Panera & Pumpkin Carving

Saturday night, my friend, Joanna, and I decided go to Panera for dinner in Austin, carve pumpkins, and watch "Shutter Island" (which happened to include the oh so lovely, Leo di Caprio). She had never carved a pumpkin before, so we had a lot of fun!

First, we went to Panera. I looked ahead at their menu, that way I could see their new seasonal offerings, as well as check the nutrition information. So, I ended up ordering water and the You Pick Two option. I have a lot of favorites at Panera, but they had some great new options, so I decided to try one.

Main: 1/2 Roasted Turkey & Cranberry on Ciabatta
=380 calories, 580mg sodium, 18g protein

Main: 1/2 Classic Salad
=90 calories, 75 mg sodium, 0g protein

Side: Seasonal Fruit Cup
=60 calories, 15mg sodium, 0g protein

One of the reasons I love Panera so much, is because of the healthy options they have available. However, I'm also a fan of their big .99 bakery cookies, and most of the time I go, I make sure I can fit one into my daily allowance. So, I decided to try their new Peanut Butter Dream cookie. I really wanted to try the pumpkin, but sadly, it was sold out. However, it was still delicious! :)

On our drive back to her house, we had planned to stop at a grocery store to get our pumpkins. However, we came across a local pumpkin patch, and picked out two from there. They had pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, and we had a tough time deciding which ones to get. Finally, we made our decisions, and headed back.

We named our pumpkins Charlie and Harry, and started cleaning them out right away. It was super messy, but a lot of fun! We had a book of ideas you could use, so she chose a kitty and pumpkin design, and I chose a witch. I forgot how tough it could be to carve, and we definitely got a good arm workout in the process! Even though it was Joanna's first time, she was much better at it than me! Plus, I was horrible with the tools... :(

However, my bad luck with the tools definitely made for a good laugh! :P After lots of carving, we finally finished! It was a wonderful night filled with great food, a good friend, and lots of fun. Even though the Panera in Austin is a bit of a drive for me, I think I'll start going more often. I missed it! And, I definitely plan on doing my own version of the panini soon. :)

Have a great week!

<3 Stephanie