I know I owe you all a restaurant review from my birthday dinner at Tango Sur but I just got back from the most fabulous Sunday night dinner and I couldn’t wait to tell you about it.

First of all, the funniest people go out in the city on Sunday nights. From men in bright red fedoras to women in skyhigh heels, who knew Sunday night was hopping in Chicago? That’s one thing I’m really starting to learn (and LOVE) about the city — any day can be a weekend if you want it to be. There are so many delicious places to choose from, and the best part is that they’re actually accessible to the masses. There are food/drink specials every day, the portions are made for normal sized humans, and it isn’t impossible to try some of the greatest dishes without a reservation a month out.

Take, for example, my dinner at Sunda last night.

A bunch of us were closing the store last night and one of my coworkers remembered it was industry night at some local places. It’s one of the perks to jobs that center around customer service — we all stick together and give each other nice discounts 😉 So after the doors were closed and the store was locked up, we headed to Sunda, an Asian restaurant located in the River North neighborhood. I was so excited to go out with the girls I work with because almost everyone is an undeniable foodie, aka drinks were had, appetizers ordered, entrees split and dessert sampled.

We started out with a glass of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which had the perfect amount of sweetness for me. I initially ordered it because I thought it was the cheapest (spoiler alert: it was not) but it was so good that I ordered a second glass without thinking twice.

We were also smart to order two appetizers (if you even count edamame as an appetizer. Does anyone else think it should be served automatically at Asian restaurants the same way that chips and salsa are at Mexican joints?)

Regardless, the edamame was edamame.

But the Crispy Brussels Sprouts Salad was LIFE CHANGING!

This definitely ranks in the top five best dishes I’ve had in Chicago. Brussels Sprouts, red cabbage, carrots, chilies, fried shallots, with a (get this) minced shrimp nuoc cham vinaigrette. Get in my belly, you heavenly goodness!

For our entrees we all went in different directions. I thought I’d be a little outside the box and ordered a dish called “Longetivity Garlic Crab Noodles.” I’m not sure what exactly qualified this as a “longevity” dish but it sure was good.

Lump crab, lo mein noodles, toasted garlic and shallots. Very garlicky and very crabby, just how I like it.

My friend got the chicken pad thai and while I’m glad I stepped outside my comfort zone this time, next time I’m back I’ll definitely be getting that. It was so flavorful and full of fresh veggies, which is always a plus.

The other girls are all sushi fanatics so they split a few rolls. I wish I could tell you more about those but I’m just not a sushi gal (but they sure were pretty!)

And last but certainly not least was dessert: The Sunda Sundae

Avocado Ice Cream, Sweet Corn and Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream, Ube-Macapuno Ice Cream, Red Mung Beans, Jackfruit, Coconut Gel, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Fresh Berries and Toasted Coconut.

I can tell you right now that in any other situation I would probably not like about 50% of what’s listed above. But we followed our server’s advice and mixed the whole thing together into one giant mess and ate it all combined and it was awesome! So many flavors that I’ve never experienced before and they all worked so well when combined. Such a creative dessert!

Because I know suggesting that you buy a plane ticket to Chicago simply for some Brussels Sprouts and Avocado Ice Cream is a little excessive, just know that if you’re ever in the area, Sunda and all its deliciousness will be waiting for you. And if you need a date, you know who to call.

Questions:

• Ever had avocado ice cream? Because I KNOW you haven’t had cheddar cheese ice cream before!
• What’s your favorite dish from one of your local restaurants? 
• Are you (or have you ever been) a Sunday night goer-outer?

If you’re anything like me, the holidays brought out your biggest weaknesses and your self-control was worse than if Channing Tatum asked you to pick up your life, become a gypsy and travel the country playing a tambourine in a cult band for the rest of your life. (For the record, my answer wouldn’t be no right away. I wouldn’t do it, but man would there be some serious consideration).

In January there are always a plethora of tips, tricks and shortcuts for feeling better after an indulgent December. But I’ve always noticed that these articles never take into account the different types of people there are out there. There are, in my opinion, two types of people in the world. Some people don’t care about food, but if something delicious is in front of them they will eat it. Then there are people who are downright obsessed with food and the thing that’s delicious in front of them was not only made by them, but Pinned, Instagrammed, and talked about for fifteen minutes while non-food-lovers wonder what’s wrong with them. I fall into the latter.

Needless to say those tips like “cut out all sugar for a month”, “avoid all bread” and “abstain from all alcohol” just aren’t going to cut it for me. On Sunday I read a story about “Drynuary,” aka no alcohol for the month of January, and seriously considered it. Then I had a bad day on Monday and literally couldn’t WAIT to get home and open a bottle of wine. That might work for some people, but for me, restricting myself in terms of food/drink just isn’t an option. I love food and drinks way too much. I DO know, however, that I can’t eat like it’s the holidays all year long or I would not feel my best, look my best, or behave my best (because taking time off from healthy habits makes me craaaanky).

So here are my top tips for getting back in the game without giving up your identity as a food-lover.

Add vegetables to every meal

I don’t restrict myself food-wise. But I do make sure that I’m including a heaping portion of veggies with every single meal I eat, whether it be a piece of fish or a pb&j sandwich. Filling my stomach up with good stuff works 10x better than letting myself get hungry or mentally crave a food because I cut it out completely. Even breakfast: just STOCK UP on the greens.

Protein Protein Protein

Going along with that, get as much good protein into my diet as possible. Protein is what fills me up. And while I get lots of it via eggs, chicken and peanut butter, protein powder is great in a pinch. I’ve mentioned it before but while I’ve tried lots of protein powders, I finally settled on Skoop. I’m not going to try to sell you on it (because I haaaate when bloggers try to sound genuine and it’s blatantly obvious that they’re selling something), but just know this is the protein powder that I use. Take it or leave it 🙂

If you DO decide to try it out, use the code BIGLUNCH to get 10% off your order. Because saving money is always cool.

Work out every single day

Every day.  No exceptions. Well, okay, one exception. I never work out more than 6 days a week because I am neither superwoman nor someone with a death wish. But 6 days a week is a non-negotiable when I’m getting back at it. The reasons for this go farrrr beyond just vanity: in the days between Christmas and my birthday I worked out sparingly and besides not feeling wonderful, I had two panic attacks come out of absolutely nowhere. I firmly believe that exercise can help manage anxiety, so it’s something that I don’t want to skimp on, if not for my physical health but my mental health as well.

Attempted a run in 4 degree weather — never again

Drink some tea

I’m not a tea person but this time of year I’ll take anything that will warm my body up — and a 9pm cup of coffee isn’t an option. So I drink this Yogi DeTox tea because it’s two-in-one for me: it warms me up, calms me down, and makes my stomach feel better after a few weeks of heavy eating. It contains dandelion, juniper berry, ginger, black pepper and burdock, which all work together to gently purify the liver and promote kidney function.

Don’t hibernate!

Yes it’s cold. It’s flipping freezing. But the minute you make it a habit to stay under the covers avoiding the dreaded temps or skip your workout because you just want to get home and put on your cozy sweats is the minute you start eating a whole box of mac n cheese for dinner followed by a sleeve of oreos. Be brave. Face the cold. Rumor has it that shivering can increase your metabolism (say what?!) So bundle up and stay active, even when it seems impossible.

Food lovers — got any tips to add to my list?

I overdosed on life this weekend.

I overdosed on food. I overdosed on drinks. I overdosed on love. I’m sitting back on this Sunday night writing about the weekend and my heart is so full.

But let’s backtrack…

Because I am who I am, the birthday weekend centered on getting my paws on as much deliciousness as possible. I started celebrating a little early around midnight Friday night with some sparkling pink moscato and a side of John Krasinski. I figured he would never have accepted my personal invitation to hang out with me for the weekend, but thanks to Netflix I can stare at him as much as I want so it works out.

On Saturday I woke up bright and early for my birthday run at 8am only to see that the ground was covered in our first snow of the year. Now, Chicago knows how to handle its winter. But we always seem to be caught off guard for the first snow, so the roads and sidewalks were in no condition to handle a run. And I certainly didn’t want to spend my birthday hobbling around on crutches because I tried to be a hero. So I did what anyone else would do: crawled back in bed and stayed there until 10am.

Megan and I spent the rest of the morning on a taco trek to the Wicker Park neighborhood. We tried about six dozen times to go to Big Star for their famous patio/margarita scene all summer but never made it happen. So even though we were surrounded by slush and it took two buses and a frostbite-laden walk to get there, I can finally say I’ve tried the “best” tacos in Chicago (*cough* the fish tacos at Benchmark are still better *cough*). Aside from the pescado I had the Taco al Pastor and it was delicious, thanks to pork belly meat covered in grilled pineapple and onion. The classic margarita and guacamole from Big Star were the real stars of the show, surprisingly. They were both perfectly made — you could tell it was the real deal. If there is some hidden spot where I can get the same avocados and tequila as Big Star, let me know and I’ll be happy forever.

Checked that off the bucket list!

I spent the afternoon watching Clueless (I had never seen it, can you believe that?) and cleaning the apartment. Man, so many life lessons to be learned from that movie.

Cher was truly ahead of her time.

Before I knew it my family was here and it was time for dinner. My mom even brought me the family crockpot for my apartment and a homemade frittata — now that’s true love. We went just down the block from my apartment to Tango Sur, a BYOB Argentinian steakhouse. I wish I could do it justice but there are no words for how to-die-for this restaurant was. It is hands down my new favorite spot in the city, and if I ever have a “last meal,” this will be it. (I really need to work on reigning in the hyperboles, but today isn’t going to be that day), I literally got home and Yelped about how happy I was because the food was so freaking good. I’m going to do a full restaurant review on Tango Sur so I’ll spare you the six hundred pictures I took (for now……) but just trust me.

My entree: Suprema a la Napolitana, or chicken breast, breaded and topped with baked ham, mozzarella and tomato sauce.

After dinner we did the ceremonial “cake and cards” (although we saved the cake for another night after the food coma we were all enduring. And by night I mean morning because I had it for breakfast the next morning in my “it’s no longer my birthday” depression).

Homemade red velvet cake with THE best sprinkles on the planet. (Hyperboles evvvvverywhere)

As soon as my family left my friends started to make their way over and by 11pm we had a full-blown party on our hands. Between the love I felt from my family and the presence of all my friends for my special day, I really couldn’t have asked for a better night. We had a ball until the wee hours of the morning,as you should on your birthday.

So in sum, I have a kickass group of friends, my wonderful family traveled to the city to bring me cake, wine and hugs, I ate three days worth of calories in 12 hours, and Argentinian food is the bomb. Oh, and Cher For President.

And just like that, it’s my birthday.

I know this is nothing out of the ordinary, but I LOVE BIRTHDAYS. It must have something to do with being a twin, but I always have demanded that my birthdays are extra special. My middle name should be “high expectations.” I’m half kidding.

This year is no Sweet 16, 21st or another milestone like that, but I have to say turning 24 feels freaking awesome. I finally feel like this is the age where I’m no longer a recent college student but I’m still young enough to make bad decisions and blame it on my young blood. It’s the best of both worlds.

So today, my plans are to take a birthday run by myself along the lake, grab the best fish tacos in Chicago from Big Star, spend time with my family at a local BYOB Argentinan steakhouse, and have friends over to play True American until we’re goofy enough to go listen to live country music at a nearby bar. 24 is looking grand.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend, all, and I’ll fill you in with a recap on Monday!

Well well well, hello there!

I took a much-needed writing break for a bit to celebrate the holidays with friends and family. It’s funny how sometimes you just can’t make time for all the things you love — I stuck with my workouts and attended many a holiday party, but writing a recap every day or two was just not in the cards. And while this isn’t going to be the most detailed post either, I just had to pop in and say happy new year to you all.

So let’s talk resolutions.

Facebook has been trying to show me how great of a year I had for a few weeks now. They keep pushing it on me, promising to highlight what “must” have been a wonderful year.  The truth is, it wasn’t a good year. It was a tough year. It was the most challenging year of my life. And I definitely don’t need Facebook to remind me of the tough times, because for every picture taken or status made throughout 2014 in which I appeared to be going about life as usual, there were weeks, months, even, when I was the farthest thing from happy. I didn’t disappear into a hole or drop off the face of the earth, but I wasn’t present in my life because I was constantly focusing on my negative thoughts below the surface.

We talked a bit about new beginnings this past fall and how significant I find them. New day, new you. New month, new you. New year, new you. All it takes is one day where you wake up and say, “Today, I am _____.” You have the power to change your identity, to change how your life is going and to change its course. Sometimes it’s nice to have a holiday to remind you about the peace that can come with new beginnings.

So for 2015, I have no resolutions. (Except, maybe, to drink more water. Every freaking year….)

I have goals — things that I have written down and included “by whens” so that I hold myself accountable, but ambiguous resolutions? Nah, not gonna do it.

I wake up each day with enough money in my pocket to be comfortable, enough food in my kitchen to keep me from being hungry, an insatiable appetite for fitness that keeps me strong, a supportive family on speed dial, a group of friends who would do anything for me, and a job where I am hugged every day, I am cared for every day, I am loved every day.

So I have no resolutions this year. There is no way my life could be any better in 2015 than it is today in 2014. That isn’t to say that 2014 wasn’t full of hardships. But life doesn’t hand you “that moment” when the dark turns to dawn. You choose that moment. And while I can’t pinpoint my moment, I know that my life is filled with happiness now because I made the choice to do so.

I know I’ve shared this quote before but I think it has to be the best thing I’ve read in 2014 so it merits another share.

With that said, if I WERE to make resolutions, they’d look a little something like this:

With my 2015 goal of running the Chicago Marathon, I’d say this one is pretty darn true

Really commit to what I commit to. Imagine that?

This has more to do with the holidays being over — stop with all the booze! Save $ and feel better

Get more involved with my local church

Questions:

• Are you making resolutions this year?
• What was your favorite part of 2014?
• What are you most looking forward to in 2015?