A few of us from our Moms Run This Town group try to get together for lunch about once a month to chat and catch up on what’s going on in our lives. Today’s lunch date was extra special because one of friends is moving back to the UK in a few weeks. We all wanted to make sure that we got a chance to hang out together before she leaves.
It was hot sticky day so a few of us went bike riding in the morning while some of us came from the gym or work. We decided to meet up at Panera and scope out some of their new salads and flat breads.
Checking out the new menu, we were a little indecisive and opted to order a few different salads and flat breads to share. I always appreciate being able to order mine without chicken as I am a vegetarian. The rest of the crew was eager to taste. We are always starving after our runs and bike rides and it is important to us to have healthy options to choose from. I enjoy having the option to choose an apple with my meal instead of bread or chips. I want to feel good about the food choices I make while dining out.
I enjoyed the Mediterranean Chicken & Quinoa (minus the chicken) as I am a big fan of kale and quinoa it was exactly what I wanted. The Strawberry Poppyseed salad was a big hit as well. Who doesn’t love a summer salad bursting with strawberries, blueberries, pineapple & oranges?
We had a great time catching up and reminiscing about some of our funnier moments together. My friend, Louise, always makes me laugh and we are all going to miss her when she moves. We may have to Skype her in next time so she’s there lunching with us.
We’ve decided to make these lunches a monthly occurrence. Looking forward to catching up with my girlfriends again in a few weeks.
This post was sponsored by Panera however all opinions and appetites are my own.
Do you have a chance to get together for lunch with you workout buddies? Where do you like to go?
linking up with Nicole
Very cool! I’ve maybe only been to Panera once in my life…I would like to check it out again one day! Enjoy your weekend!
Thanks! I love my lunches out with the girls
I Rarely get to gO out to lunch but I do love Panera- I think they have great healthier choices!
They do have healthier choices now! Good to know
I love Panera too. My favorite is their Asian sesame chicken salad.
I could try that one without the chicken sometime.
How fun! I don’t get to see my workout friends in real life enough but I have this week and it’s been a blast! 🙂
I know it’s fun to see them dressed in real clothes! We try to do happy hours once in a while so we can all hang out in a different way.
My friends and I love going to Green & Tonic (a juice/acai/organic bar) for a post SoulCycle refresher. So much fun to just sit around and enjoy post-workout high with friends!
It is the best isn’t it?
Panera is a great place to go when you have a bunch of people with different food habits. They have something for everyone! Thanks for linking up!
exactly! lots of choices for everyone
I love Panera but for some reason I’ve never tried ordering one of their salads without the chicken. I just order the salads or sandwiches that are already veggie. This opens a bunch of other options up to me 🙂
Happy to help! Ha ha us veggies have to be creative 🙂
Oh what a treat!! I wish I didn’t work so far away from all my friends I would love to grab lunch with them sometimes. I try for at least a monthly dinner though!! I am dreaming about that strawberry salad yum!
It is nice to make time to hang out doing non fitness things too once in a while!
wow those salad bowls are MASSIVE! i need those for in my house.
i always like to go for a run or a morning workout, and then head to brunch with some friends. it feels so good to indulge after a great sweat session!!
yes that’s my favorite thing to do as well!
I love having Lunch with my kids outside, at a Playground or Beach. I like everything Picnic Style right now. BTW you are wearing one of my favorite Sandals (ever!) – The Madrid Birkenstock! I have them in several colors – aren’t they so comfortable?
I am really into my Birks this summer!
I love the variety of food offerings on Panera’s menu. There’s something for everybody there, and most of it is healthy too.
Yes true you can certainly find healthy choices if you look for them. Have a great weekend!
Sounds like a lovely time. I haven’t been to Panera in ages, but those salads sound yummy.
I hadn’t in a while myself and they were really good.
Looks like a fun group! Love your name; Moms run this town. I am partial to bakery style restaurants. When my kids and I traveled together we could always agree on Panera.
They do have great choices.Our group is nationwide btw so you may have one in your area if you are interested.
Looks like a fun way to catch up. Cant go wrong with Panera. So many good options, so getting a bunch and sharing is a great way to do it.
I do love our lunches out. It’s fun to hang with running peeps and do non running things sometimes too.
I have a Weight Watchers friend that I get together with for lunch every now & again. And my USAFit group does some social stuff, too.
The places we meet up are usually local, so you’d have to live here to know them.
It’s fun to do lunches out with your exercise friends isn’t it?!
YUM!! Panera is one of my favorite places to eat! I love their strawberry poppyseed salad and their bread slathered in butter. 😛 Cause ya got to live a little!
We did not have the bread but yum!!
So Panera paid for your lunch?! I’ve had the kale and quinoa salad. My favorite thing there is the egg sandwich power breakfast. My husband loves the salad with chicken and apples.
yes they did! And it was yummy. I like the egg sandwiches as well.
I wish I could love Panera…. my husband and I use to go all the time back when they first opened years and years ago (like over 12 because we went before we got married!). After having my eating restrictions change and paying over $9 for a salad (chicken hummus) and asking for no chicken but an extra handful of spinach as there was maybe a cup of spinach at best in the bowl and them telling me I would have to pay more or order two salads I stopped going there. An extra handful of spinach is far less than chicken and even had the salad had enough greens I would have been fine but there was less than a cup. The customer service at that store was not great either and the clearly it wasn’t worth what I paid for what I got still leaving hungry. It was one of the few places on the go my family as a whole liked but I was so disappointed, over $40 for a family of 4 and not having a great expereince, we have not been back.
That’s really interesting bc I had a really easy time changing out my chicken and getting extra veggies. I do not believe they charged me extra for that. Perhaps they are franchised and not all are the same? I have no idea but interesting to know.
Looks like a great time with friends. Sometimes I take blogging lunches at Panera. Great food.
It’s a fun place to go with friends!
Catching up monthly will be fun for you and your buddies. Something to look forward to !
It is lots of fun to have the opportunity to hang out other than running together.
What a nice get together! I was at Panera the other day and was oohing over their salad selection 🙂
They were really good!
I love lunch (or any) get togethers! Looks like a good time 🙂 There’s a little salad bar downtown that we like to go to.
It is always fun lunching with friends isn’t it!
How fun! Our running group in our new town is pretty social. I haven’t gone out for any extra curricular fun outside of running yet, but look forward to it soon (Especially pizza night, haha!)
Pizza night sounds good too! Enjoy 🙂
My family loves Panera. I love the changes Panera has been making to their menu.
They have a lot more healthier choices available.
I love Panera!! I try to get lunch with my friends but unfortunately they are few and far between!
Hopefully that just makes them more special!
The poppyseed strawberry salad sounds awesome.
What a fun day! I wish my running friends did this – we are all always rushing off to the next thing….
I’ve recently come to like the fruit in the salads. They have lots of choices now