Since I had to work all weekend Zain and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day last night. We already exchanged goodies on Friday (chocolate, candy, stuff like that) but last night we went out for a fancy romantic dinner.

After work we got dressed up and headed over to Lincoln Park to Geja’s! I’ve heard nothing but good things about this fondue spot but had never tried it for myself. I’ve only ever had the Melting Pot which I remember being wayyyy too expensive, so I was excited to try a similar restaurant with a more intimate environment.

Before leaving the apartment we got all spiffy and cleaned up.

We grabbed a cab and within ten minutes we were in Lincoln Park.

This quaint little restaurant is located semi-underground, adding to its romantic vibe. You’ll have to excuse the photos from the dinner—it was the darkest restaurant I’ve ever been to! Romantic, yes, but a blogger’s worst nightmare!

We were seated immediately in a booth tucked away in the corner with a white linen tablecloth and a bright orange French fondue pot. Since it was a celebration I knew I needed champagne so first things first, that’s what I ordered!

We decided to go with the fondue meal, complete with salad, cheese fondue, meat, and chocolate fondue at the end. It was about $45 person depending on what you picked. Zain went with boneless chicken breast (so proud of him for trying to eat less red meat) and I went with the seafood deluxe (obviously more expensive).

First came the salads, simply dressed with Dijon vinaigrette. It was nothing out of this world but I love starting with a salad no matter what the meal is so I was happy.

The best fondue hands down was the cheese. Sweet lord almighty it was so good. It was a mix of gruyere cheese, sherry, nutmeg and other spices, and served alongside pretzel bread, apple slices, and grapes. Surprisingly the star of the show was the apples and cheese. They paired perfectly together!

Next we had our main courses. One wonderful thing about Geja’s is that if you ask they’ll let you cook your meat of choice in a pot of broth instead of oil, which I did. It was one of those healthy choices that really doesn’t take much effort at all. Don’t you love it when it’s that easy? After all, I was more interested in eating my body weight in the cheese and chocolate.  The way in which my seafood was cooked didn’t matter much to me at all.

I chose the lobster tail/seafood combo. The meats were served together on a giant platter along with close to a dozen different sauces. Zain and I loved our main courses and were especially happy with the garlic butter dipping sauce. I doused every piece of seafood in lemon and garlic butter and each bite was heavenly.

Finally, out came dessert.  I was convinced (easily) to get a frangelico cappuccino along with our chocolate fondue (nice $11 addition, waiter. Well played.)

The chocolate fondue was served with bananas, strawberries, rice krispies, pound cake, marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, pineapple, and cherries. Zain gave up about halfway through but I’m proud to say I persevered and came close to cleaning the plate. It was so so so delicious.

My overall thoughts of Geja’s? It was hands down one of the most romantic restaurants I’ve ever been to. It’s definitely a place to go for an anniversary or Valentine’s Day. The portions appear small at first, but I left feeling perfectly full, not stuffed. I appreciated that they forced me to pace myself with the cheese, because trust me, if that pot had been full I would have easily finished it. I would love to come back just for the cheese and chocolate, as those were my favorites. While the meat was delicious as well, I’m not always looking to spend $50 on one meal. The only con I have for Geja’s is the smell! I know it’s unavoidable but the restaurant smells like cooking oil (obviously) and when you leave your clothes reek of the stuff. Nothing a little laundry time won’t fix but the smell was definitely overpowering.  Overall, it was a wonderful Valentine’s Day. The best part was that my handsome date went out of his way to be a total gentleman all night. After dating for over three years it was adorable to see him act like it was our first date all over again. It was a perfect night.

Question:

What’s the most romantic restaurant you’ve ever been to?

It’s that time of the week! Tuesday is the day where my blogger friends and I all link up via Lisa @ The Skinny on Health and discuss little tips we have to make healthy living easier. Thanks again, Lisa for hosting!

My tip for the day is all about snacking. While snacking can be a bad thing (usually this is more like grazing) it can also be a really powerful tool to keep your stomach happy all day. That way, you don’t get home from work and open that gallon of ice cream as an “appetizer” while you make another healthy dinner because you just can’t wait.

I usually snack twice a day, either between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and dinner, or right before bed. I’ve noticed that working in an office now makes it a little trickier to sneak wholesome snacks in. However, with a little pre-planning and (hopefully) access to a fridge, it can be done! I always try to eat snacks that are full of whole grains, fiber, or protein so that whatever I’m eating has enough staying power to keep me at a good serving size.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Plain Greek yogurt mixed with stevia/sugar and fresh fruit

• 1-cup of fat-free, plain Greek yogurt has about 9 grams of sugar and 23 grams of protein, fulfilling almost half of an adult’s recommended daily intake of protein.
• Greek yogurt is a healthy source of probiotics which aid digestion
• Fruit naturally sweetens the yogurt without all the additives

Roasted sweet potato, cut up and served with peanut butter

• Often called one of the world’s healthiest foods, sweet potatoes are inexpensive, versatile, low in calories and high in nutrients
• Sweet potatoes contain twice as much fiber as regular potatoes.
• They are rich in beta-carotene, one of the most potent antioxidants that are known to prevent many types of cancer
• Adding fat to the sweet potato (like peanut butter) helps increase our uptake of beta-carotene
• You could put peanut butter on a car tire and it would be delicious

Nuts

• Sure, they’re high in calories and fat, but it’s the good kind of fat! They fill you up faster and longer and taste oh so good
• Frequent nut consumption can aid with weight loss and reduce your risk of major chronic diseases
• Fat, fiber, protein, these little guys have it all!

Apple and peanut butter

• Apples are full of fiber and are known to ward off hunger in between meals
• The fat and protein in peanut butter plus the fiber in an apple makes this a great choice

String cheese

• Lean protein and calcium makes my bones and my stomach happy at 3pm
• This is one of my favorite low-calorie grab-and-go snacks because it can be stored in my purse for whenever hunger strikes

Frozen veggies

• This one is iffy…veggies alone aren’t even close to a good powerhouse of fat, protein, or fiber. But if I’m not starving but want to get some extra veggies into my day, I love to heat up a bag of frozen veggies. I keep them everywhere I go (my parents’ house, Zain’s, and even work). That way, I’ll always have the option to add extra veggies to any meal or just to eat them as a snack.
• I’ve always been big on volume-eating. If I know I’m going to have deep dish pizza, I’ll usually eat a huge bowl of veggies beforehand. That way I’m filling my stomach with tons of good stuff before getting to the star of the show. It’s a trick that works for me and still lets me eat what I want–just not too much of it that I feel sick.

Soy latte

• The health of soy milk is often debated. I choose to think that, like most things, it’s okay in moderation. It naturally has less sugar than milk and still has around 8 grams of protein for every cup. Plus it makes lattes so enjoyable because they’re so naturally sweet and creamy. I’m never even tempted anymore to add syrups to my lattes because soy milk makes it a treat in and of itself. Sometimes when 3pm hits, a soy latte is the perfect snack.

As you can see, many of these snacks have a great combination of fats, fiber and protein. They do a great job of keeping my hunger at bay until my next meal–no empty calories here. So the next time you feel guilty about snacking, don’t! I’m not promoting eating six mini meals or anything like that, but if you’re hungry, eat! Just eat something that is going to fuel your body, make you feel great, and fill you up.  A healthy lifestyle should be that simple.

Question:

• Do you snack between meals?
• What’s your favorite snack?