Overall, I lost two pounds, my energy level was high, I slept well, and my skin was even clearer during the program. I gave myself license for the last week and a half of the year to kind of go back to my old habits, but I’m resolving to eat more protein, veggies, and more frequent meals in the New Year to continue my progress.

As you know, I offered to write four blog posts about my experience with Snap in exchange for them subsidizing two-thirds of the cost of the 21-day program, and since this is my final post, I asked Snap if they would partner with me on a giveaway. Leave a comment below, and one lucky reader chosen at random will receive three Snap Kitchen meals — one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner!

I recommend the following three dishes to the winner, and don’t forget to supplement with a morning and afternoon snack to ensure that you get enough calories for the day!

Breakfast: Banana Pancakes with a side of fruit

Lunch: Buffalo Quinoa Hash

Dinner: Vegetable Lasagna

Leave your comment below on what changes you will make in your diet in 2012 — or your thoughts on Snap Kitchen, and similar healthy prepared meal companies! One lucky commenter will win breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Snap!

Related:

• Snap Kitchen’s Snap Commit Program
• Snap Kitchen: Some Favorite Dishes
• Snap Kitchen: How It Works

La Chaparrita in Highland Mall

Generally, I only eat at food courts when I’m desperately hungry, and while Highland Mall is just across I-35 from our house, I’ve only been inside once in the eight years I’ve lived in Austin — to buy a suitcase from the (now closed) J.C. Penney.

I’m so glad that I ignored my better judgement and tried this hidden gem out anyway. Not only did we try it, but two out of the three dishes we ordered were ceviche — yep, raw fish “cooked” by marinating it in citrus. And everything was flavorful, complex, and delicious.

We ordered the tilapia ceviche, tiradito al aji (also made with tilapia — we probably didn’t need both of these dishes), and adobo de puerco.

I believe that La Chaparrita will be celebrating its one year anniversary in early December. Be sure that you stop by to try some of their dishes. Maybe the next trend (after food carts die down) will be fine cuisine in mall food courts!

Related:

• La Chaparrita website
• Yelp
• Facebook
• Fed Man Walking on the Food of Airport Boulevard

Unrelated:

• Please note that there is another spot in the area called La Chaparrita. However, it is located in Leander and is a meat market, grocery, and taqeria. So while you won’t find Peruvian food there, it also gets some pretty strong reviews.

Jessica had seen the new spot while driving by, and wanted to try it since her current favorite spot for Vietnamese, Hai Ky, doesn’t have a location that’s on the way home from work.

I was impressed with the self-serve bar that offered all of the traditional Vietnamese fixins.

And everything we ordered was inexpensive, huge, delicious, and made with what tasted like high quality ingredients.

Tofu Springrolls (106) and Grilled Beef with Veggies and Vermicelli Noodles (509)

This soup was from the PhoNatic House Specials menu and was recommended by the very patient woman taking our order at the counter. I’m so glad I took her recommendation, especially on the egg noodles instead of switching to Vermicelli, just because I’m used to those.

Pork/shrimp wontons, chicken, shrimp, onions, cilantro, egg noodles, chicken broth (403)

I took half of my soup home and enjoyed it the next day for lunch. And here’s the atmosphere of PhoNatic. With its cheesy name, fast-casual chain restaurant atmosphere, and antiseptic look, I was not expecting to enjoy the dishes.

But everything we had was complex, delicious, and generously portioned. I can’t wait to go back!

I happened to drive by Joe’s Place and Connie’s Beer Garden one day, and noticed their sign boasting about their great reviews on Yelp and Urban Spoon. By the way, the name is kind of confusing, but I believe the business is called Joe’s Place, and Connie’s Beer Garden is how the husband-and-wife owners refer to the outdoor space.

There are a lot of magical things about Joe’s, but what won me over immediately was the wonderful backyard seating area. It feels like you are in a friend’s backyard and is totally relaxing and hidden away from the busy East Austin street.

What a perfect place to hang out with my girlfriends. We ordered a bottle of wine that was just $15, and then we ordered another.

L-R: Jessica, Melissa, Brooke, Monica, Ilyse, me

The food at Joe’s is definitely made with love by Joe (the owner), and his staff who he treats like family. His wife and co-owner Connie stopped by our table to see how everything tasted and it was delicious!

One of the best dishes I’ve ordered is the roasted vegetable panini with yellow squash, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, goat cheese, and olive tapenade.

Joe’s is open 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Located in East Austin on MLK at Chicon, I can’t wait to go back for happy hour and dinner and to hang out with good friends once the weather cools down.

This spring, the PR firm that represents Monument Cafe invited me to come meet the owner and take a tour, so Adam and I invited our friends, and their parents who live in Georgetown, to join us.

The Cafe actually opened in 1995 and moved to a new location in 2008. I love the vintage look of the building, that according to the menu, “was designed to be reminiscent of the Texas roadside cafes of the 20’s to the 40’s.”

Photo by Adam Holzband

And while I’d heard there was a market on-site too, I was amazed by all the elements they have built at the site. The garden in front of the cafe is filled with herbs and vegetables.

Walking to the left of the restaurant’s front entrance, Rusty Winkstern, the owner, showed us the newly opened Garden at the Monument, a beer garden and music venue that opens daily at 5 p.m. serving beer, wine, burgers and fries, along with a side of live music from Thursday to Saturday nights.

And the music they offer is impressive — the weekend we visited, Erik Hokkanen had played the night before, and this weekend, Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies played. I’d like to go back and check it out once the weather cools down — maybe sometime in October.

Photo by Adam Holzband

Rusty then led us to the Monument Market that opened in March, and offers local and organic products everyday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It’s a gorgeous open warehouse space with lots of natural light and tables filled with fresh produce.

Rusty pointed out his wife Lael’s okra, that was being sold at the market that day and told us that he was expecting a shipment of peaches from the hill country that afternoon.

There’s nothing more beautiful than a fresh, in-season tomato.

Photo by Adam Holzband

At one end is a butcher counter, with a chalkboard calendar of delivery days for different types of meat to help shoppers with meal planning.

Photo by Adam Holzband

Along with produce and organic meats, the market sells dairy products, eggs, beer, coffee, and other locally sourced organic products.

Rusty led us out to the gardens, which were starting to stop producing as this summer’s drought had begun, and to a window-lined wall to watch the chefs in action.

Inside we saw Mark Chapman, former Driskill pastry chef, who is taking over Monument’s bread and pastry production. While we were in the Market, they were sampling Chapman’s amazing coffee cake, and I’m looking forward to trying more of his wonderful desserts.

Photo by Adam Holzband

For weekend brunch we heard there’s often a wait to eat at the Cafe, and it seemed to be the place to go for local families, groups of friends, and retired couples who live in the area. Georgetown is a popular spot to retire. I enjoyed a fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade as well as a plate of poached eggs, bacon, biscuits, and fruit.

Eggs Benedict with hash browns, fruit cup, + ratatouille; Photo by Adam Holzband

The servings are large here, so think about sharing with others in your party, and save room for dessert! Everyone was stuffed by the end of our meal, but I couldn’t leave without ordering dessert. The daily specials were up on a chalk board and while I would have loved to have tried the strawberry fried pie, peach pie, and their monument chocolate pie but because I didn’t have buy-in from the rest of the group, we just ordered a slice of the chocolate pie to share.

Everyone, even the littlest in our group, had a bite of this delicious signature dish.

Monument Cafe is Kid-Friendly; Photo by Adam Holzband

This visit to the Monument Cafe “compound” really whet my appetite for a future visit to Georgetown. My friend’s mom who lives in Georgetown recommended a nice dinner at Wild Fire in downtown historic Georgetown, followed by a show at the Palace Theatre. And my friend loved lunch at Laurie’s, where the broccoli salad is supposed to be delicious. Georgetown seems like the perfect place to stay at a B & B, and according to the tourism website, there are a handful in town. Does anyone have recommendations?

Note: Thank you to Rusty Winkstern, co-owner of Monument, for taking the time to give us a tour and answer all of our many questions during a busy brunch service. He was very genuine and welcoming with my group, and insisted on covering the bill for all six adults and one child — something I fought hard against, but Rusty was even more determined to be our host. And while he knew I was a food blogger, it didn’t feel like he was trying to buy a good review — although he got one anyway. Regardless, I’m looking forward to coming back soon to check out the beer garden on our own dime!