Happy Birthday to my dad! He is the same age and has the same birthday as Bob Dylan. 😀 His choice to eat out for dinner is Golden Corral. He loves that place.
But first, there was my day. We are in the midst of a long rain spell right now. That means no outdoor biking.
I hopped on the trainer for 20 minutes before we headed out to Bagel Wednesday! We stopped at Orange Cat, where I had a blueberry bagel.
Very tasty. It came with a portioned cream cheese this week, which makes counting the calories really easy, I have to say.
Work was super busy. This whole week has been super busy. I am not sure why, but it can be a good thing if we don’t get overwhelmed.
Protein for lunch today. Since I knew I would be eating a lot of veggies with dinner, I didn’t want any with lunch.
I made an open-faced BBQ chicken sandwich on a slice of the sourdough bread. Yum!
The rest of the day went fast. Pixie slept away the day. What else to do when the weather is icky?
I knew I needed to redeem myself a little for all the eating on Sunday at the picnic, so Golden Corral was a chance to do that.
I had a plan going into Golden Corral. Kind of the same as last year for my dad’s birthday. Funny how that was the last time I was at Golden Corral, too, for his birthday! Just not our choice of dining establishments. 
The plan:
- All the fruits and veggies I want to have.
- Lean seafood protein, not breaded or fried.
- Small baked potato
- Possible fruity dessert (cobbler type) if desired
- Talk lots with family.
I wrote this part of the post before leaving the house.
Here is how I did:
For those that are not familiar, Golden Corral is just a giant buffet.
Lots and lots of food of varying nutritional value:
My starter plate was a salad that contained some hardboiled egg, cheese, carrots, cucumber and a drizzle of dressing:
Plus a bowl of berries and fresh pineapple.
This fruit was most excellent!
Happy Birthday Poppa!
It’s a weeknight, so half the family is missing.
After eating this, I went for my hot plate. Lots of corporate meat on the buffet (it was rib night), and most of the seafood was breaded. I kind of expected that. There was one fish dish that was not breaded, but you know me and my love of fish 🙄
Hot plate – lots of broccoli (I took all that was left LOL). A baker with some sour cream and butter on the side (hooray for fat!). A hush puppy and about a tablespoon of artichoke dip to try.
A little lean on protein, but I did have some egg and cheese on my salad. Glad I got in protein with lunch. I ate probably about half of the potato. The hush puppy was really good, too!
I went over to peruse the dessert bar.
Of course, this all looks decimated, but it is only a tiny portion of the entire bar, including an ice cream bar. I looked long and hard. After looking at everything, I decided it was not worthy and got more fruit instead because it was so tasty.
Okay, I lied. I got one thing off the dessert part – the chocolate dipped piece of pineapple. Now *that* was good! I had one bite of John’s chocolate cake to try. It was good, but kind of reaffirmed that the fruit was the right choice for me.
It is possible to eat very well at Golden Corral or totally indulge. Whatever you feel like doing. Right now I am satisfied and not over full and really pleased with myself LOL. The only thing missing from my plan was more lean protein, but that was a function of the buffet and not me. Sometimes I can make a plan and stick to it!
Golden Corral: 0 – Lori: 1+
Happy Birthday to your Dad!!!
Way to go on beating the buffet!!!
Have you started building an ark yet? I know you are very handy…if you could sail by and pick us up we would appreciate it! Maybe sun tomorrow?
Pixie has a great life!
We will need an ark soon! It’s insane! I know the sun still exists. It just would be nice to see sometime.
We have a friend we take out to lunch every month and he loves the all you can eat chinese buffet! Not my choice but I go with a plan and everyone’s happy!!
Good job, Lori. Your fruit dessert looks much better than the leftover cake crumbs. I like that chocolate pineapple, too. We had a good time. Thanks for sharing Dad’s birthday with us.
Thanks Mom!
Oooo…chocolate on pineapple. I have never had that but it sure looks good. Great job on your plan.
You did great at the Corral – I haven’t set foot in one in aeons (well, it seems like that lol) and I have no desire to. But glad your dad had a good birthday dinner. 🙂
Oh, and with all that rain, maybe you should take up swimming, haha.
Well done on the choices Lori!!! Happy Birthday to your Dad!!!
Good for you girlfriend! My only complaint with Golden Corral when we had one, (ours closed up shop) was that so many things were fried and when i changed my lifestyle fried and breaded went out the window.
Happy Birthday to your dad! I love going to GC! (I’m just sick that way.) I usually do a big fruit and salad plate, followed by a small piece of whatever grilled meat they have and a dabble of mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes. (If they had hush puppies, I would totally get one of those.) The last time I was there (two years ago?), I evaluated the dessert bar and decided that if I was going to be decadent, I’d go with more fruit and cheese with TWO saltines! (I miss crackers.)
You did a great job at a place that is a real minefield! Here, the family in law often goes to fancy buffets for important occasions and I try to have a similar strategy. Like you, I also try to only take what I think is really “worthy”.
I’ve never been to the Golden Corral. I think it’s cute that your dad likes it so much.
Buffets can be super intimidating. For me it’s a mental thing. I start to think “Am I getting my money’s worth?” Not good as that can lead to bad choices – which is why I generally avoid all you can eat situations. You did great though and probably all of us should admit we do better if we plan, even if we can’t/don’t stick to the plan 100%.
I’m in that same weather pattern as you. I’m afraid my poor patio pots of flowers and veggies are going to drown!
I can’t remember the last time I went to GC. You made some really good choices. 🙂 The rolls. The rolls always get me.
Mind sending some of that rain our way?
Happy birthday to your dad!
I would happily send rain if I could! We certainly have more than enough to spare.
“Winning” for Lori! 😉 What a wonderful family time & happy bday to your dad!
Pixie has the life! 🙂
We have something here called “Chuck-A-Rama.” Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it? They actually have a fabulous salad bar and wonderful lasagna. Buffets used to make me very nervous, but I’ve discovered nothing else there is very appealing, even the beautiful desserts (except the apple cobbler). I’ve managed to overcome that “get my money’s worth mentality. Now it’s doable if DH and the family beg to go.
Way to go for you! And happy birthday to your father.
Chuck a Rama? That actually sounds kind of gross LOL!
You did great, Lori!!! I find buffets so hard to navigate. Too many choices for me and I want to try EVERYTHING! Putting a plan in place beforehand is an excellent idea!
Happy Birthday, Lori’s Dad!!!
You’ve really made some great choices Lori!
Your Dad’s birthday is exactly one day after mine. My Dad was born on May 17th, he passed away on May 18th. Very strange days for me, still after 11 years.
I’ve never had chocolate covered pineapple it does look yummy 🙂 looks like you did a great job eating well I will confess I don’t think I would have done nearly as well. Way to go!!!
Looks like fun! Good for you for making great choices.
Bob Dylan = born on May 24 (my Mom’s birthday.)
My internet went out just as I was going to leave a reply last night! I was just going to say that you smacked the living daylights out of the Golden Corral! I’m not sure I would have had quite as much control. My best way of beating a buffet is not to show up at all.
Good post!! I really like your blog! I have discovered it recently, thanks to Shelley´s blog. ( I am very new reading weight loss blogs, and I found most of them very inspirationals). However, have to say, I envy you can have everyday fabulous bagels since we don´t have bagels here in Spain : -() Funny thing is when I had been to the States 10 years ago, I´ve spend one year and I lost 20 poung eating
Thanks for your posts! I really enjoy them! Marina
correction
I´ve spend one year and I ve lost 20 pounds eating bagels and cream cheese…
Must be a dad thing! That is my dad’s favorite restaurant too. All buffets are risky due to gluten and the potential for cross contamination but I usually do ok at Golden Corral. I like that they list their nutritional info plus their allergy info so I have a better idea of what I can eat safely and how many calories I consume!
I’ve never been to a Golden Corral (I don’t think?). In any event, you did well to control yourself. I ALWAYS over eat at buffets. Ted and I try to avoid them.