I was going to write a post on the benefits of brown rice vs. quinoa, but then I started researching and found this amazing infographic that tells you all you need to know! Ch-ch-check it out!
So we know I wasn’t healthy on Friday- but what about the rest of my weekend? It was a great one in lots of ways! I woke up Saturday morning with a slight food hangover, but that didn’t stop me from walking out of my apartment at 8:30 a.m. with an orange in hand and heading to JackRabbit Sports for a morning group run (more to come on JackRabbit at a later date!) While I tried to mentally prepare myself for a 10 mile run along the east river, we sampled some protein bars and energy chews from PowerBar. Then it was time to hit the streets.
It wasn’t a good run for me. I was tired physically and fighting myself every step of the way mentally. But luckily a few nice conversations mid-way broke up the torture and by the end of the run I was pushing myself harder and going faster. Map My Run hated me and didn’t restart after a pause halfway through the run, so my pace will remain a mystery, which is probably for the best considering how sluggish I was feeling.
When we got back to the store PowerBar was kind enough to raffle off 3 gift bags fullllll of treats (gels, chews, bars and water bottles, oh my!) but sadly I didn’t win. I still snagged some samples though :) Their cookie dough bar was DELICIOUS but I liked the consistency of their new flavor, Peanut Butter and Jelly, much better since it was softer and easier to chew. The rep said that they’re looking to switch most of their flavors over to that consistency. I also tried the strawberry banana chew which was just like a tasty fruit snack (although a lot of people’s complaint was that it was way too hard to chew while they were running).
I walked home, showered, and immediately needed fooooood! I made some egg whites with mushrooms, tomato, Brussels sprouts and feta cheese (also known as, these were the things I needed to clear out of my fridge before I left for the rest of the weekend).
Then I headed out with my duffel bag to meet a friend for coffee (thank you Two Little Red Hens, for having almond milk!) Next stop, Grand Central Station to catch a train to my old college stomping grounds, Hamden CT!
It was so wonderful seeing my old roommate and it was like no time had passed. In fact, one of the first things I did upon entering her apartment was say, “Don’t mind me- I need to get out of these jeans…” and immediately threw sweats on. Typical. We snacked on some cantaloupe while catching up and deciding what to do for dinner. This was quite the dilemma because usually, it wouldn’t even be a discussion. I would head to Ray & Mike’s Deli for a greasy, fattening sub and a bag of munchies mix with a can of Arnold Palmer. Unfortunately, the fact that I gave up meat for Lent prevented me from eating chipotle pulled chicken with bacon and cheddar or pulled pork with bacon mac and cheese (you’re drooling now, aren’t you?) We finally settled on Panera, where the woman taking our order’s had some interesting things to say (“You know you’re really pretty? Did you hear what I said, how is your day? Did you go to the Olympics?). I ordered the black bean soup and the Mediterranean shrimp couscous salad.
The salad was one of those salads that changed my life. I was obsessed and I really wish I had just ordered that and skipped the soup. The soup was fine (although it looked like toxic sludge) but the salad was just oh so amazing and I wanted more more more.
Next on the agenda was a March Madness party. My friend is so domesticated- look what she made! (We have both come so far from the days of not knowing the first thing about anything kitchen related).
At the party I was able to stick to (mostly) black bean and corn salsa with tortilla chips (and maybe a few bites of chocolate chip cheesecake). I may or may not have won 9 games of beer pong in a row while drinking only water with Pink Lemonade Dasani Drops. Because I’m that good.
Since I had run 10 miles that morning, I’m really not surprised that by the end of the night, it was time for a 1 a.m. snack of an apple and good old PB <3
My friends couch was absurdly comfortable and I slept like a baby until my alarm went off at 9:30 and it was time for a run. Again, awful. Painfully slow and not at all enjoyable. It was cold, I was alone, and the path was straight, flat and b-o-r-i-n-g. But I made it 4 miles. And then I stopped at a local deli for SNICKERDOODLE COFFEE! Yum.
Again, my roommate outdid herself by cooking us all brunch, the most sacred of all meals! Oatmeal (I may or may not have brought my own bag of oatmeal mixed with pecans, raisins, PB2 and cinnamon), cantaloupe, scrambled eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, and turkey sausage (which I sadly couldn’t enjoy).
(I LOVE BREAKFAST FOODS)
The rest of the day was spent at the Women’s NCAA Frozen Four final game between Minnesota and Clarkson held at the beautiful TD Bank Arena at Quinnipiac!
It was an AWESOME game, with Clarkson clinching the upset and the championship 5-4.
We were seated right near the Clarkson pep band and I would just like to thank them for playing Aladdin and “If I Only Had a Brain” from the Wizard of Oz after a bad call by the refs.
Thumbs up!
(Congratulations, Clarkson!)
Also thumbs up? Meghan Duggan the captain of the Women’s USA Olympic hockey team sitting 2 rows behind me! I recognized her before anyone else did, and wanted to ask for a picture, but not while she was watching the game.
Then came intermission and she was SWARMED.
It was awesome to see little girls who play hockey so excited to see her and have their jersey’s signed.
At the end of the game I was able to get a picture.
It makes me really upset that these female hockey players don’t get more recognition.
They are incredibly talented and amazing athletes and some of the most exciting hockey games I’ve seen were women’s games (like the 2010 ECAC Quarterfinal game between Quinnipiac and Rensselaer that is the second longest game in college hockey history and went into 5 overtimes!)
(Me with Meghan Duggan, so cool!)
I passed out pretty much immediately on my train ride home. When I got back, I made myself dinner (black bean soup and more egg whites with mushrooms, feta and tomato) and dessert (a cookies and cream quest bar) and crawled into bed.
Such a happy weekend!
Monday was tricep and chest day at the gym, which I struggled through before going on a 3.5 mile run around Central Park. Got my food shopping done for the week (although I’m sure I’ll stop at least 20 times between now and Friday to buy even more food) made dinner and even took out the trash. Take that, Monday!
I love food and I love eating and I like to think I know a little bit about good restaurants thanks to trips with my food-fanatic father to places like China Grill and TAO. When I moved to the city in the fall of 2013 and created a bucket list, it quickly became a list of places to eat. I was told L'Asso had to be put on the list so Friday night, that's where we ventured. I'll give you a sneak peak of the evening if you promise to keep reading!
(You know you want to keep reading about all this delicious-ness!)
As a general rule of thumb, I like eating healthy. People may think I'm weird but I look forward to my bowl of oatmeal, even though I eat the same thing almost every morning. Greek yogurt, sweet potatoes, kale chips- all things that excite my tummy while other people give me weird looks. Give me quinoa over pasta any day (or at least give me brown rice pasta!)
But just because I am fortunate enough to enjoy eating healthy foods doesn't mean I have deluded my taste buds into thinking cauliflower crust pizza is an equal swap for a slice of cheesy, greasy New York pizza (although I do think cauliflower crust pizza deserves another try after my failed attempt last year). And Arctic Zero, though fun to eat an entire pint for 150 calories, is just simply not a substitute for a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I know I am more physically active than a majority of people and a lot of the time, though certainly not all of the time, I eat healthier too. So a night out for pizza and dessert? Sign me up.
L'Asso is located in Nolita on Mott St. between Spring and Kenmare streets. It's got a solid 4 star rating on Yelp- if you're into that sorta thing! The inside is small and a little cramped- but that's par for the course in New York City and tends to add to the charm.
Instant bonus? The Diet Cokes we ordered came in little glass bottles! When the waiter tried to clear them from the table I nearly bit his head off- asking if I could take them home with me! Instead of giving me a strange look, he offered to rinse them for me, which was greatly appreciated. (I proceeded to spend the rest of the evening fending off over-eager table clearers to protect my adorable little Coke bottles!)
(My orchid and baby Coke bottles look cute together, don't you think?)
We placed our order- which was instantly recognized by the waiter as a vegetarian one (high fives for meatless camaraderie and for supportive friends willing to forego drool-worthy meatballs).
To start, we had the ricotta bruschetta- amazing bread topped with amazing ricotta, pieces of orange, slivered almonds and honey. Did I use the word amazing yet? Seriously. This reminded me of how amazing (oops) ricotta is. And paired with the sweetness from the oranges, it was...yeah, amazing. And it was just the start of my carb and cheese overload.
Of course, we had to order a salad because I LOVE VEGGIES! I was allowed to choose- and after trying to mentally weight my love for pears and walnuts against my love of pistachios and goat cheese- I settled on the L'Asso. Plus, salad named after the restaurant has gotta be pretty good, right?
The L'Asso came with mixed greens, asparagus, fennel, hearts of palm, goat cheese and pistachios. "What's fennel?" we asked ourselves. One bite and I remembered what fennel was. Evil. It's a vegetable that tastes like black licorice- one of the few flavors I absolutely cannot stand. Yuck! Luckily, it was not big thang to just eat around the fennel and it's evilness didn't contaminate the rest of our salad. The salad was good, but not life changing (yes, salads can be so delicious that they change your life- don't give me that look of bewilderment and doubt!) Second cheese of the night, goat cheese, was delicious in the salad. Love pistachios. And the hearts of palm were a nice touch. The asparagus didn't add much though and now that I think about it the dressing was pretty unremarkable although I appreciated the fact that my salad ingredients weren't in a swimming pool of dressing!
Moving on to the main event- the thin-crust pizza. 23 options. If you've never met me, which, for most people reading this I'm assuming we have never met, me and decisions do. not. mix. The 8 salads I had to choose between were one thing but 23 pizzas with toppings like portobello pesto, apple, walnuts and zucchini? Forget it.
Luckily, I had had some time to prepare. And by prepare, I mean read each pizza description multiple times throughout the day as I sat at my desk at work. Oops.
I noticed a lot of the pizzas came with truffle oil- another flavor I'm not too keen on (I'm the world's least picky eater though, I swear!) and while I'm usually the annoying girl at the restaurant making a million and one substitutions to every dish, I decided there were 23 freakin' pizza options and I should just order one that didn't have truffle oil (but mozzarella, gorgonzola, asparagus, apple & truffle oil, you sound so yum!) That left me with a few stand outs and some big decisions. Thank God we had decided to go for the 21" pie which meant we could pick two varieties! Honorable mention: I'm sorry you weren't chosen Friday night, but maybe you'll meet my belly one day. The Prophet Pistachio- homemade basil pesto, smoked mozzarella, pistachios, arugula, olive oil and parmesan. Our salad already had pistachios though, which is why you were cut. Next time.
So what DID we order? The Megane, sans bacon (Ok, ok so I still ended up altering the order- I'm a pain in the ass what can I say?) and the Alla Roba.
I'll start with the Megane- roasted brussel sprouts, smoked and regular mozzarella (cheese #3 and #4 of the night), rosemary and extra virgin olive oil. Yum. I don't really have a detailed analysis except to say that it was delicious and I love brussel sprouts. A lot.
(The Megane- yummy yummy brussel sprouts)
The Megane was definitely my favorite of the two because while the All Roba (mozzarella, gorgonzola (cheese #5), pear and walnut) was enjoyable, it had a definite truffle oil-y taste that I wasn't digging!
(Alla Roba- Pizza and pears? I dig it.)
I'm not a pizza connoisseur- I like most pizza that I eat- so I won't get too deep about the crust quality and the dough to cheese ratio and all that jazz. I liked that while it was thin-crust pizza, it was still doughy and not super crispy/crunch, just a personal preference.
I am incredibly proud and entirely ashamed to report that we finished every last bite.
But why stop there, with stomachs full of more bread and cheese than I typically consumer in a month? It was time for dessert, obviously.
My sweet tooth has a lot in common with Miley Cyrus- it cannot be tamed. And it was with this sweet tooth that I gleefully walked into the Hitch-famous Rice to Riches to get my rice pudding on!
(What do you mean I have to make MORE decisions?!)
Not going to lie- while extremely clever and entertaining, the decor at Rice to Riches can be a little unsettling for a person who puts a lot of time and effort into being healthy and in shape. My pants felt noticeably tighter as I read the "We put the XXX in XXXL" sign and I was already planning my next gym session when I spotted the "No Skinny Bitches!" magnets being sold. "How bad for you is this stuff?" I thought to myself. And OK, maybe I tried to quickly Google "Rice to Riches nutrition facts" as we waited to be helped. But as soon as we got our first sample spoon of Fluent in French Toast- I was in dessert mode and there were no fat jokes or calorie counts that were going to stop me!
(Meh to your signs Rice to Riches!)
About 10 samples later (Almond Schmalmond, Be My Banana Coconut and Coffee Almond Afterthought- we like nuts) we settled on ordering a larger size so we could get two flavors- because again, decisions and I do not get along and my taste buds are often very demanding in their desires. We got Fluent in French Toast and Cofee Almond Afterthought. But the best part? The "Mischief" topping- buttery graham crumble. Uhm, yes. Although rice pudding is never a dessert I crave or order out- there's no doubt this stuff is addictive-ly awesome. And a great end to an entirely unhealthy and satisfying night.
Actually, sushi makes me, and my taste buds, very happy. In fact, after recently getting a friend hooked, I ate it 2 times in 4 days. It's up there on the list of my all time favorite foods and I have no problem downing 3 rolls all by my lonesome.
(I may or may not have ordered all of this for myself. Hint: I ordered all of this for myself.)
Unfortunately, I fear my days of contentedly popping pieces of shrimp tempura and spicy tuna rolls in my mouth while patting myself on the back for eating a "healthy" meal are over. (Notice I did NOT say my days of pigging out on sushi are over!)
Ignorance really is bliss, but these days I like to be informed about the choices that I'm making when it comes to food. I'm totally that person reading every nutrition label and asking every waiter how dishes are prepared. Through a variety of different articles, I've come to the sad conclusion that sushi is likely nowhere near as healthy as you think. It can be a huge calorie trap if you aren't educated. The good news is, it's not all bad news. Nothing can replace doing your own research- but here's what I have discovered and some tips on how to make sushi the well-balanced meal that it has the potential to be.
I was shocked to read that each sushi roll is made with approximately one cup of rice. That's around 200 calories per roll in rice alone. Most articles I read estimated that around 75% of a sushi roll is actually just rice. And to boot, sushi rice isn't just rice - it's made with vinegar and added sugar. News to me!
If possible, when you're out for sushi, try to order it with brown rice. While it doesn't make a dent in the calories, and it's often $1-$2 extra, brown rice will add fiber to the meal, which can make you feel full faster and helps aid digestion. Plus, white rice is processed and stripped of most of it's nutritional value while brown rice is considered a whole grain!
Obviously, avoiding the rice altogether and ordering sashimi (just slices of the raw fish), is another option, although usually far more expensive than my budget can handle. One article I read suggested ordering "naruto" which from what I gather, is when the rice is replaced by wrapping the ingredients in cucumber- yum! Definitely something to ask about next time I'm out for sushi!
I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that my go-to order of spicy salmon and spicy tuna rolls, "With the crunchies, please!" is probably one of the worst things on the menu. For one, those delicious "crunchies" are fried (go figure, Lauren). And the reason they're "spicy?" Hot sauce mixed with mayo. One article says that each tablespoon of spicy mayo clocks in at 100 calories and 11 grams of fat! Say it ain't so! Plus, the amount of actual fish used in spicy rolls is typically less than other rolls since it's chopped up and mixed with the sauce- and the quality of the fish can be worse! Sorry spicy rolls- I think we may need to see other people!
I hope I didn't just completely ruin your day with this post. Because remember, you can still go out, equipped with this information, and enjoy a delicious, nutritious and healthy sushi meal! OR you can go out and order a spicy salmon roll and lobster tempura salad and that's OK too!
Moderation :)
Now that I know all of this, and have been reading articles on sushi for over an hour (is it time for lunch yet?), I really want to try to make my own! Consider it added to the bucket list.
I leave you with this hilarious video that I hope you enjoy!
I used to be incredibly worthless when it came to cooking. Growing up, my father was a) an extremely talented cook and b) extremely OCD. This meant that a) I never felt the need to cook for myself when I was served gourmet meals on a daily basis and b) I was usually forbidden from attempting to cook in the kitchen since it would create "a mess."
That may be the reason that I once needed directions on how to boil water. Yup. And another time I asked my sister how to make tuna fish (can of tuna, mayo, fork, mash, voila).
But, when I moved to the city for graduate school last year, I found that being poor makes cooking your own food necessary. Luckily, I also found that I enjoy experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen. And, I'm not completely awful!
Last night I cooked dinner for myself and a friend and it turned out to be pretty freaking tasty. The goal of the meal was to use the incredible feta cheese from a Greek specialty store in Astoria.
(Look at all that cheese!)
After doing some browsing of various recipes, I got the idea for this healthy dinner from Cookin' Canuck and added some of my own stuff to it as well.
What I ended up with was a sweet potato stuffed with feta, hummus, garlic, spinach, broccoli and mushrooms! I served it with some balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts (cut in half, dip in balsamic, bake in the oven), and tofu!
Does anyone else have any ideas for healthy dishes I could make with the rest of the feta cheese?
I barely ice skate. I can't stop, I can't switch directions, I can't go backwards. In fact, I can't usually last an entire public ice-skating session without landing on my butt at least once. Yet somehow, last night I found myself in full ice hockey gear at the rinks at Chelsea Piers. I sat on the bench waiting for the game to start. Behind me, a beautiful view of the sun setting over the Hudson River. Next to me, people who have been playing hockey for years. Crap.
I shakily took my first shift (see, I even know the lingo!) wearing my very own skates and a whole lot of borrowed equipment that a colleague had so graciously helped me figure out how the hell to put on in the locker room minutes before.
And BOOM! Miracle on ice, I was amazing! An instant success story. A true hockey prodigy. I blew everyone away with how quickly I picked up the game.
Just kidding!
Let's be real. I was in slow motion, worthlessly doing my best to get up and down the ice. But I was out there! And shockingly, instead of feeling embarrassed and frustrated and petrified (okay, maybe I felt all of those a little bit) I was actually enjoying the challenge.
For the past year I've slowly but surely been getting comfortable with the idea of calling myself "a runner." I've been spending hours alone pushing myself at the gym. But I've always been more of a team athlete at heart, since the day I started playing field hockey in the 3rd grade. So to be out on the ice with other people, thinking about finding the open space, having the defense and offense mentality again- it felt pretty incredible.
I wish I could say that I scored a goal or made a beautiful pass...but I certainly did not. The people I played with were great- every time I got to the puck they moved out of the way, let me try out some stick handling, and let me attempt a few pitiful shots at the goalie. But I'm happy to say that instead of saying "Screw this, I suck!" I'm just super excited to keep playing in the hopes that I can improve. Maybe one day I WILL be out there deflecting shots in like a pro!
I think the craziest part of last night's experience was the number of people who said they were impressed that I got out there in the first place. I've had like 3 people call me brave. Which is NOT a word I ever would have thought to use to describe myself.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to get to know myself better. It sounds weird. After all, who knows me better than me? But I really do feel at times that I don't know myself at all. Why I do things, what I really want, how I come across to other people. After last night, I'm starting to think that one of the qualities I like best about myself is that I'm willing to try new things. Whether it's some crazy disgusting sounding food, or lacing up skates and playing in a hockey game.
It must be said though: I did not do this on my own. I'm soo thankful for the great friend that pushed me to try something new and calmed me down as I shit myself about getting out on the ice. I had so much fun and can't wait to get better!
*If you recognize the quote, we'll be fast friends.
It's a question I've been mulling over for a week now. But I decided it's time to just do the damn thing! Hello interwebz! My healthy living blog has officially begun.
In time, I'm sure we'll become the best of friends. But until then, I guess it's kind of my job to convince you that I'm interesting enough to keep you coming back to this blog with the absurdly long URL.
Read my words?
