Last night, we were researching some restaurants for Date Night and came across Empanada Express. I couldn’t resist when I saw the yucca! The empanadas! The tostones! All the foods I never ate when I lived in the DR. Haha.
Nothing too fancy to look at on the outside. But fabulous on the inside!
I chose the yucca in memory of my friend Jonathan AKA Papa. One of the first times we met, he didn’t speak English, and I didn’t speak Spanish. The lovely Luis was coaxed us into making awkward bilingual conversation by having us tell each other what our favorite foods were. I’m guessing I said pizza. But Papa went with the yucca and cheese! Such a sweet memory. And salted avocado reminds me of Yo-Yo! My future child’s namesake. 
Empanada stuffed with black beans & sweet plantains.
You may be thinking — isn’t she in boot camp? Well, yes, I am. And I happen to be absolutely crushing it!
I initially wanted to look for a restaurant with salads. Buuuut, I’ve decided to make an exception for Date Night, and of course, Kevin is really a fan of that idea! He’s very gracious with all my weird healthy cooking and fitness fanaticism so I think it’s for the best. 
I ate according to the plan the rest of the day, did my boot camp workout, and ran four miles. And I’ll be right back on eating clean wagon in the morning!
After Date Night, my hands & feet were freezing!! I’m not a hot chocolate fan, and I wasn’t about to drink coffee that late. So, I made a little protein drink hot cocktail!
Click + Fitmixer! Oops. I just found out Click has caffeine in it. Not sure how I missed that. Oh well. It’s almost the weekend!
Shaking it.
It wasn’t the best thing I ever drank. But it was warm.
Earlier…
Whew! Thursdays are going to be my busiest day of piano teaching! (But, Fridays are of!!!)
Pick 2: Broccoli slaw with my favorite Salsa Ranch and leftover coconut kale soup.
I had a bunch of mini meals in between teaching, dog jogging, and errands.
Meanwhile, Boyd tanned his hide.
And my business cards came!! Yeah.. I ignored everyone’s advice to use Vistaprint and went with MOO! They just seemed to fit my personality better. Haha.
GOOD NIGHT! From all of us!
WHY IS NOBODY SITTING ON MY ICYCLE FEET!?!?!
Have you ever eaten/cooked with plantains? AKA platanos/tostones. I want to try PaleOMG’s recipe for plantain pancakes!
Have you broken out your winter pjs? Yesterday, my friends. And the slippers are next.
I love everything about this post, especially the plantains! I feel deep into love with plantains on a breakfast buffet in Mexico. We serve them at the restaurant where I work (random) & have to resist eating them every day. I’ve tried to make them at home though & they’re just never the same.
I’ve been in hoodies, long pj pants & socks all week. I’m a wimp.
Not yet on the PJs but I’ve been living in yoga pants and fleece as my after-work clothes.
It’s still warm here (like 90s) so winter stuff definitely hasn’t made an appearance yet. But it’s okay ’cause I love the warm weather.
I’m not a huge fan of plantains, but maybe I should try them prepared a different way. I’m not typically picky so it was surprising that I didn’t care for them.
I love plantains SO much – ripe, roasted, with a little salt.
And oh man- YUCCA. I posted about yucca fries once last fall- and I think that’s the last time I’ve had it!
I love CLICK! So exciting about your business cards! No winter PJs yet, I can’t wait for that day to come…
Your meal at date night looks really good.
I mix Click (vanilla) with water, handful of spinach and ice cubes in my magic bullet…its kind of become my pre-run drink I love the boost I get from the caffeine and I love the taste.
I’ve never cooked with plantains, but we eat loads of ‘em while in Costa Rica.
THAT EMPANADA. It looks amazing!
looks like some tasty smoothies, you can’t go wrong with mexican food ever!
Mmm, sounds like a delicious empanada! I’ve never had one stuffed with plantains before. Sounds amazing.
That restaurant looks amazing! There’s nothing better than authentic restaurants! I’ve been dying to try fitmixer forever and I love the idea of making it warm!
I’ve only had plantains a handful of times, but I really like them! I wish my area had more restaurants like Denver!
when i was in guatemala i plantain-ed myself silly. they’re so good! but expensive to buy here in the US. i JUST ordered cards off vistprint, but i should have gone MOO! it looks cute.
I’ve only cooked with plantains once, and I simply sautéed them in a touch of butter on a griddle. They were delicious! I don’t know why I’ve never done it again…..I should!