EATING WELL, WHILE OLD, IN INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FLORIDA

I am addicted to restaurants while travelling and since we spend a lot of time in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, I have three favorite restaurants, and a grocery store.

Crabby Bills: Every morning I walk a mile and a half down the beach to Crabby Bill’s, which has been family owned since its founding in 1983. The morning crowd consists of older patrons who are vacationing. or living, near the beach. It is a sports bar, restaurant and hang-out for the under 30 crowd the rest of the day and until 2:00 AM.

The All-American Breakfast is my choice, with 2 eggs, potatoes, crisp bacon and toast for $6.  Then it is a mile and a half walk back to the rented condo. In the evening, you can get the menu to go.

Guppy’s: A short walk and excellent food with daily specials; indoors or out. Great fish. The Grouper is expensive as it is over-fished. Small plates  and you can share. I get three sides; grilled octopus, spinach and Caesar Salad. Octopus is available thanks to the large Greek community. New Mexico restaurants tend not to serve octopus, so it is always a treat.

 

Chez Collette’s French Bistro:

A small French restaurant in the edge of Belair and next to Largo and Indian Rocks Beach. Run by a French couple, it is always good and one of our favorite stopping places each time we come.

 

The desert is great, especially if you can try three at once. Eat desert first, life is short.

 

The lamb shanks can’t be beat. Not always available but when they are, well worth ordering.

 

 

 

If you want to do your own thing with food prepared for you, take a look at Publix Grocery Stores which now have prepared meals that you cook. There is salmon, meatballs, etc. We tried chicken breasts with feta cheese and spinach and it was great. Cheaper than a restaurant meal and it can be eaten with a glass of wine on your rented condo balcony. The sunset over the Gulf of Mexico is better than any restaurant; and quieter.

THINK OLD!

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BLUE APRON – ALTERNATIVE MEALS FOR SENIORS, and anyone else!

Eating can be a problem for seniors. You have to shop. You have to prepare. You have to have the right spices and you end up with too much of unusual spices. The result is the same old same old. You are also afraid to try anything new. And, if you qualify for meals-on-wheels, it is usually bland and if you have ever looked in an old person’s freezer you find it crammed with old meals-on-wheels.

We have been trying Blue Apron. We can order it on a weekly basis and get three meals for two people. The box  of ingredients arrives by FedEx on Thursday with freezer packs that have always been frozen solid. The box contain everything that you need and in the exact amounts that you need. If it is spicy, you are cautioned to add less of the spice. You also get pictures and instructions on how to prepare the meal in about 30 minutes. The net result is dinner for two, or even three, as the portions are large. It is quick and easy, but does require some concentration; which is not all bad.

Blue Apron Crispy Cod & Zuzu-Shoyu Soba Meal

Blue Apron Crispy Cod & Zuzu-Shoyu Soba Meal ready for the geezer to cook.

The ingredients above, which cost $20 and was delivered on a Thursday, became the following meal on a Friday.

Blue Apron Crispy Cod & Zuzu-Shoyu Soba Meal

Blue Apron Crispy Cod & Zuzu-Shoyu Soba Meal ready for the geezer to eat. Recipe photo behind wine.

The cost is $60 for three meals for two person each; or ten bucks a meal per person. This includes shipping. The food has always arrived a day early, Thursday instead of Friday, and has always been frozen solid, or cool, depending on the food. Each box has two freezer packs which can be reused, recycled, or given to a friend.

We have tried about 40 meals. Each week you get a selection of three meals which you can choose from six selections; although you are somewhat limited in that you can’t just pick the expensive stuff. Looking ahead a few weeks, the three meals are: Seared Steak and Fingerling Potatoes; Cajun-spiced Chicken; and, Spicy pork and Rice Bowls.

The wine was not included, but Blue Apron has a wine service.

You can also order two meals a week for four people each and have neighbors in.

There are several other services, but we have not tried them.

Best of all, Blue Apron relies on sustainable farming, no food waste and fresh ingredients without additives. They will even help you recycle the boxes and the freezer packs, but I have found that friends who go camping love them.

THINK OLD!