Favorite Florida Seafood Restaurants

by LeslieW on July 31, 2011

Finding a great seafood restaurant in Florida isn’t difficult, however, I do have two that are my absolute favorites and are family owned.

The first, which is a bit on the pricey side but wonderful none the less, is “Blackbeard’s” in New Smyrna Beach, Florida which is located on Route 1 aka Dixie Highway. This restaurant not only offers some of the best seafood around, but serves delicious chicken, steaks and hamburgers as well.  A beautiful salad and soup bar accompanies the entrees.  Everything on the salad bar is fresh and the soup is usually Manhattan Clam Chowder.

So, what do I order here?

Well, my favorite is the flounder entree.  If I’m ordering off the “Early Bird” menu (4pm-6pm), I will save a bit of money per entree, however, I will only have one side with the meal. The soup and salad bar does come with the entrees, so usually one side is quite enough. I’ll usually skip the soup because it does have quite a few potatoes in it and opt for the salad instead.  The side I choose is usually steamed vegetables.

The atmosphere at Blackbeard’s is very relaxed and casual with a nautical theme throughout the restaurant.  Booths and tables are available.

The other top restaurant on my list is “Hull’s” in Ormond Beach.  Hull’s is located on Granada Boulevard, right before you cross over the Halifax River (heading East from I-95).  All of the seafood sold in the restaurant comes directly from Hull’s Seafood Market which is adjacent.  There are fried entrees available, but I prefer to eat my fish broiled, grilled or blackened.

Talk about fresh!

I’ve ordered mahi mahi, halibut or flounder here and it’s all been superb.  The sides offered are many, for instance, yellow squash, carrots, black beans, fries and much more. The sides I usually order at yellow squash and carrots – delicious!

Hull’s prices are in the medium range.  There are booths and tables available here as well.

Both restaurants offer the local or traveling low carb lover much to choose from, so the next time you find yourself vacationing in or near Central Florida, visit Hull’s or Blackbeard’s.

 

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Low Carb Snack Favorites

by LeslieW on July 31, 2011

Keeping my blood sugar level in between meals has always been a challenge for me and my favorite food to turn to has always been a starch, i.e., sauteed potatoes, french fries, rice, etc.  So, as I began my low carb journey, I had to come up with some “snack solutions” to take their place.

Here are a few that I whip up quickly:

Organic leaf lettuce wrap filled with a 1 oz. to 1.5 oz. piece of roasted chicken or tuna and mayo.

Celery filled with tuna salad (1-2 stalks)

Carrot sticks and cottage cheese (1 carrot with 1/2 c. cottage cheese)

Nuts and nutcrackerCreative Commons License photo credit: Brandon Grasley

Slivered or whole raw almonds which I roast in the oven at 450 degrees F. (until light to medium brown in color).  I simply buy a bag of whole raw almonds in the supermarket, place on a cookie sheet (ungreased) and brown.  Delicious!  After the almonds have cooled, simply place in a zip lock bag.  A handful (10-15) is the amount I eat as a snack.

Cottage cheese (1/2 c.)

String cheese (2) with a 2-3 tomato slices

I purposely stay away from too much natural sugar, so it’s important that I mix it up a bit between snacks incorporating  a combination of greens and protein.

It’s all working very well so far, as long as I keep my menus varied.

Let me know what works for you!

 

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Low Carb Travel Ideas

July 13, 2011

I love going home to Paterson, New Jersey to sample some of the foods I loved as a child. Traveling while on a low carb diet can, indeed, be a challenge.  Planning ahead for me was certainly the solution for this trip. Having just returned from a trip to Paterson, I have to say that [...]

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