Happy Monday! Last night I made a big pot of vegetarian chili for this week's work lunches.
What was in it?
pinto beans
chick peas
black beans
crushed tomatoes
marinara sauce
hot sauce (lots)
chili powder
garlic salt
salt & pepper
yellow onion
green peppers
orange peppers
corn kernels
olive oil
garlic
I threw it all in my giant-est pot for about 2 hours.
Et voila! It was really good!
This is a great way to spread your grocery money over a week! Summertime makes me a very broke girl (with all of the excessive going out and whatnot), therefore healthy, cheap meals are a must.
Yesterday I decided to take a Total Body Conditioning class but before leaving my apartment at 5:30, I decided to drink a little 5 hour energy. Big mistake! The whole class I was dizzy and had too much energyyyyyyyy. THEN I couldn't fall asleep until almost 2am. Blech never again. I felt like this:
If you've never watched this, you're welcome. Kenyans!
Anyhoo, I decided to take pilates at lunch today and it was fantastic. My whole body feels like it worked today. Tomorrow is Vinyasa yoga with my favorite teacher at NYSC. He's so cool :)
Have you tried taking energy drinks / supplements before a workout?
I hope you’re having a nice week so far. It has
been rainy
and humid here in New York. Today the temperature was 65 degrees (or
about 15
for all of you Canadians out there!). I’m not complaining – I prefer
winter to
stay away as long as possible.
Today I’d like to share a very special spot that BF
and I
found. It is located at Essex & Grand St, and is a great find for
anyone
who is looking to have a homey, healthy and adorable lunch. The food is
affordable,
fresh and overall worth checking out if you’re in the area. We have gone here twice now, both times I have left as happy as a little kid on a field trip.
When we went, I had a soup + half wrap combo
featuring their
homemade lentil soup (delish) and a half boardwalk wrap. BF made his own
sandwich with turkey, he seemed pretty happy. They also have an
extensive tea
collection & the staff is very friendly! For such a small space
(there are
only a few tables) quite a few people come in and out picking up salads,
bagels, coffee and ice cream. Overall, this made place made me feel like I was over at a friends place for lunch in high school (in the 70s) & their mom made me something special. I can't wait to go back.
This morning I did something I hadn’t done in a while: woke
up early & went to the gym before work. I did a cardio boxing class at my
local UES New York Sport Club and man oh man did it kick my butt.
I am not a morning person.
If people were meant to pop out of bed, then we would all sleep in toasters (i don't know where this is from but i like it) My body was so confused and angry while I was doing suicide
sprints at 6:30am. My thighs didn’t understand why they were being forced to do
jump squats instead staying cozy in bed, my arms didn’t remember how to do a
push up... BUT After class was over, I felt energized and excited to start my day and starting thinking, hmmm maybe working out in the morning isn’t quite so bad?!
I
need to make a change in my schedule because I often end up staying late at
work and don’t get to the gym as regularly as I need to. I’m feeling tired, I miss
my usual cheery self and overall I feel zoned out. Think space cadet. I need to work out to get back to normal (normal
for me). A big benefit of getting workouts out of the way in the morning that
the best parties are never at breakfast time. Committing to this will give
me the freedom of being social after work or making dinner with BF without
feeling disappointed with my laziness. Do you work out in the morning?
For lunch today I tried something new – something really,
really great. It’s a restaurant in Soho called Souen.
Description from nnymag.com - Japanese-based macrobiotic theory believes healthy, wholesome eating is
therapeutic. Meat, dairy, and eggs, and even certain vegetables, are
prohibited. It's not a versatile cuisine, but all those dark green vegetables,
soy, beans, grains, and fish on the menu should leave you feeling fantastic.
Here is what I had. All of this cost about $15 dollars :
Seaweed Salad - hijiki, wakame, red and green seaweed. With
Sesame Vinaigrette. – I added avocado for an extra $3.50. When I opened
this from my takeout bag, I thought “wow, I didn’t know that there were so many
types of pretty colored seaweed. Seaweed I can eat!”
Today’s Pureed Vegetable (GF) cold or hot – This was pureed broccoli.
Really flavorful yet, pure tasting. Miso based.
I chose this place because I wanted to stick to my new
Tuesday health kick where I apparently work out in the morning and eat healthy
things like seaweed.
If you’re in New York go, just go. Your body will thank you.
That’s it for now.
Tomorrow my team at work is having a Thanksgiving
turkey & I’m in charge of apple pie. This means I will be attempting to bake my
first pie ever – scary! I’m envisioning it exploding all over my tiny gas oven.
Any tips for my pie baking success?
I had a client lunch at Koi NYC last week and it was
incredible. Everything was great - from the service, to the fancy bathroom to the amazing food - perfect.
I loved this place but, I don’t know when I’ll get to return
because the menu is a little bit spendy for my liking. I mean, $22 for 8 pieces
of sushi? Ouch. BUT, if you have
it in your budget, I highly recommend going. (luckily this was a free lunch! )
I’m off to spend the rest of the evening on a couch. I had
way too much fun this weekend & can feel my immune system giving up on me.
Tonight I am heading to hot yoga at Yoga To The People in midtown Manhattan. I have done the 90 minute class here, but tonight I think I will stick to 60 minutes based on my laziness level. If you live in the city, please do check it out. It is a great studio and it is very affordable. http://yogatothepeople.com/new-york/
Believe it or not, I used to be quite a yoga woman / yogi. Maybe it's time I get back into it?
Just a thought..
For lunch today, I tried something new. Smart Cutlets Classic Marinara.
pretty good!
The box came with 2 cutlets - pretty big and 150 calories each. So last night, I grilled em up.
I put one away in the fridge for a rainy day
Cooked up some veggies: mushrooms, spinach & frozen broccoli from Trader Joe's.
Sliced the up the fake chicken and added my cooked veggies. On top of this I added some extra marinara sauce I had in my fridge.
This was a perfect lunch. It was satisfying and kept me full with the help of some plain Fage Greek yogurt & 1/2 an avocado on the side.
That is what a coworker said to me today when she discovered that I was wearing mismatched socks.
One white, one striped.
I think she's right - if I can't even bother to spend the time or energy to wear matching socks to work, something must be up right? It's one thing that I take my boots off while sitting at my desk, but to expose my lack of organization to my coworkers? Ugh.
Everything seems a bit off lately. Maybe it's the change of seasons? I'm finding that I'm often tired, my room is a mess and I am having a hard time focusing at work
Since this is a food blog, not a complaining blog, here are my meals :)
Lunch
weird combo, right? - I was hungry 2 hours later
Romaine & tomato salad with balsami
A handful of cucumber slices
teriyaki tofu (see below) mixed with cashews and some Soyaki sauce from Trader joes
1 cup of cottage cheese topped with Red Curry sauce
3 lemon slices that I enjoyed with water throughout the day
So good, i eat it raw.
Dinner
Romaine lettuce chopped
A hearty handful of cashews
About half of the above teriyaki tofu
Some reduced fat cheddar
Trader Hies Sesame Soy Vinaigrette (yummy)
1 clove of chopped garlic.
mmmm teriyaki sesame- tastic
Thats all folks! I'm off to a farewell party for a coworker. Maybe a few of these will make me feel better!
