Bloomin' Ridiculous!

I am tagging along on a little business trip with Beren, just an hour or so up the road from My Town. This is a monthly must-do meeting for him, a luxurious 24-hour escape for me. It's wonderful to lie around the pool, take a walk on the beach, lounge in the hotel room, basically pretend to be a lady-of-leisure!

Anyway, part of the experience is dinner out the night we arrive. Now, let me remind you that Beren and I don't often dine out. It's just too expensive, dollar and calorie-wise, and hey, I'm a damn good cook in my own right! So, we tend to eat at home most of the time, allowing restaurant meals to be an occasional treat. Last night was one of those occasions. While examining my options, I thought it best to stick to a chain restaurant rather than local fare, figuring I could look up the POINTS values more easily. Add that to the fact that we had a gift card and the decision was made: Outback Steakhouse. Whoa...not such a good choice after all! Unable to find any info on the WW site, a quick google led me to this website which provided what I hope is accurate information. My options were so limited, I couldn't believe how high the POINTS were for these menu items! I finally settled on:

Caesar Salad (dressing on the side) 6 POINTS
5 Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie 2 POINTS
2 glasses of wine 3.5 POINTS

Total Meal 11.5 POINTS

Not bad, would have preferred a bit more substance for dinner but it was the best I could do and felt satisfied. Besides, it's all about the dining experience, right? Sitting across the table from someone you love being served and not having to clean up the dishes afterward!

Now, Beren on the other hand made very different choices! Here's what his meal consisted of:

1/4 of a Bloomin Onion (not including dip!) 14 POINTS
3 Slices of Bread (approx) 6 POINTS
1 Tablespoon Butter (approx) 2 POINTS
Caesar Salad (dressing on the side) 6 POINTS
5 Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie 2 POINTS
2 Pints Fosters Beer 6 POINTS

Total Meal 36 POINTS

But that's not all, folks! We then took his daughters out for ice cream, I had a glass of water and he ate a waffle cone with a large scoop of ice cream, don't know the exact value but I'm guestimating about 7 POINTS. So, for dinner My Man ate 43 freakin' POINTS, 2 days' worth of food for me, and he still manages to look like this (yeah, that's about as pin-up as he gets):



What the hell is wrong with this picture?? I hate men and their metabolism..grrrr..



Anyway, on a positive note, I left the restaurant proud as hell of myself for sitting there with a huge Bloomin' Onion and a loaf of bread in front of me, and I didn't touch a bite! Whoo-hoo! I think that deserves a reward, don't you? How about a nice long walk on the beach followed by a poolside lunch with a friend? Yep, that'll do it.

Signing off for now, your faux lady-of-leisure,