Lilveggiepatch » fish

Affordable Eating In New York

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:49:05 +0000

Sunday already? Lordy lord, where has the weekend gone. It has felt full, at the very least.

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

It’s Never Too Late

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:29:28 +0000

Morning and happy weekend! I hope you’re out sledding or playing in the snow. It seems like this storm swept all across the country! We’ve been up but have yet to go outside; it’s a cleaning day at LVP headquarters. The closet was a good start, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Most of the clutter comes from magazine and newspaper clippings for recipes and workouts. Recently I’ve started going through old magazines and making meals I thought looked great when I first saw them years ago, so now I can finally throw a few things out. What piles up fastest in your household?

Somehow my breakfast photo was deleted from the camera, but I had a bowl of Kashi GoLean, Kaia’s Cocoa Bliss Buckwheat Granola, warmed frozen berries and skim milk.

It was tough for everyone in the office to get to work; a lot of people who have long commutes didn’t even make it in at all! The roads were really bad. I snacked on the usual suspects (orange + apple):

For lunch I had a spinach salad with beets, tempeh, shredded carrots, grape tomatoes and a mix of Raspberry and Vidalia Onion viniagrettes; I also had a cup of lemon yogurt.

We ended up closing the office around 3, which was a nice surprise for everyone. Before I left, I snacked on a Teriyaki Primal Strip.

Ari was close by, so we met up and went to see The Crazies. I was shocked Ari wanted to see this; he HATES scary movies, and the only way I can even get him to watch a thriller is by telling him it’s a “drama”! (Probably shouldn’t give away that secret…) The movie was pretty bad… we both gave it a 4/10. It’s a remake of a 1973 horror movie and we were expecting it to be “good camp,” but… there really wasn’t anything redeeming about it (except the very fact of going to see a movie, which has become quite rare).

In the theater I snacked on a Raspberry Clif C bar (photo taken on the floor, sorry for the poor quality); it was good, but I liked the blueberry flavor better.

After the movie, we headed to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for a belated birthday celebration (Ari’s birthday was in November). I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but the boy loves his steak. One day I’m going to learn how to cook it (without having to taste it first) and win the girlfriend-of-the-year award.

We started with warm bread…

…and a Jack on the Rocks for me, Jameson for Ari.

I ordered grilled salmon with roasted vegetables, hold-the-butter. This was a pretty large portion, so I boxed up the rest to take home.

Ari ordered a NY Strip Steak, which arrived to our table sizzling.

We split a side of sautéed mushrooms (leaving the half inch of butter behind).

When we got home I made us each peanut butter cups, which we ate in bed while watching Bill Maher. Ari wanted milk chocolate and peanut butter; I made mine with dark chocolate and chocolate hazelnut butter. Mmm!

It’s never too late to celebrate a birthday!

P.S. It’s also never too late to enter BlueEyedHeart’s one year giveaway!

Diary of a Snackerton

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:56:37 +0000

4:55 AM GAH! What time is it? Squint in vain trying to read clock. Should have located glasses before removing contacts… which I remind myself every morning.

5:01 AM WHY am I awake?!

5:08 AM May as well get up and go to the gym…

5:48 AM My brain (and calves) are not having any of this. Why did I want to run a half-marathon again?

6:20 AM Done! 6 miles in 58 minutes. I really don’t feel like working my abs right now… okay, maybe just a few sit-ups.

6:38 AM Breakfast!

Rye Bread with SmartBeat and honey; 0% Fage with diced apple, pumpkin, peanut butter and agave.

7:05 AM Post iHerb giveaway. (Have you entered?)

7:5 AM Is there any point in straightening my hair if it’s snowing out? Only if I don’t want to look like a broom.

8:38 AM “Ladies and gentlemen, we are being held by the dispatcher because of the train traffic ahead of us. Please be patient.” This always happens when the weather is a little off…

8:53 AM “Ladies and gentlemen, we are being held by the dispatcher because of the train traffic ahead of us. Please be patient.” Key heart palpitations.

9:02 AM Made it!

9:50 AM Starving already?! Hello, orange!

10:25 AM Hungry again already?!

10:38 AM Apparently.

What, you don’t eat jerky before 11?

11:50 AM Lunch is going to be a little later than usual today… apple time.

12:30 PM Oof. Too much fiber…

1:20 PM Trek out into the slush and rain to meet…

1:30 PM Ilena and Eileen!

Eileen treated us to lunch at FreeFoods NYC, Matthew Kenney’s midtown restaurant. I’ve been here once before with Ilena, but it was such a treat to be able to meet for lunch in the middle of a workday! I ordered the Chopped Mexican salad with red chili chips, avocado, black beans, jicama, chopped tomato, cilantro, white corn, goat gouda, tomato-chili dressing.

Ilena gave me a small bite of her vegan hazelnut-white chocolate blondie. Mmm!

Thanks again for lunch, Eileen and Ilena!

2:15 PM Dodge puddles and raindrops on the way back to work while thinking about smuggling a space heater into my office.

3:59 PM Tiiiired. Hungry? Tired. Hungry.

This is Clif’s answer to the Larabar. It’s gluten-free, 70% organic and made with dried fruit, nuts and sea salt. I was pretty excited when I found these in stores the other day! Today I tried the blueberry flavor. It has two layers: dates on the bottom, blueberries on the top. The dates have an almost cakey texture that I loved. I was expecting to see (and taste) big grains of sea salt, which I think would have made the bar a little more interesting. It was still pretty good though, and I’d buy it again.

4:52 PM Canceled plans with Leslie Darn “snowicane”! I miss you, L!

5:12 PM Head back into the freezing rain, plunge my foot ankle-deep into a dirty, icy puddle, but get home in one piece.

5:59 PM Ari is starving, orders Thai. I’m still pretty full from all of my snackage, but we share fresh vegetable rolls. Rather, he takes one bite and proclaims, “I do not like these!” and I eat the rest.

6:27 PM Finish watching Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (loved, and am now in love with Marisa Tomei)… it’s only taken me five days to watch.

7:40 PM Make a batch of Annie’s mac & cheese with a can of salmon, Laughing Cow Light cheese wedge, chili flakes, salt, pepper and nooch. Have possibly been daydreaming about this all day. (Ari gagged when he smelled it.)

8:15 PM Break out The Lite Choice‘s Hazelnut Fudge soft serve while watching Glee.

8:27 PM There’s not that much left in the carton… I should probably go finish it. So I do.

9:02 PM Grey’s Anatomy is a re-run My night of vegging will now consist of lying horizontal, soothing my food baby. Life is pretty exciting, let me tell ya!

Have a great night

Answers!

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:34:33 +0000

Evening and happy weekend! Even though it was technically a short week, it feels like last Friday was ages ago. Today was a pretty good day: busy–>productive–> relaxing. Couldn’t really ask for more!

This morning was take number two of 7 miles on the treadmill. And… I did it! I was a little groggy when I woke up at 5:30, but I got myself up and dressed. On the way out the door, I grabbed a chocolate Clif Shot Rock (sent from the company) to get me through my workout.

It was pretty good! Initially it had a little of that “protein-y” taste, but after a couple chews it started to taste more like a brownie bite or a Milk Dud. I like that they’re not sticky; they’d be great for stuffing into the tiny pocket of my shorts for a quick energy boost during a long run. Click here for more info.

The run itself went much better than I’d thought, and I owe that all to my choice of entertainment! The Upwelling has been listening to Graphic Audio on the road (basically a graphic novel with sound effects), and Ari gave me chapter 1 (about 70 minutes) of Batman. Although I read comic books and graphic novels, I expected to find this version of it kind of hokey. I actually got really into it! My heart rate monitor wasn’t working the whole time, but my splits looked like this:

Mile 1 (warm-up): 5.8 mph@ 1% incline

Miles 2-6: 1600@6.9 mph, 800@ 6.2 mph (repeated) @ 1% incline

Mile 6-6.5: 5.8 mph@ 1% incline

Mile 6.5-7.0: 5.2-3.5 mp @ 1% incline

Total time: about 65 minutes

I made sure to get a good stretch in, and even now I don’t feel sore at all and my knees haven’t given me any trouble. Big success!

When I got back I was pretty thirsty, so I combined a mixture of Clif Shot Electrolyte & Ester-C.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have suffered from pretty low energy for the past 6 years or so, and one of the ways that helps me manage it is to take iron supplements. Ester-C helps absorb the iron. It does come in a capsule form, but I bought the powder by mistake… and it tastes awful. I usually mix it with orange or POM juice, which are both sweet enough to mask the taste. (I have about 1/3 of a serving every morning). Unfortunately I must not have used enough Shot powder this morning, because it still tasted awful. Better luck next time!

After I showered and got ready for work, I climbed back in bed with a big bowl of oatmeal and relaxed for a few minutes.

In the mix:

1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
1 banana
pumpkin
1 dried peach half
1 dried prune
1 scoop Maranatha creamy almond butter
cinnamon
stevia

It held me over pretty well for a while, but I started to really feel the effects of those 7 miles at work! I had an apple and a mini Chocolate Chip Clif bar.

For lunch, I had a big salad with leftover buffalo salmon, tomatoes, and goddess dressing. It was actually too big for me to finish! (A rare sentence from LVP.) I did eat the vanilla yogurt, but I waited until I got back to my desk.

And last but not least… an orange. The people who work next to me must think I do nothing but snack, but no one’s said anything yet!

I was really looking forward to laying low tonight, which is just what I did.

I watched The Hurt Locker and Milk while eating dinner and sipping wine… I found a fabulous batch of pasta in the fridge that my parents had made earlier this week: pesto with potatoes, green beens, and sundried tomatoes.

Aren’t their new dishes pretty?

I added grated Manchego and a can of Trader Joe’s crab meat. Definitely didn’t need to take my Omega-3 supplement today! (I usually take two capsules, or one if I know I’ll be eating fish or seafood.)

For dessert, I had Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream with hot fudge and coconut. There was a second container in the freezer, so I went back for a little more, too!

Before I get into bed, I thought I would answer some of your Ask Me Anything (or “As,” as I miss-typed) questions! I’m going to keep the form open indefinitely and will answer questions as time permits. So feel free to ask away!

have you always been slender? i’m just wondering because i used to tip the scale at 150lbs but lost 40lbs and have been maintaining for 9 years (i’m 23 now).

Luckily I was graced with a pretty fast metabolism while I was growing up, and got away with eating whatever I wanted without really doing much exercise. It’s slowed down significantly in the past few years, so to maintain my weight and keep eating the foods I like, I do have to put some effort into it.

hi! I’ve been reading your blog a long time:) I am a huge fan of your foodie and blog I have random question..I am living in NY too. and I don’t know where to get haircut??? (i know its totally random…sorryyy) but I always thought your hair looks so good! could you give me suggestion? that salon that you are going??

Not a silly question at all! I went to Hoshi Coupe for years; it’s a Japanese salon that’s relatively inexpensive, and you can get a pretty stylish cut for a good price. My favorite stylist moved back to Tokyo a few years ago so I was floundering around for a while, then got a life-changing cut in May at 526, a salon that houses Bumble and Bumble. I get it cut there every time I go back to Minnesota! A friend recommended Bumble and Bumble in New York, and since I was so pleased with the experience in St. Paul that I tried it out here and loved it. It’s affordable, the stylist listened to what I wanted… and you get free lattes while you get groomed! If you’re interested, send me an e-mail and I’ll give you more details.

do you estimate/count calories in your head at all? do you know about how many you eat everyday?

No, I really don’t. There was about a month in high school when I joined SELF magazine’s online diet club (in a moment of adolescent insecurity) and tried to track my daily intake, but it was too time consuming and I didn’t feel like making the effort for something that was just causing me more anxiety. I’ve gotten to the point where I understand what my body needs, and although sometimes I have a hard time differentiating between boredom noshing and genuine hunger, I don’t worry about it too much. I do know that it takes a lot of food to keep me full, which is why I like to eat some foods according to their volume (big salads) and staying power (oatmeal).

favorite show?

This is a tough one! I rarely have time to watch things in real-time, so I often stream shows online or order them from Netflix. My favorite shows growing up were My So-Called Life and 7th Heaven; now I love Californication, Dexter, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Big Love, Mad Men… the list goes on, but I’m not caught up with any of them!

do you know how many oz are in a cup of yogurt?

It depends on the container, but 6 oz is pretty standard.

More to come! In the mean time, Averie is giving away coconut peanut butter! Does that sound good or does that sound good?

Do you count calories? Have you ever? Why or why not?

Visit From A Fairy

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:15:21 +0000

The macaroon fairy, that is! More on that to come…

This morning I had the best of intentions: my alarm went off at 5:30, and I had my clothes all laid out with my bag packed and ready to go… but I slept horribly last night and I just couldn’t push myself through the fatigue. An hour and a half more sleep proved much more beneficial to my body today, although I’m still exhausted right now!

As promised, I made my new favorite bowl of oatmeal.

1/2 cup oats cooked in 1/2 cup water
cinnamon
stevia
pumpkin butter
lemon curd
pumpkin
chunky peanut butter

For some reason my breakfasts haven’t been holding me over too well recently… I would guess it’s because I’ve been working out a lot, but I feel like in the past when I’ve boosted my mileage I was usually able to wait a little longer than two hours after eating! In addition, even though the races I trained for were for shorter distances than the half I’m training for now, I was running almost every day and ended up logging more miles than I am currently. So, it’s a conundrum!

In any event, I brought an apple and orange to work.

My mom met me for lunch at Le Pain Quotidien.

We split a bowl of vegan spinach soup to start…

I ordered the Smoked Salmon Salad with arugula, roasted beets, vegetables, goat cheese dressing and bread (I ate half of a slice of baguette, lightly buttered).

I’m so lucky to live in the same place as my parents. These mid-week visits are so lovely!

Later in the afternoon, I snacked on a Cranberry Nut Forze bar.

This reminded me of a combination Kashi Trail Mix Bar and Rice Krispie Treat. It was pretty sweet, but I liked it. Now that I’ve tried all four flavors, I’m ready to give you my bottom line. I like that these bars taste like treats, but don’t have the kinds of chemicals and additives that their counterparts do (like, say, a real Rice Krispie Treat or an Oreo granola bar). I also like that they aren’t a caloric commitment; at 150 calories, this bar is more of an appropriate snack than a 300+ calories energy bar when I need a little boost in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. Would I buy these? Probably, especially now that I know they’re sold at The Vitamin Shoppe, where I have a rewards card!

After work, I met Lisa for dinner at Blockheads. I think this is our new spot!

I started with a Modelo, but I was so enamored with Lisa’s “Red Nose Bull” (a Corona upturned in a frozen margarita) that I forgot to snap a photo. But it sure was cool and refreshing! I ordered the same dinner as last time: a mini Vegetable Burrito (and by “mini” I mean the size of my forearm) with brown rice, black beans, sautéed vegetables and salsa in a whole wheat wrap with tofu sour cream.

Eating out twice in one humpday? Unheard of!

I went home to the best dessert, courtesy of The Macaroon Fairy, Miss Gina.

I’ve dreamed of Gina’s raw macaroons for so long, and these were even better than I could have imagined.

She sent two kinds: plain ‘roon (although it was far from it!) and super’oon (cacao nibs, maca, goji berries. I can’t pick a favorite. Luckily I have a few more left to ponder! I gave a couple to Danielle at work, who also gave them two enthusiastic thumbs up. Gina, you’re a genius! Thank you so much

Tomorrow morning I will get up at 5:45 to log my 6 miles; I’m going to a special event tomorrow night so there won’t be any other time to do it. My iPod is loaded with fresh ‘tunes, so I can do it!

Have a great night

Guess Who I Found?

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:21:29 +0000

This guy came home today!

But first…

This morning I woke up at 5, a good hour and a half before the sun came up. No matter! I was actually surprisingly alert after 5.5 hours of sleep; I packed up my work, laced my sneakers and headed over to the gym. I planned on just zoning out on the bike and getting a good chunk of reading in, but the bike turned off after 20 minutes so I moved to the stairmaster. It’s a little harder to read when you’re trying not to fall off a five-foot tall machine! I climbed for 15 minutes, then headed home to work some more, shower, and get ready for work. Days are a lot longer when you get up early!

Quick side note: I used to post my exercise statistics after a workout (with time, calories, etc.) but I didn’t know if that was “useful” or not… I’ve gotten a few e-mails recently requesting them, so please let me know if you’d like me to post them!

Breakfast was another darn fine jar of oats.

1/2 cup oatmeal cooked in 1/2 cup water
canned pumpkin
pumpkin butter
1 tbsp chunky peanut butter
l tsp lemon curd
stevia
cinnamon

I left for work an hour early to get some things done at the office. Because I’d been up so long I ate all three of my snacks before lunch: apple, orange, and Haribo gummies (how’d those get in there?!). When you’ve been up since 5, eating candy at 8:30 in the morning doesn’t sound so crazy.

For lunch I had a Pomegranate Chobani and a big salad.

In the mix:

I ate at my desk and worked through lunch… busy busy day! Around 3:30, I snacked on a Chocolate Peanut Butter Forze Bar. I know this is Melissa‘s favorite flavor!

This bar reminded me of a combination Chewy granola bar, Oreo granola bar (remember those? I used to bring them to day camp in my lunch box), and Reese’s crisp. In other words: I can’t believe it’s not loaded with chemicals!

Ari got home while I was at work, and we set up a last-minute dinner date at David Burke Townhouse for Restaurant Week.

We started with warm rolls and fancy butter that was carved into a tree.

I started with the Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake and Sweet Chili Prawn with orange confitand poppy seed honey. Sweet lordy, this was one of the best crab cakes I’ve ever had, and I’ve tasted my fair share of crab cakes. 8/10

Ari, mushroom fiend that he is, got frothy mushroom soup. This was good, but a little bland… no salt on the tables. 6/10

For my entrée, I took the Scottish Salmon with braised Napa cabbage, charred tomato and curried apple slaw. The salmon was very tender and I liked all of the different textures, but again, was a little bland. 6/10

Ari ordered the Mustard-Crusted Tuna with mushrooms and chicken consommé. I didn’t taste this because of the chicken, but Ari gave it an 8.267/10.

Dessert was an easy choice for both of us: we both chose the Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with peanut butter mousse, roasted banana ice cream, caramelized peanuts and marshmallow. 8/10!

It was a lovely evening with delicious food and fabulous company. We decided to save money and have wine at home instead, so we’re sipping a little white and watching Gone Baby Gone in bed. I’m hoping to be asleep by 11… I’m a grandpa even on date nights!

Back From Beyond

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:47:31 +0000

Evening and happy humpday! I’m so sorry for taking a couple days off… I really haven’t been feeling well since Sunday, and my meals just weren’t too interesting! Thank you so much for the well-wishes; I think I’m finally well again. Unfortunately almost everyone at the office is sick now, so I hope it doesn’t come back again!

As mentioned, most of my food these past few days have been of the boring, carb-y and beige variety, so I’ll spare you all the details and just take you through the greatest hits!

The best jar of oats, period. I finally reached the end of my supply of “flaxy peanut butter” (also known as Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds).

Instead of crying over my loss, I spooned hot oatmeal with apples into the jar, and it was pure heaven on earth. What is your favorite kind of nut butter?

Ari was home for about 30 hours, and although I only got to see him for a few of them, it was a very sweet visit. We finally branched out from our usual restaurants and took ourselves to Bistro Les Minots, a French restaurant in Astoria. Everything- from the crusty waiter to the small cups of water- were so à la français! I can’t wait to go back to France someday.

We started with soft, salty bread and Pinot Grigio.

The 3-course prix-fixe for $19.95 instantly caught my eye. Ari wanted steak but wasn’t pleased with the cut offered, so I ordered the deal and we split my appetizer and dessert.

We chose the Pissaladière, a warm onion tart with black olives and anchovies (which were gently brushed aside… try as I might, I just can’t get myself to like these guys!).

For my entrée, I ordered the Grilled Salmon with a “confetti” of chickpeas, carrots and peas.

We split an order of crêpes stuffed with caramelized apples and topped with a scoop of ice cream.

It was a nice night of spontaneous romance.

Tonight I made my old college standard: Greens, Grains, Tofu & Sweet Potato. It’s one of my favorite comforting meals.

This plate had steamed broccoli, TJ’s Harvest Blend, Teriyaki-glazed tofu (baked slowly at 300 so I would have time to do 30 minutes of power yoga while it cooked!), and a sweet potato (1/2 with coconut butter and cinnamon, 1/2 with butter and brown sugar).

While I ate, I watched Whatever Works, Woody Allen’s most recent film. I really enjoyed it! It was quite cozy to relax in bed with a good movie. While I was sick, I watched Drag Me To Hell and I Love You, Man while I had the time to relax… what good movies have you seen lately? I’ve been waiting for Inglourious Basterds to become available for almost two months! I have a feeling it’ll be worth the wait, though

Off to do some work… regular posting will resume tomorrow. In the meantime, check out this blendalicious giveaway!

Have a great night!

Girl About Town

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 02:16:56 +0000

Evening! Please excuse the tardiness of this post… our internet’s been a little shaky today and I’ve had terrible trouble getting my photos uploaded. In any event, I hope your weekend is going swimmingly! Mine is off to a great start so far, but for the next few minutes or so, I’ll have to live a day in the past!

Yesterday morning I woke up, made a quick breakfast, and took it back to bed to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Breakfast in bed is one of my favorite things, and why shouldn’t a person start a workday doing something enjoyable? If 20 minutes is all the luxury I have time for, I’ll take the 20 minutes! What’s your breakfast routine like?

I was in the mood for a variety of textures, so I made a yogurt mess.

In the mix:

0% Fage Greek yogurt
1 banana
Trader Joe’s mini blueberry bran muffin
flaxy peanut butter
stevia

In the middle of the middle of a fast-paced morning, I found a spare moment to unwrap and devour a vegan energy bar.

The lunch I packed had several components.

Coconut Tempeh Curry
Salad with kale, spinach, soaked goji berries, celery, carrots, grape tomatoes
sliced cucumber, salted
clementines

Danielle and I were both members of the Tupperware Club! And I was very happy to see that our office refrigerator was stocked with club soda… I rarely buy it, because I can’t stand paying for water.

As soon as the clock struck 5, I raced across town (trying to be ever-so-graceful while schlepping my computer, lunch bag, and plastic tote filled with various sundries… even on my lightest days, I have at least two awkward bags!) to meet my friend Howard for a pre-ballet dinner at Arpeggio Food and Wine, a lovely restaurant on the ground floor of Avery Fisher Hall. We sat right next to the window and looked out at the new renovations around Lincoln Center.

Almost immediately after being seated, we were brought rolls and butter. I had a small bite, but my appetite was still absent due to a late lunch, and I wanted to save room for the main event.

We sipped glasses of Albariño, I white wine I’ve enjoyed ever since I worked in a restaurant where it was the house varietal.

We ordered the prix fixe, which came with appetizer, salad and dessert. I started with the Arpeggio salad: mixed greens, pears, dried cherries and blue cheese.

We both ordered the Ocean Trout with truffle roasted cauliflower and black lentils. What came out was actually salmon (with no explanation for the change offered) and the cauliflower didn’t have any particular “truffle” taste to me, but it was still very good. We were in a rush, so I only had time to eat half.

For dessert, I ordered the pear and lemon sorbet duo. The pear was delicious! I’m such a chocoholic that I often forget how much I enjoy fruity desserts. This was quite light and fluffy, but I only ate about 2/3 as I knew there were more treats to come.

Howard ordered the bread pudding. I had a bite… it was good, but not quite my style. I felt the butter ooze out as soon as I bit into it!

We saw three ballets: the first was Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht (the New York City Ballet is famous for its Balanchine program), Peter Martins’ Naïve and Sentimental Music, and Alexey Miroshnichenko’s The Lady with the Little Dog (inspired by the Chekhov story). It’s been years since I’ve been to the ballet; it’s a truly magical experience.

Our tickets granted us entry to a special reception and talk-back with two of the dancers. It was really interesting to hear about their “real” lives! Not many dancers make it to the principal level, simply because of injury. Like many sports, ballet is very hard on the body. At the reception, I had another glass of white wine as well as a brownie bite and chocolate-marzipan petit four.

There may have been a few clementines consumed when I got home… what will I do when these guys are out of season?!

Hope to see you later with full-powered internet! Have a great night

To The Theater on Tuesday

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:02:36 +0000

Evening! This post is going to be so quick, it’ll be over before it’s done. It’s 11:45 and I’ve been home less than an hour, and am only now climbing into bed. Old biddy strikes again!

This morning I woke up a few minutes earlier than usual, spandex-ed myself in hyperspeed, and tore out of the house for a 2 mile run before work. I didn’t even remember my watch (or RoadID), but I know I was fast today. When I got back, I kept the fast track going and got all ready with enough time to enjoy breakfast without leaving for work a minute late than usual.

Breakfast was a big bowl of yogurt, granola, banana + cinnamon.

Mid-morning, I snacked on a navel orange.

Lunch was over a pound of chili and cornbread. I was full for the rest of the afternoon!

My new water container was quite a hit today… it stands up all by itself, and holds 16 oz of liquid, more than the average bottle!

Sadly, while at work I missed The Upwelling‘s interview on Fearless Radio… did anyone happen to catch it?

When the workday ended, I met my parents at Turkish Cuisine in Hell’s Kitchen for an early pre-theater dinner. We toasted Tuesday; my mom had a glass of Chardonnay while I had Pinot Grigio.

Before my dad arrived at the restaurant, my mom and I split an order of Zucchini Cakes with tzatziki sauce. These were so good. Dr. Praeger, you’ve got nothing on these little fellas! We raved about them so much that my dad had to order them for himself.

We ate it with warm pita. I wasn’t too hungry for it at the time, but don’t worry… the remaining pieces came home with me!

For my entrée, I ordered grilled salmon with salad. The salad dressing was fantastic; it had all kinds of spices in it, like cumin and coriander! I’ll have to try this. I ate all of the salad but filled up about halfway through the salmon. Dads are good at times like these.

Before the play, I popped across the street to The Lite Choice for a small cup of almond butter frozen yogurt with chocolate chips.

The play we saw was the third and final in the Orphans Home Cycle series. It was my favorite of the three, and I was sad to see it end! I even stayed awake for all three acts.

I’m off to dreamland. Have a fabulous Wednesday!

R&R

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:53:16 +0000

Good evening! I hope you’re all enjoying your long weekend… isn’t it nice when Sundays feel like Saturdays? I’m so grateful for the extra day. I’ve spent the past two days spending time with my family, relaxing, going for a head-clearing run in the park, watching movies, reading books, sale shopping (I did need those $10 hot pink cords from Gap )… my mom even treated me to a manicure and shoulder rub! So basically, I listened to your advice and did everything you suggested!

Yesterday I woke up early, despite having gotten up early and gone to bed late the night before. I made myself a colorful egg scramble with one whole egg + egg whites, basil, spinach, tomatoes, and feta, with a slice of whole wheat toast on the side.

Although my long runs are scheduled for Sundays, one look at the weather forecast told me it was supposed to rain. So I took advantage of the beautiful weather and ran 4.5 miles in the sunshine at a brisk- but pleasant- pace. I find that I almost always run faster outdoors than on the treadmill. I think it has to do with visual stimulation!

When I got back, I drank half a container of peach-and-mango coconut water. I’d never tried this flavor before, but it was great! Very tropical.

My parents and I met for lunch at Picnic. Despite having already had my morning coffee, I was feeling a little groggy and had a mug of green tea.

I ordered an enormous mozzarella, grilled vegetable and pesto sandwich on baguette. It came with a light, crisp salad; I ate about 3/4 of the bread and all of the cheesy vegetables.

After lunch, we went downtown to the Broadway Panhandler for a cooking demonstration and booksigning by Dynise Balcavage, vegan chef and fellow blogger at Urban Vegan . The Broadway Panhandler is an amazing cooking supply store in and of itself… I could have spent hours in there, and my wallet was a little lighter on the way out.

Dynise made crêpes with vegan nutella and chocolate mousse. The mousse was another version of tofu pudding! My dad treated me to her cookbook cookbook, which has a lot of great-looking recipes.

On the way home, I stopped at One Lucky Duck where my mom treated me to a take-out dinner. While waiting for my falafel salad, I bumped into Erica! It was almost one year to the day that I saw her last. Time flies!

This salad was so good. Obviously I can’t spend $17 on a salad all of the time, but it’s inspired me to make my own this coming week. Stay tuned!

For dessert, I did a little fridge and freezer cleaning… I present you with sundae in a jar! That’s what happens when you run low on both ice cream and hot fudge.

This morning, although I’d planned on running with Kath and Matt, I decided my body really just needed the sleep. For the first time in a long time, I slept past 10:00! It was glorious, let me tell ya! My mom and I enjoyed a nice breakfast together; it’s not every day we can read lounge around and read the newspaper with each other. I made us each bowls of 5 grain cereal.

1/3 cup 5 grain cereal cooked in 2/3 cup water
2 dried peach halves
warmed frozen strawberries
1 tsp chia seeds
1.5 tsp almond butter
cinnamon
brown sugar

The rest of the morning was spent doing my favorite thing: reading in bed! When hunger finally came a-callin’ again, we assembled a nice little smorgasbord of foods.

We had split-pea soup, bites of couscous and spaghetti with pesto, baguette, and artichokes (with a scrumptious lemon butter sauce)…

… and one of the most delicious pieces of cake I’ve ever had that my parents brought back from a dinner party they went to last night. The cake itself was hazelnut, with chocolate ganache filling, marzipan mascarpone frosting, homemade candied almonds and homemade chocolate. Out.of.this.world! This piece was huge; we split it three ways.

Dinner was equally decadent and delicious. My dad made swordfish and steamed green beans…

Avocado with balsamic vinaigrette…

… and fennel salad with orange and onion. This really doesn’t need any dressing, just a squirt of lemon juice!

I didn’t have any room left for dessert, but I had a baby spoonful of La Loo‘s Strawberry Darling goat milk ice cream. We’ve tried almost all the flavors by now… this one was pretty darn good!

The lovely Miss K also sent me some eye candy that reminded her of the Russian FOR MEN chocolate! Looks like we need to do a little retaliation, ladies…

I’m off to do a little reading and get some shut-eye… there’s a lot to be done tomorrow! If you have MLK day off, how will you spend it?

Giveaway alerts! Melissa is giving away nutrition bars and Jungwha is giving away chocolate and Greek yogurt!