write dear Ja about, but it could be eaten and satisfied my hunger.

The atmosphere was decent with a little sports bar and there was a fresh garden bar that looked interesting and more appetizing.

Average food chain restaurant. Not likely to return.

Location: 3010 Panola Road, Lithonia, GA 30038

Telephone number: (678) 418-0847

Date and time of visit: 19/12/14; 3:50pm