Category — Health & Fitness

I come from a Jewish-Irish-Catholic-Italian family, so during Easter, our family dinners are basically one step away from sandwiching lasagna in between two pieces of matzah.

For this reason, I tried to keep things a bit healthy the day before, so after Saturday’s bike ride, Michal and I headed over to a cafe aptly named Catch a Healthy Habit.

The cafe, which adheres to the philosophy of only eating “raw”, gives the customer a unique dining experience which is not easily accessible in these parts (nor in any other parts for that matter).

To understand what “eating raw” actually means, I recommend reading a quick article on raw foods here.

When we first arrived at the Cafe, Michal and I were hungry, tired, and extremely thirsty from biking, so we started with some fresh juices. We chose the “Kalelicious,” which was Kale, Carrot, and Celery, and the “Blood,” which was beet, red apple, lemon, and ginger.  I love how rich the colors are…

I also like how they make everything right out in the open, so you get to see how beautiful the produce is.

For my meal, I had the Pasta Primavera which was zucchini noodles, spring vegetables, tomato sauce, and pesto topped with Rawmesan.

The dish tasted incredible, and as you’ll clearly notice from the above close-up shot, this food is extremely fresh.

Michal chose to have the Caesar Salad which was romaine, Caesar dressing, nori strips, avocado, rawmesan, and garlic croutons. He also added vegan “crab cakes” to the salad.

For our raw dessert, we ordered one s’more and one brownie. Michal and I both loved the S’more, but he found the brownie to be a bit too rich. I on the other hand have never experienced the sensation of a dessert being “too rich,” so I was a huge fan of the taste and texture, and had no qualms with finishing it off myself.

Although I don’t foresee myself ever going completely raw, I have a strong appreciation for this type of vegan diet, and it’s definitely inspired me to  try and eat less processed foods (I even bought a bag of raw almonds to keep at my desk at work).

All and all, this was a fun little food adventure, and I will definitely be back to try more.

Today was just one of those days where a bike ride seemed like the only thing one should do, so after a few phone calls, Michal and I managed to secure some borrowed bikes.

We also swiped the below book from my father, who basically takes my philosophy on adventures to a whole new level (such as yesterday, when he climbed one of the highest peaks in New York through three feet of snow and then trekked back down through a river–all in shorts and a t-shirt).

After reading through some of our options we decided on Old Mine Park in Trumbull, CT which is an old rail road that runs for about 11 miles. I’m happy to report that we made the right choice, because this is probably the most fun I’ve had on a bike since some of the rides I did in North Carolina last August.

The bike trail is stunning, and you cross through so many types of terrain: flat, paved, hills, gravel, bumps, woods, mud, etc…

Since the trail is broken up into sections, it’s also the perfect place to do a short ride or a long ride. Michal and I knew we wanted to make it epic, so we parked at the very start of the trail and did the entire course. The trip took us a little over two hours, but that’s because we stopped along the way to take pictures and explore the area.

I also managed to find the coolest car ever….

That’s right, I’ve finally found a car thats proportional to my height.

On the car ride home, Michal and I reflected a lot on the incredible bike ride we had just experienced, and how if it weren’t for this blog, we wouldn’t have pushed ourselves to experience something completely new.

I had grown up in Fairfield, a mere three exits away from this park, and yet I was just discovering it for the first time today.

There are two things I now know for certain:

1) Pushing yourself to discover local adventures will have a profound impact on your happiness

2) I need to buy a bike

I’ve had a can of Trader Joe’s Sweet Potato Puree for a while now, and to be honest, I sort of had this vision while I was buying it of me finding it in my kitchen cabinet 10 years later with dust on it, but lo in behold, this morning it saw daylight…

Now I know I just did an entry about the many crazy habits adventures of my breakfast routine, but this mornings cooking experiment was way too good not to share, so I’ll try and make this brief….

Sweet Potato Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 cup water
1 cup almond milk (or any type of milk)
1/2 cup steel cut oats (I used Quaker)
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Raspberries (optional)
A sweetener of your choice sprinkled on top (optional)

Directions: In a medium sized pot, bring water and milk to a boil. Add steel cut oats, sweet potato, and spices, and reduce heat to low. Simmer on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. (do not cover with lid). Take pot off of heat, stir, and let sit for 10 more minutes. Garnish with raspberries and enjoy.

Some advice about cooking with steel cut oats: No matter what brand of steel cut oats you buy, they all take a really long time to cook. Depending on your stove-top, you may have to cook them for up to 40 minutes on low before the mixture begins to thicken, so this isn’t the type of breakfast to make before work. The good news is that steel cut oats taste just as good the next day, so feel free to make a big batch the night before, and then just re-heat them the next morning on the stove top or in the microwave.

If you don’t have the patience, feel free to make this recipe with regular oatmeal, but I assure you that the texture and taste of steel cut oats is worth the wait…

While the steel cut oats were cooking, Michal and I decided to fit in a trail run. Although it looked as sunny as last Saturday’s 75 degree weather, it was in fact 27 degrees.

Cold weather aside, the trail run was really nice.

All in all, we covered about 2 miles of trails and 2 miles of road, but the best part was getting to come back to a huge batch of steel cut oats waiting for us on the stove.

Alright, I’m off to relax for a bit and then do some laundry, but tonight I have an adventure lined up in Brooklyn, so stay tuned.

Welcome to my second office.

I definitely have no free time now that I’ve taken on this website, but with all the support and outreach I’ve gotten since it’s launch on Sunday, I’m extremely motivated to turn this into something special.

Tonight was busy. I got home from work at around 6pm, and decided to tackle an hour long strength training session with my girl Jillian (her exercise video was on sale at Target). I’ve pretty much destroyed my body with running these past five years, so in an attempt to transform the way my joints work (and to get my knees ready for all the upcoming adventures), I’ve taken up strength training. The good news is that it’s working. I’ve cut down my runs to once a week, and this past Saturday’s 5k was the first race I’ve done in quite some time where my knees didn’t feel like they were going to explode at the finish line.

And here’s an interesting side note: I have not paid for a gym membership since April of 2008, and I’m stronger than ever. Sometimes investing $50 in some weights, mats, and a few fun videos is all it takes. You’re also forced to utilize the outdoors more, which I think tends to be a bit more challenging than zoning out on an elliptical machine. This isn’t to say I won’t join a gym again. It’s just not something I need right now.

After working out, I ate dinner, took a shower, packed my lunch for work tomorrow, and then sat down and began brainstorming some adventure ideas for the upcoming weekend. Since Saturday night I have a friends birthday at a restaurant in Brooklyn, I want to balance out those costs with an adventure that is free. This makes for a tricky brainstorming session, because free things are very difficult to come by in this world. I have a few ideas though…but you’ll have to wait and see…

How is it already 11pm?

I have to go charge the battery in my camera, because tomorrow morning I’m going to attempt to document something very exciting….my breakfast routine. Trust me folks, you don’t want to miss how freakishly obsessed I am with this meal.

I’ve heard a lot of hype about lululemon athletica apparel, and to be honest, I was a skeptic. Why do I need to pay over 60 dollars for one pair of running pants, when my budget-friendly Old Navy yoga pants have suited me just fine for over three years? (And yes, I’ve had the same three pairs of Old Navy yoga pants since my Sophomore year of college. Budget friendly? Yes. Gross? Possibly.)

After looking at my torn and faded Old Navy pants, I decided it was a good time to invest in a better pair of running pants, and so I decided to pick up a pair of lulu’s, and use my Manchester 5k as the ultimate test run.  I looked up the closest store, and then researched the different pant styles so I would have an idea of what I was looking for  (and also so I would avoid randomly choosing lots of pretty things to bring into the dressing room).  For me, a prior game plan is the key to not over-spending.

I decided on the Wunder Under Crop…

And here is a close up of the tag….

I also took close up shots of the front and back of the shopping bag, which is reusable (genius).

Verdict: These pants are no joke. They are like a second skin that makes your butt look like Jillian Michaels, and I knew from the minute I tried them on that all those positive web reviews were real women speaking, and not paid interns.

As for how they felt during the 5k? The best pants I have ever run in.

I look forward to investing in a pair of lulu’s reverse groove short next.

My only budget-friendly advice for high-end fitness apparel such as lululemon is to always stick to the basics: bras, pants, shorts. When it comes to things like tank-tops and t-shirts, the general architecture of that piece of clothing doesn’t change when you go to a store like Target. The fabric changes, but the design is the same. If you want to invest in expensive fitness apparel, make sure you’re paying for good fabric AND good design.

Ladies, just look at the stitching in the crotch area of lululemon pants and you will understand the meaning of good design.

And for all the non-ladies reading, there’s a lululemon men’s line also.

There are simply not enough hours in the day to keep up with this blog, so this is me playing catch up on what I did yesterday…

Sunday I woke up exhausted and sore, but the sun was shining so brightly outside that I just couldn’t sit still, so I ate a big stack of french toast, popped some Advil, and it was back out the door.

I thought about going on a run, but the Manchester 5k seriously kicked my butt, so all my hamstrings could handle was a leisurely hike to the top of East Rock Park.

Our destination is the tiny statue in the top right corner of the photo

During the hike, it was nice to see signs of spring…

Grass

Crocus flowers

Budding branches

SUNLIGHT!

The only thing that wasn’t nice was having to walk through the section of the trail where I had a horrible running fall last year. It happened last April when I was doing a brisk trail run, and at the top of this hill my foot nicked a rock and I flew down it head first….

The bad place

A close up of the bad place

As you can see, there are no soft landings, and in just a single fall I ripped open the side of my hand, left shoulder, and left knee. Luckily I was with Michal, and he carried me to the main road, and a really amazing woman whose name I don’t know saw me and pulled over because she had a first aid kit in her car. She not only gave me her first aid kit, but she waited with me (and consoled me) while Michal ran back to his apartment to get his car. If you’re wondering why she didn’t give me a ride, it was because I was covered in blood and she had two very young kids in the car. I kept begging her to give me her name and address so I could send her something, but she refused, and insisted that I would of done the same thing for her. I still wish I knew her name though. What a nice lady.

Once we passed through the bad place, it was about a 20 minute hike to the top.

View from the top

The view from the top is so pretty, and below you’ll see the same statue from the first picture, only this time it’s a bit closer.

East Rock Statue

We decided to take the Big Step Trail back down the mountain, which is a lot of fun. The trail is exactly how it sounds–massive steps carved into the side of the mountain.

Big Step Trail

Oh yeah, and did I mention you can experience all of this for free?

Nature is cool like that.

I just got back from the Manchester “Finally Spring” 5K race, and what a fun time! This is probably the coolest 5k I’ve ever run because:

• Instead of a t-shirt you were given these amazing green socks (see below)
• The entire race is on an intense trail course through the woods, with the first mile being uphill!
• Michal and I crossed the finish line together

With over 200 people squeezing through rocky and steep trail turns, it is quite the adventure, and I’ve never seen so many people have to stop and walk during a 5K. Without a doubt I’ve run 10K road races that were easier than this trail course, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun on a run.

Michal and I stuck together during the race, which was something we’ve never done in an actual race before, so I was happy about that. We do casual runs together once or twice a week, but Michal is a much faster runner than me, so on a race day it’s always been easier for us to go our separate ways–mostly because when we run together I try to run too fast to keep up with him, and he tries to run too slow as not to get ahead of me, and it ends up messing up both our paces. Sticking together for this race still required him to slow down at a few points, but before the race we decided to treat it like a casual run (and not a competitive race), and that mindset helped us cross the finish line together. Our final time for the 3.25 mile race was 28:40, which I was happy with (note my smile below).

Michal was just happy to have a pair of  green running socks, which he insisted on putting on before the race.

After the race we headed a bit more north to Middletown, CT so we could enjoy the beautiful weather and eat at a restaurant called ION (It’s Only Natural), which was voted best vegetarian restaurant in the Hartford advocate last year. It deserves any accolades it gets, because it’s the first vegan and vegetarian restaurant I’ve come across where the entrees are actually gourmet. The prices are a bit steep, but it’s completely worth it.

We started off the meal with some fresh juices. I had the veggie bomb (left) which was carrots, beets, celery, and parsley, while Michal had a juice called Bee Green which was a bunch of green vegetables with agave syrup for sweetness.

For our entrees, I had the Macrobiotic Plate which was organic brown rice, legumes, sea & other vegetables, with a huge pile of kidney beans on the side. I mashed everything up together, and it tasted incredible. The sea vegetables had the perfect amount of saltiness to them, so I didn’t even have to season the dish.

Michal had one of the specials, which was a phyllo dough packed with tofu and mushrooms with a huge scoop of mashed potatoes and a side of asparagus. I had a few bites and it was to die for.

The serving sizes are really generous at this restaurant, which made this the perfect place to have our post-race meal. As you can see we inhaled are food.

I should also note that Michal and I have been here once before and we had the ION burger and Sweet Potato Enchiladas, and they were just as incredible as today’s menu choices. The ambiance of the restaurant is really nice too, and today we were seated at a fun table which doubled as a chalk board so we could draw on our table while we waited for our food.

I’m off to try and fit in a nap before a friend’s dinner party tonight.

Happy spring everyone!

Wow, could the weather be any more incredible for ringing in the first day of spring? It’s supposed to hit 75 today!

I just had a very early wake up call.  Michal and I signed up to do  a 5k race in Manchester aptly titled, “Finally Spring,” and since the event was an hour away (and since we both like to eat three hours before start time), we were up at 6:30am. I’m pretty excited for the race, so waking up wasn’t much of a problem, and knowing that we were going to be eating grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast made me practically fly out of bed.

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

(a.k.a. modified Elvis sandwich)

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 2 tbs. peanut butter (I use a brand called Naturally More)
• 1 banana
• Honey or Agave Syrup (optional)
• Cinnamon

Directions: Just make a sandwich out of everything and then grill it in a pan or on a George Foreman for a few minutes.

We also paired a green monster shake with our breakfast.

Basic Green Monster Recipe

• 1 large banana
• 1 cup almond milk (I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla, but you can also use skim milk, soy milk, or hemp milk)
• 3 cups Spinach (don’t get grossed out, I SWEAR you can’t taste the spinach at all)
• Some ice

Directions: Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend for a few minutes until it’s thick and frothy. Enjoy. This recipe serves one, but Michal and I split this recipe because we didn’t want to have too much stuff in our stomach before the race.

I’m not kidding when I say that this stuff is so good that there are whole websites dedicated to the mystical powers of this drink. Instead of caffeine, I drink a green monster at work every morning, and it packs some serious energy in just 8 ounces. Proof is that my boyfriend now drinks one to two of these a day, and he is not the type to drink something green unless it tastes like candy.

Ok, I’m off to the race!