Frog Eggs {Chi Seeds}

Chia seeds are pretty popular in drinks in India. I always avoided them because I'd think of them as frog or fish eggs growing up. I imagine the texture to be slimy and thick as it goes down my throat. Eek! I don't even know how they taste. A few people I am subscribed to on YouTube have recently begun drinking chia drinks. I googled chia seeds a few minutes ago to find out that these are the same "fish eggs" my mom has been trying to get us to drink for years.


The photo on the left are the dry seeds. On the right is what they become after soaking in water. They seem to grow or develop a gelatinous membrane around them.

I think it's funny when healthy things become "trendy" when in many cultures, people have been doing the same things for centuries. Although I haven't taken advantage of chia seeds in the past, I did some research and don't mind giving it a try. However, I won't be running out to whole foods to buy the expensive drinks or seeds. They can be easily found at your local Indian/Pakistani store for cheaper.  The Mamma Chia drinks on the left are pretty popular, I guess. Because that's what first came up when I googles "chia seeds". They're pretty pricey per bottle, too.



My mom has been trying to get us to try them for more than two decades. Now that I see people on YouTube getting into it, so will I. Lame, right? I can see my mom rolling her eyes already haha. I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon, but I only became interested after finding out that this is what I've seen growing up. And I didn't realize it had so many health benefits. So I will give it a shot. :)

I'm going to list some health benefits of Chia seeds I found on a website. Click here to read the details.

1. Lose weight without starving
2. Balance blood sugar levels
3. Prevent diverticulosis/diverticulitis, especially in the elderly
4. great source of Omega-3
5. great source of anti-oxidants
6. use as substitutes on baking and cooking
7. control food cravings

And HERE are other ways to incorporate Chia seeds into your life. You can even use it as an egg substitute for baking! Apparently this works like Tofu - it's pretty tasteless and takes on the flavor and even enhances the flavor of whatever you put it in. 

Now, I'm not sure when or how I'll be using Chia seeds. But I thought it was interesting that things my Indian Culture has been using for centuries is only now becoming a trend. Same as Turmeric and other Indian spices and foods. 

If any of you have tried Chia Seeds, leave a comment below and let me know how you like it. Maybe that'll get some courage in me to try it. :)

Sushi and Crepes

Banana Bread

You will hate me because this is going to make you gain unnecessary weight and make you unhealthy, but happy. So maybe you won't hate me. I do not have a photo, because I forgot to take one and a few hours later, there wasn't much to take a picture of. It is that good. My mom gave me this recipe, I'm not sure where she got it from, but she's been making it since I was little. And she gets an A+ every time.

I have to hide my fresh Bananas in a brown bag in the pantry for about a week. Less, if I find some browning one's at the grocery store. Otherwise they finish before they can properly ripen for this bread. You want it to get to the point where the peel is mostly brown/black. but not too bad that it's ready to throw out. I'm not sure if that's safe, but definitely not appetizing. I wait until it's black on the outside, and the bananas still hold their shape but are soft. You don't want pretty, yellow bananas. As they ripen, they become sweeter and more delicious.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2-3 ripe bananas, sliced
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup olive oil, you can probably use any vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 375 F
2. grease a loaf pan
3. Mix together dry ingredients, except walnuts
4. in another bowl mix together wet ingredients, inclusing bananas. You can mix this until the bananas get mashed, with chunks in it. But don't go as far as to make a puree.
5. mix the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until it is JUST mixed. Do not over mix.
6. fold in walnuts.
7. Pour batter in loaf pan. if you aren't going to sit around and lick the bowl, scrape of every bit. I hate how they leave so much mix in the bowl on cooking shows.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or when toothpick comes out clean.

note: my oven cooked the top quickly but the inside was still mush. What I did was cover the bread in foil at this point, to prevent further browning and  possible burning. I lowered the temperature to 350 F and checked it every 10 minutes until the toothpick came out clean. If you like the center to be super soft, then you can take it out a little earlier. Next time I am going to try baking it at 350 F, since my oven seems to cook things in half the time, not allowing the inside to cook much.

Jiggly Puff

Muslims don't celebrate Christmas, but it's hard to avoid holiday parties and dinners. And the fact that many out there get a break from work to gather with friends and family usually means heavy, comfort food. It's hard walking by a bakery or the bakery section of the grocery store and not be tempted to buy the many cakes and goodies.

So what it comes down to it - wether you have a special holiday or occasion to celebrate or not, the end of the year is always a danger zone for feasting on unhealthy things and slacking on exercise. I need a motivational boost every now and then.

So I'm posting here, and letting you know it's not easy! But I'm still trying. If I can't run, I walk. I'll try to go for herbal tea instead of coffee with creamer and sugar or tea with evaporated milk and sugar. Something healthy is always better than nothing.

If you start your day with unhealthy food, don't let that discourage you and allow yourself a full fat day. One unhealthy thing won't kill you, but one day can turn into one week and so on. So if anyone out there reads this and is struggling, I just want to let you know you're not alone. I'm trying, too :)

Living out of a suitcase

I'm sitting in a hotel after a not so hot "hot" breakfast. The eggs contained bacon residue because I think  they cooked it on the same stove. Muslims can not eat pig or pig products, in case you were wondering. The potatoes were cold and hard, my plastic fork could not stab them. My toast popped out of the toaster and landed on some spilled juice on the counter. #firstworldproblems But at least I have food. So I will stop complaining...now. 

I have been doing a bit of traveling lately. While I do like going to various places, I have not had a chance to relax and do my own thing. I want to spend a quiet day or two at home. One thing I don't enjoy about traveling is living out of a suitcase. Packing light hasn't been one of my strong points. Unpacking after returning is an even bigger hurdle. 

Packing for a wedding is much worse! Fancy Indian clothes are not light. Then there's the jewelry, shoes and makeup. It is impossible to go for a weekend with a carry on bag. Indians have parties the days before and days after the actual wedding. So we have to pack clothes, shoes jewelry and makeup for all those events. It's ridiculous, if you ask me. But it's also fun and tiring. But if I could ever travel without going to an Indian event, count me in!

I haven't been going to any weddings or events lately. These trips are strictly for business. It's been pretty relaxed and care free. But there's no place like home. I want to spend a day curled up in bed with a good book and periodic naps in between. Like a cat, maybe with more reading than napping. But knowing me, only one of those days is enough! I start to feel unproductive and need to do something that makes me feel accomplished. I guess it's good that I chose the profession that I did. :)

Easy Italian Chicken with Greek Garbanzo Bean Salad

 

 


You cannot fail with this recipe. Cannot. Cannot. Even if you wanted to.

My husband wanted to start eating baked or grilled chicken for lunch, rather than eating something fried, oily and unhealthy from the cafeteria at his workplace. So I needed something with a lot of flavor,  that wasn't fattening and easy to eat. Something healthy and filling.

I found this Italian chicken recipe and it was like child's play. And delicious, too! I cooked it the night before and stuck it in a storage container in the fridge along with the marinade I cooked it in, so it could absorb more moisture while it sat in the fridge overnight. The result? Very juicy chicken, despite baking for an hour in the oven. I also spooned the marinade over the chicken halfway through baking time.

But a chicken breast was not enough. Instead of adding pasta or turning it into a sandwich I paired this with this Greek Garbanzo Bean Salad. I messed with the measurements a little but it turned out great. And since the flavors were similar, I sliced up the chicken and stuck all of it in one box.

If you decide to make this, enjoy!

ps - I apologize for the quality of the photos, I took them with my phone.

Giving and thanking

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, and I do hope everyone has a happy holiday. I'd like everyone out there, who is feasting or not, to remember that there are many without food, shelter or water. Remember that there are many without families, love and happiness. Remember that they don't know when their next meal will be.

So please don't waste the food. And if your budget will allow, please donate money to feed a child or family for a day, few days, whatever you can. I have been blessed with too much. I'd say I have been spoiled rotten. And I am not thankful enough for the clothes on my back & food in my stomach. Only now am I realizing that it is God who has given me this. But I also have a responsibility to make sure my neighbor doesn't go hungry. That I give a party of myself and time helping those in need.  And it's our job to remind each other of our many many blessings we have been gifted and to help those who are less fortunate.

mid-week pick me up

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are my blah days and I'm sure most of you can agree. Ironically, I do not mind Mondays. They encourage me to work herder. A new week, new beginnings, new chance to do good.  

But today is not Monday and the weather has been devoid of sun for the past week or two. I have turned into a fat hermit. Eating my feelings and all. I googled cupcakes this morning to get me started today and this is what I found! I love how neat some of these are, but I'm sure I wouldn't like to taste the fondant. I always try it and always end up not eating it. But it makes everything look clean and polished! Have a happy hump day and there's a new REAL blog post coming soon! haha :)

Fitspiration

Hi, Everyone! I'm in need of a little motivation. I gained weight over the last few months and seem to be going uphill on the scale.  I didn't check because I didn't want to find out, but my jeans definitely felt tighter. I started running almost everyday and started to feel good about myself. Eating healthier came automatically and I wasn't craving as much sugar as usual. Then I finally got the courage to weight myself and found that I was 3 pounds over my pre marriage weight. I wanted to lose about 8-9 pounds and still do.

For some reason I just stopped. Within a few days I noticed a dramatic change in my mood and how I felt about myself. I went from a pretty healthy diet to one filled with junk food. I feel depressed and lumpy. So I am going back on treadmill and hopefully will stick with this. I mean, I should since it made me feel so good. This time a huge reason is because of the positive impact healthy living had on every aspect of my life. 

I was running every morning for about 30-35 minutes and walking a few minutes to cool down. I am on a time constraint now so instead of adding time to my running schedule I'll add speed. 

Breakfast was usually a homemade fruit smoothie or cereal and chai. I drink the chai for the caffeine but I'm switching to coffee for two reasons. One being chai doesn't work for me anymore and I need something stronger. And I tend to add more calories to my chai than my coffee in terms of evaporated milk vs sugar.

Lunch I try to put off until about 3 pm, but I realized irregardless of how late my lunch is, I will end up eating a little dinner. So there's not point in eating so late for lunch and eating again before I give those calories a chance to properly digest. I eat a huge portion of veggies that I microwave and season myself. And add a serving of carbs. 1/2 cup of brown rice, seasoned. Or a slice of bread. Sometimes soup. I like to eat a LOT. For me, it's quantity over quality. A small heavy meal will not do it for me. I'd rather have a large meal the same calories so I stay full for a really long time. 

Dinner is usually a little Indian food, which is pretty oily. I try to not eat much around dinner time, but I usually have to eat something. 

I snack on baby carrots and try to drink a lot of water. I don't like drinking a lot and get a lot of kidney pain as a result, so I really need to and try to drink as much as I can when I remember. If I'm craving something sweet I grab some dark chocolate because that's the only thing that curbs the craving. But if there is cake in the house...I cannot resist. I still have to learn how to stay away from it. I should probably just not take the first bite. 

I am going to add a few minutes of abs, squats and arm exercises to tone up a little. Oh! This is important! Support groups, exercising buddies, etc help you keep on track, if you can't do it alone. A bunch of girls have a thread where we try to help each other stay on track and it helps for the most part. I feel bad eating something knowing other people out there are trying to be healthy and are relying on me for support. :) I also need to keep in mind that results aren't going to come in a day or two. Like the picture below says, it took time to gain the weight and will take time to lose it. At least my mental health will benefit quickly. 

Anyways, what are some ways you keep healthy? Please share your tips, we'd love to hear them :)

The Little Stuff

Here are some of my week's amazing things in my life. I don't know what I should call this segment. I'm not a creative cat so if anyone can think of anything aside from thankful thursday, let me know!

1. Evaporated milk. It makes my chai so yummy. It's not great for me, and I am trying to cut down on a lot of fatty things, but I don't deprive myself of three things: evaporated milk in my chai, dark chocolate and carbohydrates. Good tasting chai makes me feel all warm and happy. dark chocolate tastes good, but also a little goes a long way and curbs further cravings for sweets. And carbohydrates because, if I did deprive myself of them, I'd go crazy when given the chance to eat them.

2. My health. I know this is a general topic, but I was thinking about it today. Living in India for a few years, I've had my fair share of infectious diseases; but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. However, I don't get sick often and I am grateful for that. I'd rather have one unusual illness every few years than many small ones throughout the year. I was thinking how awesome it was that I don't get sick often and I finally caught a viral infection a few days later. I guess I jinxed myself, but it really is a blessing. I do have seasonal allergies, but it can all be prevented.

3. Today's special people {and everyday!} are my friends. The ones who I can talk to about anything without feeling judged. The ones who will give me honest advice. The ones where I can meet after months or even years and feel like nothing's changed. Those people are hard to find, so if you ever find one of these gems, don't take advantage of them.

Okay so I've been on a soup rage. Every weekend I make 3-4 quarts of hearty soup for the entire week. Its been absolutely amazing, very very filling, and perfect for the winter! Here's the recipe I use. The bulk of the work is in chopping everything.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash cut in 1/2 inch cubes  (or a Zucchini, or 2-3 yellow squash, or a mix of both!)
1 chicken breast (1/2 inch cubes)
1 red onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves diced
Spices: palmfuls of oregano, lemon pepper, paprika, and chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I add thyme, chives, and cajun)
1-2 carrot stick peeled and chopped
1-2 celery sticks chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup barely or bulgar washed
1 cup mixed beans washed (white beans, black eyed peas, kidney beans, chick peas, lima beans, pinto beans, etc) --> I just use prepackaged mixed beans bags
2 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
3-3.5 quarts water

Directions:

1- Boil water in a 4 quart pot with the bouillon cubes. Add all washed beans and barely and let it boil on med-high.
2- In a wok warm 3 tbsp oil and add onions. Once the onions are soft and pink, add garlic and chicken. Cook the chicken until opaque white and add all the spices. Next add all the chopped vegetables and tomato sauce. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until everything is a bit softened.
3- Transfer all the vegetables into the pot with water and keep on high. Add any extra salt or spices needed. (If you feel it tastes too tomato-ey then just add a bit of sugar or cinnamon)
4- Let it cook mostly covered for about an hour. If you have a pressure cooker you can cook in there for about 20 minutes.
5- Enjoy with toast or croutons!

You can play around with the recipe and add other vegetables like broccoli, potato, etc. Hope you enjoy it!

Peach Cobbler

This peach cobbler is super easy to make. I've made it twice with great reviews. I wish I could make it over and over until peaches go out of season! I don't believe in using frozen berries for anything other than smoothies and cold things. Eat it warm with vanilla ice cream. It's delicious and you'll love it. :)


My photo isn't that great, but I made two batches last time since we had a lot of people over. Photo credit, my SIL with her cell phone. 

Here's the link and the recipe is below. 

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

The only "downside" to this is that it requires self-rising flour. I did not have self-rising flour but followed a recipe to make some. I didn't see myself using the flour often enough to go buy a bag. But it turned out great either way. I am lazy so next time I think I'll just buy some self-rising flour. 

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. {from P.S. I Love You}

I was just thinking about how a little kindness can go a LONG way.

It is now my goal in life to smile when I make eye intact with someone. Or do something nice for a stranger if the opportunity arises. You never know how far that little gesture can go and turn a persons horrible day upside down.

It also might make people more aware of the fact that a little random act of kindness can go a long way. Maybe they'll pay if forward.  And maybe it'll spread and maybe eventually people won't hate on each other for no reason and the world will be good again. Was it ever good?

Anyways, because the world is ugly and selfish, I decided to try and do random good things. And to count my blessings and the beauty around me. If I post it here maybe it'll make me more aware of the good stuff in my life and stop my complaining.

Today's good things:

1. Grape leaves. Someone made them. I don't know who. People either hate them or love them. I love.

2. Tests. They make me smarter.

3. I don't like surprises when I know one's coming, but they're fun.

4. Annnnd this. WTHeck??

Sharing a meal: when faith and culture unite

Yesterday my mom cooked iftar, the meal during the time of breaking fast, for my husband's family and neighbors. In the Bangladeshi culture, parents prepare a large iftar meal for their married daughters, sisters, and sometimes aunts (female married off relatives) as a sign of upholding relations.

The meal consists of some basics: chicken or meat biryani (rice with spiced meat) kisoori (lentil and rice soup with herbs) chana (black peas with potatoes and ginger) and fyazi (fried lentil kabobs with mixed spices), dates, and sweets.

Additional items can also be given: aloo chop (potatoe kabobs) meat or chicken kabobs, fried spiced and seasoned eggplant, and other finger foods that are easy to distribute. Some people make it fancy as well. This year my mom added chicken nuggets for the kids.

source: xanthis.wordress.com

The food is then brought to my house and distributed by my mother-in-law, who will give it to family members, family friends, and neighbors. 

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said, “Whoever gives Iftar to one who is fasting will have a reward like his, without that detracting from the fasting person’s reward in the slightest.”
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi).

Special packaged ready-to-distribute foods are given during other times of the year as well. For example, if I went to stay over my parents' house for a few days, I'd be expected to take something back to my home to pass out to my family and my husband's family.

I love when Islam and culture unite. Share food and share faith.  

I don't like bacon anymore.

Muslims, like Jewish people, aren't allowed to eat pig or pig products in any form.

I happened to be obsessed with it. When I accidentally ate baked beans with bacon bits in it, I attributed the good taste to the bacon bits. Some Muslims are shaking their head at me, thinking I shouldn't be so obsessed. God said don't eat pig, He didn't say I had to abhor it. I've never intentionally tried pig/pig products. Ever. I don't even eat meat that isn't Zabiha or kosher {Muslims can eat meat from Jews and Christians}.

I'm just a curious cat.

Anyways, my obsession ended the other day.

We have a KFC here that serves Zabiha meat. Zabiha = meat that is prepared in the Islamic way. Like Kosher for Jews. I'm not sure what Christians call their method, but I will look into this. Basically I can eat all the sandwiches and fried chick'n I want. It's finger licking good. And it feels finger licking good, too.

One of us ordered the Doublicious. We didn't know bacon was involved. I don't know how we did not know, but we obviously didn't look at the picture or read the description. Short story shorter, it stank & KFC is responsible for killing my curiosity. And it looked gross, too. Maybe because it was fast food. Maybe it tastes better than it's appearance. This was an important milestone in my life. And I was met with disappointment. I guess it's a good thing, from a religious perspective.

We returned the sandwich, telling them we didn't know about the bacon strips and they kindly replaced it with a new one, which smelled completely different. And it was yummy.

The house near the school I went to swimming classes for as a child had a dog. 

And a pet pig. And we weren't even in the boonies. 

I hope they didn't eat it. Eating your pets is a no-no.

Banana & blueberry nutella crepes

Crepes! I love them sweet & I love them savory. I love them in the morning and I love them in the evening.

Pardon the photos, I didn't think I'd be blogging about this. And pardon the lack of presentation, as I knew my baby sister wouldn't care about how it looks & I was too busy dying starving fasting to make it look pretty. As long as it has nutella on and in it, she's good to go.

I thought these would be difficult because they're so thin. But after one or two I got the hang of it. I made these a few days ago for my little sister for breakfast. And then again for when we broke our fast.

I love all recipes. I get most of my stuff from there. Here is the basic recipe I used this time. I've tried it with vanilla and nutmeg as well, but went plain this time. For the filling I used nutella, bananas and blueberries. The top of the crepe is sprinkled with sifted powdered sugar.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a blender combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and oil. Process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brush with oil. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into pan, tilting to completely coat the surface of the pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

ps - I used butter, not oil to cook them. Butter makes everything better. 

I'm Depressed.

People do not have food or water. They are dying because they do not have food or water. And here we are, complaining that we can't breathe because we are so stuffed after shoveling spoonfuls of food down our throats after breaking our fast at dusk.

People have NOTHING to eat. NOTHING. How many times do we open the fridge with food hanging off the shelves, complaining that there is nothing to eat. How many times do we complain throughout the day that we are starving and we can't wait to break our fast? Some people don't have food to break their fast with.

How many times are we asked to donate and decline politely, saying we are on a tight budget and can't afford to, maybe some other time. You go home that night, trying very hard to figure out where you're going to put all the clothes and makeup you bought that day.

People are dying.

I'm not saying donate your whole paycheck anywhere. I'm just saying we can do what we can to try to help them. And if we think we can't, maybe we can give up one luxury for one day day {ex. a coffee/pop} and donate that each month. Every little bit helps. Imagine if everyone gave a a little every month to people less fortunate. It really adds up and hopefully would make a difference.

Remember to keep the starving people of Africa and the rest of the world {including your neighbors, you never know} in your prayers.

http://www.islamic-relief.com/donations/
http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.asp?c=9fLEJSOALpE&b=7542627

Florida Keys

I went to the Florida Keys on my honeymoon a few months ago. We stayed in Marathon for the most part, but did end up going to Key West for the day as well as a day in Islamorada and Key Largo. Here are a *few* photos of Marathon.

 

This is Sombrero Beach. They Keys don't have many beaches and they have a LOT of jellyfish. But they were still very beautiful.

 I had yummy fish tacos. My husband had burgers the whole trip. He has a very limited palate and admits to this. I concur wholeheartedly. I think it's time I start cooking foods from around the world and making him eat it. All of it. For someone who loves to eat, I was surprised homeboy doesn't eally enjoy other food as much as Indian food.

Sunset on Sombrero beach.

W went snorkelling. Here I am in my Burqini! As my husband put it, I was the center of attraction. I borrowed my sister in laws but am totally going to buy one. It's worth it and although I got weird looks from being fully covered and going into the water {or being fully covered in general},  I was glad I could experience snorkelling, jet skiing and the other water sports.

You guys, I don't know how to swim, but I went. I thought I knew how to swim but it's been so long I think I developed a fear of the water. I can float, but not actively swim. I discovered this fact in the pool the night we arrived at the hotel. Swimming is a life skill everyone MUST learn. I am going to take adult classes as soon as I'm done with my exams.

We called Captain Hooks snorkelling and they told us weak swimmers are fine and they'll take care of us. So we went. I had a life jacket, a noodle and a rope so I don't float away from the boat. I am so glad I went. It was the best experience in my life. I never thought I'd feel the way I did when I first put my head in the water. Praise be to God. He made everything so beautiful and so perfect. I am still stupefied by it all.

This is a parrot fish. It's ugly but underwater is BEAUTIFUL. Someone caught it while we went fishing but we couldn't keep it. I wouldn't want to eat it anyways. We saw these while snorkelling and it was my favorite fish. PS - I caught the most fish on the trip. ;)

Here are our yellowtails. Most restaurants wll cook your catch for you. Me and the Mister took only enough fish for dinner that night and gave the rest to the other fisherman. My husband had a fried fish sandwich. Yum, of course. I had mine grilled and served with a side of baked beans. Which were delicious!!! And I later found out most recipes for baked beans call for bacon bits. Sigh. I'm going to have to make them myself in the future.

You can't go to the Keys and NOT have Key Lime pie. Dinner and Dessert at Barracuda Grill.

And  a few from Key West..

Shrimp Po' Boy, mmmm...

Sunset Festival. Every night at Sunset there are vendors and entertainers and food. 

  I liked Marathon for our honeymoon. It was private and laid back. I'm glad we didn't stay Key west. Key West was a lot of fun. We rented a moped for the day and there were a lot of things to do. But it was very very crowded and busy. Anyways, I'm fasting and studying so I guess I'm thinking about food and going on a vacation, which made me flip through these yummy memories. We'll definitely be going again, inshaAllah.