Snack: Green juice from Pressed Juicery and Coffee with milk
Brunch: Smoked Salmon Scrambler from Toast in Noe Valley (eggs, smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers), side of fruit salad, coffee
Snack: Banana and 10 almonds
Dinner: Zucchini noodles and Puttanesca sauce (homemade)
Dessert: Red grapes

Today my Mom and Step-Dad left to go back to Ireland after 3 weeks of vacation here in San Francisco. I’m not going to lie- there were tears as we said goodbye at the airport. It was a proper Love Actually moment in fact. I kid you not, as I was waving them off at security ‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys started playing, which is in the actual movie! That opened the flood gates for me. Thank God for sun glasses.

I loved having them over and getting to spend quality time with them. That’s one of the benefits of living away from your family- when you do see them you actually make a concerted effort to hang out and talk. It’s almost like an opportunity to get to know them a little better. So, I’m thankful for that. Now I just need to get my Dad, brother and sister over!

The folks wanted one last American brunch before they left so we went out to eat in my new fave brunch spot in Noe Valley – Toast. It has a laid back, diner vibe (no schmanzy SF brunch cocktails here) and the food is great!

I knew we weren’t going to be eating until 11.30 and I was up early so it was important to grab a snack beforehand. I decided to walk to Pressed Juicery for a green juice. It was yum! In it’s own green way. There was some apple and lemon in it as well, which makes it a little more palatable.

One of the tough things about brunch and healthy eating (aside from the abundance of pancake related dishes) can be the extras you get- ie everything comes with a side of hash browns and toast. My brunch strategy is to substitute with fruit salad where possible and to leave the toast behind. If something unhealthy is on my plate it immediately becomes a battle between me and my will-power. And I don’t want that type of confrontation in my life. See ya later toast, keep on walkin’.

I also made zucchini noodles today. I’ve been wanting to try them for ages. I made a puttanesca sauce to go with them, so they were very light. I used 3 small zucchini for 2 people, which wasn’t enough really. Next time I’ll use more zucchini and probably add chicken as well.

Zucchini noodles

Gonna miss these faces!!