Day 1
We arrived hungry in Ann Arbor around lunchtime and without much thought headed straight to Panera Bread for a quick lunch salad. A half size Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken is very reasonable at 370mg of sodium. We forgot to do this but you can choose to skip the feta cheese. As always, with dressing on the side, we were able to choose how much to use.
While this post is certainly written for tourists visiting Ann Arbor, we were there for other personal reasons. We traveled with KN95 masks, face shields and gloves, wiping everything down with disinfecting wipes. Since we were visiting Ann Arbor during an alarming rise in Covid cases, we only did takeout and socially distanced activities. It gave us a chance to really appreciate the beauty of Ann Arbor and surrounding areas.
Ann Arbor was proudly showing off its stunning fall colors and we wanted to absorb as much of it as we could! After lunch, we drove to Gallup Park for a lovely walk around the Huron river. We were amazed to see the graceful swans, the beautiful river views and the fantastic array of colors on the trees!
For dinner, we decided to try the Jolly Pumpkin. We ordered the lamb burgers – cumin spiced ground lamb, garlicky spinach, skipped the fried farm egg, roasted red onion aioli (on the side) on a challah roll (just 250mg sodium in the roll). Instead of the fries, we chose a garden salad and we were good to go!
Day 2
After a late start we emerged on Day 2 in the mood for some Thai lunch. After calling ahead to Thai Spoon to make sure they didn’t use MSG and to explain our need to control sodium, we asked for separately packed plain sautéed vegetables, green curry sauce and steamed brown rice – a deconstructed green curry! This allowed us to get all the flavor and control the salt intake at the same time.
Dinner was Indian food from Shalimar. A conversation with the chef determined that we could get some dishes prepared with very little or no salt added. We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer, Alu Gobi, Rice and Naan. While there was some salt in the food, it was definitely on the low side and absolutely delicious!
Since this was a birthday weekend too, we ordered a simple 4″ Classic cheesecake from EK’s Cheesecakes. Hands down one of the best cheesecakes we’ve tried! Since each cheesecake is custom made, it helps to place your order ahead of time.
Day 3
Saturday morning found us at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s market in the charming Kerrytown neighborhood. Such a lovely treat with fresh produce, dairy products and eclectic handicrafts!
We picked up salads from Salads Up for lunch. The Wild Thai with the creamy cashew dressing (on the side) is a score with just 385mg of sodium. However, fair warning, this is NOT your typical sweet Thai salad – be ready for a zing from the jalapeños!
The Sunrise Sunset smoothie (strawberries, banana, mango, orange juice, no added sugar) from the Tropical Smoothie Cafe cooled us off after the Wild Thai salad!
Since it was a beautiful afternoon, we decided to head over to Dexter Cider Mill – apparently one of the oldest cider mills in Michigan, operating since 1886! However, when we saw the crowds and the long line just to enter the mill (it’s popular!), we changed course and took a gorgeous, scenic drive along the Huron river, back to Ann Arbor and headed to the Nichols Arboretum instead. What a treasure!
We decided to go Indian for dinner again. Namaste Flavours is a low-key takeout spot that surprised us with complete flexibility on customizing our order. They made us tasty Chicken Tikka Masala, Dal Tadka and Bhindi Masala with next to no salt!
Sadly, our time in Ann Arbor was up. Before we headed to the airport the next day, we picked up breakfast at Angelo’s. Their vegetable omelette – with three eggs, onions, green peppers, spinach and tomatoes and a fruit bowl on the side was just what we needed to get us home!