Preet from WhereDidAllMyMoneyGo would be a great person to ask since he seems to be the Marche King…

Mike

They also have some fantastic crepes for dessert. In Toronto they have changed their name to Richtree’s (at least at the 2 locations that I frequent).

I lived out of the King Eddie hotel for about 2 weeks last year and Richtree’s was a 2 minute walk away, almost every single night I would eat there.

Just remember not to lose your card! If I remember the fine print, it’s a $100 charge or a few hours in the kitchen washing plates or something…

I don’t remember the exact details, and hope I never find out the hard way.

I’ve always wondered if you took out a large group and had everyone order on one card – if the bill was over $100, it would make sense to not present the one card and get charged the $100… Wonder if anyone has ever tried that?

Morally that would be reprehensible of course.

I like some light versions of foods but others just don’t cut it.

And no I won’t share my rosti!

Mike

I’m actually someone who is very strange and doesn’t mind the “diet” version of things (low fat sour cream tastes as good as the real stuff, I like diet coke better then regular, I can’t taste the difference between low-fat and regular yogurt or butter, etc, etc).

I think if “tasty foods” rae really important to you and the lite versions don’t cut it, having small portions of the real thing and padding them out with something healthier might be the way to go (so instead of a whole “potato rosti and salmon”, split it with someone else and split a healthy meal too).

WDAMMG – great recipes – I will give them a try.

the goal is really to find “healthIER” replacement snacks and desserts – Great comment!

Fecundity – that sounds like a good strategy to try to make foods healthier.

CTR – yah the good stuff is definitely better.

My suggestion is that if you know you are going out for a nice meal, eat just a bit less during the day. You’ll enjoy the meal even more.

As for buying a six-pack of the cheap stuff on the way home, I still prefer to invest on good stuff.

Quality over quantity any time for me.

I used to make a beef mushroom stroganoff over egg noodles that was very yummy and horrendously bad for us. I switched to non-fat sour cream, halved the meat and doubled the mushrooms, and served it over whole wheat macaroni instead. Hubby likes it just as much as the original.

It’s all about finding the level you can enjoy. I tried the same recipe once with ground soy instead of beef. Definitely better for us, but not a tolerable substitute for Hubby. Try substituting ingredients one at a time. If one doesn’t make much of a flavour difference, or you like it just as much, great. If another is too much, back up a step and try something else next time.

Maybe try your Marche meal with only half the sour cream next time, rather than none. It might be enough to satisfy.

Hence, I have found a few dishes with fruits and nuts that curb my dessert pangs nicely.

Fruit slices with Activia Vanilla yogurt.

Activia has the probiotic culture that helps restore a healthy gut flora and on top of that is the best damn tasting vanilla yogurt I have ever had – even the low fat version tastes great. Add this to some strawberry slices, pineapple, peach, whatever and it will take the place of ANY dessert in my opinion.

Almonds – I suppose not everyone loves them, but try roasting them yourself and having them when they are still warm. Takes away the “boring” nature of nuts.

Apple slices with some cheese. The cheese may not be the healthiest, but the goal is really to find “healthIER” replacement snacks and desserts.

This isn’t the healthiest, but tastes so bloody good it’s worth it. Take some blueberries (maybe have a pound) throw them in a sauce pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add in one tablespoon of brown sugar (which you can omit or reduce if you are on a diet) and once the berries have turned into a sauce (be patient and stir at least once a minute) right before you put it on some ice cream, add a shot of Amaretto. The alcohol will actually evaporate, but the almond flavour added to the blueberry will knock your socks off.

…okay that wasn’t so healthy. But the activia is good.