So, from time to time, I review things I’m not so crazy about. Enter Skinny Water.

Skinny Water beverages are enhanced waters that do more than just refresh. A true “aquaceutical,” Skinny Water starts with super-purified water and adds a unique combination of electrolytes (calcium and potassium) along with EGCG, an extract of green tea, to promote hydration and nutrient-absorption. Building on this base formula, each flavor of Skinny Water adds other neutraceutical enhancements.

I like the emphasis on fitness and activity, but I do not like the message that “skinny” sends. I appreciate that consumers may be attracted to a “zero calorie, zero sugar, crave-controlling and metabolism-boosting” beverage (the same way that magazines touting easy steps to “lose the belly fat!” sell thousands of copies)… but the taste didn’t do it for me, either.

Each flavor was so sweet it tasted like drinking pure syrup. I tried drinking 1/5 of the bottle and diluting it with water, and it was still too sweet! As Ari said, “It tastes like I shouldn’t be putting this into my body.”

I think these would be great to drink if you’re sick, but as is, I really can’t see myself trying these. Thank you for letting me sample these, Skinny Water.

I also really had the chance to sample Primal Strips, flavored vegan jerky made from textured vegetable protein, soy and shiitake mushrooms. They are kosher, cholesterol free, preservative free, and very high in protein.

I was excited to try these out because while I have a fair amount of sweet and portable snacks like granola bars and dried fruit, I don’t always have an easy time finding savory grab-and-go snacks that are substantial but low in calories.

These have great texture! They’re hearty and satisfying, and have great texture: they’re almost caramelized. I love how “meaty” they taste. It really shreds, which is nice to have every once in a while for a non-meat eater.

Mesquite Lime

Sweet! Tastes like (what I remember) BBQ pork tasting like.

Thai Peanut

Mmm! I love peanut sauce, and t his tastes just like restaurant-style mock duck. Mildly spicy.

Hickory Smoked

Sweet, and a little spicy. Maybe a little too sweet.

Hot & Spicy

Dryer and a little tougher than the rest of the flavors. I like the spice, but am not a fan of the texture.

Teriyaki

Not as sweet as the others, or quite as flavorful.

Texas BBQ

Sweet and rich, with a light spice. A little like Hickory Smoked.

Bottom line: I love these. They’re great to pack as emergency snacks; I kept these in my desk and usually ate them after lunch when I needed a little protein-spike. I would certainly buy these again (I’ve seen them at Whole Foods).

Thank you, Primal Strips!

What is your favorite on-the-go savory snack?

Breakfast (inhaled in under five minutes) was a bowl of pumpkinyogurtPB&J oatmeal… there are oats under there, I promise.

• 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
• 0% Fage Greek yogurt
• pumpkin
• Maranatha no-stir creamy peanut butter
• raspberry jam
• cinnamon

Luckily I’d gotten my lunch and snacks ready the night before:

• apple
• orange
• baby carrots (two days’ worth)
• big salad with spinach, small Gala apple, celery, grape tomatoes, tempeh bacon, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, tamari peanut dressing

I had lunch with three lovely ladies (including a surprise visit from my friend Ilena!)… we spent our meal dishing over our favorite 101 Cookbooks recipes and how great life will be when we can collect social security and reap the benefits of life among the elderly.

Danielle was nice enough to share some of her Ritter Sport milk chocolate w/ Cornflakes… it had a nice snapcracklepop! feel to it.

When I got home, I was greeted with a HUGE package from Miss Blue Eyed Heart: the prize from her blogiversary giveaway.

I couldn’t believe all of the great things in the box: cozy socks, a journal, a candle, crossword puzzles, White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter (!) nutrition bars, chocolate, pretzels, and more!  Thanks so much, Miss Blue.

She sent a gorgeous pair of earrings that would have gone perfectly with my outfit today… I  haven’t quite acquired her ear photography skills, but I’m working on it

I was pretty hungry, so I dug into a bag of steamed broccoli while I played with Charley…

… and some crudités and cheese…

… and raw carrots with sea salt when my mom got home.  I certainly can’t be criticized for not eating enough veggies!  (My tum is feeling that fiber, though…)

My mom picked up a great dinner at Citarella: Crab cakes (these have been my favorite for years), pasta salad and green beans.

My dad picked up two equally delicious desserts at Silver Moon Bakery, which we split three ways: a pear tart and chocolate-hazelnut bombe.  Mmm.

Now I’m off to go do some work in the tub.  Warm water + candles makes it so much more bearable!  A bath will also be good for my knee; it’s better than yesterday, usually the worst after I’ve been sitting for a while.  I see some yoga in my future this weekend, which will be perfect because the weather is supposed to be quite shoddy.

Have a great night!

Not too much has happened these past two days, but I did receive a lovely package in the mail from the lovely Amie!  These mini Larabars are the perfect snack-size…

… and made a great addition to my breakfast this morning, which I had to eat at my desk due to an 8 AM dentist appointment.

I mixed 1/2 cup oats with 1/2 cup water in the microwave, then added a sliced banana, 1/2 packet of Justin’s PB, and a Coconut Cream Pie mini Larabar.

This was one of the best combinations I’ve had in a long time!  It’s funny, because in the past I don’t remember liking this flavor of Larabar too much.  I might have to buy a big one just to crumble into my breakfast!

Amie also sent me a bunch of tea, which is going to come in really handy at work.  It may be getting warm outside, but my office is freezing!

After work I met Ada for dinner at Peacefood Cafe; we’ve been trying to make plans for over a month now, and it was so nice to finally get together again!  I ordered the pumpkin sandwich mashed and seasoned with a little sea salt, ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil, topped with caramelized onions, ground walnuts, vegan goat cheese and seasonal greens (which I’ve ordered before and could probably eat every week without getting bored of it).  We were talking so much that it probably took about 45 minutes to eat!

We split two desserts.  The choices were endless and incredibly difficult to settle on, but we both enjoyed our selections.

The coconut cake (or “Funny Bone”) was moist and light…

… and the magic cookie tasted like a magic bar (/ 7-layer bar/ hello dolly) but was also made with shredded carrots.  Mmm!

Regular posting will continue tomorrow.  I had high hopes of staying up late to work, but I can barely keep my head up!  All I want to do is sleep… have a great night.

Yesterday I woke up nice and early to have breakfast with Beth and Ilana, and Pickles.

We had a nice little spread!  (The Yellow Tail stayed in its bag, don’t worry.)

I was gearing up for a 12 mile run, so I had a big bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch with a banana and  1/2 slice of Blueberry bread with peanut butter.

After breakfast, I waited about an hour to head out.  As I Tweeted, I was pretty nervous about it.  Luckily I had a great support system to cheer me on!

Unfortunately, 12 miles just wasn’t in the cards. As soon as I started running my calves felt tight, my left shin was sore and my legs just felt heavy.  Discomfort aside, my head was not in the right place.  I was in a pretty bad mood, and while sometimes running outdoors helps me focus on something else and clear my head, this wasn’t the case today.  After about a mile of trying to psych myself up and get into my groove, I knew it wasn’t going to work. Rather than torture myself, I turned right around and walked home.  My mind was racing, worried about the half-marathon that is in two weeks: I couldn’t even run 9 miles last week due to pain, so how am I going to run 13.1?!  This was supposed to be my last long run before starting to taper, and I couldn’t even do it.

That got me thinking.  This is supposed to be fun.  The only person I’m running for is me (…right?) and it hasn’t been enjoyable for the last few weeks, with a few exceptions.  Instead, it’s become a stressful chunk of time that I usually feel guilty about not using for work and the passion that originally incited me to start this series of races has died. Moreover, since I choose to broadcast a lot of my life through various mediums on the internet, I felt embarrassed about not being able to complete this goal. Yesterday I felt like a failure, and it was a horrible, horrible feeling.

There are a few things I have been lucky enough to feel truly passionate about (reading, cooking, running) but recently they’ve felt more stressful than fun, and I’ve found myself procrastinating doing the things that I used to love.  What’s with that?  “Failures” are usually learning experiences, and I would love to learn a little more about myself while I evaluate:

1) Why it’s important for me to run long distances, and

2) Why my brain and head seem to be rebelling against it.

What is clear to me is that something needs to change.  I’m not sure what it is; maybe I need to start my own happiness project and come up with new goals, or maybe I need to find something that doesn’t have a concrete “pass” or “fail” award.   The one thing I do know is that I’m incredibly hard on myself, and the first thing I probably need to get better at is accepting who I am without thinking about things in terms of success and limitations.

While I was stewing this over in my mind, I made a big salad for lunch.

In the mix:

• last of the Chopped Coconut Miso Salad
• sauerkraut
• dulse
• spinach
• grape tomatoes
• goji berries
• pumpkin seeds
• sesame oil/rice wine vinegar drizzle

I also had two slices of Gluten Free Bran Bread… even veggie patches need comfort food.

One of my friends tried it out, and before I told her what it was made of she remarked on the moistness, comparing it to a chocolate-chip cookie fresh out of the oven.  The rye bread was also super moist, so I think it has to do with the almond meal/flax base.  I love it!

I fell asleep while doing some work in bed (never a good idea!) and when I woke up, snacked on an apple with maca and cinnamon. I wish I could bring this combination to work without making a mess!

Dinner was a bit of an experiment.  I knew I wanted to keep my theme of comfort food, and what’s more comforting than macaroni and cheese?  I wanted it to be really cheesy, and although I usually add all kinds of things to the noodles (nutritional yeast, laughing cow wedge, parmesan) they don’t usually increase the cheese factor.  This time I mashed about 1/5 of a block of firm tofu, and it worked! I didn’t add any extra cheese (or cheeze) and it perfectly creamy.

I enjoyed it with a side of steamed broccoli, broc water, and a sprinkle of Emeril’s Original Essence.

Followed closely by a dessert plate, starring dried fruit, Maranatha almond butter, and one of Gina’s Superoons.  Speaking of Gina, a huge congratulations to her for finishing the Disney Princess Half-Marathon!!!

Well, off to go get ready for work.  Have a wonderful day

Have any of your former passions turned into stressful chores? Do you evaluate yourself in terms of successes and failures?

Yesterday I could not, for the life of me, figure out what I wanted to eat for breakfast.  I finally settled on a little bit of everything, by way of a yogurt mess.

• 0% Fage Greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup Bread Alone granola (my friend Miriam gifted this so long ago and I was happy to discover there was still a little left!)
• 1 scoop super chunky peanut butter
• raspberry jam

I took myself to the coffee shop for a small skim latte. I sat in the window for about half an hour before heading home– the sun was shining so brightly through the window that I could hardly erad the words off the page!

Around 3, I met Ilana and Beth for a slice.  It’s been so long since I’ve gone to a pizza parlor! I got a slice with basil and mozzarella.

When I got back home, I had a Granny Smith apple with cinnamon and maca.

In between chapters, I decided to get my hands a little dirty in the kitchen.  Ever since high school I’ve always gotten the baking bug when there’s work to be done.  Funny how that happens! After checking the pantry and fridge for ingredients, I settled on Elana’s Gluten Free Bran Muffins.   Since I don’t have a muffin tin (I won’t go as far as to say that I can’t afford one, but some things- like groceries- take priority…) I baked it in a loaf pan instead.

I used the Egg-land’s Best cage-free, vegetarian-fed large brown eggs that I received a coupon for from Foodbuzz a few months ago.

The eggs come in a special 3-layer plastic case to keep them from being crushed in transit.  I love this idea!  However, I do wish they’d find a way to make something similar out of paper or cardboard to reduce the amount of plastic they produce.

I made a couple substitutions, subbing pumpkin seeds for sunflower and dried cranberries for raisins.

Ta da!

23 minutes later, we had a beautiful loaf of bread.

I was about to go have dinner, but who can resist a loaf of bread hot out of the oven?

I loved the different textures of the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.  I can’t wait to have a full serving of this!

A little while ago, I received a question about the best affordable restaurants in New York. Well, I’m happy to say that last night my little red-headed friend and I discovered a new one!  While searching online for a little Italian comfort food, I stumbled upon Paprika, whose prix fixe looked pretty incredible.  Between 5 and 7, you have your choice of two courses for only $15!  The portions were far from meager, and the atmosphere was so cozy and romantic.  I couldn’t believe our luck!

We started with warm bread, olives and olive oil.

For my appetizer, I ordered an arugula salad with apples, walnuts and goat cheese.  It was huge!  Of course, being LVP, I gobbled up every scrap of salad, nut and apple, leaving only one of the two goat cheese rounds.

For my entrée, I had roasted arctic char with sautéed spinach (I believe it was cooked in orange juice) and thyme.  Delicious! I left about 1/3.

I’m going to keep this as a running list, but other affordable restaurants I love in New York are:

Chains

Hummus Place (Read about my visit)

Maoz Vegetarian (Read about my visit)

Le Pain Quotidien (My mom and I go here a lot, there is something for everyone)

Other

Paprika- Italain, great prix fixe with vegetarian and pescatarian options.

The Flea Market Cafe- French, great prix fixe options.  (Read about my visit)

Sura – Thai, great lunch specials.  They have an amazing appetizer trio for $12. (Read about my visits)

Alice’s Tea Cup- One of my favorite cafes.  You should check it out if only for the Alice In Wonderland decor! They have a great soup + 1/2 salad(/sandwich) for $12.  (I’ve gone here so many times, but I almost always get the same thing.)

Peacefood Cafe- Relatively new, this has great raw, vegan and vegetarian options.  Their pumpkin sandwich is delicious, and the desserts are to die for! (Read about my visits)

Bonobos- Raw food can be pretty expensive, but not here. For $8.95 you can get nori wraps, nut meat salads, veggie burgers, etc.  Their coconut chai is unbelievable, as are their sesame balls.  (Read about my visits)

Tips for Eating Out in NYC

• Many places, particularly Thai & Japanese, have amazing lunch specials that are under $10.
• Finding BYOB places (or having a little wine before or after your meal) is another way to slash your subtotal.
• Keep track of when Restaurant Week is going on!  Many restaurants, including Gotham Bar & Grill, keep their restaurant week lunch all year long.
• Many restaurants have prix fixe, 2-3 course meals. They’re often set with a certain time frame (usually before 7) so double check before you go.
• If you love sushi (as I do), you know it can get expensive.  We’ve recently discovered that by splitting a “sushi for two,” you get more food than both you or a hungry man can eat, and it’s less expensive than ordering individual rolls or pieces.  Bento boxes, which usually include soup, salad, a roll, tempura, and a small portion of an entrée, are also great deals.

After dinner we walked over to 16 Handles for dessert.  I loaded my cup with Euro Tart and Peanut Butter soft serve, strawberries, milk chocolate crunch, peanut butter cup and a chocolate-covered pretzel. Delish!

On our way home we took advantage of the short line at Trader Joe’s so I could pick up some essentials (Masala Burgers, frozen strawberries, Kerrygold butter, Harvest Grains Blend, coffee, red licorice) and Kalle could check out the wine shop.

When I got home Zombieland sucked me in… as did this bag of popcorn.

Call it fuel for the 12 mile run I’m about to attempt.  Honestly, I’ll consider myself lucky if I can make it through 7 miles pain free.  Fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend