What a day! What a day!
After taking two hours out of my morning to pick up the awesome Chevy Traverse, I was pretty swamped the rest of the afternoon at work. 100% worth it. 
I had to stay later than usual in the office to make up the time. Good thing I was well prepared with snacks to keep my grumbling tummy at bay until I was able to get home.
I had the mini peanut butter larabar at 3:30 and the fruit leather an hour later.
In order to keep my Echo from becoming too jealous of the Traverse, I decided to loan my car to my Dad for the next four weeks. My Dad drives a gas guzzling Expedition and I knew he would appreciate my 40 miles to the gallon Echo.
Him and my brother made the trip to Orlando this evening to pick up the Echo and grab a bite to eat. We headed to my Dad’s favorite Cuban restaurant – Habana Grill – where there just happened to be a $9.95 “buenos on a budget’ deal going on.
I order the Sancocho which was a Puerto-Rican Stew made with root vegetables, plantains, corn, carrots, and meat.
The meal started with warm cuban bread.
I love Habana Grill and have had some amazing meals here, but the stew wasn’t that great.
The soup was kind of bland – I should have added some hot sauce or something. I ended up eating all the vegetables and leaving the meat behind.
The soup was served with white rice and tostones.
I only had a little of the rice and traded one of the tostones for a sweet plantain that came on my Dad’s plate.
Isn’t my brother a cutie?
I had bites of both my dad’s and brother’s meals and instantly wished I had ordered either of theirs. Oh well. You live, you learn, then you return and order something better the next time.
When I got back home I had the last of he macaroons Brittany had sent me and a Godiva chocolate from my Valentine’s stash.
I’m having blood work done in the morning which means I need to fast until the blood is taken at 7:30am. ‘Fasting’ is not a fun word in my head. I will just have to pack an extra yummy breakfast to enjoy as soon as they are done. 
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Lurve your REAL food snax!! Aww I wanna go out to din din with my bro ‘n’ pop now!
Bummer about the Cuban food! I’ve found that when its good, its GREAT, and when it’s not its what you experienced. Tostones are among my favorite foods though… Good luck with the fasting bloods!
I hate fasting; at least it sounds wicked early in the morning
Have fun with the Chevy! Kinda disappointed the soup was bland…it looks so good!
Your dinner is making me so hungry and I just finished lunch!! So much good food!
I hate fasting blood tests. I like to drink coffee when I wake up and I have to wait until after
Last time I had a fasting blood test they told me I could have coffee as long as it was black.
Courtney
adventures in tri-ing
I know why your soup was bland… because it’s DOMINICAN not puerto rican (sorry but ppl confuse us, it makes me sad)… and the original, DR version has yucca, plantains, and a ton of veggies that are hard to come by in the states… The key is to get the right blend of Dominican things, it’s one of those “your Dominican grandma has to teach you how to make this” kind of dishes…
Hope you get to actually try the real deal one day!
1st: LOVE the chevy traverse and I want it as my ‘mom’ car when I’m older, haha.
2nd: props to you for bringing lunch to work every day, it’s not an easy task. when I move from the restaurant to a “real” job, it’ll definitely be an adjustment.
3rd: where do you buy cacao nibs? they look delish!
Your brother IS a cutie!!!
That’s too bad about dinner.. I hate it when that happens :/ But you are right, you live, you learn. Now you know.
Fasting – YUCK!
Your brother is so cute! I’m sorry, but I had to get that out.
I had to get bloodwork done about a year ago. After you get it done, I suggest you sit down for a few minutes and eat something. I felt really weak afterwards… but that also might have been because I had to walk 30 minutes to get back home! I hope the results are in your favour.
Sorry the soup was blah. I get so frustrated when I order the wrong thing at the restaurant. I often feel like I’m not the best orderer. It’s a good skill to have…
Hope you’re enjoying the car!
I’ve gotta make macaroons!!! I’ve seen them on so many blogs and I’m dying for some!!!
-emily http://www.emilyeatsclean.wordpress.com
Aww how sweet of you to lend your Dad your car.
Fasting always makes me more hungry just because I know I can’t eat. Plan a really yummy breakfast to feed your hunger after the test.
Your brother is very cute!
That stinks about fasting. Just plan whatever you are going to eat immediately after, and think about the results you’ll receive.
Ugh, blood work is the worst! I have super low blood pressure and weird veins (my dad the anesthesiologist has even told me I have hard to find veins!) so it’s bad enough without the fasting. Hope yours is quick and painless tomorrow. The macaroons look really yummy
Oh gosh, having to fast sounds like the worst thing ever..my mum had to go 12hrs without eating before some surgery once (held in the afternoon!) – I felt SO sorry for her
YES your brother is cute!! Is he single!??
I love Cuban food!
I’ve only ever had Colombian Sancocho! That was delicious!
Ahh bloodwork! no fun!
Your brother looks just like you! Sorry to hear about the unfortunate soup
Haha, you have an echo? Me too! Mine’s a black 2000 named Ollie.
That’s hilarious, I always wanted an Echo because I rode in one once and it was great, but I never did.
I hope everything goes well with the bloodwork, I always get frustrated when they tell me I can’t eat 12 hours beforehand but it just makes me enjoy breakfast that much more when I do get to finally eat
I hate getting blood work done, I have really low blood pressure so it always takes foorrrreeevvveeerrrrr. Enjoy your bfast after though, I’m sure it will be delish.
ug I hate fasting for medical stuff, so not fun. GL!
What a great dinner deal!!
Hope all goes well at the doctor’s office this morning, AND that you have an amazing breakfast planned
Fasting is the worst word ever! I always try to get the earliest appt possible and then bring food with me
I hate when somebody orders something that’s better than what I got haha
I *swoon* for Cuban! Yucca fries…mmmmm. I think I need to get myself to my favorite Cuban place- STAT! I suffer from can’tdecidewhatiwanttoeatandalwayswantsomethingelse-itis (yes, it’s a real affliction!), so I can’t even count how many times i’ve wanted to snatch the plate out from a dining companion. Sorry the soup was so blah!
I have to say that I am always impressed by your preparedness re: snacks, etc. I’m trying to get to that point, but I still have a ways to go!
I’m so sorry you got a bum bowl of sancocho! It’s one of my favorite soups, but if can definitely be bland if it’s not made right. My grandma makes a KILLER sancocho, so I’m definitely with Rebeca–it’s definitely a “grandma-taught” dish (I’ve never made it–it’ll never be as good as hers, so why try?)
I love how close you are to your family, it reminds me of mine! Sorry to hear that your meal was less than amazing, but the idea of cuban food sounds so good to me right now!
I hate when you dont get what you are expecting
hopefully next time youll find something that hits the spot 
xo-Molly
http://www.givinganythingbutup.wordpress.com
That’s so nice of you to loan your dad your Echo! Sounds like it was a fun dinner, but sorry your meal wasn’t so stellar. Have a great day – good luck with the blood work!
Yuck to fasting – hope the blood work goes ok. The one light at the end of the tunnel is how good food tastes after a fast
I do a raw juice fast occasionally and I cannot tell you how yummy solid food is after. Be careful to eat easily digestible foods first though like fruit or non-starchy veggies since your digestive system will have been resting!
My favorite cereal in Honey Nut Cheerios! Which I would definitely use those coupons to purchase:)
My favorite cereal is peanut butter puffins… yummm!
And I agree, no breakfast is no fun!!
ugh, fasting sucks. I usually end up on a binge right after.
Fasting is the worst… I hate to say it but I cheat… I normally have SOMETHING
My new fave is Kashi GoLean Crisp — delish!
My favorite cereal is all the Kashi cereals! Mmm! I really love Kashi Lean Crunch!! I also love cheerios!! =)
Actually, the FiberOne Original is my favorite!
I usually mix it in with greek yogurt and fruit!
Your Brother IS HOTTT!!!
My fave is FiberOne honey clusters… so those coupons would come in handy!
yum.. i have definitely become more of a cereal eater after i learned of milk other than skim.. blech.. my favorite would be special k vanilla almond or kashi go lean crunch..
You know, my dad worked in Cuba for so many years and yet I’ve never had Cuban food! I should see if we have any good Cuban restaurants in the city – your meals all look delicious!
K