SMORGASBURG.

If you live in the tri-state area or are visiting at all this summer, make sure you experience Smorgasburg. Your taste buds will thank me. Your scale will not, however. Don't weigh yourself for a few days after. It could get ugly.

I'm not the only one who's jumping on the Smorgasburg train, obviously.

Our plan of attack was to do one loop and then, on our second pass, pick what we were going to eat. 

That didn't happen.

We made it almost halfway around the loop before we made our choices. I didn't get pictures of EVERYTHING because, honestly, we ate a lot of it too quickly.

 The boys started off with sliders.

 My boy topped his with some onion. I didn't partake in this, but it looked delightful.

 And messy.

 We followed this up with french fries. 

I. Love. French Fries.

Especially mega crispy ones like this. 

We got halfway through them before someone reminded me that I hadn't taken a picture yet.

 I followed those up with an "arepa." I put that in quotes because my understanding of an arepa is very different from what I got.

Arepas are typically grilled corn pockets stuffed with meat and/or cheese and they are AMAZING.

But, this was good too. It was a fried corn cake with chicken, arugula, cheese, salsa, and salsa verde on top.

I obviously had no qualms about stuffing it in my face.

While the boys got milkshakes, I got vegan ice cream from Alchemy Creamery.

I chose Dark Chocolate Chili with freshly toasted marshmallows atop.

Yeah, that guy's toasting my marshmallows.

Sexy.

The finished product.

This was spicy as shit, so I didn't finish the whole thing.

But I definitely made a commendable effort.

The mallows were bananas.

We waited in a very long line for a pulled pork slider.

It was worth it.

Our lovely friends shared a homemade s'more to round out the whole gluttonous experience.

The folks at S'more Bakery have an extensive menu (extensive considering we're talking about s'mores) of homemade s'mores.

The chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers are all homemade and DELISH.

 I didn't get one picture of the thing not being eaten because our friends just couldn't help themselves.

Dig in, friends. I would.

But, we didn't leave empty-handed! We took goodies home!

 You've never had kale chips like these. 

I took home the Raisin Coconut because I always choose the sweet, dessert option, but The Kale Factory has tons of options and they're all lovely.

 

 

 Right before we left, I made sure to make two important stops.

The 3 Nuts make some yummy nut butters that I was eager to try. They add a few too many ingredients for my liking, but I figured it would be nice for a treat.

My last stop of the day was at Danny Macaroons.

They have the coolest flavors so, I picked up a few to go (Stout, Guava, & Salted Caramel). No pics of those yet. I will definitely be sharing when I recover enough to eat them!

Smorgasburg reminds me of that huge room in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory where everything is edible. You really want to eat everything, but there's only so much stomach real estate. You know what I mean? I plan on Smorgasburging regularly this summer. You should pencil it in.

Oats 'n Orchids

Well, I want to pull my hair out. I just accidentally deleted this entire post after working on it all morning.

This is how I feel.

Moving on.

I had such an eventful weekend that I'll have to break it up into more than one post. Crazy, right?! 

 Since my IT band has been really tight from all the running, I made sure to get some yoga in on Friday. 

But, before I did, I munched on some of these freeze dried fruit snacks.

Unlike regular dried fruit, there's no added sugar or acids that I can't pronounce.

Zing.

After a very relaxing yoga sesh, I rushed uptown to the New York Botanical Gardens' Orchid Show.

 The idea is very cool: cocktails and dance music in an atrium surrounded by orchids.

But, we basically walked around a very loud and crowded club dressed up as a greenhouse. I think I would rather go during the day and enjoy the peace and quiet. 

The event was just trying too hard.

We had our drinks...

...and took our pictures.

Then we peaced out for some quiet wine drinking and tortilla eating closer to home.

Oatmeal is my go to Saturday morning, pre-run breakfast and I've been enjoying the baked version a lot lately. It's super easy and a nice change from the usual.

This is pre-oven.

This is post-oven.

Cinnapple Baked Oats

(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup rolled oats

scant 1/2 cup water

1/2 apple, chopped

cinnamon

dash of salt

2-3 drops liquid stevia

peanut butter (optional, but recommended)

maple syrup (optional, but recommended)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 380 degrees
2. Mix first 6 ingredients
3. Plop into greased, oven-safe ramekin
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until center is firm
5. Turn broiler on and cook for 3-5 more minutes
6. Top with goodies and eat eat eat

I like to pop mine out of the ramekin onto a plate so I can hold it. But, you can eat it right out of there -- especially if you've been looking for a legitimate reason to burn your fingerprints off. Somehow I forgot this thing was hot on Saturday and actually picked it up. It hurt. Also, don't forget to turn off the oven. Important step.

After my run, we met up with some friends to experience the glory and wonder that is...

Smorgasburg.

It's like an eating party. With all of the best restaurants and food trucks in attendance. 

Separate post to come. There's just too much to say...

We had a very light dinner on Saturday...a classy cheese plate with some wine.

There were some leftovers in there too, but they weren't quite as picturesque.

Sunday morning I made a raspberry version of baked oats and instantly decided that this might be my new favorite pastime.

It was absolutely gorgeous out yesterday, so we stepped out into the sun and enjoyed it. 

I will never ever get sick of seeing the flowers bloom.

Love an NYC Spring.

 

Stay tuned for a recap of everything I ate at Smorgasburg...I'm drooling just thinking of it.

Okay, so it's not THAT bad...

Friends, check out the gift my trainer friend left me with after Tuesday's workout.

 

I do not bruise easily, so this is quite an accomplishment. I know it looks tiny and hardly noticeable, but it's the lighting, okay? It's much worse than it looks.

Breakfast today was a slightly new take on the usual.

I chopped up a green apple and nuked it along with my rolled oats. 

I didn't add any protein because I actually ran out. Otherwise, I would have definitely added some egg whites to this.

CINNAPPLE OATS

(Cinnamon Apple Oats)

 1/3 C Gluten-free Rolled Oats

2/3 C Water

1 small green apple, chopped

1 crapton cinnamon

1 T maple syrup

heaps and heaps of your fave nut butter

1. Mix first four ingredients in a microwave safe bowl

2. Heat in micro for 1 minute

3. Stir up the goods

4. Micro for another minute

5. Stir, top, consume

 Lunch was leftovers from yesterday with the addition of a sauteed kale and spinach mixture. 

We had a ton of leftovers from last week and I needed to use these greens before they went bad. 

So, I sauteed the kale in some olive oil for a minute or two and then added the spinach after the kale had cooked down a little since spinach cooks faster.

I mixed the finished product in with yesterday's lunch and topped it with some avocado.

Masterpiece.

My Mr. Right is going out tonight, so I'm on my own for dinner. Do you know what that means? It means chips, salsa, and ice cream for dinner and Smash on the DVR. Love me a girls night.

Smurfmeal

Oh man, my boy Will came over yesterday and put a friend and I through a KILLLLLLLLER workout. Since I'm going through a bit of a rest period, I thought my lazy legs were going to explode. Which is a sign that you're actually working hard enough. So, go me.

Here's what the torture looked like:

7 rounds of:

7 thrusters (15# DBs)

7 burpees

2 minutes rest between rounds

Then:

400m run (SPRINT)

20 sit ups

30 renegade rows (8# DBs)

20 sit ups

400m run/sprint

THEN:

Tabata wall sits

I'm surprised I didn't die. Luckily, I lived to see another day and eat another meal.

 

 

I made this delicious and quick Red Beans & Rice recipe from Can You Stay For Dinner?

If you haven't checked out Andie's blog, click around. She's a great writer and cook with an inspiring story.

She also has some bangin' recipes.

My Mr. Right and I are having fun experimenting with recipes to find our go-to's. 

I think we can definitely add this one to the list.

 

Since I tend to accidentally add too much spice to things, we left a few of the spicy elements out of the recipe.

And added some avocado on the side.

It may look like a jumbled mess here, but it was deeeeeeelectable.

I actually didn't have too much of this last night because we were starving when we got home and had a pre-dinner chips and salsa fiesta. For me, that was pretty much dinner. I just can't control myself when there are chips, chocolate, or ice cream involved. Just. Can't.

Breakfast this morning was a break from the usual. 

Not really, because it was still oatmeal. But, I added some frozen blueberries and it turned into Smurfmeal. So, that's new.

I have mentioned before that I'm not usually crazy about blueberries. But, I've been digging the frozen variety as a snack. They're really good with -- wait for it -- peanut butter. Isn't everything?

My PB dollop melted atop my hotmeal all the the same, so I was a happy camper.

Lunch today was a carbon copy of dinner last night. But more of it.

This was only serving #1. 

I stole a few more spoonfuls from the leftovers before punctuating my lunch with a very enthusiastic peanut butter ginger chew.

Those things are ADDICTING.

I'm going out to dinner tonight, which is a rare occurrence, even for a bad girl like me. It's Latin food, so there's bound to be some rules broken tonight. Yeehaw.

'Til next time, have fun being bad.

-t

My favorite pancake recipe

 So, I've made these pancakes twice in the last few weeks because I hit my peak in running mileage and had a good excuse to eat more on Saturdays.

This recipe comes straight from Tina at Carrots 'n' Cake. I only have to make a few edits and this consistently produces the yummiest, fluffiest hot cakes. She claims her recipe makes eight pancakes, but she must be flippin' some mammoth cakes, 'cause this produces over a dozen fluffy goodies for me.

I replace the flour with oat flour, the sugar with maple syrup, the soy milk with almond milk, and the canola oil with olive. 

Then, I subsequently slather them in either jelly or peanut butter (sometimes both) and real, pure maple syrup (not Mrs. Butterworth's).

 

Last time I made these, I only had one cup of oat flour, so I subbed the rest with buckwheat flour. Although it may not sound like it, buckwheat flour is actually gluten free. It's a completely different grain that's ground up into a flour for gluten free baking. Yay.

If you are someone who likes to experiment with alternative baking, you know that buckwheat tastes just fine but looks mighty fugly.

It's a very dark flour, so it makes whatever you're making look gray and dark. You can't really tell in this picture...I blame that on poor lighting and below average photography.

Once these cakes cooked up, they looked fine. The mixing process required a bit of faith on my part, though, because I nearly lost my appetite. I say nearly because it takes a lot for that to happen.

So, there you have it. Mix yourself up some flapjacks, slather them with something delicious, and consume immediately. While you're at it, have fun being bad.

-t

P.S. If you like what you read, follow me! Or email me. Or comment. Throw me a bone, is what I'm sayin.

Not a great start to the week

Friends, I'm so sad about what's happening in Boston right now. Really, what is the world coming to when we can't even rely on physical activity to provide the escape from violence that we so desperately need these days? I'm so sad and disappointed in humanity right now. 

To distract me from the tragedy, I figured you and I would discuss food. 

Friday's lunch was absolutely delicious and it was a total mish mosh of leftovers and prepared food from the grocery store near work. Love me a happy accident.

 

In the bowl we have brown rice, slow cooked chicken breast, sauteed kale, and roasted veggies.

I'm trying to kick my "must eat chocolate after every meal" habit, so I ate about a pound of these babies between lunch and time to go home.

First of all, plain ginger chews rock my sox off any day of the week. They're so weird and chewy and they take my tummy ache away if I'm feeling gross or nauseated. Win win win.

Most of you may think that I jumped on the peanut butter flavor, but you would be wrong. I thought it was a little weird, so I stayed away for a bit. But, then I got curious. And then I got addicted.

Friday night I was on my own for dinner, so I cooked up some leftovers. This looks really healthy but, don't worry, I followed this up with an ungodly amount of chocolate. My resolution lasted less than 12 hours. Cool.

I actually woke up really early on Friday and made a batch of my favorite pancakes. I had some right then (how can you not), but I really made them for my pre-run meal.

I started with four pancakes, but ended up going for more. That's a total of 6 pancakes. Because who just eats a single pancake? Good girls. Not bad ones...wink.

My run was mega shitty. I've been having some IT Band issues and it really killed me on Saturday. It was super lame. At the same time, I feel like only true athletes get injured, so I felt pretty bad ass.

I spent most of the rest of the day on Saturday in the above state. That's an ice pack. With my feet planted firmly on my coffee table.

In fact, I spent most of my Sunday that way too. 

There may or may not have been a housewarming party that I hosted at my house with around 30 people in attendance somewhere in there, but I can't remember. And I have no proof because I was busy in the kitchen and took zero pictures. So, believe what you wish.

I did take time to have brunch with a friend on Sunday and got a chance to experience Spring springing in New York. May I just say that, if I wasn't hobbling painfully along, I would have galloped to brunch. The sun was out. The blooms were bloomin'. It was a great day.

Although the NYC weather seems to have schizophrenia and can't land on a definitive season, the trees and plants are aligned, so the city is a pretty sight.

Since I'm walking so slow, I'm taking the time to enjoy the weather before the season quickly changes to summer and my skin starts melting off.

'Til next time, have fun being bad.

-t

 

 

I can't move, but damn that was fun

Soooooo I may or may not have been sick about two weeks ago. I told you about that, right? Welp, it took me until this week to get back into the groove of CrossFit. I learned three things:

1. You cannot come back at same level of intensity/awesome that you left at
2. Do not take breaks from Crossfit, you will regret it
3. GO EASY. Because what you perceive as "easy" will probably kill you

Friends. I AM SO SORE. I can hardly walk. I'm wincing in pain every time I stand up or sit down. Or move. Which is a lot. So kill me.

Yesterday began with a kick-ass workout all thanks to my girl, Heidi. She called it the Dirty Thirty. I called it Welcome to Hell.

30 Box jump, (24″, 20″)
30 Jumping pull-ups
30 Kettlebell swings, (24kg, 16kg)
Walking Lunge, 30 steps
30 Knees to elbows
30 KB Snatch, each arm.
30 Supermans
30 Wall ball shots, (20″, 14″)
30 Burpees
30 Double unders

Brief pause: Please add to my list of things I do NOT like: the phrase "kick butt." It just sounds weird. Say ass or don't, but don't replace it with a lamer word. 

To fuel me through the torture, I had half of one of these muffins that I made the other day to use up the five pounds of apples I had left over in my fridge. I have yet to take a picture, but once I do, you'll be the first to see. Cross my heart.

Once I got to work, I made myself some (beware: shocking spoiler ahead) PB&J oatmeal.

Except this time, there were fresh berries for the taking at work, so I jumped on that.

  I went out to lunch with a fabulous friend who is making me want to do more yoga and pilates and become a personal trainer. Damn you, Bex.

A few hours later, I munched on the remaining chocolate bar stashed at my desk. It's all gone now and I'm like a lost puppy.

 

For dinner, we slow cooked some beef short ribs and sauteed some kale with onions. 

I stuffed the beef in a corn tortilla and, on it's way to my mouth, I snapped this horribly blurry picture.

But, you get the gist.

 Now, I have two exciting yet random additions to today's post.

 

Numero uno: a surprise DIY project. 

We haven't taken proper photos yet, but stay tuned: it's a good one!

Lastly, are any of you playing this game ----->

If you're not: do yourself a favor and search for "Candy Crush" in the iTunes Store. It's free. It's addicting. DO IT.


If you are: AHHHHHHHICANTSTOP.

YouknowwhatImean?

I was so proud of myself for beating level 35 until my coworker said, "Oh, candy crush? You play that too? I'm on level 68, you?"

Showoff.




That's all for today. Til next time, you know the drill.

-t