Winter Blend-Eating Highlights from the Holidays

December 29, 2012 by 2 Comments

I guess there’s no denying it, winter really is here. As evidenced by the white thingamajigs falling from the sky.

I am not what some might call a “winter person.” But there are a few things about the season that I can appreciate. Snow is pretty before it turns to black sludge (that takes about 30 seconds in New York), and Trader Joe’s starts selling their Winter Blend coffee.

This stuff is as good a reason as any to put up with the cold.

The Fella and I have spent the past few days on Long Island visiting my family (hence the lack of blogging), where we did what all good Cashews (Catholic-Jews; both of my parents are different religions so I grew up celebrating EVERYTHING) do on Christmas: opened presents under the tree, then went out for Chinese food and a movie.

I saw this on Facebook, I don’t know who to credit for it, but it pretty much sums it all up.

Tofu and vegetable soup (I’m going to have to try and remake the ginger broth at home—delicious!)

General Tso’s Tofu

Since I’ve been back in the city I’ve been trying to be healthier. Roy and I had salad with dinner last night.

He did the serving. Roy’s portion.

My portion.
At least he likes his veggies.

Lucky for me, I’d had a big lunch. A friend and I tried out the relatively new Candle Café West, a vegan restaurant close to my apartment.

I had porcini crusted tofu. Who said vegan food was healthy?

I for one am looking forward to the new resolve that comes with January 1!

What are you eating to end the year?

 

Kim

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Fit for Fall

October 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

It’s a new month and I have a new fitness plan, which I’m going to share with ya’ll in case you need a new strategy for your gym going days. This go around I’m doing an AB schedule meant to be performed twice through each week. Additionally I have a minimum of 225 minutes of cardio per week requirement; that comes to 45 minutes of cardio, five days a week. This particular weight lifting routine should take approximately 45-minutes, including 60-second rests between each set and 90-second rests between exercises.

A Day

Exercise

Sets

Reps.
Incline DB Bench Press

3

10
Machine Chest Press

3

6
Cross-Cable Lateral Raises

3

10
Machine Shoulder Press

3

6
Behind the Head Tricep Extensions w/Rope

3

10
Tricep Pressdown Machine

3

6
6s (AKA Double Crunch)

3

30
Reverse Crunch

3

30
Crunches

3

30

 

B Day

Exercise

Sets

Reps.
Shoulder-Width Grip Lat Pulldowns

3

10
Machine Rows

3

6
Standing Low Pulley Bicep Curls

3

10
BB Static Lunges

3

10
BB Alternating Dynamic Lunges

3

10
Jumping Alternating Lunges

3

8
Roman Bench Hyperextensions

3-4

Max

 

Sets with a low rep count (6) are meant to be done at a high level of resistance—as high as you can go while still maintaining proper form. If you’re planning on giving this routine a go but are unsure of any particular move, feel free to leave questions in the comments section.

Do you go to the gym with a game plan or wing it once you’re there?

Breakfast

Trader Joe’s reduced carb whole wheat tortillas (I’m not doing a low carb thing, but I really like the consistency of these wraps, they maintain their elasticity well)
Scrambled Egg Beaters w/ ¼ avocado
Plum (I didn’t eat the kiwi, it was a wee bit too mushy)

Lunch


Trader Joe’s Egg White Salad (Can you guess where we do the bulk of our grocery shopping?) on multi-grain toast
Spicy seaweed snacks

Dinner


The Fella brought home dinner tonight. Leftovers from his favorite vegan restaurant.
We shared that plate–way too much fried food for one person. Who said vegan was healthy?!

Exercise: AM: 45-minute spin class, PM: A-Day Chest/Tricep/Shoulder/Abs

Kim

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I’m in love…

September 12, 2011 by 1 Comment

with freeze dried fruit!

Seriously, I’m obsessed.

I first stumbled upon this new and totally world-rocking product in raspberry form at a swanky Park Slope (for non-New Yorker’s that’s the admittedly yuppy neighborhood I live in, in Brooklyn) market.

It was love at first fistful.

Then, I found them at Trader Joe’s and proceeded to buy every flavor of fruit I could get my hands on.

Mango is my least favorite. I’m partial to the berries, but I did something AWESOME with the bananas last night.

I got home late from a weekend with the fam and decided to pre-emptively take care of breakfast. I hadn’t made overnight oats in a while, and decided to quench my sweet tooth and breakfast in one fell swoop.

I mixed: ½ cup oatmeal, 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 packet of stevia, ¼ cup of freeze dried banana slices chopped, and 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk.

I covered the concoction and left in the fridge to do its magic overnight. What came to fruition was a chocolaty banana oatmeal dream boat!

In love. I’m am totally in love. I may never eat anything else again. The bananas rehydrated, sort of. Because they were mostly crushed, there was just this overall banana-esque taste throughout, but every few bites a little chunk o’banana rocked my mouth. Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Here’s a little lookaroo at the nutritional info:

This has been a public service announcement for your belly.

Kim

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What’s Making Me Happy: Hurricane Edition

August 27, 2011 by 5 Comments

Irene has yet to wreak havoc on New York living (knock on wood).  There was still plenty of brunch to be had this morning…

 

Egg white omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and goat cheese
Mixed greens and homefries

And tasty summer treats…

 

Seriously now, I don’t care how rainy or windy it is out there; it’s always time for an ice pop.
Lime. Is. The. Best.

Watching silly chick flicks…

 

I have a total girl crush on Anna Faris

Brain candy…

 

The antics of Stephanie and Lula are always entertaining

AND…

Spending a whole weekend cuddling up to this guy…

Remember back in January when I swore off dating for the rest of my life?

Many of you predicted that despite my declaration of perpetual, self-inflicted spinsterhood I would probably change my mind.  Well, you were right.

I’ve been keeping a wee bit of a secret from the blogosphere: I have a boyfriend.

I’m always nervous about announcing these things on the Internet, but this fella is pretty special and makes me all sorts of giddy on a regular basis.  Since he happens to be taking up a pretty big portion of my life lately I figured it was about time to come clean about his existence.  Maybe, if I’m lucky he’ll grace the blog with a guest post one of these days (he doesn’t know I’m volunteering him, but I think I can be persuasive :) ). He happens to be extremely versed in the health and fitness world, holding degrees in exercise physiology with an emphasis in kinesiology and nutrition.  I snagged myself a hunky know-it-all!

 

I’m riding out Hurricane Irene in style: ice pops, movies, trashy novels and a healthy dose of cuddling.  What’s making you happy this weekend?

Kim

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Hot, Sweaty, and Dirty Martinis

June 10, 2011 by 1 Comment

“Erghrgrh, why so hot?”

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what I said, aloud, at 4am yesterday morning when I woke up drenched in sweat.

As modern as New York may be, we have some seriously old infrastructure, and the motto here is “Why fix till it’s broken?”  Every summer without fail a few lucky neighborhoods will overload the ancient wiring that keeps this wondrous metropolis in air-conditioning. Yesterday was my turn. At first I had assumed that the air-conditioner/fan combo had going had blown a fuse in my building, as soon as I heard movement in the apartment above me, I ran upstairs to apologize to my landlords and ask if they could let me at the fuse box.

After a moderate amount of laughing at me they told me that the whole neighborhood was out, there was an electrical explosion overnight, and sure enough when I looked outside there were cops and electrical vans everywhere.

Seriously now, how is a girl expected to blog for a living with no access to the Internet? This must have been what life was like in olden times, times like the 80s!

I couldn’t even make breakfast: my stove was out, my microwave gave up, and there would be no blending or toasting. It was time to bundle up my computer and get some breakfast and some work done. The first café I went to had great breakfast, but the internet was out, the second had internet but the air-conditioning was out (I’m not too picky, but when you’re in a place that’s constantly brewing hot beverages on a 100 degree day, air-conditioning would be nice), and finally I landed myself in Starbucks for al little worky-work. Having already had coffee and breakfast at other cafes, I just stuck with a bottle of water. Power outages are really tough on the budget!

Then, as a reward for being so dedicated to making money I went to Trader Joe’s to spend money. I’m not exactly sure what happens to my brain when I’m in the confines of TJ’s but self-control is simply not an option. When I got home and started to unpack my groceries I noticed a theme: Chocolate coconut-milk ice cream, chocolate/mint-chocolate chip mini-ice cream sandwiches, dark chocolate covered pretzels, and a low-sugar dark chocolate with almonds bar. Have I ever mentioned I’m not really a chocolate person? As I was putting away my new stash of cocoa laden goodies I realized that my Aunt Flo is due for a visit. I may not be a chocolate lover, but she sure is.

Anyone want to come over and eat some candy? This is enough chocolate to keep me sated for the rest of 2011.

Breakfast


Look familiar? It’s the same breakfast I had on Tuesday. Iced coffee and egg whites with ham and cheese on rye bread.

Lunch

Trader Joe’s Shrimp Spring Roll with sweet chili sauce

Dinner

Perks of the job: I went to test out a new bar menu at Fig & Olive in the Meat Packing District.


Nicoise Olive Brine Martini!

It’s a rough job, but someone’s got to do it!


Kim

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Chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool

March 23, 2011 by 3 Comments

This afternoon, after finishing up some work, I met up with a friend from college who I haven’t seen in YEARS. She moved to LA and then Madrid after college, I moved to New York and well pretty much stayed in New York. Now she’s getting settled in good ole NYC; it was good to catch up. I may even see if I can interview her for the book proposal I’m supposedly writing right now. It’s so close to being done, and yet so not done!

After coffee I hit up my favorite of happy places: Trader Joe’s. Is there something wrong with me that I enjoy grocery shopping so much? I find the whole process so cathartic. Trader Joe’s is totally the Disney World of grocers. The frozen food aisle totally sets my heart aflutter! I even love the random banter with the cashiers. I stocked up on egg whites, frozen broccoli, meatless meatballs, low fat cheese, English muffins and coffee. I should be pretty happy for a while.

Honestly, I was pretty fried, having stayed up late last night hobnobbing, and getting up early this morning to work; I decided to take the night off and dedicate myself entirely to ‘Toy Story 3′ and a new borrowed book. I may even get my groove on with one of my Wii dancing games. I’m totally the epitome of cool. It’s okay to be jealous ;)

Does anyone else count grocery shopping as one of their relaxing time activities?

 

Brunch


Egg white omelet with feta and spinach
Whole wheat English muffin
Kiwi

Coffee


Dinner


Some nights the microwave is all you can muster.
Trader Joe’s Guiltless Macaroni and Cheese, Morning Star Farms Riblets and Broccoli

Kim

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The ABCs of a Tardy Blogger

March 16, 2011 by 3 Comments

Last week a bunch of my favorite blogs featured a little ABC themed questionnaire. Since I got home super late last night and decided that sleep was more important than typing, and I have to leave for a tech rehearsal in about 35 seconds, I’m following suit with my fellow blogging brethren today and imparting you with some relatively useless information pertaining to myself.

(A) Age: 28. I had an audition this weekend and had to survey my friends to see if I could still pass for 25. This is silly because I still get carded to buy lottery tickets!
(B) Bed Size: Full. I have the best mattress in the world. When I first moved out of my dorm (back in the day) my aunt, who is a chef at the Four Seasons in New York, ordered me a Four Seasons hotel mattress. Basically I go to bed every night like I’m at on a fancy shmancy hotel.
(C) Chore You Hate: Dishes. Seriously, they are never ending. How can one person use so many dishes?
(D) Dogs? Yes, please. I don’t have one, but I love them and want to pet and love them.
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Breakfast. I don’t understand people who can’t eat in the morning. The first thing I think about in the morning is what sort of scrumptousness I can fill my belly with.
(F) Favorite Color: Yellow. Pale yellow.
(G) Gold or Silver? I’m not really a jewelry person, but I would say I wear more silver than gold on a regular basis.
(H) Height: 5′ 4″
(I) Instruments You Play: No, but I have a pretty decent voice.
(J) Job Title: Dilettante.
(K) Kids: Small people. Limited vocabulary.
(L) Live: Brooklyn, NY
(M) Mom’s Name: Jill (Funny note, my mom went through a phase where she only dated guys named Jack!)
(N) Nicknames: Shakimbe, K-Rae, Kimbo Slice, QLQ
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? When I was 18 I had some liver damage. My liver is in working order now.
(P) Pet Peeve: Using the improper tense of ‘forgot/forget/forgotten.’
(Q) Quote from a Movie: “I’m a crack whore who should have made my sleazy boyfriend wear a condom.”
(R) Right or Left Handed? Right
(S) Siblings: Nah, who has the time?
(T) Time You Wake Up? Until recently I was getting up at 4am, now it’s more like 7am.
(U) Underwear: Part of a nutritious breakfast.
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Corn and okra.
(W) What Makes You Run Late: Nothing, I’m perpetually early for everything; it’s one of the reasons I go through books so quickly.
(X) X-Rays You’ve Had Done: Many, I’m quite klutzy.
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: See dinner.
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: I’m a big fan of pandas and giraffes. Gorillas always make me sad because they look so much like people.

 

 

Breakfast


Egg white omelet with spinach and feta
Grapefruit

Lunch


Kale and white bean soup with a raisin walnut roll

Snack


In accordance with my blog yesterday I tried to remember to snack today, lest be starving to the point of utter refrigerator annihilation.
After I worked out I mixed some strawberry protein powder and almond milk.

Dinner


Whole wheat pasta with broccoli, Trader Joe’s meatless meatballs, and marinara

Kim

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Refrigerator Day

September 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

WOW!!!

Thank you to all of you that shared your grocery shopping, and budgeting advice.  You are all much better at this being a mature adult thing than I am.  I printed out your comments and stuck them to my fridge, right next to my grocery list.  You are all genius.

I even started taking some of your advice last night, but not because I was shopping.  It was the equivalent of laundry day in my refrigerator which meant scouring the back of my freezer for something tasty to eat…which included some frozen vegetables, and a reserve of Trader Joe’s curry chicken tenders.  Actually dinner was quite good, I think I may just have to make this again.

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and my curried chicken gyro was kind of an awesome invention.

Breakfast

Smoothie with lowfat kefir, 1/2 banana, a few chunks of frozen peaches and frozen mango

Lunch

I’m sure you’re all shocked to see chicken noodle soup again for lunch

Snack

S’Mores Luna bar

Dinner

Grilled chicken curry tenders, tomato and cucumber on a whole wheat flatbread
Topped with nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with Cayenne pepper
Steamed butternut squash

Kim

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Money, money, money

September 28, 2010 by 8 Comments

I have this theory about budgeting:

I think of budgets the way I think of diets.  At first, I’m all gung-ho, “I don’t need food or money.”  That enthusiasm usually lasts a couple of weeks and then all of a sudden deprivation sets in and I become a crazed woman, who binges on food and shopping.

I’ve learned to live around this in terms of food.  I don’t diet (except for brief periods when I get hired to do so, but I learned my lesson), I just aim for living a healthy lifestyle.  A healthy lifestyle that sometimes includes ice cream, chocolate, and Chinese food.

Budgeting is a bit harder.  The older I get the more I want nice things.  Strangely, this also coincides with a desire to start saving for the future, retirement, vacations, etc.   Last week I decided it was time to be more diligent about my finances, yet still realistic.  This is my version of a healthy spending lifestyle.

I’ve cut out some “unnecessary” expenses, like my $20 yoga classes, cable, and taxis.  I’ve set up a weekly cash allowance.  Every week I start out with a certain amount of spending money to be used on whatever I want, but when that runs out there are no trips to the ATM to replenish.  I’ve also set up a weekly grocery budget.  I have the tendency to get really excited about groceries.  So far, it’s reigning in my love of the grocery store that has been the hardest.

Produce is expensive!

This week is scheduled to be a disgusting mess, and since my legs are my main form of transportation I decided to indulge a bit this week and order my groceries be delivered (worth the expense in torrential rain).  I’ve become very aware of prices all of sudden, now that I have a limit ($50) to stay within.  Actually, I exceeded my budget by $0.99, but this budgeting thing isn’t an exact science.

Do you have any budgeting tips?
How much do you spend on groceries?

Breakfast

Oatmeal with low fat sour cream
Orange juice

Snack

This apple was almost too pretty to eat…almost.

Lunch

Homemade chicken noodle

Snack

Hard boiled egg with watermelon, kiwi, and pineapple

Dinner

I had some left over wine from the weekend, perfect for sipping while dinner was cooking.

Trader Joe’s chicken lime burger with lite Cheddar, Ezekial English muffin,
roasted asparagus

Kim

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Staycation!

August 28, 2010 by 2 Comments

I’ve been holding out on you guys.  There has been a lot going on in my life, at least my work life.

My boss, at my jobby-job quit.  This sort of changes my role within the company, and gives me the opportunity to make the job into more of something I want to be doing.  In addition to getting used to an increased freelance load, I’ve been in many, many meetings lately basically redesigning my position.

I had been aiming to leave my jobby-job around this time, but with this change I feel like it’s worth it to stick around for a while and see if I can make my work day a wee bit more enjoyable, if not more fulfilling intellectually.

To celebrate I decided to take some time off from work, and go back to work in September all shiny and new…and because I’ve been really exhausted and just really need some down time.  Today was the first day of an 11 day staycation for me and it was absolutely PERFECT.

I didn’t blog last night because I had a show, then proceeded to maybe drink beer for dinner and get home very late.  So, my first day of staycation started by sleeping in!  Upon awakening from slumber I started my day in my most favorite way possible: meeting up with my friend Sarah for a writing date at “our office.”

Since today was my first day of “staycation” I decided to indulge in a coffee shop breakfast: coffee and cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese

After our respective writing responsibilities were fulfilled we decided it was time for a little Brooklyn style celebrating.

Mid-day sangria break!

So refreshing…

so glamorous!

Of course, all that sangria made us hungry so we split a grilled pizza with prosciutto and arugula:

After a very indulgent lunch I decided to be a bit more proactive about future health choices, and I took my slightly inebriated self to Trader Joe’s for some grocery shopping.

I love TJ’s!  Can’t help it, that place just makes me happy.  It was packed mid-afternoon on a week day, but I stocked up on all sorts of yummy stuff.  While waiting on line to check out the woman in front of me proceeded to turn to me and say, “I believe in complimenting people, and you are beautiful.”

Well, that totally took me by surprise.  Obviously, I thanked her profusely and we got to talking, she’s visiting New York from LA–apparently she was not quite used to Trader Joe’s being quite so busy (the line wrapped around the store).  It’s still kind of a novelty here, so it is always packed.

When it came time to check out, the cashier forgot to ring up my curry marinated chicken.  I told the cashier and he just winked at me and proceeded to continue to pack my groceries.

On the bus, on the way home everyone was just super pleasant.  Young people gave up their seats to older folks, people said hello to one another, and when it was time for me to get off someone even helped me off with my cart (yes, I totally rock the classic wheely cart).

The whole day just felt really happy.  A leisurely lunch with a friend, followed by random acts of kindness and general displays of the innate niceties of humanity.  We hear a lot about how crappy people are, but I think for the most part people are pretty great.

Upon putting away my groceries I got right back on public transportation to meet up with some friends, my childhood acting teacher and his girlfriend.  He’s the guy from that Citibank commercial where the son and dad go to Norway then find out they’re Swedish:

I saw grilled seafood tacos on the menu and assumed they’d be a healthy choice.  Ummm, not so much…

I guess a little indulging is expected on vacation, even if you are staying home.  Three cheers for staycation!

Kim

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