Now do you agree with me?   Source

Meagan of The Good Bean emailed me asking if I’d like to try The Good Bean products and offer a giveaway. I emailed her back in a hot second – no convincing needed! In fact I’d been gifted a Fruit & Seeds Trail Mix bar by my blend Maria and had loved it, so I was even more ready to jump on Meagan’s offer than I was after not winning Katie’s giveaway. I received one of each flavor of bar, and one of each flavor of dried Chickpea Snacks, so I could try each flavor once – perfect! My mom was excited to try the dried chickpeas, but alas she never got her hands on them. Mine, all mine…

Perfect study snack.

Of course I went for the zestiest Chickpea Snack flavor first, the Smoky Chili & Lime. I packed these for a day of paper-writing at Daybreak and they made for the perfect protein-packed delight. I loved the satisfying crunch and the just-right spiciness of the coating; I had to take some water sips between every few bites, but it was nothing crazy. I brought the Cracked Pepper flavor with me to the vineyard and said pepper paired well with some white wine! I still have to try the Sweet Cinnamon…I want to mix those little guys into plain Chobani for a to-die-for nighttime snack, perhaps on a day I lifted weights since that will surely give me plenty of protein for muscle recovery while I snooze. My favorite way I ate the Chickpea Snacks though came about when my mom made her Mexi-Casserole and cooked mushrooms. Both had me salivating, but I also totally craved extra crunch. Enter the Sea Salt chickpeas! I poured half a bag atop my casserole-mushroom mix and voila, the perfect added protein to sink my teeth into (molars specifically). How good would they be in a salad too, in place of croutons?!

After I took the photo, I mixed the bowl for evenly distributed crunch.

As for the bars, I ate them how I eat all the bars…crumbled into something soupy, as a nighttime snack. I took a photo of the below crumbled bar pre-pudding-addition so you could get an idea of what the bars look like (well, once I’ve ripped them apart). All the flavors have only a touch of sweetness – the heartiness definitely comes through far more.

This Apricot Coconut bar was my fave flavor of the three options!

I thoroughly enjoyed all my The Good Bean products! The Fruit & No-Nut Bars are definitely among the best I’ve ever tried both taste and nutrition-wise, and I’ve tried a ton of bars. #healthylivingbloggerproblems

Good Giveaway!

The Good Bean wants to share the chickpea magic with THREE lucky Cait Plus Ate readers, each of whom will win three dried Chickpea Snacks and two Fruit & No-Nut Bars! This giveaway is open to continental US residents only and entries will be accepted until this Sunday 5/26/13, 11:59PM EST. Leave a separate comment for each method of entry, or multiple entries will NOT count!

1. Visit The Good Bean website, then comment on this post and tell me which product you want to try most. (mandatory)
2. Follow @CaitPlusAte on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
3. Follow @TheGoodBean on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
4. Tweet “I entered to win @TheGoodBean chickpea snacks from @CaitPlusAte! http://caitplusate.com/?p=9204” and comment here with the link to the tweet.

Good luck to all! I received complimentary The Good Bean products to review, but all opinions on how delish they are come from only me. This is not a compensated post.

The post Good Bean, Good Giveaway appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

When it comes to headphones, I’m really cheap. I lose them often and no matter how expensive they are, they tangle. People who spend money on Bose or Beats by Dre earbuds baffle me. Once I sprang $20 for a pair of Sony headphones, and they broke within a month. Each pair I’ve bought since then was about $5 at TJMaxx…and always pink.

Obviously as a cheap headphone buyer, I was excited to be awarded a slot in the Koss Corporation Fit Series headphone campaign through my Fitfluential Ambassador position. For someone cheap, the price of “complimentary” always is music to the ears (headphone pun intended). I unexpectedly received TWO pairs to test out – one pair of FitBuds (above left) and one pair of FitClips (above right). I adored the coral color of the FitClips and figured they’d stay in place most securely, so I snagged them for my own use. I gifted the pretty blue earbuds to my younger sister.

Wearing Fitfluential campaign headphones with a Fitfluential tank is very fitting, no?

Both the FitClips and FitBuds retail for $29.99, which to be honest is more than I would pay for a pair of headphones given how unreliable they (and I) can be. But if I was purchasing a pair, I’d totally go with the FitClips. They are the same as the FitBuds, but they stay in place better. I have not once encountered a problem with those headphones falling out of my ears during my use of them in the last few weeks. I do not do cardio in headphones, so one thing to note is I didn’t try them out while doing any jumping or jarring movements. I primarily use headphones for strength training, but I also used to run into problems with my old TJMaxx earbuds falling out of my ears during said strength training, and the FitClips stay firmly put. So for my purposes, they serve me VERY well.

And oh how I love pairing them with other colorful workout gear!

Sound quality seems good to me; I’m not picky on it and have never been one of those audio nerds who oohs and aahs over amazing sound. But this average girl enjoys the sound that comes from my Koss headphones and I like that the sound doesn’t cut out in one or both buds if the headphone jack shifts while plugged into my iPhone.

Bottom Line: Though more expensive than this cheap girl would probably pay, Koss FitClip headphones are still reasonable at $29.99 and I love all the color offerings. They stay in my ears and sound good.

What’s worse – tangled headphones or tangled jewelry?

How much do you usually pay for your headphones?

Have you ever tried earbuds with clips?

The post Koss Headphones: Fitfluential Design appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

I attended the dinner with my good friend Kat and her sister Helen. My sister was supposed to come too but alas, she had to work. It was my first time meeting Helen and she is the woman – I can’t get over how similar her dynamic with Kat is to my dynamic with Hannah!

No, the photobomber did not join us for dinner.

Our meal was prepared by Executive Chef Alexander Feldman, who came out with each course to share its ingredients and other fun facts about Catalunya (Kat calls him Mr. Wikipedia). He explained at the start of our meal that Catalunya is the most adventurous place to eat in Spain (now I know where I’m going whenever I visit the country). The chefs of the region love experimenting with crazy flavor combos, ingredients, and cooking methods.

Me and Chef Alex – my favorite chef!

Our waitress Emily was EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the wine paired with each course. She started us off with a bubbly – Sumarroca Brut Nature Gran Reserva Cava 2007. The perfect celebratory way to kick off the dinner with my friends!

Cheers – and yes, the rose ring is ever-present

The first course would have been perfect to eat outside on a sunny summer day – too bad Connecticut refuses to give us many of those. The Ensalada Catalana (thinly sliced boiled potatoes, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, olives, tuna, hard-cooked egg, red wine vinaigrette) still tasted fantastic and would in any environment! Alex is a baller; this recipe called for canned tuna, but of course he oil-poached fresh tuna instead.

The crisp cava made for a perfect salad course pairing.

Helen’s sister is a vegetarian, so Alex was nice enough to customize some courses and substitute others to fit a vegetarian diet. Helen received the same Ensalada Catalana, minus the tuna.

I may try to never order the same dish twice in a restaurant, but I totally wasn’t complaining when Alex brought out his amazing Pa Amb Tomaquet (tomato and olive oil rubbed toasted bread), which I’ve had on two prior occasions. This was definitely the most charred version I’ve ever seen or tasted though…as a major carcinogen lover, I was very happy!

Kat and Helen had the most wonderful reactions as they took their first crunchy bites!

The next course wins for both most interesting tapa and most interesting wine pairing of the evening! I was intrigued when Emily brought us a dry sherry (Lustau Almacenista) to pair with a savory course – Langosta con Pollo. What’s that you ask? Oh no big. Just chicken and lobster sauteed in a soffrito of onions, herbs, tomato, saffron, wine, and brandy…finished with ground almonds and hazelnuts, chocolate, and garlic!!! Told you Catalunya was known for unique ingredient combinations!

This sherry lover was VERY pleasantly surprised to see it pop up so early in the meal!

The sherry was great with the subtle nut and chocolate tastes of the dish, but the dryness also fit the savory aspects well!

Helen’s vegetarian option – roasted eggplants, red peppers, and a spicy cucumber salsa – came with its very own wine pairing!

The cucumber salsa recipe was very simple – shredded cucumber, olive oil, pepper flakes, sherry vinegary, salt, and pepper.

Kat and I were also poured a sample of the vegetarian tapa wine (Helen tried some sherry too) and Emily was on the money when she called it very “stinky”. So true, but it was SO good! Emily’s knowledge really came in handy during the meal – she asked us to take a couple of sips before trying any of the veggies, because it would take a couple of sips to get the wine’s true flavor as it was meant to be experienced with food. I really want to look for this in the liquor store to have at home sometime!

Photobomb!

Helen was totally spoiled during the main course and received an entire vegetarian paella! She and Kat dug in and raved over the soccarat (the crust that forms at the bottom of the paella pan). I passed because I knew I wouldn’t even have room to finish my own plate! And I’d had plenty of paella at Barcelona’s last event.

As Alex himself said…”ALL the vegetables”.

Alex brought out a vegetarian tapa for all three of us to share – sauteed chard with pine nuts and raisins. I loved the contrast between the savory pine nuts and sweet raisins!

Our table received two red wines – one for Helen’s food and one for mine and Kat’s. Both were outstanding, but my favorite between the two had to be the vegetarian course’s pairing…Cerro Anon Rioja (2006).

My and Kat’s pork was paired with the wine on the left.

Kat had to ask Alex for some pork cooking tips, because she prepares it often at home but can never seen to get it to retain its moisture. The pork (Cerdo con Escalibada) came with the cucumber salsa, eggplant, and roasted red peppers Helen received in a prior course. I could barely finish it but took the rest to go and enjoyed it the following night! I have said before that I don’t really like to order food that takes “work” to get to and I would categorize this dish as such. The bone and the fatty portions made it a bit hard for me to cut, so I probably would not opt to order a bone-in piece of pork again. However the cucumber was just wonderful with the meat!

Mystery box!

Kat’s baby girl Penelope is a foodie (as in she demands food practically every hour) and finished the milk Kat left at home with her husband before we even got halfway through our evening! So Alex sped up the pork/paella course and had the dessert boxed up for us to take to-go. Fine by me…I was a bit full but knew in an hour or so I’d be ready for dessert. Emily still brought over an after-dinner drink – sweet vermouth – which had me psyched because I’ve been in love with the stuff since I got a spontaneous tasting at Barcelona’s bar on Thanksgiving Eve.

Kat and I happened to both show up in high-low dresses/skirts…um, I love it.

As soon as I got home I poured myself a small taste of red wine to go with the dessert – Flan Catalan! Ahhhh…just thinking of it now, I miss it! Red wine and dessert pairings steal my heart every time but even without the red wine, this would have been moan-inducing. Even to-go!

Perfect little dessert! Paired with Tomero Malbec.

I love that I got to take some Catalunya home with me…thanks to the leftover pork, it lasted me into the next evening!

Mmmm mac and pork and brussels!

 Thanks to Alex, Emily, and the rest of Barcelona for showing us a delicious, fun time. And thanks to Kat and Helen for joining me for dinner!

As a blogger for this event, I received my food and wine free of charge. My opinions are my own.

Which course would you have been most into? If you say the Annie’s mac with pork, I will be totally okay with it.

Have you ever visited any regions of Spain? I feel like Barcelona is giving me the full culinary tour!

When you order dessert at a restaurant, do you typically eat it there or take it to go?

The post All the Catalunya at Barcelona appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

I have a lot of marvelous to share! I did a great job this weekend of balancing me-time with friend-time. I gave myself permission to celebrate my accomplishments and felt lots of love and gratitude for the people in my life who made them all possible. I’m continuing to de-grandma on weekends and stay out having a good time, and I’m determined to keep up that trend as long as the (slowly getting there) warm weather keeps giving me energy to stay up later and go go go! But I also spent plenty of time staying put put put, at the house on Saturday during the day and Sunday in the evening.

Thanks for hosting the marvelous party, Katie!

Marvelous is…FINISHING GRAD SCHOOL! Yes, I got A’s in both of my last semester courses and completed my MBA at University of Hartford with a 3.94 cumulative GPA. It feels so good to be done but it won’t really hit me until a few more weekends/lunch breaks without homework I think…or until I get my diploma in the mail. No I am not walking in the ceremony because really, ain’t nobody got time for that.

Marvelous is…Chobani sending me a crapload of their Bites and Flips for me to sample! I asked Community Coordinator Amy for the Flips and one flavor of the Bites when I visited their NYC office, but she outdid herself and sent along much more than I ever expected! My friends and co-workers have certainly benefited already and I’ll be tweeting/Instagramming my opinions I’m sure.

Holy Chobani!

Marvelous is…a Friday night of barhopping in Glastonbury with so many different friends! I just love introducing people to each other and watching them click! And any night in which I get to visit FOUR RESTAURANTS is a great night in my book.

Olivia, Chris, me, Rachel (blog namer), and her boyfriend Steve (Quest Bar sampler).

My beloved Barrel-Aged Manhattan at J. Gilbert’s happy hour.

Ginger Campari Cocktail (Bricco Trattoria in Glastonbury, CT) – Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquer, Campari, Sweet Vermouth, Bubbles (would have been way better drink without those).

Delicious Crown Royal Honey, Frangelico, milk, cinnamon shots (by Andres of course) at Rooftop 120!

Marvelous is…throwing caution to the wind and splitting Plan B‘s special PB&J burger with Olivia. Foursquare told us (oh the wonders of social media) that our friend Kevin (who Olivia had yet to meet outside of Twitter) was feasting on the epic special at the nearby restaurant, and the two of us immediately decided to go a) meet up with him and b) split that burger. I’ve heard about the special before and have been wanting to try it, but have honestly been wary of doing so. Beef burgers are not something I order in restaurants not just because I’d usually rather have something else, but also because they are something I’m afraid to order. But the foodie in me wanted to try such a unique burger so dammit I did. Splitting it (and fries!) with Olivia was the perfect way to balance trying the burger and not going home uncomfortably full. Oh, and it was FAN FREAKING TASTIC! What a fabulous flavor combo! Now I know PB is great not only on wings and pizza but on a burger too.

f

Marvelous is…the fact that my only workout Friday was morning yoga and I still was able to go out and enjoy the evening to its fullest. Because rest and low-impact days are important. Cardio does not always have to be part of a workout. Slowly I’m learning. And I woke up on Saturday feeling extra fresh and fabulous for Group Step and some upper body weights, which brings me to…

Matched my BAMR band!

Marvelous is…rocking at the gym Saturday morning the Lululemon skirt I found on sale in Boston. I received so many compliments and it was ridiculously comfortable. I love that the bottom of the spandex shorts portion is lined with the same gel lining found on strapless bras, to keep the spandex from riding up my legs.

Marvelous spring polish change!

Marvelous is…splitting a scorpion with my friend Jill at her grad party on Saturday night! She just graduated with her Masters from UHart too, and we love doing weird food things together. She was so excited when I brought a bottle of mezcal with a scorpion on the bottom! She was brave and chose the stinger. Mr. Scorpion was crunchy and full of mezcal. He was also a bit hard to get down.

Before…

Cheers to the grads!

Jeff did a great job of taking pics that perfectly captured our reactions.

Wondering why I’m so adventurous..

Marvelous is…laughing at myself for being so bad at drinking games. I have never been successful at flip cup, which was busted out at Jill’s party, but I decided to take a shot at it. Since I didn’t want to chug beer I decided to chug champagne. BAD IDEA. My stomach hurt for awhile after that. It was best that I back away from the table.

I think I’ll just stick to posing by the table.

Marvelous is…finding pumpkin wine in the liquor store?! Obviously I bought it but have no idea when I’ll try it – probably when I attend my next summer party, because it’s supposed to be served well chilled. I’ll let you all know what I think. So far people I know who’ve tried it weren’t fans but I still just need to taste for myself.

Marvelous is…taking a free hula-hooping class on Sunday morning with my friend Kim! Lucy Activewear and River Rock Yoga partnered to offer the class outdoors in West Hartford’s Blueback Square. I was pretty darn chilly in the dreary weather (WHY does does it not feel like May yet, or even April?) but the hooping warmed me right up and the activity was quite a release! Lucy offers free outdoor workout classes at 10:15am every Sunday, and River Rock teaches hula hooping at their Wethersfield studio (Kaitlin and I did partner yoga there in February) a couple of times a month. I learned a couple of fun tricks!

Rocking my newest Blogilates tank! Too bad the weather made me keep it covered up.

Marvelous is…hitting up my first farmers’ market of the season at Beckett Farms in South Glastonbury! Kim and I met up with my good friend Kat and her younger sister Helen, as well as the famous baby Penelope. We purchased local goods, visited a couple of food trucks, and watched sheep being sheared!

Coffee from So G warmed us right up!

My friend Leah’s family owns Beckett Farms! Can’t wait to see her again at Lobsterfest!

Sheep shearing is seriously done with power tools! An epic once-a-year haircut.

I’m creepin the sheep.

Kat and I took cupcakes from Nora’s Cupcake truck to go! I picked out Honey Bee made with a cider cupcake and fresh local honey. Can’t wait to have it!

The Ella (prosciutto, fig jam, brie) with added over-easy egg – from the Whey Station food truck. I WAS LEFT SPEECHLESS.

Saved the best for last…Kat’s daughter and my precious girl Penelope!!!

What was the most marvelous part of YOUR weekend?

Would you eat a scorpion – or any other bugs?

Are you a pro hula-hooper, totally inept, or somewhere in between?

Have you visited any farmers’ markets and/or food trucks recently?

The post MIMM: School’s Out, Let’s Celebrate! appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

Patrick of La Boca Mexican Restaurant & Cantina – located on Main Street in Downtown Middletown, CT – contacted me recently to find out if I’d be interested in coming in for dinner so that I could check out the new dinner menu, which was recently updated to include more unique dishes with a “Mexican fusion” vibe. I’ve actually been wanting to try La Boca for awhile – my interest in Middletown’s restaurant scene never dies – so I accepted Patrick’s invite and brought the perfect company…my parents and sister!

So happy my sister is home from college!

I’ve been to both “fancy” and “chill” Mexican restaurants, and I honestly prefer the latter because I feel like a laid-back vibe just fits best with the cuisine. Thankfully La Boca is a really chill place – anyone would feel welcome!

Patrick himself did these murals!

We arrived for dinner at about 6:45PM and I noticed immediately that La Boca’s tables were occupied by diners of all kinds – from couples on dates to  families with small children. The waiters and waitresses were running back and forth but seemed to be having a good time. I felt ready to get the party started!

View from our table.

Our waitress immediately earned a zillion bonus points by bringing us chips during her first visit to our table. Not too salty – despite my self-proclaimed salt addiction, I prefer Mexican restaurant chips less salty, probably so I can eat more of them – and a fabulously chunky salsa with a perfect amount of kick!

She was great about refilling the chips and salsa quickly – with my family, that’s always desired.

We started with a round of beverages! La Boca offers a specialty Onyx Moonshine cocktail for the Moonshine on Main Cocktail Crawl, but I took a look at the recipe and it seemed the drink wouldn’t be simplistic enough for me. So I customized, and the bartender was nice enough accommodate - I ordered Onyx Moonshine, a splash of lemonade, and a splash of soda water served up.

Nice and clear.

The only problem? Its delicious smoothness meant it went down way too quickly. Good problem to have!

Mom was bummed out because she only looked at one side of the beer menu placed on the table, so she saw just the bottled options before ordering! She liked her Modelo but was sad when she realized she’d missed a chance to order a Dogfish Head on draft.

I got her that shirt during my last NYC trip – at C Wonder – for Mother’s Day!

I continued my trend of being every waiter’s nightmare and asked questions about some of the appetizers; the waitress was very friendly and answered my questions as well as my mom’s. She even gave my mom the OK to turn the mahi-mahi tacos into a mahi entree with two veggie sides.

Her veggies were at first forgotten but were brought out quickly after we asked for them.

I ended up forgoing the two appetizers in favor of a seafood entree that called my name from the first moment I menu-stalked on La Boca’s website…the baja coconut-crusted salmon, with sides of fiesta veggies and black beans. I am big on having plenty of healthier sides options at restaurants, and La Boca totally delivers with options like those I chose along with corn tortillas, yuca fries, and sweet potato fries.

I was pleasantly surprised by the nice presentation!

I usually expect veggies from a Mexican place to be flavorless and/or swimming in grease, but my mom and I couldn’t believe how flavorful they were – and without an excessive amount of butter or oil. My mom and I are black bean freaks and adored La Boca’s. The fact that I could taste zero coconut in my salmon’s crust did bum me out a bit, but it was still very well cooked and crust is crust – I just love a crunchy exterior!

Another entree shot.

As our food was being placed in front of us we went for round two on the drinks – but this time I had to get more into the Mexican-restaurant vibe and decided to order off the extensive tequila menu!

I like how the pricing is displayed for each of the three options – shot, straight, or margarita.

I knew from a tequila class I attended at Bartaco that I am most interested in anejos, which are the most aged variety of tequila of the three types listed above (blanco, reposado, anejo). I asked our waitress to recommend one and though she was not sure, she checked with the bartender for me, who recommend Partida. A+ recommendation – I ordered some neat just to sip with my meal, and really enjoyed it.

Dad, my Partida, and me!

My mom did get her beloved draft beer in the end, though not the Dogfish Head she wanted (it had just sold out). She went with a classic Dos Equis - I yelled at her a bit for going so standard while at a Mexican restaurant with a good draft beer menu, but she is not as out of the box as me and wanted her classic Mexican beer!

I didn’t get to sample any of my dad’s entree since he had a bad cold, but he got the chipotle shrimp enchiladas (pan-seared shrimp, onions, garlic, and chipotle cream sauce topped with queso fresco and cilantro) with rice and beans. He gave the sauce, rice, and beans rave reviews. The shrimp looked a little wimpy to me and he said they were pretty good, but I think the star of the dish was the sauce. Of course thanks to all the previously consumed chips there was no way he could finish it!

Padre’s entree

Hannah had a big craving for ground beef but La Boca only serves braised beef (which I totally prefer, but to each her own!) so she went with her backup, chicken. My mom and I are sure glad she did because up until that night, I’d never found a Mexican place that could do braised chicken as well as Loco Perro in East Hampton, CT. Now I’ve found a place that is on-par – my mom already is dreaming of the braised chicken entree she will order upon our return to La Boca!

She selected the simple yet delightful enchiladas suizas (braised chicken, queso, tomatillo cream sauce) with black beans and rice. I’m proud of Hannah for being adventurous with the tomatillo sauce but unfortunately she didn’t like it. Good news for me! She scraped it off and I devoured it, along with a lot of her meal…she was full from the chips and rice/beans, so my mom and I kinda-sorta-definitely attacked her plate. And for that reason I could only finish half my salmon and half my veggies! There are few restaurants where I order chicken dishes because it’s usually just nothing special but I would for sure get braised chicken next time I visit La Boca.

We had lots of leftovers (yet I was still noshing on those great chips) that were boxed up promptly. Patrick really outdid himself because I was given the above gift card to pay for just my entree and one appetizer, but we found out at the end of the meal that La Boca would be taking care of my entire family’s dinner! What a shock – thank you Patrick! We had certainly already had positive reviews of our experience, but that was not a bad surprise at all

I noticed how fun the waitresses’ black La Boca tank tops were – because they were in the style of a Jack Daniels label! Obviously this whiskey girl had to have one of her own! For just $15, why not? Can’t wait to rock it at the gym!

Some other cool facts about La Boca:

• Outdoor seating is available!
• If a patron fills out a customer feedback survey with the check, he or she will receive a token for either a free fried ice cream and free sangria! You know what that means right? I have a token for a free sangria that I surely will be enjoying in above mentioned outdoor seating.
• The restaurant is known in town for having great live entertainment and events like Monday Night Flights (I want to do that!), Tuesday Trivia, and Wednesday Kids Eat Free Day.
• The Tequila Club offers deals and exclusives for a $20 annual fee. The more tequilas you try, the more deals you get!
• You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

I had a great evening and would surely recommend La Boca if you are ever in downtown Middletown. Despite the fact that our meal was comped, I genuinely enjoyed La Boca and my whole family did as well. We plan to go back for sure – you know it’s a good sign when my mom is already plotting the entree to be consumed during her next visit! And next time, she WILL get her Dogfish Head on draft!

Thank you to Patrick and the rest of La Boca’s staff for having me and my family into your restaurant! We received our meal free of charge, but all opinions are genuine and my own. 

What’s your favorite drink and/or entree to order at a Mexican restaurant?

What is your favorite Mexican side?

Are you a chip addict like myself?

The post La Boca Middletown’s New Menu appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

Despite my self-proclaimed addiction to daily deal sites, where  discounted massages are available on the reg, I have never had a massage! That is until I was contacted by Randi Plake, on behalf of Kellie Dunne and Brilliant Options Wellness in Plantsville, CT. Kellie is a Licensed Massage Therapist, as well as a Certified Health Coach and Occupational Therapist.

The radiant Kellie! (Source)

She and Randi were interested in working with me on a blog post about my experience getting a complimentary massage at Brilliant Options Wellness. Kellie works flexible hours, by appointment, so finding a time to come in that worked for me was easy. In fact, she even bared with me when I had to reschedule a week before my originally scheduled appointment.

My Brilliant Options Experience

Brilliant Options was easy to get to address-wise, but is a bit confusing to enter because the business is located in one of those houses that has been converted to office space for several different tenants. So the front of the house looks like a law firm, but the back is where the entrance to Brilliant Options is located. Kellie was sure to call me personally and give me a heads up; her detailed instructions made getting to the Brilliant Options parking lot and entrance a breeze.

This display greeted me at the entrance.

I could tell from the moment I stepped into the lobby area that Brilliant Options Wellness was an ideal spot for me to get a massage. Kellie’s holistic approach to health and wellness was reflected in the serene, clean decor. She believes that all areas of life – especially the mental – are connected; that connection plays a primary role in one’s health.

The encouraging cards on this little “tree” are meant to be taken and pocketed whenever a client feels the need for some extra soul-lifting.

We stepped into the intimate massage therapy room and sat down side-by-side so we could have an honest conversation about the the simple one-page history form I filled out first. I felt comfortable with Kellie immediately and did not feel judged at all by her when I revealed my history with disordered eating as the reason why I have taken an increased interest over the last couple of years in health of the mind, not just the body.

The area where Kellie and I had our chat.

She explained to me how the massage would work and encouraged me to speak up during about preferences and make it my own. I was given a choice of music (I chose piano) and also selected an essential oil to be placed in a water bowl below the headrest portion of the massage bed. Then she left the room while I undressed and got face-down into what was definitely the most amazing bed – or any soft surface – I have ever experienced!

I was not expecting the bed to be HEATED! I had been worried I’d be too cold so I pretty much always am, but the temperature was perfect, the mattress Tempur-Pedic, and the sheets extremely soft. Kellie came back into the room when I called, adjusted the bed, and got to work.

The site of my massage awakening!

We started the massage with me on my stomach and saved the portions with me on my back for the end, since she predicted it’d be harder for me to “come out of” the massage if I ended it on my stomach. She was totally right – I barely could come out of it after it ended with me on my back! I didn’t hesitate to direct Kellie to massage certain tense areas harder – like my shoulders, which I always keep tensed (in fact I just realized they were as I typed this) – and sometimes she checked in with me too. The essential oils smelled lovely and Kellie replenished them in the water bowl halfway through, which was nice since the smell had definitely faded by then.

The music station!

I was surprised by a couple of parts of the massage. Firstly, I’d assumed I’d have to ask Kellie to stop massaging my feet when it came time to bring them into the game, because my feet are SUPER ticklish. But whatever massage therapy school taught Kellie about foot massages certainly works, since I only felt slight discomfort while she massaged my feet. She knows what she’s doing and I think even my sister, the most foot-ticklish person I’ve ever met, would be able to handle it!

This area in the massage room reminded me of a meditation station!

Secondly, I surprised myself by LOVING the face massage portion! I never really got how it could be relaxing – or anything other than weird – but again, Kellie is well-trained and knows what she’s doing. The face was one of the last parts she massaged before we ended and I am certainly glad the massage concluded on that note.

The selection of essential oils, along with other massage supplies.

After the massage I received a complimentary small bottle of water (massages can really dehydrate the muscles) and was advised that since it was my first one ever, I might feel soreness in the next one to two days. I did feel some shoulder soreness the next day, but it was gone after that. I also recommend bringing your own full water bottle because I was SO thirsty during the drive home and though it was nice of Kellie to give me a mini water bottle, I needed about three more!

I received the basic level Being Blissful 60-minute massage (priced at $75). The 30-minute version is $45 and the 90-minute version is $100. Though the more focused In the Zone massage is more expensive at all minute-levels ($55, $90, $115) but Kellie will not normally give it to someone totally new to massages since it can be too intense. She does pregnancy massages too – a perfect (pre) baby gift – and chair massages! To see all pricing, options, and massage benefits, click here.

The Bottom Line

I really adored Brilliant Options Wellness and though I am still too cheap to pay for massages on the reg, I may start considering buying the daily deals every now and then as a treat. To those who choose to get massages regularly, I highly recommend checking out Kellie’s services at Brilliant Options, especially if you are interested in supporting a small business and/or a very holistic approach to health! I also have got to give Kellie props for immediately mailing to me the bracelets and watch I accidentally left behind after forgetting to put them back on post-massage. Thanks girl!

Giveaway!

One local Cait Plus Ate reader will receive a complimentary 30-minute Being Blissful massage from Kellie at Brilliant Options Wellness! The giveaway will close this Friday 5/17 at 11:59PM EST. To enter, you can do the following and make sure you leave a comment for each or separate entries don’t count:

1. Comment and tell me your massage experience. Are you a noob? A seasoned pro? (mandatory)
2. Follow @BOWellness on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
3. Follow @CaitPlusAte on Twitter and comment here saying you did.
4. Tweet “I entered to win a 30-minute massage @BOWellness Plantsville, CT from @CaitPlusAte! http://caitplusate.com/?p=9106” and comment here with the link to the tweet.
5. Repin something from the Brilliant Options Pinterest and comment here with the link to the repin.
6. Follow Kellie on Instagram and comment here saying you did.

Though it’s not a giveaway entry method, you can like Brilliant Options Wellness on Facebook to stay in the loop about specials, events, and healthy tips from Kellie. Lots of ways to enter so good luck to all my local readers who decide to do so, and hope my non-local readers enjoyed hearing about my first massage experience!

Disclaimer: I received the massage from Kellie and Brilliant Options Wellness free of charge. All opinions on my experience are my own and this is not a compensated post.

The post My First Massage – and One for You! appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

The last event I attended at Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford (as their event blogger) was a Monday night cooking class appropriately titled “Paella Party”. I invited a couple of friends from high school – one of which had come with me to the Foods of Galicia dinner – and we turned the evening into a foodie girls’ night of nostalgia!

Lindsey, Corri, and me sitting in front of the outdoor patio’s mural!

The cooking class took place in my favorite area of dining at Barcelona – the gorgeous outdoor patio.

Cooking equipment is ready to go.

Paella ingredients at the ready!

My favorite chef – Executive Chef Alex Feldman – taught the class! He was very accommodating, especially to a guest who told him upon her arrival that she was allergic to calamari. He immediately asked the kitchen to prepare for her a non-calamari paella.

Live-cooking demo!

Alex gave us so many interesting insights into the world of paella. I took notes on my phone so I could share them with you all!

• The first step of paella is soffrito - the sauteeing of whatever you want. Our first paella’s soffrito consisted of onion, red and green peppers, garlic, canned tomatoes, wine, and saffron (the most common paella ingredient) simmered for 10-15 minutes.
• Our second consisted of carrots and onion sauteed with some sausage as opposed to oil. Alex told us using sausage as the fat instead of the oil is an old school cooking technique.
• Never chop onions in a Cuisinart - it leeches all their juice, which is where the flavor comes from!
• Garlic should be added to the soffrito at the end because it cooks the fastest. In Spanish paella, the garlic is browned. In Italian paella, the chefs would NEVER brown their garlic.

The soffritos!

• The crust that forms on the bottom of the pan of paella is called the soccarat.
• Alex recommends use of a Spanish short grain rice such as bario.
• “Paella” is the name of the pan in which the dish is cooked/served.
• The dish is EXTREMELY regional. in Barcelona, it’s most often prepared with seafood and a very complex soffrito. But in southern Spain, paellas are super simple.

I elected to stick with wine for the evening, since it was a Monday night and I had to wake up for work the next morning.

Corri did the same and ordered one of Barcelona’s wonderful wine flights!

Ready for takeoff.

We as the “audience” were able to ask Alex questions as he worked. Many of his answers included the caveat that we ALL can be chefs – so while he may offer suggestions or favorite techniques, they are not necessarily strict rules that must be followed.

Showing his students the soffrito.

While Alex was cooking and teaching, his students stayed well-fed so that we weren’t TOO tortured by the delicious smells of the paella as it was being prepared. A generous amount of tapas came out, as well as BREAD. Oh baby, I could eat Barcelona’s bread all day long. In fact this past Friday night I was there at 11pm eating their bread, but that’s another story.

Another winning soup by Chef Alex – pancetta, chorizo, and beans in a heavenly broth.

Most of the tapas were repeats for me; I try to sample new tapas every time, but since I’m fortunate enough to have an unofficial event-blogger position for Barcelona, I am certainly at their events more than the average attendee! And I wasn’t tired of tasting these delicious dishes…I’m not sure what it would even take for me to get sick of any Barcelona tapas!

The fabulous Pa Amb Tomaquet (tomato and olive oil rubbed toasted bread) that first wowed me when I ate at Barcelona with my dad.

Asparagus a la Plancha (topped with anchovy-garlic puree), which Corri and I both tried at the Galicia dinner.

You’ve seen tapas and you’ve listened to me ramble about paella, but have you SEEN paella yet? You’ve waited long enough, let’s drill down to the stars of the party.

Mariscos paella ingredients for Meg prawns, squid, clams, mussels

While prepping the Mariscos paella, Alex added each seafood ingredient (above) to the paella at different times because they cook at different rates. D’oh, I am sure if I was at home prepping this I’d have just dumped everything right in there. This is why I just eat food and don’t cook.

Selvaje paella ingredients: rabbit, chickpeas with garlic bulbs, blood sausage, house-made white sausage.

I first tried rabbit at Barcelona’s Mendoza dinner and was excited for the chance to sample it again. Now we’re going to get into the super unique ingredients…that blood sausage is made with pork blood, oats, flour, and herbs. One of my friends recently told me he has a video of blood sausage being made, which shows the blood being poured into the casing, and I’m not sure if even I would be able to eat it after watching that. So, I probably won’t because I ended up adoring its taste. The white sausage was made with garlic and parsley. Can we pause and look at how BEAUTIFUL those garlic bulbs are?! Garlic freak up in here.

Being silly with a prawn – I’ve pulled this shenanigan before.

The Mariscos and Selvaje paellas both turned out amazing. Though I am a huge lover of seafood, I have to say that the Selvaje was my favorite of those two. Firstly, I am a lazy eater in the sense that I don’t usually order seafood that requires me to put in work to eat it. Hence the fact that I rarely order lobster or any kinds of clams/mussels since I have to remove them from some kind of shell. I don’t like crab legs and I dislike when cocktail shrimp have tails I cannot for the life of me pull off. The prawns were fun but I felt like by the time I’d removed the shell, I had barely any seafood to actually eat!

Alex topped the paella with fresh parsley right before its serving.

The Mariscos paella was delicious enough for me to put in the minimal “work” required to get into the seafood, which indeed was cooked with great skill and tasted so fresh! But the second reason the Selvaje was my favorite was the lineup of its amazing ingredients. The rabbit was tender and the blood sausage had almost a bite to its flavor that really stood out to me. I loved the texture the chickpeas added and how can you go wrong with ALL THAT GARLIC?!

I took an entire garlic bulb and essentially just ate it alone.

Both are regularly offered on Barcelona’s dinner menu (along with a Verduras paella made with BRUSSELS that I have to try immediately). Corri and Lindsey liked them too; Lindsey usually follows a vegetarian diet, but tried a little of the seafood and meats because she also is a foodie who enjoys the experience of a new dish. ‘Atta girl!

And she loves Daybreak, Millwright’s, and J Gilbert’s so clearly we get along great.

I saved the best for last – a paella not (yet) offered on the menu, which Alex added to the cooking class after a special request Corri and I made at the Galicia dinner!

One of my favorite shots of the evening.

I can now proudly proclaim that I’ve tried squid ink paella! I always pictured squid ink as literally looking like ink, but Alex passed around the above jar and it’s actually quite thick (though it is the ink color I expected). The verdict?

Don’t be afraid!

Squid ink paella is not just fun and weird, but it tastes good too! Alex correctly warned us the ink would give the paella a briney flavor but it was well balanced by the other ingredients such as fresh lemon zest. The paella contained not just the ink of a squid, but generous chunks of squid itself. I don’t know if people who can’t get past visuals would enjoy ordering this dish, but if you are an adventurer I’d totally recommend it!

You’re welcome, fellow classmates, for our suggestion!

I opted for a second glass of wine instead of a dessert because I was full – we all were, yet there was a ton of leftover paella! So the restaurant portioned it out for us and gave it to any event guests who wanted to take some home. That impressed me – I have never been to an event like this when the extra food (because there usually is some) isn’t just taken away without giving the guests an option to take it home.

The options didn’t stop there either; our waitresses brought out dessert menus because lo and behold, each event guest was to pick one out! The $35 price tag (food only) was buying more and more food by the minute, but most of our stomachs couldn’t possibly hold any more. So, we could either have desserts at the restaurant or take our choices home. I decided to be the best sister in the world and bring home churros for my brother, but I did dive into some of Corri’s dessert, which she was generous enough to share.

Warm Chocolate Hazelnut Indulgence: molten chocolate cake topped with coconut ice cream, served over raspberry sauce.

I wish more restaurants would make their event desserts an eat-here-or-take-home option, because I often am full from the generous amount of food served during the dinner portions but also don’t want to miss out on the special sweets! Barcelona continued to accommodate even after dessert was served because Corri, Lindsey, and I were horrified to find in Corri’s cake what we thought were little hairs, and sent it back. The manager, Taft, came out with a new cake – and a kind explanation that those were not hairs, but were from the ultra-fresh raspberries used to make the raspberry sauce. I guess that’s what Barcelona gets for using really fresh ingredients – silly customers like us sending our food back for no legitimate reason! Oops – and they still gave us a new cake! Which, by the way, blew my MIND.

Thanks Alex!

If you couldn’t tell already, I thought nothing but the best of this event. Though I will fully disclose that I did not pay the $35 fee for the food since I wrote this blog post, I will say that I would have paid it in a second – in fact, I’d have paid more if the price tag was higher. I’ve been going to Barcelona’s events for awhile now and whenever I’ve paid for one, I’ve always felt like I got more than I paid for. This paella cooking class, I’m sure, would have been no exception! Corri and Lindsey loved it too and I can’t thank Alex, our waitresses, Taft, and the rest of Barcelona enough!

This Wednesday evening, Chef Alex will be at Barcelona in West Hartford preparing a Foods of Catalonia dinner menu! In fact, I will be in attendance with my good friend Kat as well as her sister. The menu is available one night only so be sure to come by and take advantage – call 860-218-2100 to make a reservation. And if you attend, please find me and say hi!

Which of the three paellas – seafood, sausage/chickpea, squid ink – would you want to try most?

Have you ever had paella at a restaurant, or made it yourself?

Which fact about paella cooking did you find most intriguing?

The post Paella Partying at Barcelona! appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

I’ve met so many new friends since I started this blog, and they mean so very much to me, but I also am finding it hard to balance seeing them as often as I’d like, attending all the events I want to attend, accepting all the opportunities the blog brings me, keeping up a regular fitness schedule, and getting my homework done. And I thought completing my MBA would clear my super-filled plate a great deal?! Still plenty of other stuff going on!

Like Frog Hollow Social Club‘s second meeting at Firebox in Hartford this past Monday night…surely a blast and so glad I went, but I missed a weeknight in!

This brings me to my conversation with Bridget this morning. She pointed out that aside from solo gym trips, what’s missing on my plate is me-time. “You’re an introvert!” she declared. I immediately pictured someone sitting around the house, avoiding people like the plague – and that is so not me. But she proceeded to explain that introverts do not hate being around others. On the contrary, they quite enjoy it – as long as they get their me-time too. “Introverts,” Bridget elaborated, “are just people who re-charge when they’re alone”.

Solo spin class – the gym is probably the place I am most often by myself, and I love it.

Can I ever relate to THAT. During the winter, my Saturday/Sunday morning and afternoon sessions at Daybreak Coffee Roasters were my solo re-charge time. As the weather has begun to warm up, I’ve started making more plans with friends for fun daytime weekend activities like food tours and vineyard visits. I adore my friends and the fun times we have been sharing together, but it’s been getting progressively harder each day to ignore the fact that I really, really am missing my me-time.

Taking care of myself is about giving myself what I need to re-charge, be it rest days (still working on it), days when I leave studying by the wayside (AKA all the days of the future because I’m done with school, holla), and days when I don’t see that many people and can spend my time exactly how I’d like to.

I prefer to spend my lunch breaks solo – and outside if possible.

It’s also about disconnecting – I’ve noticed more than ever lately that I’m getting the technology-and-FOMO addiction. I can’t seem to look away from my phone when I hear it go off. I always have to be on Instagram, Twitter, what have you while I’m waiting in line for something, waiting for my gas to pump, etc. I need to force myself to disconnect.

What my evenings in should look like – wine, powerbowl, no phone.

So I’m establishing some self-love goals to keep myself accountable, because declaring goals here on the blog has worked well in the past.

I will schedule me-time in my weeknights and weekends: I still do pretty well at going out only one weeknight per week. This has been a nice balance for me and I haven’t felt like I’ve been missing out on the weeknight events I pass up. If anything it helps me prioritize and I only do what’s most important and/or fun to me when I go out on my one weeknight. But with summer coming, I need to think before I plan. A jam-packed Saturday afternoon may seem fabulous at the time its planned out, but the summer weekend afternoon is also the perfect time to sit outside by a pool or outside of Daybreak sipping iced coffee and reading or blogging. Ah, bliss.

I will schedule time-off from technology: Why do I need to be on the computer all day at work AND have my iPhone at my side? I’m going to make an effort to leave my phone in my purse for a good chunk of my work day, and keep it there. I also am going to make an effort to leave my phone downstairs charging in my room before going upstairs for dinner-and-DVR time during my weeknights in.

Snack, book. No phone needed.

I am going to stop trying to people-please, and be honest about why I turn down plans: I always get so afraid that when I say no to a happy hour or a weekend day-trip, whoever I’m saying no to is going to take a HUGE personal offense to my invite decline, and will get mad at me. So, I sometimes find myself making up excuses – I feel dumb just saying “I want to stay in”. This is my ego talking – people do NOT get personally offended when I turn them down, even if I do so just because I don’t feel like going out.

Real friends get it!

I’m getting excited as I type this post because I know if I follow these goals, then Caitlin the Introvert will get her me-time to recharge and be less stressed. Thanks to my visit with Bridget this morning, I know the true meaning of an introvert and I can proudly declare that I am one – while also planning to go out both tonight and tomorrow night

Do you re-charge by being alone or being around others?

What have always been your definitions of an introvert and an extrovert?

Do you ever find yourself having to make an effort not to overextend yourself?

Are you too-technology-addicted for your liking?

The post An Introvert’s Goals appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

To be honest – Quest’s branding at first was a bit of a turn-off to me. I am not a user of protein powders or supplements and a visit to their website gave me a GNC/Vitamin Shoppe vibe. But I’d already heard a ton of positive reactions to Quest bars from some of my favorite bloggers, so I certainly wanted to try them for myself.

#allthebars

I could hardly believe how many bars I was sent – at least one of every flavor, plus duplicates of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars and of Quest’s newest product, the Quest Cravings Protein PB Cups! Those bad boys were the first product I chose to try, obviously. I had a MAJOR dessert hankering on a Friday night and crumbled up both (sorry not sorry) PB cups in the package, then heated them in the microwave and added my favorite sugarfree chocolate Jello pudding. Tip – do not heat up any Quest products and let them sit before eating them. The heat makes them nice and mushy and they tend to “re-solidify” as they cool, making it hard to keep the crumbles from forming into one cohesive ball. Snack logistics much?

Surrounded by a heavenly glow, as it should be.

The PB cups rocked my world and I gifted some of my extras to a coworker, my blend Kaitlin, and good friends Olivia and Rachel…whose boyfriend benefited.

I also gave them each one of my extra Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bars, which I still have yet to try myself (no way I could have tried all the flavors before posting this review). Kaitlin liked hers, but did say it had a bit of a protein-bar-taste to it. Not sure how else to describe it but if you’ve ever had a meh protein bar, you know what she means. She did say she thought it would’ve been way better heated up with some PB on it, which many fellow campaign participants did with all the flavors and loved.

Tried the Chocolate PB flavor as an evening snack, once again heated/mashed up. I added the chocolate pudding after I took this picture because who doesn’t want #allthechocolate?

None of these bars LOOKED very appetizing when heated/mashed in a bowl but taste is the most important and I give all the flavors I’ve tried so far two big thumbs up in that department. None of them have had that protein-bar-flavor Kaitlin mentioned (we’ll see what I think of the Cookie Dough bar!) and I can really tell without looking at the bars’ labels and just by their taste that the ingredient list is short and pretty impressive.

I had major decision anxiety each time I had to pick out which flavor to try next, so I thank Hayley for her suggestion to me on Instagram to try this Cinnamon Roll flavor next!

Each product has an incredible amount of protein and not too many carbs. Many varieties have tons of fiber too! I can’t wait to keep tearing through the rest of my stash and share on Instagram/Twitter what I think! Quest Nutrition products can be purchased online or, if you’re anti-shipping like me, in certain stores. You can follow Quest on social media networks too…Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram being some of them. If you end up trying any products, make sure to let me know and use the hashtag #onaquest!

I received Quest products free of charge and was asked to write this post as part of my participation in a Fitfluential campaign. However, this post is not compensated and all opinions are genuine and my own.

Have you ever tried Quest bars? Which flavor is your favorite?

What do you look for in a snack bar?

The post On a Snacky Quest! appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.

Chobani SoHo

Kaitlin was super-excited for her first Chobani SoHo trip since she is a fellow Chobani fanatic! We arrived at the store after doing some fabulous shopping near the Elvis Duran studios (everything was grouped nice and close together) and found a sweet employee posted-up outside handing out samples of the PB&J creation (creamy PB, Concord grape jelly, sliced red grapes, peanuts, plain Cho).

Clearly everyone loved the samples – just one left!

No we did not plan our matching jackets and bags.

We passed because we were waiting for Chobani Community Coordinator Amy Keefe to arrive! She saw me tweet about our plans to have a Chobani lunch, and offered to join us so we could chat – and eat – all things Greek yogurt.

I desperately plugged in my dying iPhone while Kaitlin poked around. I adore the store’s look, which hadn’t changed a bit since August.

Blogger in action.

Made it to mecca AKA Chobani’s only yogurt bar!

Amy arrived looking super adorable in a mint top. Another blonde was joining the fun!

She graciously offered us whatever we wanted off the menu, which is composed of already-designed “creations”. Chobani SoHo is not a self-serve or build-your-own yogurt bar. Though the super-customizing topping-lover in me kinda wishes it was, I have never met a Chobani creation I didn’t like!

A small window lets customers watch their creations be…created!

Kaitlin and I decided to share one creation I’d already had and adored (Pistachio + Chocolate), plus one that was new to both of us because it was a seasonal special – Grapefruit + Mint. That’s one new Chobani SoHo feature that the store wasn’t rockin’ in August…two seasonal specials. We happened to be there for the last day of the current two!

Creating the Grapefruit + Mint special.

The second special – Smoked Salmon + Dill with everything bagel chips – was so amazing and dream-worthy that Kaitlin and I each ordered our own. We knew no sharing would go down.

Amy ordered the Cucumber + Olive Oil with pita chips, another favorite of mine during my last visit.

Kaitlin and I had selected the perfect mix of a savory and sweet creations! I was surprised to hear that not many Chobani SoHo visitors “get” the smoked salmon creation, but to me it seems an obvious choice – very New York bagel & lox! I guess that’s just my foodie point of view though! It tasted incredible and the everything bagel chips were a dynamite companion.

We don’t mess around so no drop of Cho was left standing. The Grapefruit + Mint, while refreshing and SUPER easy to recreate at home, was still second place to the unique Pistachio + Dark Chocolate in my eyes (slash taste-buds). The pistachios and other nuts used in Chobani SoHo creations are even sold in the store.

Visitors can leave their glass jar(s) to be re-used by the store, or take them home.  I brought one back with me and have been using it for my nighttime snacks!

Amy pointed out a subtle store nuance near the ceiling that I NEVER would have noticed – the evil eye!

She continued to spoil us and offered a tour of the nearby NYC Chobani offices – newly renovated! Our second fabulous tour of the day! I want to hire their decorator.

This place could be an Anthropologie!

Beautiful lobby.

View of the work stations from the lobby.

Obviously Chobani isn’t going to mess around with its break room. It’s stocked with plenty of the product as well as chalkboard walls for employees to use when letting out steam.

Kaitlin planned to take the train back home within the next hour I jealously watched as she raided the fridge! But Amy has promised me samples of the new Chobani Flips and the Fig with Orange Zest Bites (only Bite flavor I’ve yet to try), which will arrive on my front step on 5/15. Thanks Amy!

Come here my precious…

Makin’ out like a bandit.

Kaitlin had to take the train back home for a babysitting gig, but I stayed in the city to milk the trip for all it was worth by shopping and doing my favorite barre workout!

Physique 57

Natasha AKA social media guru for Physique 57 was kind enough to let me use a class credit I had that expired at the end of 2012. I’ve visited two of their NYC studios and was glad I’d be in the area of my favorite of those two, on Spring Street. The facilities (lobby, locker room, bathrooms, studios) are just beautiful – and again, I really needed to charge my iPhone

Source

Physique 57 is a barre-style workout that starts with a cardio and light-arm-weight warm-up, followed by barre and floor work, and ended with a tough core series. Tools utilized during the workout include dumbbells, a resistance band, a ball (evil thing), and mats. While it may not be “outright cardio”, the heart rate certainly gets up there thanks to the ridiculous burning sensation the lower body feels during the entire class. OUCH (in a good way). You can read more about my thoughts on the workout in general in my post from August!

I lucked out because I happened to choose the 2:30pm class taught by Jess, a super-talented instructor who has appeared in Dance Spirit Magazine! While I have to say my favorite instructor is still co-founder Tanya Becker (I mean, how can it not be!), Jess did a fantastic job motivating me and coming to each student to correct her form, which I always appreciate because I’d rather do a move with correct form than blindly do it incorrectly every day!

Thank you Jess! She said she is told all the time that she looks like Anna Paquin , but I saw Nina Dobrev. Let’s be real, both are a good comparison.

Natasha is being a gem and offering you all a discount code to use on Physique 57′s online workouts! Enter code CAITplusP57 (nice code Natasha!) for 20% off of one download – the code will remain active until 5/14. Each download is 48-hours of access, or one can choose the monthly subscription option – unlimited access for 31 days. For more info on the streaming program and pricing, check out the Get Started page.

Video Access Instructions:

1. Click any of the videos and click WATCH NOW.
2. A new screen will pop up for you to register. Enter an email address and a password.
3. Click “Enter promo code” on the next screen and enter your access code: CAITplusP57
4. Once you enter your code you can play any of the videos. Enjoy!

Have you ever visited Chobani SoHo? Would you like to?

Have you ever had the chance to visit the offices of a company you like?

Have you tried Physique 57 or any other barre workouts? What do you think?

The post Chobani and Physique 57 in NYC – Again! appeared first on Cait Plus Ate.