I am so tired but it is so worth it – my weekend has been full of fun, food, and fitness!
Like I’ve said before, I rarely get real weekends off with my job so having this weekend off is a treat! It allowed me to do many of the things I normally miss out on due to work.
Yesterday morning I got up bright and early and headed to the Jack Rabbit in Union Square for some Yoga for Athletes and Runners put on by Well & Good . The class was absolutely amazing. It was taught by Alli of Yogaworks and she was great at giving instruction and explaining why each pose specifically helps athletes and runners. I definitely felt my problem areas (calves, hamstrings and hips) loosen up. It was my idea of a perfect yoga class – relaxing, stretched me out but still made me break a sweat and I felt sore this morning!
After yoga Nate and I had a brunch date at Pure Food & Wine . We’ve been here before for our anniversary last August and had one of the best meals of my life. When I heard they started serving brunch I knew we had to try it. I had the spinach Florentine (spinach on a bed of some kind of cracker/cake/thing I couldn’t begin to tell you what it was, with cashew “hollandaise” and fruit) and Nate had buckwheat crepes (though the texture was more like a tortilla) with hazelnut spread and banana. We also split a berry smoothie.
While I had high expectations, unfortunately I think we will stick to their dinner menu. While the food was presented beautifully and the flavor of everything was still amazing, the portions were SMALL (and we are breakfast people, so we need food in the morning!) and expensive for the amount of food. I still love them though and definitely will be back for dinner!
Our next stop was the Union Square farmers market. While we’ve walked through numerous times, I’ve never actually shopped there and we were in desperate need of groceries.
We stocked up on some staple items (apples, potatoes) and some special treats (fresh pasta, parsnips and apple cider doughnuts!) and headed to Trader Joes to finish up our grocery shopping.
My day continued with a meeting with Brett Cohen – remember I said I won the raffle on Monday night ? Well we met yesterday and I have another post coming on that, so stay tuned!
Finally I was home after a busy morning/afternoon. We decided to cook dinner in last night, so while Nate was out I started preparing dinner. I started by making an appetizer – Kath’s kale chips . I’ve never had kale before and have been dying to try it, so this seemed like a good way to ease into it.
Even Nate, who seemed skeptical when I bought it, said they were the best way he’s ever eaten kale! Success.
For dinner we decided to do our own take on this recipe. It. Was. Life. Changing. Okay maybe not life changing, but definitely one of the best meals I’ve made in a long, long time. Here’s the recipe for you!
Pasta with Pesto, Broccoli and Potatoes (adapted from epicurious.com ):
Ingredients:
10 baby purple potatoes
1 head broccoli
1 pound whole wheat pasta of your choice
1/2 cup pesto (we used this kind )
1/4 cup pinenuts, dry roasted
First, chop your potatoes and broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Toss in 2 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes.
Boil water for the pasta.
If you are using fresh pasta like we did (and it was amazing and so worth it!) it will only take a few minutes, so keep a close eye on it! Drain the pasta, then mix in your veggies, pesto and pine nuts. Done! So easy.
(We also added some baked salmon and dinner was AMAZEBALLS.)
This morning I woke up bright and extra early for a special Barre3 class at Lululemon put on by Well & Good (love them!) with the founder of Barre3, Sadie Lincoln.
It was amazing! We had a great workout, and my legs and arms and glutes are BURNING this afternoon. The class is similar in format to any barre class (Physique57, Bar Method, Core Fusion, etc). There is not a studio open in NYC yet – here’s hoping that changes soon!
After class I raced down to brunch with a group of awesome bloggers and readers at Ashley’s lovely apartment thanks to Eggland’s Best . Our amazing hostess made a delicious quiche, strata, tons of fruit, yogurt, granola and other goodies. We chatted about running, races, classes, work, blogging and of course, food! It was so fun catching up with Ashley and Melissa and meeting other NYC bloggers! Thanks Ashley!
In honor of the brunch I decided to make my absolute favorite muffin recipe, ever. This cookbook is a must have if you love to bake.
Everything I’ve made from this cookbook has been insanely good. But these muffins are my favorite. They are flavorful, hearty and super easy to make, and they are even better the next day. Watch the time though, as they tend to cook pretty fast (sorry for the well-done muffins ladies!)
Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins (adapted from Baked)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup soy milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp instant espresso powder (different than ground espresso!!)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. In one bowl combine bananas, sugars, butter, milk and egg. In another bowl, wisk together flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Mix wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake on center rack for 20 minutes or until muffin tops are browned.
After a packed weekend, I am definitely ready for some sleep tonight!
What was the highlight of your weekend?
I am so tired but it is so worth it – my weekend has been full of fun, food, and fitness!
Like I’ve said before, I rarely get real weekends off with my job so having this weekend off is a treat! It allowed me to do many of the things I normally miss out on due to work.
Yesterday morning I got up bright and early and headed to the Jack Rabbit in Union Square for some Yoga for Athletes and Runners put on by Well & Good . The class was absolutely amazing. It was taught by Alli of Yogaworks and she was great at giving instruction and explaining why each pose specifically helps athletes and runners. I definitely felt my problem areas (calves, hamstrings and hips) loosen up. It was my idea of a perfect yoga class – relaxing, stretched me out but still made me break a sweat and I felt sore this morning!
After yoga Nate and I had a brunch date at Pure Food & Wine . We’ve been here before for our anniversary last August and had one of the best meals of my life. When I heard they started serving brunch I knew we had to try it. I had the spinach Florentine (spinach on a bed of some kind of cracker/cake/thing I couldn’t begin to tell you what it was, with cashew “hollandaise” and fruit) and Nate had buckwheat crepes (though the texture was more like a tortilla) with hazelnut spread and banana. We also split a berry smoothie.
While I had high expectations, unfortunately I think we will stick to their dinner menu. While the food was presented beautifully and the flavor of everything was still amazing, the portions were SMALL (and we are breakfast people, so we need food in the morning!) and expensive for the amount of food. I still love them though and definitely will be back for dinner!
Our next stop was the Union Square farmers market. While we’ve walked through numerous times, I’ve never actually shopped there and we were in desperate need of groceries.
We stocked up on some staple items (apples, potatoes) and some special treats (fresh pasta, parsnips and apple cider doughnuts!) and headed to Trader Joes to finish up our grocery shopping.
My day continued with a meeting with Brett Cohen – remember I said I won the raffle on Monday night ? Well we met yesterday and I have another post coming on that, so stay tuned!
Finally I was home after a busy morning/afternoon. We decided to cook dinner in last night, so while Nate was out I started preparing dinner. I started by making an appetizer – Kath’s kale chips . I’ve never had kale before and have been dying to try it, so this seemed like a good way to ease into it.
Even Nate, who seemed skeptical when I bought it, said they were the best way he’s ever eaten kale! Success.
For dinner we decided to do our own take on this recipe. It. Was. Life. Changing. Okay maybe not life changing, but definitely one of the best meals I’ve made in a long, long time. Here’s the recipe for you!
Pasta with Pesto, Broccoli and Potatoes (adapted from epicurious.com ):
Ingredients:
10 baby purple potatoes
1 head broccoli
1 pound whole wheat pasta of your choice
1/2 cup pesto (we used this kind )
1/4 cup pinenuts, dry roasted
First, chop your potatoes and broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Toss in 2 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes.
Boil water for the pasta.
If you are using fresh pasta like we did (and it was amazing and so worth it!) it will only take a few minutes, so keep a close eye on it! Drain the pasta, then mix in your veggies, pesto and pine nuts. Done! So easy.
(We also added some baked salmon and dinner was AMAZEBALLS.)
This morning I woke up bright and extra early for a special Barre3 class at Lululemon put on by Well & Good (love them!) with the founder of Barre3, Sadie Lincoln.
It was amazing! We had a great workout, and my legs and arms and glutes are BURNING this afternoon. The class is similar in format to any barre class (Physique57, Bar Method, Core Fusion, etc). There is not a studio open in NYC yet – here’s hoping that changes soon!
After class I raced down to brunch with a group of awesome bloggers and readers at Ashley’s lovely apartment thanks to Eggland’s Best . Our amazing hostess made a delicious quiche, strata, tons of fruit, yogurt, granola and other goodies. We chatted about running, races, classes, work, blogging and of course, food! It was so fun catching up with Ashley and Melissa and meeting other NYC bloggers! Thanks Ashley!
In honor of the brunch I decided to make my absolute favorite muffin recipe, ever. This cookbook is a must have if you love to bake.
Everything I’ve made from this cookbook has been insanely good. But these muffins are my favorite. They are flavorful, hearty and super easy to make, and they are even better the next day. Watch the time though, as they tend to cook pretty fast (sorry for the well-done muffins ladies!)
Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins (adapted from Baked)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup soy milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp instant espresso powder (different than ground espresso!!)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. In one bowl combine bananas, sugars, butter, milk and egg. In another bowl, wisk together flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Mix wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake on center rack for 20 minutes or until muffin tops are browned.
After a packed weekend, I am definitely ready for some sleep tonight!
What was the highlight of your weekend?