Tag Archives: gym

Sweat and Food

Please take a moment to vote for me (up to 10 times…a day…) in round one of the Hartford Courant 2012 Websters for CT’s Best Blogs! I’m nominated for Best Overall Blog, Best Health Blog, Best Food Blog, and Best Social Media Account! Thank you to those who nominated me, and voting for round one closes this Friday 3/30 at 11:59PM EST.

I’m glad that so many of you seemed to enjoy yesterday’s post about my appreciation for the friendships my blog has brought me! Sounds like a lot of you can relate – and that’s a great thing!

My makeshift home yoga "area"…computer booting up to play P90X Yoga this morn! My #PROOF.

I feel like it’s been forever since I just wrote about what was on my mind (instead of recapping the latest and greatest restaurants and events). I love doing that, but I also find it really therapeutic and cleansing, cheesy as that sounds, to just write whatever is on my mind! And based off of comments and feedback from my readers, it seems those posts are often enjoyed MORE than the ones where I share my delectable eats. Perhaps I’m giving you guys too much food porn? Do I need to take it away for awhile? 😉 OBVIOUSLY I’m kidding.

Typical healthy eats food porn…some may drool, some may wrinkle their noses.

I had a great workout yesterday. I have to share it with you guys! I did an hour-long spin class that totally kicked my butt and had me pouring sweat. I just LOVE how sweating makes me feel. It’s more refreshing than jumping into a pool on a hot day. Downside of sweating, just like getting out of a pool sometimes – I was FREEZING after that spin class. Complete icicle. Even 20 minutes of arm-breaking (don’t worry, not literally) weights after the class couldn’t warm me up. Once I got home I realized why – my sports bra, AKA undergarment completely 100% in contact with my skin, was totally drenched through. I don’t remember the last time it was like that after a workout. I TOLD you I sweated like a mad woman!

I came home and after a refreshing, HOT shower, I went upstairs to see what was for dinner. I was craving CARBS like a mad lady. No surprise after 1.5 hours at the gym! Thank goodness, my mom had heated up the last of our free Dr. Oetker’s Organic Veggie Frozen Pizzas that I received through a BzzAgent campaign, thanks to a coupon. She added garlic and leftover steamed broccoli to the pie, and heated it in the oven on a pizza stone. Perfection! After a few more minutes under the broiler, and with a pile of black beans for protein, this really hit the spot.

I also had half of a turkey burger, and later sampled some of my new Love Grown Foods granola (review/giveaway to come once I’ve tried every flavor!) with 0% plain Greek yogurt. I had it while reading the first 18 pages of my latest library find, “The Summer Without Men” by Siri (lol) Hustvedt. I already LOVE this book and am already gonna say that I recommend it to all of you , even though I’m 18 pages in.

I will leave you with this hilarious gem…someone playing a prank on my cubicle neighbor at work!

Do you ever get really cold after a workout, because of how much you sweat?

What did you have for dinner last night?

Have you ever read the book above, or any of Siri’s other books?

How I Spent My 23rd Birthday!

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday! I ended up having a great day (so great that I didn’t have time to blog :-P) and want to thank all of you that wished me happy birthday on Twitter and/or Facebook! So how did I spend my special day? Haven’t had time to upload cam pics yet, but I was tweeting a play-by-play of life, as per usual.

The day got off to a great start when I woke up to this. I love my mom!

My co-workers continued to make the day fabulous. My friend Steve got me these gorgeous tulips. The bow matches my St. Patty’s Day nails!

The fellow ladies of our sales row (of cubicles, ha) know me well. They gave me a bottle of local CT red wine from Sharpe Hill Vineyards! I haven’t had their wine yet and am super excited to try it.

Holy moly, look at this gem! It’s from Jim, a co-worker who has access to a pretty awesome bakery (he got another co-worker an equally awesome cupcake for her birthday last month). That chocolate-cake looking part is actually ALL icing. I am an icing freak. So let’s just say I’m gonna enjoy this. Saving it for tonight after dinner maybe!

I’m a lucky girl!

My boss was kind enough to give me a half day on my birthday, and good thing, because it was about 80 degrees without a cloud in the sky yesterday. Is this the new CT March? I’ll TAKE IT!

Obsessed with Vera towels.

No, this is not a summer ’11 photo, this is YESTERDAY. Amazing! I chilled with my best friend Lidia as we drank iced beverages (coffee for me, green tea for her), read magazines/books, and chatted. She was also kind enough to use my Goodreads to-read list to pick out a couple of new books for me as a gift – it used to be we were gifting each other off our Forever 21 wish lists, and now it’s Goodreads! Oh, how adult we are!

Now I can see what all that hype is about!

A classic that I’ve been curious about.

Call me weird, but I wanted to go to the gym despite the fact that it was my birthday. I completed 4.08 miles on the StepMill, Level 16, speed intervals AKA some kick-butt HIIT. Felt FABULOUS after! Read the issue of SHAPE with Kate Walsh on the cover. She is one amazing lady.

I wrapped things up with the below workout created by the amazing Heather of For the Love of Kale (who gave me a birthday shoutout yesterday, THANKS LOVE). I’m not doing any upper body today so wanted to get some in yesterday. Quick and effective!

After showering my sweaty self off, I went to meet my friend Colin (of Taste of New Haven) at Mustard Seed Cafe, a cute local breakfast-and-lunch place, for a French Wine Tasting Class event put on by my favorite liquor store EVER, Sonoma Wines & Spirits. Apps were served to start and I put together a little tasting plate, but kept it light because I wanted to go out to a late dinner afterward.

Went back for seconds on the veg (obviously).

For a wine lover like myself, this was definitely an informative event, in terms of both tasting wine and its origins. I have to admit I found myself drifting a bit during the historical parts of the presentation, but I think that was because I was so excited to get-to-sippin…

Flight #1 (three total).

The most fascinating part for me was learning how to both properly smell and taste wine. Did you know that you’re supposed to cover the glass with your hand, swirl the wine around, and then just take a slight sniff from under your hand when smelling a wine? The whole swirl and stick my nose in the glass thing that I’ve had going on is NOT correct. Too bad I put on hand lotion right before the event!

The proper method of tasting wine is really cool and made a HUGE difference. I’m having no luck finding a video or series of photos on Google (I know, what?) demonstrating the method, but it involves taking a sip, tilting your head forward and letting the wine rest in the front of your “palate”, and then tilting your head back (it reminded me of taking a shot…) and letting the wine slide over the middle and back parts of your tongue before swallowing (or spitting, something I am not fond of, and I know, that’s what she said). The taste was SO much more intense. I kinda loved it.

My favorite flight obviously – three reds, how can you go wrong?

I had a few favorites, which I marked with stars on our info/ordering sheets, and ended up decided to purchase the Chateau Picque Caillou Graves Pessac-Leognan. I know – what?? Just know that it tasted sooo oak-y and fabulous. I also received a $25 credit with my admission, and the bottle was $30.59. How often do I have a chance to buy a $30 bottle of wine for $5?! Answer: never, so I leapt at it. I’m going to save this bottle for something very special!

After the tasting wrapped up, Colin and I headed out to get some FOOD. It was almost 9pm, so we hit up the late night happy hour at Max Fish! I love going to these kinds of happy hours at nice restaurants because I get the chance to order and sample food that would normally be out of my price range.

Recycled image from my last visit but obviously I had to get the cheese plate again.

Colin offers a useful hand-size comparison for this ahi tuna with jasmine rice and lemongrass sauce.

Frozen not fresh (as our waitress honestly told us when we asked), but still so good.

Does anyone else dip fries into their ice cream and/or milkshakes? Colin thought I was a weirdo for that one!

I’m asking about ice cream because Colin not-so-secretly (I noticed immediately…) approached our waitress and asked her to send over a birthday dessert for me. I was still surprised because I had no clue what it’d be! I wish this picture hadn’t come out so blurry:

CARAMELIZED BANANA SPLIT

SO DELICIOUS. I realized it had been too long since I last had ice cream. And it had been way WAY too long since I’d made that an ice cream SUNDAE. The caramelized bananas and slightly-salty nuts on that whipped cream made it extra special.

Fabulous, fabulous birthday. And it doesn’t stop there – off to J. Gilbert’s with my family tonight!

How did you celebrate your last birthday? Do you have any go-to traditions?

Orlando – Day Five

My fifth full day in Orlando (last Thursday) followed my gym-tan-eat-tan-drink-eat-sleep routine (and trust me, I wasn’t getting sick of it) – but with another Connecticut-infused twist.

I woke up still feeling blah in the stomach area, just nauseous, but I was SOOO ready to be back at the intense cardio and decided to run a 5K on the treadmill. I was psyched to see they each had a TV but then saw that neither treadmill had a working one – bah! There was a big TV in the overall gym though, and it was empty in there (I mean, it was about 8am…) so I grabbed the remote and flipped channels while I pounded out 3.1 miles in 27 minutes! Once I started running, my nausea actually disappeared and I felt fantastic and full of energy. I like setting a distance goal as opposed to time because it motivates me to run faster – so I can get off that dreadmill faster! Works every time.

What do you know, another Connecticut friend was in Orlando when I was – Kelly! Her family are big fans of the parks (unlike mine) so most days she was Disney and Universal-ing, but she did have one pool day (well, morning) and I headed over to her hotel to join her and her mom. It was so great to hang out!

After Kelly and her fam left the pool for Epcot, I went to a nearby Whole Foods to grab lunch. Even though I have a location in my town, I love checking out different Whole Foods for the regional differences in the food offered at the hot and cold salad bars in state to state.

Healthy foods photograph the prettiest!

Well OK, that mac n cheese looks pretty golden and beautiful too.

Amazingly fresh Florida seafood salads.

I was a cheap-o and didn’t purchase any of the above ($10.99/lb…) but the seafood lover in me was remorseful later – right Meg? 😉

Hello there!

OK, so we do NOT have fish like that in my Whole Foods. No sir. I was also on a mention for seafood or meat for the next night’s grill-out dinner (the joys of staying at a place with a kitchen and grills!) and found just what I was looking for in the Seafood Department, thanks to a very helpful employee – hello if you are reading! (I gave him my card).

Just what I was looking for! I took home two Spinach & Feta Salmon Burgers, one Wild Salmon Burger, and one Shrimp Burger. I was already looking forward to the meal, and I hadn’t even had THAT night’s dinner yet (or the day’s lunch, for that matter). Story of my life.

Um, Whole Foods has a bar?! Don’t mind if I do! This location is the only one in Florida with a bar that serves beer and wine. The wine section itself was amazing! Need proof?

I snuck in on a tasting of Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clovera red blend (included one of my favorites, petite sirah). This wine was AMAZING, one of the best reds I’ve tried in awhile, and I was shocked at its affordable price tag. Also a fun side note on this International Woman’s Day, Concannon Vineyards hired the first professional female winemaker in 1950!

I was poured the above glass and then some, which I did not finish since I wanted to make it home alive.

Words cannot describe how excited I was to be having dinner that night at Seasons 52, a “blogger hot-spot” that I have seen on Meghann, Gina, Caitlin, and Julie’s blogs. I was rockin’ a new dress from the occasion, a Black Friday purchase (I know, it’s bad news bears when you’re wearing things for the “first time” in March and bought them in November) from Kohl’s LC Lauren Conrad Collection. You can’t see them well, but it has one of my latest obsessions, pleats!

I was blown away by our view! I had no idea Seasons 52 (we were at the ORIGINAL location, by the way!) offered gorgeous outdoor lakeside seating. Pleasant surprise!

After our little photoshoot, we finally took our seats and checked out the drink menu. It was very dark out on the patio, and my mom had to borrow a light from our waiter to read the menu! Silly mom.

I ordered the Organic Sunshine Martini: orange-infused Prairie organic vodka and agave nectar. However, it was not what I was expecting.

I chose this martini because the description made it sound like it would just be vodka made with a bit of agave, but after it arrived I could see that it had also been made with some kind of orange juice, a bummer because anytime drinks are made with juices they taste too sweet for me. Sure enough, it was too sweet, but our amazing waiter Garrett was kind enough to take it off the bill without my even asking – thank you Garrett!

Ugh, flash.

Instead of a martini, I decided to go with red wine and helped my parents out with the bottle they’d already ordered, Gascon Malbec, which was actually quite excellent! I made a joke that Gascon was an appropriate wine to drink when in Orlando, home of the creators of Gaston.

Surprisingly, Garrett had NOT heard that awful pun before!

Thankfully I didn’t have a tough time deciding on a meal because that night, a special was being offered that was made for me.

Mahi? Mediterranean? Shrimp? Tzatziki? SOLD.

Aaaand I DIED. What a fantastic dish. I’m a chronic dish modifier at restaurants and this was made for me – I did not have to order with ANY modifications. The fish was perfect, the shrimp tabouleh was perfect, the tzatziki came on the side without me even asking, and a nice surprise was included that wasn’t mentioned on the menu, olives!

My mom got the same dish and she was a bit bummed that the olives weren’t called out on the menu because she HATES them, but she picked them out and I finished them off for her. Before her meal, she got the Organic Baby Spinach Salad: sliced pears, feta, and toasted pine nuts on spinach. She couldn’t stop raving about it! My dad loved his meal too – despite the fact that it came with lots of veggies. Eat up Dad, they’re good for you!

We were too full for dessert so I did not try any of the famous Mini Indulgences that everyone raves about, but next time I will have to! What a great last dinner out in Florida.

Have you ever been to Seasons 52? If not, have you already heard about it thanks to the “blog world”?

Do you run on treadmills for distance or for time?

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen at a Whole Foods?

Mealin’ and Movin’

I’m taking a cue from the lovely Janeetha today and blogging about some mealin’ and movin’ I’ve been doing over the last couple of days. My photos have tended to accumulate in my camera since I haven’t gotten on a good daily upload schedule, but I am getting better!

Let’s start with Monday’s dinner:

Baked potato skin with Mariah's Sweet n' Spicy Chow Chow Relish, swordfish with mango salsa, steamed broc.

Last Friday, my Whole Foods tweeted that swordfish steaks would be on sale all weekend for $9.99/lb. I texted my mom ASAP and she jumped on that deal, so that was dinner Friday night. Well she bought so much that we had tons of leftovers, so despite the fact that I felt like I was eating a gourmet meal Monday night, it was actually mostly leftovers! The swordfish was beyond perfect. I know you’re not supposed to eat more than a certain amount of it per week since it contains higher levels of mercury, but I rarely get to eat it so having swordfish every day Friday-Tuesday can’t do me too much harm – right?

And of course the Mariah’s Sweet n’ Spicy relish from the farmer’s market was awesome and has continued to be awesome.

I made the mistake of not eating breakfast before I left the house yesterday, and was starving by the time I got to work, starving, but not so starving that I was too impatient to snap a quick pic of Wednesday’s breakfast:

PB&Co Dark Chocolate Dreams and the most inappropriate looking banana I'd ever laid eyes on, seriously.

Lastly, moving on to Wednesday’s workout:

I left work a few minutes early so that I could get to one of my favorite classes, Interval Training. You can read more about it here. I felt challenged and energetic, thanks to the Thomas english muffin and Chipotle Laughing Cow wedge I had right before class,  and left with a strong, accomplished, albeit sweaty, feeling.

I know I'm lookin' pretty gross…

 

…but I was feelin' pretty damn good!

I have to brag for a second and show you my awesome sneakers. They seriously give me such a boost each time I lace them up.

Purchased from the Adidas Outlet. Wish I could've bought the lavender ones too!

And while I’m sharing workout gear, I have to say my gym bag gives me a bounce in my step too.

Vera Bradley small duffel.

Came home and rewarded myself with a feast: turkey burger, turkey sausage, sauteed onions, grilled asparagus, green beans, and 50,000 Ore Ida fries with spicy mustard. Mmmm the gym does good things to my appetite.

I woke up before my alarm this morning, which was awesome because I had time to get in a 30 minute Exercise TV Yoga Sculpt video on our cable’s free on-demand. It was my favorite kind of yoga: quick, but super challenging, so that I was out of breath and sweating by the end. Workout done, and I wasn’t even planning on having time to work out today, so that was a nice surprise!

Are you a swordfish fan? Do you have any cute gym gear that makes it more fun for you to work out?