Christmas is, what, 12 days away? Whatever, man. All I want for Christmas is to not trip over boxes in my living room! We pretty much spent the weekend trying to accomplish just that.
What’s on your holiday wish list?
Aside from a clean house, I’d like my baby to keep being a good boy in there, kicking and healthy (ooh! he just gave me one as I wrote that!) and I’d like a pair of slippers that don’t fall off my feet when I walk down the stairs. Oh, and pretty, pretty please someone buy our condo back in Massachusetts? I know, I know, you were thinking you wanted a pair of slippers too, but don’t you really want a lovely 3 bedroom condo?
It’s some odd hour of the day, stomach growling, and only fast food joints in sight. We’ve all been there, right?
What do you do?
Wanting to eat real food is like wanting to breathe real oxygen – not too much to ask if you ask me. But it can be a ridiculous request in the middle of a food court. I gotta tell you, it really pisses me off! Real food is as basic as it gets yet we have a culture built around consuming products from an industry thriving on serving refined, polished, bleached, chemically altered, cheap, nutritionally-void food.
But there you are, eyes are crossing from hunger and well, life happened and you are nowhere near a kitchen or a lovingly prepared brown bag lunch. Not really the time to get on your high horse about nutrition. What do you do?
Alright kids, I’m blogging from Hawaii today. What can I say, I miss you guys!
It’s totally amazing here. It’s warm and breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful and quiet (we’re on the Big Island) and I love every second. Today I did yoga on the beach and we’re going to go snorkeling and to see the volcano and…
Moving on. We must! This isn’t a travel blog!
Traveling makes eating healthy harder, I think. Don’t you? When I’m confronted with restaurant menus meal after meal my stomach starts rebelling big time. So when I travel, I’m pretty hard core about finding food that’s going to make me feel good. Sometimes that means driving to a natural food store and stocking my room with fresh fruit, Ezekial cereal and Lara Bars or whatever I can find.
Sometimes, it means tapping into my inner menu when the waitress comes by.
Because I don’t want to eat another hamburger! And I can’t stand the thought of a Cobb Salad covered in cheese right now. A hummus plate sounds good but those white flour pitas won’t do me any favors.
It’s a blessing to be reminded of why I choose to eat the way I do. One day of white bread and meat at every meal is a big reminder that my body (though perhaps not yours) does better with fewer animal products and more whole grains and leafy greens.
So it’s lunch. I look at the menu and put it down. Look again, put it down. Finally I ask the server for some hummus…with brown rice and steamed broccoli. Is that possible I ask? She seems relieved I didn’t ask for Kobe beef or truffle oil or something like that. Brown rice? Broccoli? Simple enough. Sure.
Ahhhh. I feel better already. Real, simple, whole food. Now I can enjoy myself on vacation without painful stomachaches or low energy.
Do you know what foods make you feel your best? How do you handle traveling and eating out?
On this vacation I’ve also enjoyed shrimp tempura, king crab legs and plenty of dessert. So I’m no purist. Just gotta get back to basics every 2 or 3 meals to keep myself functioning properly.
Aloha!
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There must be two kinds of people in the world – those who get home from a trip and immediately unpack their suitcase, and those who sort of half live out of the suitcase until it’s empty, leave it out to trip over for another week and finally go ahead and stick it back in the closet after stubbing their toe on its wheel one too many times.
I’m in the latter category. (And yes, that’s my white noise machine in the suitcase. I sleep like a baby with that thing!)
This past weekend was my first Immersion Conference with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York City. It’s really an awesome deal – after you pay to attend the school, you can apply for a free second year. And you can do that second year any time, not necessarily right after you graduate from the main program. I’m so happy I was accepted! It’s a bit of an honor, really, because as Immersionists we act as mentors to the incoming class. It’s nice to feel trusted with that responsibility.
Clearly, IIN doesn’t know about how poorly I manage suitcase unpacking or else they may not have picked me. (hehe)
Anyway, this past weekend all 300-some Immersionists gathered in New York and it was a really welcome, inspirational weekend. *Happy sigh*
While we were there we ate some yummy dinners, of course. Candle Cafe was new to me and I really loved it. What an extensive menu! If you ever thought vegans had few options, check out this place. I had a southern inspired dish of layered millet, black beans and sweet potatoes over steamed greens, served with gravy. Ate. Every. Bite.
My friend Laura had a tofu entree – I forget exactly what was in there but the tofu was crusted with sesame seeds and it came with kim chee.
Now that we’re back home, I can’t wait to start working with the incoming students from this year’s IIN class. This is the very first year that there are in-person classes in New York AND distance learning classes happening worldwide. The internet is pure magic, I tell you. Now more people can access the awesome experience of IIN without having to travel to New York. (I mean, people do it. I met a girl from Japan who came to New York specifically for IIN. Whoa, right?)
If you love food and nutrition and can’t get enough of learning about this stuff, you may want to check out IIN. Especially if you feel a career change coming on. Especially if you find yourself always giving nutrition advice to friends anyway. Here’s a post I wrote about my experience. And I am always, always happy to chat over email or phone if you have questions. Sometimes it’s nice to hear from a “real” person’s perspective. And, here’s a pretty cool thing – they gave us a special offer to extend to…well, YOU. Enroll by 11/16/09 and save $500 off tuition!
Just got back last night from New York – another super inspiring weekend at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Once I have time to let it all soak in I can’t wait to share with you all some of the things I learned from Sally Fallon. (Are any of you already into raw milk?) Aside from school, I also had a great meal with an old friend at Gusto Organics near Union Square. It wasn’t cheap, but the beef was grass-fed and the beet-parsnip soup was delicious.
Alas, I haven’t even had time to unpack and it’s already Monday and back to work. So here’s a video I’m sharing with you until I get to writing a full post of my own! I’m a big fan of Mark Bittman already because of his cookbook How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Enjoy!
Lately I’ve been a bit of a gypsy going back and forth to New York for my weekends of school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. It’s ironic that during these weekends I’m forced to eat some of my least healthy meals, often while riding on a long bus ride! Not exactly the loving home cooking that is recommended…
Sometimes I do a really good job of finding real food. Sometimes I cave to whatever is available. The way I see it, every meal is an experiment. Here are some of my very scientific discoveries!
Pictured above, top left: This was a surprisingly good Harvest Rice Bowl from Au Bon Pain that I ate on the bus ride down to New York. Have you been to Au Bon Pain? As food court food goes, Au Bon is one of my favorites. There are a few vegetarian options and this salmon curry rice bowl had brown rice and no dairy of any kind. Pretty sweet. Meal grade: B
Pictured above, top right: This meal I’m very proud of. Using Yelp.com (a fab resource) I hunted down the tiny Green Symphony market and found myself amidst a buffet of all natural dinner choices. All the ingredients were listed, making choosing easy. I went with some kale, beansprouts, chickpeas, and a turkey meat hawaiian meatball. Random! But it was a great meal costing only $5.50. Meal Grade: A
Pictured above, bottom left: I’ve written about Souen before so just let me reiterate how much I enjoy their food! The thing about eating a macrobiotic meal is that you know you are going to get an excellent variety of real, whole food. In this case I went with their Planet Platter and a side of pickles. No fear of scary sugar/fat laden sauces or anything that would upset my stomach. Score! Meal Grade: A+
Picture above, bottom right: Ok, ok. I had this awhile ago but I need to confess. During the holidays the only place open at the highway rest stop was McDonalds. I was curious about this Big N’ Tasty burger…seemed like a stab at a slightly healthier burger option. Turns out they just stick an extra large piece of lettuce on it. Way to go, Mickey D’s! Meal Grade: D
When you travel, how do you handle food on the go?
I’ve been meaning to write about my trip to New York a few weekends ago, and maybe now is the perfect time since most blogs are all about sweet potatoes and turkey basting today. While we all prepare for Thanksgiving, here’s something I was thankful for: An awesome, healthy meal in the middle of NYC at about $8/plate.
So let me back up. I went down to New York because I’m obsessed with something called Journey Dance, or maybe some of you have heard of a version simply called Yoga Dance. It’s a chakra-shaking dance party that admittedly sounds awfully weird, but whatever, I love it. How often do you get to dance like mad – minus an impending hangover, late night out, or a wedding DJ? Anyway, I went to New York for a Journey Dance workshop at the Jivamukti School and it was a lot of fun. Although honestly a lot of girls there seemed to be aspiring dancers who may have confused this workshop with an audition. But at any rate, right around the corner from Jivamukti, Max and I found a sweet macrobiotic restaurant called Souen.
Pictured up top is the vegetarian meal I got: Chestnut Polenta with winter veggies. And below is a picture of Max with his hardcore macrobiotic plate, all perfectly balanced (the menu said) for a temperate climate.
This place was the real deal, with kanten desserts and grain coffee. And to top it off, the prices were swell. $13 for my special, and $8 for Max’s plate. I heart Boston, but no restaurant like this would survive here. Souen has been around since 1971 and the place was packed with people young and old.
Now enough of this restaurant talk, we all have homemade goods to whip up. So get to it and have a happy Thanksgiving!
I usually have a sense of humor that borders on sick and obscene, but the Heart Attack Grill is treading a little to heavily on my sense of right and wrong. The menu offering doesn’t bother me more than any hamburger joint. And the sexy nurses don’t bother me, not even the complimentary wheelchair rides to your car. It’s just the idea that people would purposely promote and actually create…HEART ATTACKS. There’s even a zipper club for people who, I suppose, have the telltale zipper scar from open heart surgery.
I have an idea for a restaurant. It’s called Kill Your Kids Grill. You come in and order and then I shoot your kid in the head. HA HA Funny!
In short, whatever she wants. That’s pretty much all I have to say in way of defense of the last few weeks. I haven’t had any time to post to this blog but it doesn’t much matter because all I’ve been eating is crap. There isn’t much to say except that it will all be over soon – the wedding is this weekend! What I’ve learned is that a big disruption in routine can really put a cramp in a healthy lifestyle.
Since I grew up Catholic I know the value of a good confession. Here goes: In the past two weeks I’ve consumed at least two bags of Terra chips, three dark chocolate bars, one bag of oatmeal cookies, lots of Oreos, an eggplant parmesan dinner, pizza, pizza, pizza, and waffle fries.
One big shout out goes to UpStairs on the Square, the location of our ceremony and reception. They’ve been more than accommodating and our meal selection will include a completely delicious stone-fruit salad, vegan risotto entree option, and vegan chocolate chip cookies as part of the dessert table. It will be a reintroduction to this type of goodness, which I definitely need.
Happy to say that as soon as I’m back on a normal schedule, I’ll have a brand new 14 cup Cuisinart to blend up some homemade sprouted hummus or maybe a nice nut butter! And…a husband to share it with.
This is something that apparently can happen when you are so tired you simply forget you’re still wearing your underpants until you get around to washing your bum. You think “hey, something doesn’t feel right” and then you think “hmmm oh well” and then maybe you finally look down and get a good laugh at your sorry, tired self.
This was me yesterday evening. After a few 12 hour days working and taking classes at the Yoga Journal conference I was just exhausted. If you are into yoga, check out when the conference is coming to a city near you. And if you aren’t into yoga, there is a beginner track to get you going.
One thing that has really stuck out to me is the range of people at the conference. You’ve got turban-wearing bearded men, aerobic instructor blondes, metrosexual city guys, desperate housewife types, etc., you name it. And since I’m working the registration desk I’m getting a lot of questions about the area, especially where to eat. And not ONE SINGLE person has asked about vegetarian or vegan options. Or any mention of meal preferences at all. I’m really, really surprised. Maybe I’ve just not run into the veg crowd yet. But I thought the place would be swarming with folks looking for tempeh. Instead I see lots of folks walking around with Dunkin Donuts coffees and eating foodcourt sandwiches. No judgments, I’m just surprised.
So to the imaginary people I was expecting to talk to, here are some places to grab a plant-based, whole food bite to eat in Boston’s Back Bay: Trident on Newbury St. often has vegan options. The Other Side Cafe on Newbury St. has vegetarian, vegan and even raw vegan meals. Tossed is a salad place in the Prudential and if you are careful about making your own salad, you can top it with olive oil and fresh lemon juice and choose from fresh veggies and nuts galore.
That’s all. I gotta get me some sleep. 1 more day of the conference to go and clearly I need all the rest I can get.
I help busy people find balance in their over-worked, over-stressed lives. Trust me, it's not an all-or-nothing situation! A few shifts in diet and lifestyle can rock your world like they did mine. (And if you're a health coach, I can help you do the same for your own clients.) Read on
