Saturday began with delicious frittata filled with ground chicken, chicken sausage, sweet potatoes and egg. I had mine with a side of avocado, grape tomatoes and leftover brussel sprout and apple salad. Ryan might have to learn to like avocados since he plans on doing Whole30; they are such a great healthy fat to add to his diet so we will see if I can start sneaking it into some dishes! There is plenty of leftover frittata so at least I will have a few breakfasts on Bar Method mornings.
After breakfast and a couple of episodes of House of Cards we headed to the Hester Street Fair in lower Manhattan. We shopped around and Ryan had a pork sandwich for lunch and then we walked back to our apartment - 1.8 miles! We made a quick stop at the Essex Street Market which is an open concept grocery store, butcher shop, fish market, juice bar, etc. We ended up buying half a gallon of coconut oil which will certainly last us a lot longer than the 16 oz. bottles from trader joe's! It only cost $20 which is so exciting! This will be so helpful during our Whole30 in a couple of weeks because we will be cooking so much for the next month and coconut oil is a great cooking oil because it can stand high heats!
After a few more episodes of House of Cards we got dressed for a really exciting Birthday Dinner! We had been planning to go to Delmonico's for my birthday since March 1 when we had our anniversary dinner at Eleven Madison. The main dessert during our 16 course menu was a baked alaska which we were told was based on the world famous one at Delmonico's. We loved the dessert so much at Eleven Madison that we knew we had to try the original!
We got dressed up for dinner - Ryan wore dress pants and a pink button down shirt with a tweed dress coat. I work a black dress and my wedding shoes! Who doesn't love a good excuse to get dressed up!
Delmonico's can be found on the corner of Beaver and Williams street in the financial district.
We stepped inside and knew we were in an extremely historic setting. Delmonico's represents many firsts in America and the restaurant business including:
*The first dining establishment in America to be called "Restaurant"
*The first dining establishment to have a printed menu
*The first restaurant to offer a seperate wine list
*The first restaurant where guests sat at their own tables
*The first restaurant to offer Eggs Benedict
It's a restaurant that represent luxury and class and it can be felt as soon as you walk into the building.
Ryan started with an iceberg salad topped with bacon, tomatoes and blue cheese and I started with the tuna tartare and hamachi!
For our entrees, I ordered the famous Delmonico's Steak and Ryan had one of the specials - a T-Bone topped with Blue Cheese. For our sides we had onion rings and asparagus with a fried egg. Delmonico's Steak is a boneless ribeye and "originated around 1830 as the house cut" of the restaurant.
Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted incredible. The meat melted in my mouth and I wish it never ended.
And of course for dessert we had the Baked Alaska!
It was such a special dinner, and such a treat to spend my birthday at New York's historic Delmonico's.
After dinner we walked through the Financial District a bit before heading home to watch more House of Cards!
Sunday began with another frittata. I used leftover zoodles and bolognes and made a frittata. I added spinach and tomatoes to it and again, there's enough leftovers for a few more breakfasts!
Again, a few more House of Cards episodes and then we were off for a couples massage! I was given a wonderful gift by my best friend from College - a 60 minute hot stone massage. Ryan bought a deal on groupon for the same massage so we decided for my birthday to treat ourselves. We hadn't had a couples massage since our honeymoon when we got Thai Massages on Rome! The massage was a perfect way to end the weekend and definitely helped relax us. We headed home for more House of Cards episodes and wrapped up our special weekend on the couch with Haley.
Saturday was the first time in 45 days that I reintroduced gluten, dairy and sugar back into my diet. At first I was really scared but I didn't want to go to this special restaurant and pay an enormous amount of money for a meal that I would barely eat. It didn't seem fair or right to Ryan so rather than feel guilty about the meal itself, I ate the food and enjoyed every bite. I had 2 bites of bread that were put at our table - 2 small bites just to get ready for the meal. The steak was served with fried onions on top and I ate every piece. They added a great texture and flavor to the steak and I didn't want to miss any part of the meal. I also had a bite of Ryan's salad with blue cheese and his onion rings (gluten and dairy). And of course the Baked Alaska. I felt absolutely fine during the meal - no headaches, stomach aches, pains or nausea. It wasn't until Sunday morning that I felt a few side effects of the reintroduction but nothing that made me regret any decision I made the night before.
I was completely achy trying to get out of bed Sunday morning. My muscles were sore, my back was tight and I had a huge headache that dulled a bit with some coffee. I also didn't feel hungry when I woke up so I knew my body was completely off balance. The best way for me to help myself get through this was not to eat a bagel or some cereal and taken the easy way out by saying "well, I already ate it yesterday so I might as well continue the weekend and start fresh on Monday." No! Instead, I got to cooking on a frittata and vowed to not let a little reintroduction throw me off track. It was a deliberate slip off of my Whole30 eating patterns but a little indulgence was not going to turn into a weekend of bad eating. After the massages we picked up salads and for dinner I grilled some vegetables and meat. The only thing that I did Sunday which was out of the norm was snack. I think I my body was so imbalanced that I couldn't tell if I was hungry or craving something. And it seemed that I was craving sweet things which I guess was to be expected after reintroducing sugar! For my snacks I had plantain chips and dates stuffed with almond butter and some apple sauce with hazelnuts. It seems that the sugar dragon was coming back. But eating dairy, gluten and sugar for one meal Saturday and not spending the whole weekend eating that way proved to me that this is a lifestyle, not a diet. It is a way of eating, a way of living and it does not mean I have to feel left out of anything. One meal is not a whole weekend and eating one way for a special event does not mean I have to eat that way all the time. My birthday was something special that ahead of time I deemed worth it to indulge and not follow Whole30 or paleo. Spending the time with Ryan and sharing in the special meal meant more to me than saying "I can't eat that." It is my way of living that is working for me and I am proud that I was able to go off track and back on the next day and not convince myself otherwise.
Luckily today I woke up feeling better than yesterday - still a little achy but rested. I headed to Bar Method and had an incredible class! I was determined to work hard to help my body recover from a lazy weekend spent mostly on the couch and filled with lots of food - all whole30 approved except for Saturday's dinner! I pushed myself hard and felt strong and was shaking a lot!
Today I have my second acupuncture session and Ryan goes on Wednesday. This seems to be the weekend of relaxation and pampering so why not continue with an acupuncture session? 60 minutes forcing me to stay away from my phone, tv, computer, and just focus on myself!
I hope everyone has a great start to their week!
XO
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