Normally I try and do weekly updates but the months of January and February were a little on the quiet side with the holidays ending and the weather in Cleveland turning cold and snowy. I figured I would do full month reviews and throw in some restaurant reviews and some new recipes.
I spent most of January trying out some new recipes and starting this new healthy food adventure. I have a love for food and realize that it is okay in moderation to have unhealthy foods, but I needed to make a life change. What better way to do it then to bet your family members who can lose the biggest percentage. It has been an interesting month and a half and I still give into my cravings and eat out but on a daily I am eating much much better. I have been on Weight Watchers and have continued to use that as a guide.
As for new recipes, I tried a Red Wine-Braised Short Rib recipe from Kristen Cavallari’s cookbook, True Comfort that was wonderful. I think shorts ribs tend to be fatty so they are not always my favorite but the flavors in this were amazing. I made it was a risotto and some broccoli.
My next new recipe adventure also came from Kristen Cavallari’s cookbook True Comfort and was a White Chicken Chili with Salsa Verde. If you like spicy this is a recipe for you. It had lots of veggies in it and was a nice change to the regular beef chili I normally make. Both were a little high in points on WW but even with the higher points they were both much healthy and worth the extra points.
We did our Scout and Cellar wine tasting which was amazing and I can’t wait to order more wine. I have been slacking since life got a little bit busier but it is on my list of things to do, so there will be more reviews of the different wines. If you haven’t checked out my review check it out. We sampled a white and a red. Both were amazing and I felt great the next day! (I have ordered some since writing this and can’t wait for it to come in)
We said goodbye to one of our favorite restaurants in Downtown Willoughby, Nicklebys. I’m so sad to see Nicklebys go. It has been one of my favorites for a long time now. I made sure to eat all of my favorites. I had a side salad with Ranch dressing because they had the best homemade ranch. The crispy chicken wrap and their Mac and cheese. I’m always excited for new adventures but sad to see this wonderful place end their run. Thank you Nicklebys staff for always being so nice and for the amazing food whether it was lunch or dinner time or 10 at night.
January was also the first time that we tried Austin’s steakhouse in Mentor, Ohio on Mentor Ave. I have a full review of our dinner that night, but everything was really good and we actually just recently took our friends there to try it out since we enjoyed it so much.
We also took a Saturday night to all catch up and hang out as it had been a really long time since some of us girls have had free time to hang out. It was such a fun night.
The last weekend of the month we did some running around on that Saturday. Grabbing breakfast at Chagrin River Diner in Willoughby, Ohio on Erie Street. Due to Covid they now have black boards separating the booths with their menus written on them. Which I thought was a really smart idea my only complaint because I have only been there once or twice is that there are not really any explanations of the items on the menu, so I did have tons of questions. In the end I went with some French toast with fresh fruit and it was just what I was craving. My husband went with their Barbaco breakfast tacos and hash browns. The hash browns were so flavorful he did not even both to put any hot sauce or ketchup which was shocking because he always adds one or the other or both to his hash browns. I love how colorful all of their food is due to all the fresh produce and how it comes out on these bright Fiesta Plates. I think it helps bring those colors out even more.
That Saturday we also went out to Chardon for lunch and tried our friend’s new nutrition shop, My Town Nutrition. She had just opened up about a week or so before we checked it out. I wish that her store was closer because I would visit more often. Her store carries teas and shakes or a combo of both. I will be doing a full review soon but if you are in Chardon go check out her store and try a drink. They have tons of different flavors and it’s a great supplement for breakfast or lunch. It’s nice to have this option when you are always on the go.
After writing this review it made January seem so busy but I swear it had been a. pretty quiet January.