At the weekend whilst in town with the kiddos, I had a craving.
Of the worst kind.
Burger King.

And since I knew the family would go for it, I suggested we went there for lunch.
Whopper, fries and diet Coke.
What was I thinking?

Sure, I could have gotten a salad or skipped the fries or NOT GONE IN THERE!
But no, I had it all.

And before you mock my choice of diet Coke alongside my crappy burger and fries, that was not a health-conscious decision. Honestly, I cannot stand full-fat Coke. It makes my teeth feel icky. Eww.

And the worst part of it was – I did not even enjoy it.
Nope.
Not one mouthful.

I was expecting to sit down and salivate over a big juicy burger.
It just wasn’t happenin’.
The burger was luke warm.
The lettuce was limp with hard chunks from the core, the tomatoes squishy and over-ripe.
The fries were cold.
I felt disappointed. And weighed down.

Oh, and if you are a fellow Slimming World’er, then let me tell you the damage.
Brace yourselves…
Burger King Whopper (no cheese) = 32.5 syns
King fries (regular) = 11.5 syns
Holy fat suit, Batman!

But, this is good.
I got this stupid craving out of my system, and I won’t be doing that again.
Today is a new day. A clean slate.
I am BACK ON IT!

Have you done this? Have you ever had an insane craving for something crap… and you think it will be totally awesome… and it’s totally not? That sucks.

~ Natalie

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Did I mention it was my birthday at the weekend?

Just a few times, huh

Well, since no birthday is complete without a little celebration, the family and I headed down to Jenkins & Sons in Penn Hill for a celebratory Saturday afternoon lunch.

Look what was waiting for me on the table when we arrived… I love this personal touch! 

I was so indecisive when it came to choosing from their menu. Yep, I’m ‘one of those’ who short-list 10 dishes I can’t decide between. I’m sorry – it all sounded SO good.

You can check out their menu here

I was dying to try out the Josper grilled sirloin, but I don’t normally eat a large meal at lunchtime and I just knew I’d never finish it. So, I went for their ‘house’ burger instead and decided I’d just have to make a trip back one evening

I always think you can get a really good feel for a restaurant by how great their homemade house burgers are. Don’t you? Ya know, simple dishes made well with great ingredients.

It did not disappoint…

A proper burger cooked in their charcoal Josper oven and with a real chunky meaty texture that you could tell instantly was handmade.

Nestled underneath and spread generously on the toasted bun was a thick spread of house relish… kinda like sweet onion, I think? It was good. They should totally bottle that up and sell it. And yes, I ditched the pickle. Sorry! (Hubby wolfed it down though, he loves those. Crazy guy).

And those chips! *Swoon*

The kiddos heard me order and decided they both wanted burgers too.

Like mine, theirs too were freshly made (and perfectly sized for little tummies). Their menu came with a side choice of corn on the cob, chunky chips, mixed dressed salad or mash potato. As always, Thomas went straight for the chips, and Lauren for the corn.

(Side note: If the menu ever gets a revamp, I would love to see the kiddos options read as a choice of potato plus a choice of salad/veg. Gotta sneak them veggies in wherever you can!)

Excuse the owl. He came home from school for the weekend and we had to document his ‘adventures!’

For dessert, I asked Mark our server what he would recommend?

Without hesitation he jumped right in with the citrus tart and raspberry sorbet. (I’m guessing he may have enjoyed this a few times, too

With a creme brûlée-style sugary crust and the most delicate butterfly tuile, it was ah-mazing.

Now I normally go for something chocolatey after dinner, but this was PERFECT. It was light, refreshing, tangy and sweet. Oh, and that sorbet!

Just as we were finishing up, the table next to us had their order arrive. From what I could tell, they had the triple decker Jenkins club sandwich and the classic BLT. Oh. My. Word! They were HUGE! And they had the most lovely looking gaufrette potatoes on the side. (Fancy lattice-style homemade crisps to you and me).

You know those times when you really want them to lean over and say, “Hey, you wanna try one…?”

Yes, that. And sadly, they didn’t.

I’m not usually a big sandwich fan, and I really did love my burger, but I would order that sandwich in a heartbeat next time I visit for lunch…

Jenkins & Sons

A former 1920’s butchers and fishmongers, Jenkins and Sons is a wonderful place to eat. It has so much character – a real blend of modern-meets-traditional -that you just don’t get from ‘chain’ eateries.

I love that they retained (and emphasised) so many original features like the lovely huge sash window (the former butcher’s store front) and the old fashioned tiles out the front. Aren’t they gorgeous!

If you’re in the Poole area and looking for somewhere great to eat, you should totally check them out.

Who: Jenkins and Sons (website)
Where: 7 – 8 Bankes Chambers, Penn Hill, Poole, BH14 9NB
When: 9am – 11pm every day

Oh, and the homemade elderflower lemonade is gorgeous!

Pop along. You won’t be disappointed.

xoxo Natalie

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I love Saturday afternoons. After a busy morning running the kiddos around to their various activities, it’s a chance to kick back and enjoy some family time – and this weekend was no exception. I’d seen a few days earlier in my newsfeed that it was the Bournemouth Food Festival and I knew right away I wanted to go along.

We parked at the top of town and as we walked down the smell hit us.
Bam! Time to kick this willpower up a gear

OMG, with everything from roasted pork (can you SEE that crackling?!) to the most incredible fresh seafood paella’s and more…

One guy had the most lovely little herb stall. I had no idea there were so many different types of basil alone. And so fragrant.

I really wanted to stop and ask him some questions and maybe pick some herbs, but he was so busy serving other customers. Shame.

If the smells didn’t get you, then the sights most definitely would.
It was a total assault on the senses.
Like these pretty little French biscuits. I mean, how could anyone chose?
You’d have to get one of each, right?
Or do what I did.
Keep. On. Walking.

Nope. Still not going to be swayed!

In the centre was a demonstration area and I was thrilled to see Andy Chu up the front.

Andy runs Wah Hing’s – Dorset’s largest wholesaler and retailer of oriental foods. I LOVE that store. Every time we have ever visited, Andy has always made himself available to talk, give advice and share insider secrets to creating authentic Chinese cuisine – and, as I always ask – tips on how to make it taste like the takeaway (I like it, okay!)

One food that I’ve often seen online (Hello, Pinterest!) but never tried, is churros.

Warm, doughnut like strips of fried batter, sprinkled with sugar. And in this case, a side of chocolate dipping sauce.

We got some for the kids to try and of course, I had to check them out. Make sure they were okay and all. They were.

I only had one – and yes, they were great, but I’m not sure all that fat, sugar and cream would do me any favours.

Oh, and nothing says, “Mexico!” like a London red bus, eh?

We also discovered one of our favourite local shops was at the food festival – The Dorset Smokery.

It was too busy where they were to get any decent photos, but we did enjoy some of their tasters and bought a packet of their own wild boar sausages. I can’t wait to cook them up! I wish now I’d bought a jar of their homemade BBQ sauce – it was amazing. But the jar was huge and I’m the only one who would eat it, so I declined.

We had a great day out AND my willpower held strong.

Did you go to the Bournemouth Food Festival this year?

What did you enjoy?

~ Natalie

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It was half-term last week and I finally got to meet up with my dear friend Catherine for a girly night out. That’s not such an easy feat when you’re both work-at-home mum’s with a crazy busy schedule, living nearly an hour apart and have 6 kids between you to escape take care of.  But we did it! We met up for dinner on Wednesday night and we had such a great time.

When we arrived at TGI Friday’s, we were told there was a 20 minute wait for a table so we headed to the bar. Clearly, I don’t get out enough as I can’t even remember the last time we had to jostle to get the barman’s attention. Anyway, we grabbed our drinks and found a seat. We’d barely been sat down 5 minutes when our pager buzzed to say our table was ready.

We had most definitely left it too long for our catch-up because the poor waitress must have come over 5 times to take our order – we hadn’t even looked yet! But she was very sweet and we just said we would flag her down when we were ready.

The menu looked great, but healthy choices were limited. I kinda resent paying £10 / £12 for a salad, so I said ‘ to heck with it!’ and ordered a burger. I’ve been good all week so it all balances out. I chose the Friday’s Double-Glazed Jack Daniels. I tried to make some healthy concessions, and switched my regular fries to sweet potato fries. I doubt there’s much benefit, but it’s a healthier option. And omg, they taste so good.

I also noticed a spicy Asian slaw in the extra’s section, and I had some notion of it being uber healthy and bursting with bean sprouts or something. It wasn’t. It was in a sauce, which I wasn’t expecting (maybe I didn’t read that part?!), and it was just ‘meh’. It was okay, but I wouldn’t order it again.

Anyways, I left half of the ciabatta bun and only ate the lean part of bacon. That’s gotta count for something, right?

Catherine ordered the French Dip burger. She said it was great!

Caramelized onions, swiss cheese, garlic mayo and a rich beef sauce to pour over (or dip in!)

We were both driving so for drinks we stuck with Diet Coke. The waitress was great and kept arranging re-fills, but ugh, I’ve never drank so much diet coke in one day. I had the most painful hiccups ever! I felt like a helium balloon ready to burst.

Nowadays, I rarely ever have a dessert – although, there is something about eating out and wanting just a little something after your meal.

I was hoping to discover a light, or healthy option – but I couldn’t see anything. Instead, we opted to share a Rocky Road sundae.

The restaurant looks empty here… and it was. We spent the entire night laughing and giggling away that almost everyone had left by now.

You know those nights where you could carry on chatting and laughing for hours and hours. And we would have done had the restaurant not been closing

~ Natalie

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Today, the kiddos, Hubby and I spent the day together running around town in search of supplies for something exciting we have coming up shortly :). Despite the typical wet Bank Holiday weekend weather, it was great to spend this time as a family and the kids were on their best behaviour. Although, it wasn’t long before the ‘we’re hungry…’ cries were heard. Seriously, you’d think I never feed them.

As a treat, we agreed to take them to Pizza Hut for lunch – all the while I was secretly panicking inside about what *I* would find to eat and whether my willpower would hold out.

Now, I have no issues over treat meals. I’m all for them! But, I have this crazy little conversation in my head with myself (hold fire on the straight jackets!) about whether I truly want [whatever it is]. I work so bloody hard at keeping on track, I would be so disappointed if I was to unravel it all for the sake of a moment of weakness. But I needn’t of worried. OMG, who knew that Pizza Hut had a new low-calorie pizza section?!?!

I ordered the Chicken Delight 500 calorie pizza. It was by far the best healthy-option pizza I have EVER eaten. It was cooked to perfection…

It was like a really, really thin pizza base. Almost tortilla wrap thin. Topped with chicken, red onions, mushrooms and cheese.

The chicken was really moist and tender and not at all dry like often happens. The mushrooms were lightly cooked and the red onion still had some tang. It was good! Admittedly, it wasn’t like an entire pan of pizza, more like a big triangle slice, but hey – it was lunchtime. I’d never normally eat this much midday and most likely I’d survive until my next meal

It was served with a small side of rocket and sliced cherry tomatoes which was nice, as the salad bar only had regular lettuce. I like the pepperiness of rocket. But I still managed an entire bowl from the salad bar, plus a re-fill. I stuck with diet coke, too. (Don’t you just love when they do free refills).

And since this was a healthier option, I didn’t feel guilty when I ‘tested’ some of the kiddos ice-cream factory. Hey, I’m a good mum, okay – just checkin’ it was all okay for them!

~ Natalie

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