True Food Kitchen

True Food Kitchen l Foodie Find

The more adult I get, the more I know that healthful eating and exercise need to be part of my lifestyle. As someone who has long struggled with balancing her love of food with willpower, this is a lesson I seem to learn and relearn in an endless cycle. With my big euro-trip only a month away (I’m so excited I could jump out of my skin!), I have been especially careful with my eating and exercise habits as of late.

When I was last abroad, I was at my heaviest AND I’M OKAY WITH THAT. I had left a stressful teaching job to live for a year in Europe. I ate what I wanted and lived life and had one of the all-time best years of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. When I moved back to the states a few years ago and started to settle into a daily grind, I knew I was ready for a change. I used MyFitnessPal to get myself on track, and it clicked for me. I now love that I can go back to this app anytime I need to realign my habits.

I’ve recently gone back to religiously tracking my calories, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to forego catching up with the people I love! This week is proving to be especially filled with opportunities to see friends, inevitably over a meal. So, in planning for dinner with a dear friend last night, I suggested True Food Kitchen to help keep me honest. You know you can’t go wrong with a restaurant founded by an actual, honest-to-goodness physician, right?

I had the spaghetti squash casserole (pictured above) and managed to stay within my calorie goal for the day (until I decided to splurge on the flourless chocolate cake, below). Spaghetti squash is one of those foods I often want to eat, but am too afraid to cut because I just don’t trust my knife skills. Having a whole plate of it brought out to me, drenched in cheese and coming in at under 300 calories? Hallelujah! Although the flavoring of this dish can become bland halfway through (sort of like eggplant parm, anyone?) it’s overall a great choice for dinner.

Other items on their menu I’m dying to try: Artichoke Pizza (there’s black truffle on this, sold!); Ancient Grains Bowl; Spicy Panang Curry; Turkey Burger (more exciting than it sounds); Grass-Fed Steak Tacos; Key Lime Pie — so many reasons to go back! They rolled out some new spring menu items yesterday, so if you haven’t been now’s the perfect time.

The space is big and beautiful, but fills up fast. Make reservations to be safe, and tell me what you think if you go! I, for one, plan to return sooner rather than later.

Happy Friday, Foodies!