1) Social Brew Cafe - Darling Harbor Sydney - The Deli Plate

It's no secret that I eat clean and I love food. I've been living this "clean" lifestyle for 2+ yrs now and it started all from sleeping issues, depression, anxiety (and being medicated for both) and having gas all the time. it's my blog, I can share my TMI with the world :) I don't have it now so that's what matters right? GI issues run in my family and I never knew how to fix it, so I tried clean eating + Shakeology and couldn't believe the radical changes in ALL OF THE ABOVE! Sleep, energy, digestion, tooting...all way better! But, my husband loves RICH food so that makes it hard when we travel. I've learned how to make choices and what to request so that I'm not hating life all night, and those around me aren't either. Read this article for tips I shared. Given in 2017 I traveled more than I was home, I got in a LOT OF PRACTICE at eating on the road, so these are tried and true recommendations. Plus, back in my CPA days I did business travel 60% of the time so I can say...been there, done that. And gained a lot of weight trying to figure it out! Learn from my mistakes!

Am I going to really tease you with all my photos? NO. I only saved one from each restaurant we frequented, all are mine except the waffles (couldn't be further from clean eating - wait till you see it) and the Kangaroo Filet. That was Tyler and Travis's respectively and I nibbled on the filet, but wasn't crazy about Kangaroo.

1) Social Brew Co. DELICIOUS in every since of the word. The kind of meal that you don't want to talk to anyone, you want to close your eyes and savor every bite and stab anyone that tries to take a sample of your plate. Because I love my family so much, I shared my mushrooms & buffalo cheese with Tyler, BUT he lucked out I was feeling very generous. My plate was empty. I asked them to hold the bread (again, read tips on the article linked above) and wanted to go back again. But, this was the last day, so at lease we went out with a bang! You need to go here, not because you'll miss out if you don't, but because you'll REGRET IT if you don't! But learn from us, bookings are encouraged :) If you forget, they have loaner picnic blankets you can use on the lawn next to them. We didn't realize this till we left or would have gone that route.

2) Fishmongers. We got off the ferry and headed straight there at some local's recommendations. Yum-O. Kids and hubby had greasy fingers and big smiles so that means it was a hit, right? I went for healthy-ish. Could have done without the teriyaki sauce, it was a little heavy for me and we left here to run around the beach and swim, so it kind of left us feeling like beached whales, but we made do. I think this is a chain because I swear we've eaten at Fishmongers in Byron Bay and I thought the same thing.

3) Makoto Sushi. Thank you YELP! This was a win, but also the most money we've spent in the least amount of time at ANY restaurant. We were all hangry and it was the "conveyor belt sushi" style so we could just grab and eat and that's what we did. Over and over again so $140 and 25 minutes later we were leaving the restaurant STUFFED. But, this was worth every penny for 2 reasons. 1) best conveyor belt sushi in my life, and y'all, I've eaten some sushi! 2) most importantly, Tyler gave up sushi for lent which is amazing to me. He's 8 and this is his favorite food in the world. He's asked for it since he was four every year on his birthday and if he died while eating sushi, I think he'd be ok with it. He really really likes it :) So, we wanted to treat him the day after Easter to as much sushi as he wanted. We accomplished that :)

4) Celcius Cafe. I heart you. This is the cutest dang breakfast joint I ever did see. It's literally on the ferry pier and super small so go early. And by early, I mean get there when they open. Our 1st time we were rookies and didn't know this and showed up at 8:15 when they opened at 8. We waited 30 minutes and then divided and conquered. Matthew and mommy sat together and Tyler and daddy sat at a different table. The option of leaving was no option at all. Not for a second. I got the super green breakfast and asked them to hold the bread. This avocado-lime spread was to. die. for. Everyone else's plate looked delicious too, but I was too full to nibble.

5) Home is where the heart is, right? Especially when you're staying water front across from the Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House. We did this 3 mornings to save money, time and calories. These breakfasts were so perfect, but they were huge portions and I was feeling uncomfortably full all day long. I know you are thinking, "well don't finish it all" and all I can say is those are silly and crazy thoughts. If you ate it, you would too!

6) This was the most memorable dinner. We got seafood takeaway and my first oaky Australian Chardonnay (and it was actually good!) and we had a picnic dinner. I didn't get the scenery in, but we got to have adult conversations while we watched the kids run around, play tag, and wrestle in front of the Opera House while we ate and watched the sunset. This restaurant loans you picnic blankets which was a cool touch. We did have veggies, I promise! We had a Caprese Salad and a Greek Salad, but were a hit!

7) If it's not broke, why fix it, right? On our last day, it was mommy's choice. I mean, we were there for my 40th right? Seems fair. So back to Celsius Cafe for The Vining's! I got the exact same thing because when I like something, I could do that for days! And Tyler got this. How beautiful is this? Belgium waffle covered in fruit and edible flowers and topped with a peanut butter cream. Tyler told me he didn't want that and I told the waitress "oh yes he does." haha When it arrived Tyler as thanking me profusely. All mouths and bellies were happy. Note, I've never seen Matthew eat so much food in one sitting. He. loved. it. all.

8) The Rocks Cafe reminded me of Italy a little. We sat outside on the cobblestone street as people walked by and there was history all around. This was Travis's plate as I was so full from previous meals, I got a rocket & parmesan side salad and was perfectly content. It was a little gamey for me, but that plate was clean as a whistle, so that's a thumbs up I think.

9) Our 1st meal when we arrived was at Street Market Asian Tapas. Kids eat free for lunch and dinner, which is cool, but my kids didn't want the "kids options." Somewhere along the road we went wrong and our kids think it's normal to order carpaccio and $20-25 entrees. The salmon and beef were my selections and they were talked into noodles and such. Delicious, but too heavily sauced for me. Only place that didn't sit well for me, but the rest of the family marked this as a favorite.

10) Fitzroy Food Co, Kirribilli Forgot to take pictures, even if you don't believe me and the menu link doesn't work, so you'll have to read and imagine. Watermelon, Goat's Feta, Mint, Red Onion, Pomegranate, Rocket, Balsamic. Did that do it for you? Imagine it? It was mouth watering good and my husband ordered it for himself. He might have gotten 1-2 bites of it and I ate the rest.