Caroline Dines

We started our adventure by picking up burritos from The Purple Cactus. It was conveniently located on the way and I have been wanting to try it since I love a good burrito and had heard only good things about this place. It is located right across from City Feed and Supply, which Meg hadn’t had a chance to visit yet, so we poked our heads in there too.

They had a wide selection to choose from including burritos, wraps, salads and quesadillas. They also had some interesting combo deals such as a mini wrap and half salad. Meg and I took our time deciding (we were the only ones there at 10 a.m.) and finally chose the same thing. We usually do this just because we have very similar tastes.

The vibe in here was simple yet modern and I could see how it could be a fun hang out place during a busy lunch break.

After a short drive, we arrived at Houghton’s Pond in Milton. We were both impressed with the huge parking lot (think busy summer day), fully stocked snack shack (ice cream, smoothies, hot dogs, cotton candy), fairly large beach area, nice playground for kiddos and beautiful surroundings.

I had plans to swim but once we sat for awhile I lost my nerve. We did go down to the water to test it and it felt pretty warm but it just wasn’t hot enough out to warrant a dip.

The best part was that we were pretty much alone. I think that this place could be really busy on a hot summer day especially since it is so family friendly.  We were happy to have a quiet place to sit and chat and eat our lunch.

We splurged today and each purchased a drink to accompany our burrito.  I love trying new fun beverages since the majority of my liquids are just plain H2O. We spotted this Maple Seltzer at City Feed and since it was from VT (Meg loves VT) and it wasn’t laden with sugar we gave it a shot. It was basically seltzer water with maple sap added to it (not maple syrup which would have made it too sweet I think). The bottle contained 70 ish calories I think which isn’t bad for a sweetened beverage. It was all natural and had a very subtle maple flavor. I would definitely try this again but would like it to be colder, we forgot our cooler so by the time we ate it was a little luke warm. Still, a very original drink idea!

Pleased with my choices.

We both got the whole wheat burrito with zuchini, corn, black beans, montery jack and fresh salsa. It also contained rice which we definitely could have done without. It was a little too filling and we both ended up eating only about half. 

I think burritos are best eaten right after they are made so in hindsight maybe a wrap would have been better. The burrito was warm and again by the time we ate it luke so it wasn’t quite as delicious as it could have been. I would still rate Purple Cactus very highly because the ingredients were super fresh tasting and they had interesting flavor combinations on the menu.

Meg brought a fresh apricot for me to try. She purchased these at TJ’s yesterday and was quite disappointed. I had never tried a fresh apricot, only dried, and didn’t mind it myself. It was a little mealy which isn’t ideal and didn’t have a very strong flavor but I thought it was o.k. Is this just the way it goes for fresh apricots or did we get a bad bunch?

Another City Feed score was this little cookie that we split. The cookie was made in Maine which caught my attention and when I read the ingredient list I knew that it couldn’t be bad for me. Apparently we were supposed to heat it in a toaster oven but eating it cold tasted great to both of us. It was like a granola bar with the raisins but better because it was a cookie.

On the way home I don’t really know what happened. I think we were lured in by this giant cow on the side of the building but somehow we ended up stopping in Jamaica Plain at the premiere J.P. Licks! I sometimes have a problem saying no to fro yo and we had both never been to this location. It was such a beautiful day and we agreed that we would just get a kiddie size.

This location was huge! They had a fire place and a place where you could see a little behind the scenes action. I loved the industrial feel. We both had a sample of the Basil and Sundried Tomato Ice Cream just for fun. I know it sounds really gross but suprisingly it wasn’t bad! I mean I wouldn’t order a whole scoop of it but it was definitely worth trying and I am glad we did. The other featured flavors of the month included Avocado, Noodle Kugel, and Fresh Mint. A little odd to say the least but somebody must be buying them!

Apparently the person scooping was feeling generous and when we both ordered our kiddie sized cones he gave us a small instead! Here is my Mint Chocolate Chip Hard Low Fat Yogurt with Rainbow Sprinkles on a Sugar Cone. Notice how it’s white not green. Green ice cream probably isn’t natural huh?

When I went to bed last night I had no intention of doing anything except cleaning and organizing today. This changed when I woke up and realized that it was going to be a beautiful day and possibly one of the last really great beach days of the summer. I said to myself that the cleaning and laundry could wait and began packing my beach bag. In order to make the train to Rockport I had to leave before I could eat breakfast. Therefore breakfast was a bit of a treat this morning, I felt like a commuter going to Dunkin Donuts except that instead of a brief case and high heels I was holding a beach bag and wearing flip flops. This cinnamon raisn bagel with light cream cheese was delicious and satisfied a craving that I had been having for a bagel and cream cheese, one of my favorite foods.

The train from North Station to Rockport was about 1 hour and 5 minutes. The beach is a short walk from the station which I didn’t mind at all since Rockport is a truly beautiful North Shore town.

Victorian Bed and Breakfasts

A historic downtown with plenty of shops

An ocean view

Famous fishing shacks (Motif No. 1)

And most importantly a beach that is accessible by train from Boston!

I was craving fruit since my cinnamon raisin bagel didn’t deliver much in that department. This served as my morning snack in between swimming, reading and chatting on the phone.

I got hungry for lunch around 12:15 and was very happy with what I had packed this morning in my frantic rush to get out of the house. A very simple yet nutritionally balanced meal: caprese salad and nut thins.

My saving grace was however the perfectly chilled coconut water.

It was hard to leave at 1:45 but I had to make the train back to the city in order to be at work on time.

I made it with time to spare and managed to pick up a raspberry iced tea to enjoy with my afternoon snack and book for the ride home.

I was very suprised at how much I liked this. I have never tried any of the Amazing Grass bars, only their shakes. I thought the texture was perfect, not too chewy but not too dry. I liked the fact that it was green and I liked the bits of nuts that you could see and crunch. This bar is completely organic, vegan, raw, dairy free, gluten free etc. If I liked the original this much I can’t wait to try the chocolate covered variety! Something about eating a bar that looks super healthy (the green hue) makes you feel super healthy and if it tastes good what do you have to lose?

At least my snack was good for me because dinner tonight was a different story.  The meal was donated by Rebecca’s Cafe and it included, BBQ chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Salad. I had a small portion of all and enjoyed mixing all the tastes together. BBQ sauce and Mac and Cheese go VERY well together.  This was my first time having real mac and cheese in probably 3 years so I made sure to enjoy every bite. A little went a long way.

In an effort to enjoy the day, and get a little bit of exercise, I decided to take a picnic lunch down to the banks of the River Charles. Pre-Injury I would have strapped my back pack on and run there but because I am really trying to heal my ankle in the proper way, I opted for the #47 bus. It dropped me off by the B.U. bridge where I then took a short walk along the river until I came to the dock.

When I left the apartment it was slightly overcast but warm. My thought was that it wouldn’t be too hot because the sun wasn’t shining. By the time I arrived the sun was shining through and it was H.O.T.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the sun but I really wished that the water surrounding me wasn’t the somewhat polluted Charles and that I could have jumped in and cooled off. This peach cooled me down a bit.

I dug into my lunch around 12:30 and while it was very satisfying I am glad to report that this is the last you will see of the veggie medley from last Saturday, it’s finally gone. Darin doesn’t eat leftovers as willingly as I do so it takes me awhile to get through meals sometime because I have a habit of always cooking too much!

I want to point out the utensil that I use for picnics and packed lunches because I find it to be so useful with all three built into one!  It was a gift from my family who traveled to Sweden last summer to visit some of our relatives that still live there. I really enjoyed the fact that it was purchased in Sweden but was slightly bummed when I found out that you can purchase them at L.L. Bean. Oh well, still cool.

My ankle was feeling really strong and since I had the air cast on for support, I walked over to Newbury Street and sat down with an iced green tea and my book for a little while. This green tea totally hit the spot! I know that I could make this for myself at home for a fraction of the cost, however when you don’t have a backyard or a porch to enjoy it on it’s worth the $2.25.  In addition you get to enjoy people watching on Newbury which is priceless.

Darin and I are planning a dinner out tonight so stay tuned to find out which restaurant we choose!