Local Restaurant Promotions

I know being a college student we all our tight on money, so I decided to write down a list of some local promotions that we have here in Topeka for some of our restaurants.

Henry T’s

Some of my favorite deals they have are half price burgers on Mondays and Wednesdays. You can go in with a friend and have a cheap dinner. Tuesdays and Thursdays they have half price appetizers after 8 p.m. I tend to take advantage of this deal; my friend and I get the nachos which are huge and cheap.

Buffalo Wild Wings

The deal that I am familiar with is the 50 cent boneless wings on Thursday nights. I usually get 8 teriyaki boneless wings. There really cheap, great for a night out watching a game.

Carino’s Italian Restaurant

Feed a family of four for the price of a regular entrée. I haven’t used this promotion, but I know that it is very popular for families. They have 99 cent Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Shock Top draft beers. They also have $2.99 mini appetizers from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Chili’s

I love Chili’s and I love going with my boyfriend. We always get the 2 for $20. You get 2 drinks, 2 entrees, and an appetizer. I think it is such a good deal for a couple.

I know I am forgetting tons of promotions for Topeka restaurants. I know there are tons of restaurants that also give student discounts. Go out and take advantage of those promotions.

Easier way to becoming a vegetarian

One of my co-workers and I were talking and she told me she was a vegan. I told her that at some point in my life I wanted to try to become a vegetarian, but I didn’t know where to start because it would be really hard for me. She gave me some useful tips that could get me started on the path of a vegetarian.

She told me to start with going on a Mediterranean Diet. It consists of not eating any red meat. She told me that red meat is said to be bad for your body and that is all the meat that is processed. I eat mostly chicken, so I figure if I start doing this it won't be as hard as it would seem. Next, she told me to move to a vegetarian to cut out all meats including chicken. She said that being a vegetarian is not as hard as it seems. If you like vegetables and fruits, then it can be a healthier start for your body.

She actually is a vegan, and I don't believe I could ever be a vegan. After she was a vegetarian, she went to become a vegan. She said she loves being a vegan. I asked her if she notices a change in her body, and how does it feel? She said that she has so much more energy now, and she feels healthier. I hope someday to become a vegetarian even if I just try it. I know when I eat unhealthy food, like fast food it is not good for my body.

So if you want to become a vegetarian start off slow and work your way up. I am going to try within the year to cut out all red meat. Wish me good luck!

20 Fun Facts about Fast Food

I was doing some research and I found some interesting facts that were put together for some fast food.


20. Every month, 9 out of 10 American children visit a McDonald's restaurant
19. In 2006, Americans spent nearly $142 billion on fast food
18. French Fries are the Most Popular fast food in America
17. Rise of fast food Consumerism links to rise in Obesity
16. Double Whopper w/ Cheese has over 920 calories
15. Drive-thrus led to Installation of Cup Holders in Vehicles
14. There are 300,000 fast food restaurants in the United States
13. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products are sold in all but one country
12. Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger is One of the Most Unhealthiest Burgers in the Country
11. McDonald's Corn Muffin has more Calories than a Glazed Doughnut
10. Link Between Fast Food Ingredients and Various Cancers
9. McDonald's is the largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes and the second largest purchaser of chicken in the world.
8. 96% of all Americans have visited McDonald's at least once
7. Nutritionists recommend not eating at a fast food restaurant more than once a month.
6. Burger King is the 2nd Largest Fast Food Chain in the Country
5. Wendy's Influenced the Creation of the 1st Drive-thru window
4. Children see more than 10,000 food advertisements on Television.
3. The 1st McDonald's restaurant was created in 1948.
2. The 1st paper Chicken Bucket was sold in 1952.
1. Americans consume over 216 liters per person of soft drinks annually.

I believe that I consume gallons of soft drinks. I get a large Diet Dr. Pepper every morning at Sonic.  They make it so easy though, 99 cents is too good of a deal.

Carino's Italian Dinner Slideshow

As you can see on the right side of my blog there is a slideshow of my night at Carino’s Italian Restaurant where I pigged out and I ate an appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert, and of course don’t forget the bread.

 The appetizer was Baked Stuffed Mushrooms. These are like heaven on a plate. They are mushrooms stuffed with a filling, baked, and then topped with a garlic butter sauce. Oh my, these are my favorite.

The bread is topped with butter and then salted with garlic salt; the dipping sauce is seasoned oil and garlic. I like to put balsamic vinegar in the seasoned oil to give it a zestier taste.

The salad is a Caesar salad with tomatoes on it. For some reason I never have enjoyed Caesar salad that much, but the Caesar salad at Carino’s is amazing.

The entrée I got was Lemon Rosemary Chicken. It is a healthier dish with chicken marinated in vinaigrette and grilled. The entrée also had angel hair pasta mixed with spinach and tomatoes, and mixed veggies which consist of broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini.

The dessert was the Bread Pudding. I have never had Bread Pudding, so this was a whole new menu I was trying. It was like a Bundt cake with a creamy filling baked with melted ice cream on top, and cocoa powder scattered all on top.

This meal was delicious, and I had tons of left overs. Check out the pictures on the left in the slideshow.

Fast Food Nutritional Facts

Every day I eat at a fast food restaurant, whether it is for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I wanted to share will you guys a little about fast food nutritional facts for McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s items. I looked at the fries nutritional facts being compared…

French Fries (Large) Compared

Restaurant: McDonald's
Type: Regular
Serving Size: 170g
Calories: 570g
Total Fat: 30g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Trans Fat: 8g
 Carbs: 70g
 Sodium: 330mg

Restaurant: Burger King
Type: Regular
 Serving Size: 160g
Calories: 500g
Total Fat: 28g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Trans Fat: 6g
Carbs: 57g
 Sodium: 820mg

 Restaurant: Wendy's
Type: Regualar
Serving Size: Unknown
 Calories: 540g
Total Fat: 26g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 1g
Carbs: 69g
 Sodium: 550mg

And then I wanted to see the Hamburger comparison….

 Hamburgers

 Restaurant: McDonald's
Type: Regular
 Serving Size: 100g
Calories: 250g
Total Fat: 9g
Sat. Fat: 3.5g
Trans Fat: 0.5g
Carbs: 31g
Sodium: 520mg

 Restaurant: Burger King
 Type: Regular
Serving Size: 121g
 Calories: 290g
Total Fat: 12g
Sat. Fat: 4.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbs: 30g
 Sodium: 560mg

 Restaurant: Wendy's
Type: Jr. Hamburger
Serving Size: Unknown
Calories: 230g
Total Fat: 8g
Sat. Fat: 3g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbs: 26g
Sodium: 500mg

I think my reaction to these nutritional facts was that the fries were really high in calories, especially in McDonald's fries. The fast food is just too good though.

Freddy's Ice Cream

Have you ever tried Freddy’s Ice Cream? If not, you are surely missing out. I ate Freddy’s on my lunch break one day and had some mint chocolate chip ice cream. I have never been an ice cream fan. Sometimes I can eat 2 spoonfuls of ice cream and become full. Freddy’s ice cream is a whole new ball park for my craving of ice cream. When I first saw the ice cream coming out of the machine it was so thick. When I do eat ice cream, it has to be thick. If it is creamy or runny, I do not like it at all! I was pumped to try this thick ice cream I saw coming out. So I ordered the delicious mint chocolate chip ice cream with whipped topping on top. I ate every last bit in the cup and wanted more. I have been back almost three times since this visit. I like places that serve other food besides just ice cream. I know this sounds crazy, but I am not a fan of Coldstone and Baskin Robbins. I know, I know. Don’t kill me. Freddy’s just began the start for my long lasting craving of ice cream.

I HOP

Hi everyone,

I was going to write this review a little later when I didn't remember what kind of experience I had at I HOP, but I decided to just let everyone know. I hate I HOP with a friend last night. It took the waitress almost 15 minutes just to get 2 waters out to us. It wasn't even that busy!! Once we got our waters, we sat for a little bit until she came back to take our order. All the sudden I look down and there was something black floating in the bottom of my drink! Yuck! My friend looked at his class and the side of it was dirty with food on it. I asked the waitress for a new class of water.

When we gave our order, it took about 20 minutes just to get pancakes out to us. We did not have any syrup on the table, and when we asked her it took her a while to even get us the syrup. My friend ended up going to another table to grab the syrup container.

My stomach was already upset from the black piece floating in the bottom of my cup, that I did not seem to have much of an appetite.

I did not like the experience I had, and I most likely will not be back soon. I will want to make sure it is better than this last time I came to eat.

I just love chocolate chip pancakes!!!

Keep Remembering the Important Food Groups!

I thought I would let everyone have a slideshow presentation on the food pyramid. I believe that people these days are so busy, and tired that they just run to a fast food restaurant, or a dine in restaurant(like me). But do people really know the cost on the losing vitamins and minerals in your body? There are some important facts in this presentation of the food pyramid, that no matter what the age is, it should be reminded what foods you need to eat!

The Food Pyramid

View more PowerPoint from Deepika Rajgopal

Subway

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Subway!!

So it has been extremely hard to eat at many places recently. I gave up fast food for lent (which included mcdonalds, burger king, etc.)

I have been eating subway a lot and plan to eat it more and more. I get a footlong cold cut combo. The cold cut combo has a few deli style meats. I ask for american cheese, and NOT to toast it. I do not like my sandwiches to be toasted.

On the sandwich, I put cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, pickle, mayo, spicy mustard, green peppers, and oil and vinegar. It is very good! I cannot have food to be dry. I have to have it very juicy!

I get the broccoli and cheese soup, and baked plain chips along with it. Along with my addiction of diet soda.

Subway is really close to the zoo which helps me out a lot when I am in a rush to get food on my lunch break!

Definately chose subway over mcdonalds!

The Pad Restaurant

Hello All,

I know I haven't been keeping you updated as much as I should have on some restaurants that I have been trying out, but I have been keeping a notebook of all the places I have been eating recently.

One of my favorite restaurants that I like to go for lunch is The Pad. It is located in North Topeka, about a mile past the Topeka Blvd. bridge. When you first look at the sign, it has a rocket ship for the outside sign. It looks very cool!

I personally have never had a problem with this restaurant. I went to eat The Pad the 21st of Februaury. I was starving, and was already thinking what I wanted. I ordered a one time salad (from the salad bar), and the special which was barbeque brisket and scalloped potatoes. Yummy!

I got a plate to make my own salad, which I loaded it up with lettuce. I am pretty sure if we some how ran out of salad on this earth, my life would be over! I put shredded cheese, peas, carrots, croutons, eggs, and then I drowned it in ranch dressing. I think they have the best ranch dressing there! I eat this salad bar more than once, and sometimes twice in a week. It is very healthy for you! (Except for the ranch dressing flooding the lettuce)

The specials always vary, but the brisket special is always a top choice for me. They toast the bread, which is very good to get the crunchy buttered taste. The brisket meat is already chopped up, and soaked in a very sweet barbeque sauce. I ate the whole sandwich very fast! The scalloped potatoes were also included in the meal, which also tasted yummy. It wasn't too strong with the flavorings, it was just right.

This restaurant has very nice people that work in there. They have people to take the orders, others to make the food, and then to call it out when its ready. It is very well organized, and seems to do an amazing job with the customers.

I would highly recommend choosing this restaurant!

Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Leslie Lyda. I am going to be posting on this blog about places I will be eating. I will go to restaurants or fast food restaurants and eat. I will be looking at the service, and how I liked the food! With my schedule this won't be hard to accomplish, I am always eating somewhere at least once a week!

I created this topic because I LOVE food. For my jobs I work around food all the time. I love coming up with new recipes, and ideas for fun ways to present food. Someday I hope to open my own restaurant. I will try to make this blog as mouthwatering as possible!