No More Oats??

Breakfast today was really yummy. I had overnight oats made with 1/2 c oats and 1/2 - 3/4 c plain yogurt, and then this morning I stirred in some strawberry preserves. Yum! However, I'm worried the raw oats don't sit with me very well. I noticed the last couple of days feeling kind of full/bloaty. It didn't really occur to me that the oats might be an issue until I read somewhere that raw oats might be difficult to digest. I may have to forgo the overnight oats for a while and see if I feel better.

Because my stomach felt a little off, I didn't finish all of the food I packed today. I ate the oats, the banana, half of my salad, and the cottage cheese. I never made it to the pear or the olives that I packed to snack on. However, I had about 10 raw almonds from my desk drawer this afternoon.

We had some rain and lightening early this afternoon, but it was just cloudy when I left work. I'm glad because that meant I could walk home without getting soaked!

Tonight Katie and I decided to go out to dinner. We went to one of my favorite Omaha restaurants, Mark's Bistro, which happens to be really close to our house! They change their menu seasonally, so there is always something new, which I love. This place has lots vegetarian options that are so good even meat-eaters crave them! They are famous for their gourmet mac 'n cheese, which can be jazzed up with the 'chef's embellishments' of the day. They also have lots of cheeses and spreads (hummus, tapenade, pesto, etc) and sometimes I just make a meal out of those.

But tonight I wanted to try something different. I was tempted by the Cream of Fire-Roasted Tomato with Blue Cheese Soup, because it was vegetarian. *NOTE: Believe it or not, many vegetarian-sounding soups have chicken or beef stock in them. Always ask before you order! This was one of the biggest surprises to me when I became vegetarian.* The waiter talked me into ordering something else, but ended up bringing out a cup of soup on the house for Katie and I as a starter! I enjoyed it with a glass of Chardonnay.

What I ended up ordering was the Grilled Vegetable Sandwich. It was made up of "Caramelized onion, sautéed mushrooms, match-stick zucchini, smoky carrot “bacon,” cheddar cheese, lettuce & tomato, sun-dried tomato mayonnaise and hummus spread, on toasted wheatberry bread" and came with curried sweet potato waffle fries! My mom has been raving about this for months, so it didn't take much to convince me to order it tonight!

It was good and I'll definitely order it again! The soup was quite filling, so I only ate half of my entrée. It's all packed up in a to-go container for lunch tomorrow!

Katie ordered the Almond and Panko-Encrusted Tilapia with Mango Salsa which was "Oven-baked tilapia served over a wild rice blend, topped with a cumin crème fraîche and mango chipotle salsa, served with seasonal vegetables".

It looked really pretty, but Kate said the breading was kind of soggy. Her favorite part was the mango salsa.

Perhaps the absolute BEST thing at Mark's is the whiskey bread pudding. I didn't get it at first, but then I tried it. To.Die.For. I've even heard people talking about at other restaurants! We didn't end up ordering any tonight, but I'm practically drooling just thinking about it now. Next time!

Woohoo, I'm finished blogging 2 hours earlier than usual! I think I'll join Katie and Stella on the couch for snuggling and an episode of 'LIFE' before bed. Goodnight!