Couples Workouts and Seasons 52

I was so thankful when I woke up to sunlight streaming through my window this morning. The weather was positively miserable this past weekend: cold, raw and rainy. It was one of those weekends when it took every ounce of motivation to get out of pajamas and leave the house . . . but Carter and I thought that a nice, sweaty workout at the gym would improve our moods and help energize us. So . . . on Saturday afternoon, Carter enjoyed his first workout with me at my gym.

It was SO MUCH FUN working out with the hubby! There’s something very sexy about doing leg abductors and leg adductors knowing that my husband is looking on from the stationary bike. We got to be together, got a nice workout in, and lo and behold, the cold and rain couldn’t overpower our endorphins! I highly recommend taking your relationship to the gym — it makes working out so much more fun . . . it’s a great mood booster . . . and it’s very motivating when you’re trying to impress your significant other with your *incredible* stamina and strength!

[Source: http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2007/01/partner-body-toning-slideshow#slide=1]

After our workout, we freshened up to meet my dad, his wife and her daughter at my favorite restaurant: Seasons 52. Though it takes an hour to get to Seasons 52 from our home, it’s totally worth it! I love the Seasons 52 philosophy: “to serve highly flavored meals that are better for you and focus on the best of each season.” I hope that Seasons 52 is leading the way for other restaurants to follow its example. Flavor and nutrition should not be mutually exclusive, and Seasons 52 proves that food can taste wonderful and also be wonderful for your body, even when dining outside the home.

Everything on the menu is less than 475 calories, and each meal contains lean proteins, healthy carbohydrates and beneficial fats.

After meeting up with my Dad, Connie and Maddie, we enjoyed a perfect meal!

I started off with the more-savory-than-sweet butternut squash soup, a delicious way to warm myself up on the cold evening.

And dinner was wild snapper and a bean, corn and vegetable salad. The snapper was incredible. I don’t know how the cooks got the skin so nice and crispy, but it was precisely the way fish should be cooked. The salad was a refreshing mixture of southwestern flavors — it was a delightful complement to the spicy fish. Where else can you go out to eat and be served such a generous portion of good-for-you veggies? I wish it was this easy to eat so healthfully and deliciously at every restaurant!

The rest of the entrees were just as fabulous. Carter enjoyed the caramelized sea scallops with roasted asparagus and sundried tomato pearl pasta.

My dad also ordered the snapper, plus a side of perfectly plump brussels sprouts.

Connie ordered the halibut and veggies. Halibut is one of my favorite seafood dishes. In fact, we served halibut at our wedding reception. It has a mildly sweet flavor and unbeatable firm and meaty texture. Halibut is also a nutritional powerhouse because it’s a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Maddie enjoyed the plum tomato flatbread. Seasons 52’s flatbreads are out of this world! I eyed up Maddie’s flatbread with food envy.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of dining at Seasons 52 is choosing and enjoying from the mini dessert selection! All the desserts are real indulgences — no fake stuff here — and they are served in perfect shot-glass sized portions.

Eating at Seasons 52 is an exercise in my food philosophy: savor tasty and nutrition-packed foods and enjoy delicious sweet treats in moderation! Because I love pumpkin so much (I should own my own pumpkin patch), I ordered the pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust. Yum, yum, YUM!

I love that little dollop of whipped cream on top. Food that’s presented beautifully just tastes so much better!

Carter enjoyed the raspberry chocolate canoli.

I’m so excited for Seasons 52 to open up in King of Prussia, PA in Spring 2010. This location will be much closer to our home, providing me with the opportunity to try out a variety of their dishes and the perfect excuse to enjoy lots of dinner dates with my husband. Cheers to that!