A New Year...A New Me...

I think that's what I titled my first post last year when I began writing, but I guess it's fitting for my first post in over 6 months. I stopped writing because I needed to find myself and not just write what I was doing and where I was going. But people kept looking to my writing for inspiration for health and wellness and I think it's time to pick up writing again.

As I write this, I am on Day 6 of my fourth (maybe third) Whole30. A lot has changed since my last Whole30 in May. After I completed the Whole30 in may, I went to Puerto Rico with Ryan for a much needed vacation and indulged on tostones, mofongo, yucca rice/beans, tortillas and dessert. But because I had just completed a Whole30, my health, my weight and my happiness was at an all time high so I enjoyed the food, the location and the rest and relaxation. We were extremely active on this vacation - we hiked at El Yunque Rainforest and went swimming in the waterfall, went kayaking on the bioluminescent bay at night, walked all over Old San Juan, went stand-up paddle-boarding and snorkeling and jet-skiing and swam every morning in the ocean.

After we returned, I did a Whole15 in August before we left for a trip to San Francisco. There I really indulged....crab sandwiches, peanut butter ice cream, clam chowder soup, garlic fries, basically everything that wasn't paleo. When I was on the trip, I was upset with myself for letting myself eat this way...I was bloated, red in the face and sad. But looking back now that I have had the time to think about it, I am so glad that I enjoyed the food while on vacation. It was a once in a lifetime trip with my husband and I shouldn't look back and wish that I had eaten something. All that I can do is do my best to prepare for events like this and then enjoy whatever situation I am in because it may never happen again. We were active on this trip too - walking up all this hills in San Francisco is the best booty workout ever! We also went hiking in Muir Woods and went on a 10 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Sausalito! And we're New Yorkers so we walked a lot except when we took the old fashioned trolleys! I did 2 Bar Method classes, one with the founder, Burr Leonard and my first ever Soul Cycle class.

 

After San Francisco I did a quick Whole7 to restart my healthy eating habits (see why I am on round four, but really I never did a complete round 3). Ryan and I have been eating completely Paleo since his first Whole30 in May. Both of us are so happy with this transition in lifestyle - we are so much happier, healthier and aware of the foods we are feeding our bodies. His transformation has also been amazing to watch because his workouts at the gym have been so much more efficient and his body has completely transformed.


The biggest thing that we did in October was Tough Mudder! I still cannot believe that I signed up for Tough Mudder but even more unbelievable is that I did it. I guess because I didn't think about it or train (which I do not recommend), I wasn't able to really think about what I was getting myself in to. But on a cold, windy and rainy Saturday morning in October, Ryan, my brother and his friend and I ran 13 miles and completed 22 obstacles together. We ran as a team, we completed every obstacle as a team, we worked together as a team and as a Tough Mudder team helping other individuals complete the course. We ran through mud, swam in an ice bath, jumped 12 feet off a plank, ran up a half pike, and ran through 100,000 volts of electricity...and we got a headband and a tshirt at the end to prove we did it. I had never done anything like this before and probably never will again but I have never been so proud of myself and my family for helping me complete the course. Of course I couldn't walk for 3 days after but it was worth it!

 

 

 

 

   

 

For Thanksgiving, my mom cooked a completely paleo meal which was so incredible to see how our family has completely embraced the new lifestyle and healthy eating habits. The only thing I did indulge on was the chocolate coconut cookies that I can never have just 1 of (I can't even have only 3). I did Bar Method Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday so even though I felt a little sick after eating so much, I made sure not to fall into a rut and let one cookie (okay, maybe 9) ruin my weekend. I could have sat on the couch and said "well, I ate 9 cookies yesterday, so might as well eat 9 more today," but I didn't and that is one of the harder parts of this journey. My only issue - Foldover the day after Thanksgiving for the second year in a row...really...you want me to go parallel to the floor after one of the biggest food holidays of the year? You must be crazy! Thanksgiving morning my brother and I did a 60 minute Turkey Burn Ride at Peloton.

After Thanksgiving, we kept up the Paleo lifestyle and I even stepped up my workout routine. Still doing Bar Method 4 days a week, I added in a lot of spin classes. I joined classpass which allows me to go to unlimited classes at select boutiques in NYC for the low price of $99! I love it. Swerve Fitness and Peloton have easily become my new fitness addiction. Only problem with spin, the amount of showering I have to do and I am running out of workout clothes each week but with the added fitness classes, I can't afford new clothes right now. Both Swerve and Peloton have an amazing team aspect to spinning which I never thought I would enjoy but I have become obsessed with. I hated spinning, never enjoyed being yelled out to bike on a stationary bike - where are we going? What hill do you see me going up? And why do you want me to add more resistance when my legs are barely moving anyway? And weights? You want me to lift weights and bike at the same time? This is ridiculous. But Peloton and Swerve have me going at least twice a week in addition to Bar Method. My whole family loves Swerve too - my brother goes to Swerve most weekends and Ryan comes with me to Peloton. If I can't get him into a Bar class then at least I can get him on a bike. I even got a few 1st places at Swerve which is so exciting

Christmas vacation was a little tough. I had off from December 24 - January 5 so I knew I wanted to workout every day but the food became hard to handle. Christmas Eve my family made dinner and everything was paleo except for the popovers and dessert. Well I indulged. Christmas Eve Ryan and I had our first Jewmas so after an amazing Peloton ride, we had donuts and my first bagel in over a year. It was from Essa-Bagel so it was special to me...when I was younger, my mom would wake me and my brother up every Christmas morning at 5am and take us to the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. It was dark outside and the streets were quiet and empty. After the sun started to rise we would go to Essa-Bagel and get the first batch of bagels hot and fresh out of the oven. So this year I introduced Ryan to that family tradition (there was a tree in the Peloton studio so that counts). After breakfast we went to see a movie and got popcorn with raisenettes (you pour the raisenettes into the bag of popcorn so the chocolate melts)! Dinner was Chinese Food (what else would you even think to eat during a JewMas). We got dumpling, egg rolls, pork buns, scallion pancakes, spicy beef and chow mein. And now, we're not done there...we had chocolate peanut butter Ben & Jerry's at home for dessert.

Well I paid for this meal the next day. I couldn't get off the couch. Every muscle ached, I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open and I had a terrible headache. I ate completely Whole30 that day (when I was not napping). I made it to a spin class that morning but didn't leave the couch the rest of the day. Talk about a Carb Hangover.

The rest of the vacation we ate very clean except every night we had a Paleo dessert. My favorite was chocolate molten lava cake with almond butter crunch topping.

Tuesday December 30th I began my day with a 60 minute Dream Ride at Peloton. The class was focused on setting intentions for 2015 and less about resistance and how hard we were working. There was a percussionist in the room and the studio was lit by candles and the music was very motivational. I found myself crying, releasing 2014 and every worry and doubt I was holding on to and feeling lighter and happier. We filled out intention cards with I WILL, I CAN, I AM and I DO. It was a great way to end the year!

That same night I went to dinner with my girl friends at The Nomad. It was a special meal to share with my best friends because this is the hotel where Ryan and I stayed when we got married and the same owner of Eleven Madison where we had our wedding dinner. I indulged in the best food I had ever eaten and the best dessert. It was a very special night and I couldn't have been happier.

New Years Eve was like Christmas...donuts from DOUGH, Essa Bagel, a salad for lunch and pizza and ice cream for dinner. Ryan and I went to Comic Strip Live for a comedy show and came back and ordered in pizza and had Ben & Jerry's Milk and Cookies ice cream and a glass of sparkling cider. As soon as the ball dropped, we were in bed.

My workout schedule for the 11 day vacation was:

December 24: 6:30am Bar Method
December 25: 9:30am Peloton
December 26: 9:30am FlyWheel
December 27: 10:30am Swerve
December 28: 8:30am Bar Method and 10:30am Swerve
December 29: 10:30am Bar Method and 12:30pm Swerve
December 30: 9:30am Bar Method
December 31: 12:30pm Peloton
January 1: Carb Hangover
January 2: 12:30pm Peloton and 5:00pm Bar Method
January 3: 8:30am Bar Method
January 4: Rest Day
January 5: 6:30am Bar Method and 6:30pm Revolve Spin

January 1 was the start of our Whole30. We are doing it together with a lot of people from around the world. It is the largest site wide Whole30 and I feel excited to be a part of it. It isn't about completing 30 days for me because I eat very clean and have learned so much from my past whole30's but right now it is about resetting my habits. I hate needing dessert after dinner, or not being able to go without craving pizza and ice cream since I had it so often in the past 2 weeks. I eat well, I workout, but I need to recognize the habits I created after finishing Whole30 and how I have gone back to my old routines. I am on day 6 now and already have more energy and focus than I did during Christmas break.

I am so glad I pushed myself last week for double workouts and know that without those double days, my eating habits would have been worse. I gained some weight and I am aware of it, but I look back on the 11 day vacation and know that I had an amazing time with Ryan, with my friends and lived the final days of the year to the fullest.

Yesterday was the first day back at work, the first day that I woke up at 5am for Bar Method in over a week and a half but I am ready to get back to a routine, get back to my healthy eating and workout habits. I just miss the time I spent with Ryan and my friends - I feel trapped in my routine of working out early and then spending 8-9 hours at work and working out in the evening. It's hard to balance it all but that's part of the journey.

I look forward to writing again and seeing where this journey takes me!

March 1: 1 Year Wedding Anniversary

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”

-Mignon McLaughlin

Saturday was a very special day. It was our 1 year wedding anniversary.

The year seemed to go by fast when I think about the wedding only being a year ago, but it also seems that we did so much this year that it feels like it should have been much longer. But no matter how long it feels, the past 365 days have been leading up to this very special occasion.

We were married on Friday, March 1, 2013 at the New York Supreme Court House, Appellate Division. It was a small, beautiful ceremony followed by dinner at Eleven Madison. For our anniversary, we went back for dinner at Eleven Madison and it was more than we both could have imagined.

Eleven Madison is a very special restaurant. There is no menu - it is a 16 course tasting menu that is seasonal and it is constantly changing. The plates are small, beautiful and extremely flavorful. The whole dinner is an event, starting with unwrapping a cookie, to the open faced pastrami sandwich which is a play on NYC Jewish deli sandwiches, to the Waldorf salad prepared at the table, to the picnic basket that we unwrap at our table, to the Baked Alaska, and ending with a sweet cookie just as we had started the meal. Everything was so beautiful and such a spectacular event. I couldn't tell you my favorite dish because they all were. I loved how we had a small plate that was a precursor to a larger plate. The bone marrow steak tartar was before the pastrami sandwich, the chilled clams and lobster came before the larger plate of lobster and clams, and a sweet potato ice cream to cleanse our palate came before the baked alaska. Everything was part of a show and it was seamless. It was so special and I am so happy we had this experience. I can't wait to come back March 1, 2015! I just wish we could try the other seasons, but winter is amazing and I am so happy!

I wanted to look beautiful for the dinner, so I had my first experience at DryBar which is a salon where all they do is blowouts. My friends swear by drybar and rave about it so I wanted a special blowout. I went with the Mai Thai, which was bouncy curls. I loved it! I wish I knew how to curl my hair and feel this beautiful all the time, but I guess I will need to start budgeting for drybar appointments.

For breakfast we ate our 1 year old wedding cake that we had been saving in the freezer. We even have another slice, maybe for our 2nd year anniversary. The cake was red velvet and tasted just as good as it did 1 year ago! I wore a black and white dress and of course i had to wear my blue Badgley Mischka shoes that I wore on our wedding day! I felt so pretty! We walked to dinner a little early and we walked past the Court House and through Madison Square Park where we took our wedding photos.

The evening began with an envelope placed on our table. We both had to choose an ingredient (maple, cranberry, apple, fennel). We were told not to over think it. I chose maple and Ryan chose apple. We then had to choose if we wanted our individual fois gras cured or seared. I chose seared and Ryan chose cured so that we could each try each others dish. The last thing we had to choose was for the whole table, pork or duck for our entree. I would have preferred duck because it is not something we eat often, but Ryan is not the biggest fan of duck, so we went with pork (though at Eleven Madison there is no wrong answer to what you eat).

We then we received a box on our table for us to open. Inside was a savory black and white cookie filled with sharp NY Cheddar cheese.

Following this was an Oyster with Vichyssoise and cavier.

Next was a Scallop marinated with apple, pine and water chestnut.

These first 3 dishes came out quickly and were small but refreshing. I loved the NYC black and white cookie - the theme of traditional NYC played out throughout the meal but we of course did not know this before because each dish is such a surprise. I am so glad we were there early so we did not see anyone else being served!

The next dish was a precursor dish. It was beef tartare with cavier and smoked bone marrow. It was served inside the bone on a beautiful wood block. The presentation was beautiful and it was so unique to have the tartar inside of the bone.

The larger dish that complimented the beef tartare was so much fun! It was pastramie with pickles, rye, mustard and apple! The pastrami came in a dish that was still being heated by a flame and we put it on our plate which was covered in wax paper with a rye bread topped with mustard and pickles and cucumber relish on the side. It was an extremely fancy version of the traditional NYC pastrami sandwich. It made me crave a huge sandwich from Katz's Deli! It was served with homemade soda. Mine was maple, Ryan's was apple.

If you're keeping count, we have now had 5 dishes. We lost count at this point!

Next was Fois Gras. This is where Ryan and I had separate dishes. Ryan had it cured with sunchokes and fermented mustard greens. Mine was seared with sunchokes, hazelnuts and solera vinegar. Both were so unique and so different and equally as delicious. It was served with a house roll which was so sweet and buttery. There were two butters - a regular and one infused with the duck fat!

After this was cleared from our table, a book was brought out: Waldorf cookbook. The waiter put the book down and said "some light reading before your next dish." This book was not light - it was huge and filled with beautiful recipes. But we couldn't figure out why it was left there. The answer - Waldorf Salad. A cart was wheeled to our table and the waiter prepared the salad for us there all while explaining the history of the salad and the ingredients. We were served an apple waldorf salad with celery, cranberries and walnuts. He also explained that there are many versions of the salad, so after we had the salad, we lifted our plates to find a walnut and yogurt "salad" - a play on the walnuts and nuts and mayo in the original salad. It was so much fun and I loved seeing the food be prepared!

Still keeping up?

Dish 8 was a small precursor again. It was a small plate with lobster, razor clam, sea urchin and kale.

The larger version of this came next. The lobster was the best part of the dish! I loved the flavor and the bitterness of the kale complimented the sweetness of the seafood perfectly.

Next was celery root braised with black truffle. It was simple and light and a good in between dish for the main entree which came next!

The main entree started with a pork broth with a sausage and cheese cracker. This was followed with pork braised with cabbage, coco beans and almonds! The pork melted in our mouth and was perfect! I loved every bite!

After this, the sweet portion of the courses began.

The first sweet course was presented as a picnic basket. We were to open it at our own leisure when we were ready. Of course Ryan and I dove right in, excited to unwrap our next dish! The picnic for two was a pretzel bread, cheese braised with beer, and a dried fruit tart! This was the perfect picnic!

Next of the sweet dishes was a perfect palate cleanser before the main attraction! It was a sweet potato curd with espresso meringue and orange sorbet! All of these things alone do not sound good together, but the taste was so fresh and cleansing.

And now....the main attraction...Baked Alaska. It was presented at our table and flombeed in front of us. It was a beautiful spectacle. It was brought back in to the kitchen (to out out the fire) and brought back served with rum, raisin and maple (Ryan's was apple).

And just when you think there wasn't anymore food. A chocolate covered pretzel with sea salt was presented as well as a chocolate sweet black and white cookie to compliment and round out the meal just the way it began!

Everything was perfect and beautiful and at the end of the meal we were presented with a gift bag with homemade granola and peanut butter and jelly chocolate bars with a note inside that read "Happy Anniversary." We received the same gift bag at our wedding and the note inside read "Congratulations." I still have the chocolate bar in our freezer, so I added the new one to the freezer as well for a special day!

We walked home that night full and happy, reminded of our love for each other and what a great year it has been.