If you don't have a Panera Bread in your area, they are essentially a bakery/cafe known for fresh baked artisan breads. They have bagels, muffins and baked treats for breakfast and sandwiches, salad and soups for lunch. If you live in the St Louis area, it's known as St Louis Bread Co.
When I started my Paleo journey, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to eat out. The other morning I found myself out of time to make a proper breakfast and remembered this 'hidden menu' and decided to give it a try. I called the Panera closest to my work to make sure they even still offered the Power Bowls. I think I confused the guy who answered the phone when I asked for the "Hidden Menu Bowls". But we figured it out and he said that they did have them.
I chose the Egg Bowl with Steak and black coffee. I got it to go since I was on my way to work. When my order was ready, the clerk asked me if I wanted chips or bread - I politely declined. Here's what I saw when I first took the bowl out of the bag:
Time to dig in! I don't know if you can tell from the photos, but the first most prominent flavor was PEPPER. Now, I love seasonings, but they went a bit over the top here. I won't deduct points for it because its simply a preference. However, if you're like me, you probably won't like it. The bowl contains 2 over hard eggs, 1/2 an avocado, 3 tomatoes and 4-5 oz steak cut into strips.
The portion size was perfect and helped to balance the heaviness of the bowl. The tomatoes would make this a no-go if you're nightshade-free, but I suppose you could always ask for it without tomatoes. Overall, I liked it-but I wish it would've had some greens/salad included to make it a bit more balanced. Seemed just a bit too heavy on protein for me.
That's really all I have to say about that for now. Do you have any interest in the Power lunch bowls? Let me know in the comments and I'd be happy to try those out as well. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend :-)
