Whole Foods Lunch: Save Money and Waste

Today was a non-stop day starting bright and early.

Unfortunately, my body was trying to send me a message this morning and I slept through my 5:15 wake up call and the 5:30 snooze. Therefore, at 5:45 when I finally woke up I had lost my workout window. I did a quick mini workout in the apartment to wake my body up.

Wake Up Workout

20 pushups, 50 sit ups, 15 pushups, 50 obliques (25 each side), 10 pushups, 1.5 min plank

2 minute high legs

1 minute up chair tricep dips, 1 minute of bicep curls

2 minute jumping jacks

Back stretches

I was alive and awake after this quick workout and put this energy to good use at work. I headed into work 45 minutes early to work on my to do list. As some of you all may remember, I recently changed roles and this has left me a little crazy lately. Luckily, things are finally falling into place.

Breakfast

I balanced my hot oatmeal with some refreshing cool yogurt this morning and LOVED it. Instead of mixing the dry oats with the yogurt I actually cooked the oats first and then added a dollop on top. IMG_3480 Weight Watchers Almond Vanilla Oatmeal, 1/2 c blueberries, 1/4 c Dannon Light N Fit yogurt, 2 Tbsp flax seed, 1 Tbsp maca powder

The morning passed quickly as I was in meetings and had a few deadlines.

Lunch

This weekend I discovered a great, easy way to save money and waste. Each week I buy salad ingredients and then end up taking my lunch half the week and therefore having to throw away produce that have gone to waste. When Bo and I were shopping at Whole Foods Sunday I discovered their prepackaged salads. They are very reasonably priced ($4.99-$6.99) and include healthy dressing, protein, and tons of toppings! Today’s salad was Asian inspired and only cost $4.99!

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I hoped to workout this evening but unfortunately it didn’t happen. Bo and I may have walked to 16 Handles for some cool, delicious, goodness filled with unpictured banana, peanut butter, and vanilla flavors. Other than that we gave into his sushi cravings and ordered the cheapest sushi we’ve found so far. But, Seamless Web users gave it rave reviews. It..was…awesome!

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I enjoyed a rainbow roll and tuna roll. They unfortunately didn’t offer brown rice but their rice vs fish ratio was perfect! I’d definitely order from Yo Sushi again!

I’m looking forward to a great Thursday tomorrow! I have a 4 mile run planned bright and early which will be my longest run since my injury. So far things are going very well in therapy and after this week my sessions will decrease to 1x per week which will include a 30 minute deep tissue massage and 30 minute therapy session. The massage is primarily for my alignment and tight hips. Tomorrow evening I get to hang out with Jes, Jacquie, Rebecca, Theodora, and others at Fit Chick In The City’s awesome Bar Method class.

I can’t wait to give it a try and see some of my favorite bloggers!

barmethod

Help Needed

I bought this dress two weeks ago from Nordstrom Rack. I would like to wear it for an upcoming wedding down in Atlanta. What shoes do I wear with it?

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Monday Funday

This has been the best long weekend in ages! It has had the perfect mix of friends, outdoors, indoors, to do lists, and relaxation. In case you missed it, here are the posts!

Crazy Friday and YogaWorks

Extreme Team

Happy Fourth

Today was all about checking off our to-do list. It wasn’t a bad task since there were lots of fun items on it!

Bake vegan macaroons

Workout

Toy Story 3

Organize the fridge

Clean the house

Whole Foods

It’s 8:15 and I’m excited to say we accomplished everything on the to-do list!

As always, we ensured that Whole Foods was the first thing on our to do list as the lines get crazy the later you wait. We were in and out pretty quickly as we had a list put together ahead of time and have leftovers to enjoy tonight. We’ve even gotten in the hang of bringing our own bags which makes it 10x easier! No more breaking paper bags on our walk home!Blog Pictures 2010 455

All of these groceries meant that our tiny fridge had to be organized. This is a weekly task that Bo has down to an art!

Before:

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After

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After that we made a quick lunch before heading out to the movies! We heard great things about Toy Story 3 from our friends and decided that a fun, mindless movie was exactly what we needed on this hot day.

Blog Pictures 2010 456 Blog Pictures 2010 457   The movies always mean a Coca Cola Zero treat! Blog Pictures 2010 459Blog Pictures 2010 460Kettle Baked chips provided the perfect salty crunch in between sandwich bites!

Blog Pictures 2010 458Delicious sandwich made from Whole Foods Sourdough Whole Wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, Annie’s Naturals Honey Mustard, and Whole Foods deli balsamic turkey.

I love using large purses to bring lunch and snacks into the movies. I figure that the movies make enough on ticket prices.

The movie was exactly what we expected though it was a bit shorter. With the extra time we decided to take a stroll around the East Village. It was hot but bearable for two people from South Georgia.

Blog Pictures 2010 462       Cute stores abound throughout this area including a Meg, a boutique sharing my friend’s namesake and a sake specialty store, Sakaya, the size of a normal wine store. 

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We discovered I Coppi Italian restaurant just begging us to return!

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Love the reflection in the window!

We had a blast looking at vintage glasses and clothing though we were surprised by the prices! Most of the clothing was over $50!

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After our hour long walk home, we quickly changed clothes and heading over to Equinox for a swim. We decided to run there, using the camel bak sans water holder, to hold our goggles, caps, and suits. We completed the 1.3 mile run in 99 degree heat in 12 minutes! I had NO back pain.

Unfortunately, upon arriving at Equinox we found out that they have a 6 person maximum for the 3 lane pool. Therefore, there was a line 5 people deep waiting for the pool. We decided to head upstairs and pound out a few more miles instead.

We had an exciting treat that made our miles go by faster. This friendly face was enjoying a run and incline walk workout next to Bo. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson arrives at the 27th Annual PaleyFest Presents "Modern Family" on February 26, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson happens to play Mitchell, Bo’s favorite character on Modern Family. I’ve never seen Bo so excited.

I did 2 miles on the treadmill (6.2 pace) before completing my arms and abs workout followed by back stretches.

The last item on the to do list was finished just a minute ago as I took out the last batch of my Vegan Macaroons. Unfortunately, the original winner from Bobbi’s bake sale never received her package I sent last time. I made a double recipe for her tonight and will ship them out tomorrow morning!

According to my taste tester, Bo, these are the best yet! I highly recommend this recipe as it is quick, easy, and never disappoints!

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Blog Pictures 2010 473  Combine dry ingredients and mix.Blog Pictures 2010 474 Combine wet ingredients and mix.

Blog Pictures 2010 476  Mix wet and dry ingredients together.  Blog Pictures 2010 477Shape into balls and then bake on a tin foil lined sheet at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes.  

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Let cool and then enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed a wonderful long weekend and have a great start to your week! At least a 3 day weekend always means a 4 day week. 🙂

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Extreme Team

Bo and I tend to go to extremes. It is in both of our natures and both our parents are often telling us to slow down and just enjoy life. We decided to take their advice and stay in New York City for the Fourth of July versus battling with travel. We’re so glad we did as this weekend has been amazing so far!

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was simple and brief as we were dashing to the gym. We stopped in Zaro’s for whole wheat toast and peanut butter.

Their breads looked amazing but we stuck with the basics.

Workout

We both agreed that Saturdays our perfect swimming days as we can easily get to an Equinox that has a pool and allow enough time to swim and do other exercises. This is the face of a determined swimmer!

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Today’s swim was already easier than last weeks! Even Bo noticed the increased confidence I had in the water and how I enjoyed it more than normal. My workout today was still a beginner one but still left my heart pounding and shoulders screaming.

30 laps (25 meters each) of freestyle with a 15 second break every 4 laps

10 laps using the pull bouy focusing on stroke technique

100 situps

50 pushups

Meanwhile, my little fish swam 1.25 miles and was barely breaking a sweat. My goal is to swim at least 1x per week and strive for twice a week.

Lunch

After the gym we were starving so grabbed a quick lunch from Pax on our way home. I forgot to snap a picture but made my own Greek salad.

-Romaine, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, olives, feta, grilled chicken, with FF balsamic dressing

While Bo ran a few errands I cleaned the house since we knew our friends Lauren and Casey were coming over later for dinner. My goal was to get the living room and kitchen presentable in 20 minutes. Great success! Clothes put away, dishes washed, towels folded, and clutter organized!

Manhattan from a New Perspective

Ever since Bo moved to New York City two years ago, I’ve wanted to rent bikes. There are so many bike paths throughout the city including Central Park, New York City Greenways, and the bicycle lanes in the city. We decided that today’s pleasant weather and free time provided the perfect opportunity. After some research we found that there are two main bike rental locations along the Hudson.

Hudson Urban Bicycle Rentals

Bike and Roll Rentals

We decided that Hudson met our needs better as the rentals were cheaper ($7 per hour ALL bikes and $35 for 24 hours) and the location (Charles Street between Christopher and Greenwich) was more convenient.

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They were great! They filled up the air in the tires, adjusted the seats to our height, and answered any questions.  By the time we got started it was 1:30 and I was bursting with excitement! Our two bikes were hybrid bikes which basically means it is between a road and mountain bike. They had thicker tires, curved handle bars, and a nice comfy seat.

Blog Pictures 2010 396So excited to get going!

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By the way, the Run Swiftly Racerback Lululemon tank you see above is my latest obsession! It is ultra light weight, sweat resistant, and a fun bright color! Definitely worth the investment.

Our hour and forty-five minute ride took us across 18 miles of Manhattan and gave us a whole new vantage point! You can see our route here.

We started heading South towards Battery Park and Wall Street.

Blog Pictures 2010 398The Hudson River Greenway is gorgeous and very biker and runner friendly. This route took me back to the NYC Half Marathon!

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We diverged from our path and explored Battery Park City and wave hello to Lady Liberty! The tourists were SO annoying during this section.

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From here we headed North East along the East River past South Street Sea Port and up along my old training path. Melissa, Dori, and I enjoyed a few long runs along this path and it was nice to revisit it. Luckily it wasn’t too crowded today which made for nice riding.

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And then, unfortunately our road came to an end!

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I guess NYC ran out of money because our trail literally came to a halt around 42nd street. We had to head to the streets from 45th street to 60th street before hopping back on around the Queensborough Bridge.

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While biking by the United Nations we took some time take in the sites. Hidden behind iron gates we saw a sculpture of a Greco Roman hero slaying a gryphon whose body is a nuclear warhead. This was definitely powerful as it is in celebration of the United States overcoming nuclear warfare. It is definitely one of those things we wish we could uninvent. 

We decided that due to time we needed to cut across the Island around 81st street. We rode down 81st street until heading South towards the park. Riding through the streets with buses and cars at our sides was an adventure. I never felt fearful or scared and actually believe the cars heeded to cyclists quite well.

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Hot dogs and water sounded very good at this point as we were both starving! Too bad we rode on as soon as the light changed.

We enjoyed a bear sighting as we rode through Central Park.

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We exited the park at the 72nd transverse and headed for the river. We were 80 blocks from the bike shop and starting to get tired at this point. The bike ride was a lot of fun but after the morning swim and lots of sun we were both exhausted. Luckily, the Hudson side of the Greenway was pretty empty so we were able to pick up our speed on the way back.

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Tired but still smiling because exploring NYC on two wheels is so much fun!

We would both recommend this to any of our friends who live in the city or are visiting. For $28 we were able to enjoy the city for two hours, get some great exercise, enjoy our daily dose of vitamin D, and see parts of the city we’ve never experienced. What a great Saturday!

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