Weekend Wrap Up

Shall we rewind to Thursday? Yes. Thursday evening Margaret and I picked up pizza from Whole Foods and the song "Champagne Life" by Ne-Yo came on the radio. The line "Welcome to the champagne life - where trouble is a bubble in a champagne glass" really spoke to us. So much that we felt it okay to drink our troubles away...with 2 champagne bottles. YIKES!

Needless to say, Friday night we were hurting. We decided it would be best for our bodies to recover and cook an easy meal. Paul Newman was the star of the evening:

Let me remind you how much I love sauce. I LOVE SAUCE. I could put ketchup and tomato sauce on anything and everything. When Margaret said, "Sometimes I just want to eat a lot of sauce with a little pasta," it was music to my hungover ears! So we made some ravioli and broccoli...for our sauce.

It was good, clean eating. And as if I couldn't get enough lycopene, I drank this with dinner:

SOO YUMMY! These little cans are a whole serving of vegetables for only 30 calories. 

Would you believe I went to a college that doesn't have a football team? Yep, the College of Charleston claims they are "undefeated" because they have no football team. On Saturday I went to the Citadel vs. Chowan football game... 

 ...and then met up with Margaret after to watch the Auburn vs. Arkansas game.

Going to a football game and then watching another in the same day? Who am I? I barely understand anything about football, but I did learn what "first down" means. Thanks Louie. Maybe by the time Margaret and I go to the Auburn vs. Clemson game I'll have learned some more football terminology. Or maybe not.

We watched the Auburn game until half time, then headed out for dinner at Bowen's Island Restaurant. This shack of a restaurant opened in the 1940s and is very popular with locals. It has also been featured on Man vs. Food so we were pretty excited to try it out. I ordered the seafood platter with fish, shrimp, and crab cake. 

Do not get excited. This was not good. The crab cake was extremely over cooked and the shrimp and fish had no flavor whatsoever.  I drenched everything in ketchup and only because I was super hungry. Despite the bland seafood, we had a good time. 

We couldn't help but notice that Margaret's dad's glasses were pretty crooked. How does he wear these?

When we were leaving the restaurant, I noticed this:

I think someone wrote that for me. Haha. 

Sunday was another Sunday Funday on a yacht. Yay for spending the day doing this:

Say hello to Julius:

I took some really pretty pictures of the sunset, too.

Charleston is so pretty. Hope everyone is having a fun Labor Day weekend! :)

Welcome to Chick-fil-A!

Ever since I moved to the South, I've had an affinity for the incredibly popular fast-food chain, Chick-fil-A. My love for Chick-fil-A is often displayed in my constant Facebook updates. Let's review some from the past year.

and my very favorite mobile upload from when Jenna and I stole borrowed bouquets:

I swear I thought they threw the flowers out at the end of the night so I was just helping them take out the trash...right? Apparently they reuse them. Please forgive me, Jesus.

On May 13th of this year, I updated my status like normal. Little did I know that this post would change my life! 

In response to this, my friend Camille said:

To make a long story short, Rick and Debbie Blind, the owners of a local Chick-fil-A, started reading my blog and enjoying my random Chick-fil-A related statuses. Last week, Rick invited me in for a tour! 

We met up on Tuesday night and discussed all things under the sun: the future of my blog, restaurant reviews, fitness, our moves to the South, andddd of course, he and his wife's history with Chick-fil-A. I learned so much about their process of becoming owners. Chick-fil-A is very selective about whom they choose, and out of numerous applicants each year, only a select few are chosen. The running joke is that it's easier to get into the CIA than Chick-fil-A. I strongly believe the success of this company and quality of their service is due to this difficult selection process.
 
After chit-chatting slash picking each other's brains, it was time for fun! I got to see how things are run in the kitchen, how they store everything, and how food is prepared. Here's a lesson on preparing their #1 selling sandwich.

Meet Andrew, Rick's younger brother/Chick-fil-A extraordinaire: 

Wearing gloves, pick up the marinated chicken breast by the skinny end. This ensures maximum coating potential.

Dip chicken into the milk & egg wash.

Lay chicken in the flour mixture.

Completely cover with flour and press down to coat.

Voila! A perfectly coated chicken breast!

Transfer chicken to the Henny Penny for frying. Did you know that Chick-fil-A cooks their chicken in 100% refined peanut oil, that is not partially hydrogenated? Say no to trans fats!

Say "Bye-bye! Time to fry!" Ok, they don't really say that, but I was thinking it as it was happening.

Four minutes later, remove a delicious original chicken breast.

 Add a buttered, toasted bun, 2 perfect pickles and there you have the #1:

I also learned how to make one of my favorite desserts: an IceDream!

While holding cone underneath, turn on the IceDream machine and let the soft serve flow.

An Icedream cone is your healthiest dessert option at 170 calories. It's better than regular ice cream because it contains less sugar and only 4g of fat.

Ask me if I ate that. I dare you.

People often ask me, "Christina, how do you eat Chick-fil-A so much? They serve fried chicken, waffle fries, and milkshakes? That's not healthy." Pshhhhh. My response: "On naughty days (aka the weekends) I can eat those things, but during the week I select from many of their healthy options." 

The Men's Health book series Eat This, Not That grades Chick-fil-A an A- for food options. "Between the breakfast and lunch menus, there's only one entrée at Chick-fil-A that breaks 500 calories, and that's the 530-calorie Sausage Biscuit." Displayed below are my two favorite entrees.

Chargrilled & Fruit Salad, 230 calories (before dressing & granola topping):

Southwest Chargrilled Salad, 240 calories:

And as much as we all love the famous waffle fries shown here...

there are healthier alternatives. For no additional cost, you can get the carrot & raisin salad or coleslaw. Premium sides include a fruit cup, chicken noodle soup, a side salad, or a yogurt parfait (granola or Oreo topping).

Healthier drink options include 100% juice, milk, low fat chocolate milk, Dasani bottled water, and Diet Lemonade (sooooooo good!).

More reasons why I love this place:

• They use quality ingredients rather than generic goods.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• They're all about perfection. See this pickle here? This is deemed unacceptable.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Their customer service is outstanding. Everyone is just so darn nice. Have you noticed how often they say "My pleasure" when serving you? I always think, "Your pleasure? Are you kidding me? Plop that Chargrilled sandwich in front of my face and I'll show you what pleasure is."
•  The funny cow mascot. It's everywhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  

I want to send a huuuuge thank you to Rick for letting me visit and teaching me all about my favorite restaurant. Special thanks to Andrew for showing me how the original sandwich is made and to the other workers for not judging my extreme love for their place of employment. But by far, the very best part of my visit...I got to ride in the Chick-fil-A car! Dreams really do come true, people. You just have to put them in your Facebook status! Ha!

If there is a Chick-fil-A near you, get in your car and go. Right now. If you don't live by one, get on a plane. Otherwise, my heart hurts for you...You are missing out.