Thank You Equinox

It’s nice to get out of the city from time to time to breathe in fresh air and see some trees!!!! My two main issues I do have though are the limited options for fresh juices and my lacking of a gym membership. So before heading to home I picked up 4 juices at Terri NYC and figured I would somehow get a workout in.

Thursday started by playing catch up on Nutrition School work I had to wrap up Module 3 and get going on Module 4. While doing my work I ate sandwich of High Fiber whole wheat bread, 3oz sliced chicken, 1/4 avocado, cucumber slices and a little grey poupon.

Next it was time to find a workout for the day. Prior to breaking my foot I had been offered a day pass to Equinox, I decided to reach out and see if it was still good to use and I was told it wouldn’t be a problem. So I checked the class schedule settled on 3 classes, yes 3, I am all about getting my 1 day pass worth. With my classes in mind I drank a Live Long & Green juice containing spinach, cucumber, apple, lemon and ginger and headed out to Equinox.

First up was EQ360: ICE (with instructor Dana Mancini) a 30 minute class described as "A new perspective on fitness! EQ 360:ICE (Integrate Core Exercise) uses the unique qualities of the Step360(TM) Pro challenging your body as a whole while chiseling abs and a strong core creating a foundation for all your other workout programs.” This 30 minute class was more than I expected. It started with a lower body workout (think squats, lunges, leg lifts) all on the Step 360 while also incorporating some cardio movements in between to keep the heart rate up. Next we moved onto some movements with the body bar (dead lifts and a few others while on the Step 360) and finally we finished off with an abdominal series. I really enjoyed using the Step360 it is much easier on the knees and joints then a regular step and really activates and engages the muscles. This 30 minute class is a great quick workout if you don’t have a lot of time or a great addition to any workout.

Next up was Arm Candy also taught by Dana described as “One of the best accessories ever is smooth, firm arms, yummy to the eyes and delicious to the touch. Bend, push, pull and twist your way to sexy sculpted shoulders, toned triceps a chiseled back and whittled waist in 30 elegant exercises created by Team Equinox!” This 30 minute class taught back to back with ESQ:ICE is exactly as described. The class used 3 sets of weights (I chose 12 lb, 8lb and 5lb weights) each arm exercise was done in a series of 3 from heavy weight to lightest weight. By the end of class my triceps and shoulders were on fire and my abdominals felt like they were already sore. This class was fantastic for anyone looking to tone their arms in just 30 minutes.

As I mentioned I wanted to make sure I got my 1 day pass worth so I decided to head to SPIN (with instructor Carolyn Mellace). I have noticed that in Manhattan spin classes are 45 minutes and it seems on LI and other places they are 60 minutes… what’s going on Manhattan? The last 15 minutes of the ride are truly the best since you work yourself past a point you didn’t think you could. The instructor was fantastic and created a great interval class, we went from hill to flat road with each song. The playlist was great featuring fast paced songs on the flat roads (think Eminem, Katy Perry, vintage Christina Aguilera) and slower paced songs on the hills (think Counting Crows, Dubie Brothers, and The Doors). After the 60 minutes I had more energy than when I started.

I left the gym feeling better and more energized then when I arrived!!! It was a great experience and I am glad I was able to attend these three classes. Thanks Equinox!!!!

After the gym it was time to eat again so I had a large piece of grilled salmon with sides of sautéed spinach, grilled asparagus, quinoa and some shepherd’s salad (cucumber, tomato, pepper and feta cheese). A great meal to fill me up after my workouts and to end a lovely Thursday.

A Day Full of Liquids and Workouts... and more

I started the day catching up on some Nutrition School work. Last week had been extremely busy and it was time to get back on track. While I was home doing my work I made myself a Boars Head Low Sodium Turkey Sandwich and had it with a BluePrint Red Juice containing Apple, Carrot, Beet, Lemon and Ginger. The flavor of the juice packs a big punch, it is really refreshing and an enjoyable way to add fruits and vegetables into a diet. 

After I finished a good portion of my work I headed to spin class at NYHRC. I had broken my foot back in February and was unable to spin until this past weekend. This was my third class in four days, I am an addict!!!! The class was fantastic I really got in a good burn. There were quite a few hills and the perfect amount of sprints. While there was no jumping today I was glad because I figured both my legs and foot could use the break. 

When spin was over I headed downstairs to the attached to-go Organic and Vegetarian restaurant, Terri. For some reason I had never noticed it before but my friend Nikki mentioned dropping in after a recent workout and walking out with a great juice and some kale chips and mentioned some salads they had on the menu. Since I knew I would be going to Core Fusion at Exhale later in the day I thought it would be good to grab something on the go since I would be running errands for a bit and not home before class.

I decided to order the Brazilian Bombshell Smoothie which contains acai, acerola, blueberry, mango, banana and I replaced soymilk with almond milk, I also got a container of Kale Chips and took a menu to go as I knew this would be the first trip of many to Terri. (PS – they offer a 3 day juice cleanse for $155!!!)  The juice was absolutely fantastic and the chips were the perfect consistency, it was exactly what I needed to take me through the day until Core Fusion.

After some further school work, searching for jobs and running some errands it was time to head to Core Fusion. Thanks to Ruelala.com bought a 10 pack for classes otherwise I would be sticking to the DVD’s right now. Well, I am so glad that I was able to go to class today, the teacher Michael who was a substitute for the day was great and I felt thoroughly challenged throughout the class (and just 4 hours later I am feeling sore.)

I ended the day with a favorite, SUSHI! A brown rice California roll, brown rice Alaska roll and one piece of Ikura sushi followed by a Blueprint Green Juice containing romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon and ginger. 

Day’s like today do not happen as often as I would like but I look forward to challenging myself these days more of a common occurrence in my life.  Of course I am headed out of the city for a good portion of the next two weeks and I hope I can find options equally as good for me.

SP Cleanse - Day 10 - Cooking

I woke up this morning to find that the water was shut in my building. So I decided to brush my teeth with some bottled water... I know I am so fancy right?! I then had a bowl full of berries, usually I would have started the day with a SP Complete Smoothie but with no running water I didn't want to leave a mess to later clean up.

I headed off to NYHRC for a Body Sculpt class with one of my favorite instructors, I can’t wait until I can go to Zumba before Sculpt, but my foot just is not yet ready.

After the gym I headed to the Union Square Farmer’s Market to see what was available today. I picked up some fresh Asparagus as well as some more Tatsoi as I enjoyed it so much raw last week and thought I would try and cook it this week. It had been a while since I had seen Windfall Farms at the market and I was thrilled to see they were there. I stocked up on some sunflower greens, pea greens as well as mixed greens. After I hit the market I decided I would make a salad for lunch.

I headed over to Whole Foods and picked up some Tilapia as well as Cod which was today’s special and a few Cockles to add for flavor for tonight’s dinner.

Then I was headed home and had a salad in mind for lunch.

Mixed Green Salad with Tilapia and Clementine’s

Ingredients:

Mixed Greens

Sunflower Greens

Pea Greens

1 Kirby Cucumber

¼ Avocado

1 Clementine

1 pc Tilapia

1 tsp EVOO

First I placed the Mixed, Sunflower and Pea Greens in a bowl.

Next I heated a nonstick pan with 1 tsp of EVOO and placed the Tilapia in the pan. I seared on each side and then squeezed half of the Clementine over the fish.

I sliced the remaining Clementine over the salad and squeezed them a bit for a bit of flavor and added in the Cucumber and Avocado.

Once the fish finished cooking I placed it over the salad.

And good news, the water is back on!!!!

SP Cleanse - Day 4

The SP Cleanse continues…

It is Day 4 and I am definitely starting to feel some changes. I am less groggy and have more energy. I had been having trouble waking up in the morning for the past few weeks due to an inability to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.  Well I am finally falling asleep before 1am and waking up by 9am without a groggy feeling.

This morning I took advantage of the way I was feeling and woke up and made a quick smoothie filled with Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Kale, Pear and SP Complete Powder.

I had about 90 pages of reading to get done for my final tomorrow so I decided instead of taking a body sculpt class I would head over to the gym and get on the bike and do some multitasking. So I headed over to the gym and got on the bike 2 hours later I had rode over 20 miles and finished half of my reading.

Once I finished at the gym I headed out to pick up some last minute Mother’s Day Gifts, and then I was headed home for a salad filled with a ton of fresh vegetables. For the base of the salad I used komatsuna and tatsoi, I then added in fresh chives and scallions as well as a yellow bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, avocado, corn and hearts of palm. 

After that it was time for more studying and another smoothie filled with Strawberries, Pear, Mango and SP Complete Powder.

 It is time to head back to the books and pack up to go to my parents for the weekend.

Stay tuned for cleanse updates through the next 17 days.

SP Cleanse - Day 3

Today is Day 3 and things are getting a bit easier. I started this morning with; yes you guessed it a Strawberry, Kale and Pear with the SP Complete Powder.

After my smoothie I decided to head to the gym to get it out of the way, it is easy to become unmotivated on a rainy day so off I went to Cardio Sculpt and Pilates. I decided to take these two classes since they were taught by the same instructor as my classes yesterday. Cardio Sculpt was definitely a challenge it was constant movement using both your body weight and hand weights. I had to modify some of the moves as I am not yet ready to do jumping jacks on my foot but the class was great! I decided to stay for Roland’s Pilates class even though I was worn out from Sculpt as I knew it would stretch out my body and relax me before I spent the remainder of the day studying.

On my walk home from Astor Place NYHRC I stopped at Food Emporium for a few items….

-          Clementine’s

-          Strawberries

-          Zucchini

-          Canned Fresh Tomatoes with no additives

-          Artichoke

For lunch I decided to steam some julienned zucchini, peeled carrots, sliced yellow pepper and cherry tomatoes, it was delicious!!

I feel like I eat all day on this cleanse which is nice, but it definitely is keeping me busy between slicing and dicing fruits and vegetables for salads and smoothies. For an afternoon smoothie I decided to go with Strawberry, Kale, Pear, Mango and SP Complete.

Since it is a cold, rainy New York Day I am definitely thinking dinner will be julienned zucchini with a fresh tomato sauce… I will let you know how it turns out.

Until tomorrow…

SP Cleanse - Day 2

Well I made it through day 1 of the SP Cleanse which is usually the toughest… I find the first few days to be a bit rough, once you find the balance and get the timing of meals right things seem to go a little smoother. 

I started off the day with a Fruit filled smoothie – mango, strawberries, kale, pear and the SP Cleanse Powder as well as the necessary vitamins.

I then headed to an Interval Sculpt class at NYHRC. I had never been to a class with the instructor today, Roland Brown, but now I plan to find all of his classes and work them into my schedule. The class started with a light warm up and then moved through a series of arms and legs. I love getting the arms and legs in at the same time it allows you to focus on holding your core. Next we moved to leg and butt work on floor work which was great for me since I am still healing from my broken foot. He then moved us on to a joint abdominal and arm series and we finished the class with 10 extra minutes of stretching which was great. It is important when you are cleansing not to overwork the body, this 60 minutes was the perfect workout for me today.

After class wrapped up I stopped by a farm stand for some fresh fruit and vegetables. The remainder of the day will be filled with studying for a final and 2 more smoothies another Farmer’s Market Salad and dinner which will be julienned zucchini with fresh vegetables that I have in my fridge (peppers, tomatoes and more) and some brown rice.

I will be ending the day with a trip to see my Acupuncturist, Maureen at Acupuncture Bodywork who I have not seen since before I broke my foot. I am looking forward to having Maureen harmonize my body’s imbalances and also getting the blood flowing properly back into my broken foot. I also think the acupuncture will pair nicely with the SP Cleanse.

Stay tuned for recipes…

SP Cleanse - Day 1

When preparing for a cleanse it is important to make sure that you have all of the things you need, and in this case fruits, vegetables and more fruits and vegetables.

I dropped by the Union Square Market to stock up on all sorts of greens.

Tuscan Kale, Swiss Chard, Komatsuna, Tatsoi, 

Broccoli Raab, Bok Choy, Scallions, Chives

While out I also picked up fresh fruit and vegetables: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Pears, 

 Mangos, Tomatoes, Lemon

I also picked up some brown rice as well as wild rice as the SP Cleanse allows 2 servings a day.

I started today with a Smoothie consisting of Mango, Pear and Kale along with SP Complete Powder and the Cleanse and Gastro-Fiber pills. 

 After my filling drink I headed to the gym for a Body Sculpt class and another 45 minutes on the bike where I got in some reading for a final I am taking later this week.

Once I completed my workout I came home and made a big salad. The base of the salad was:

Radicchio, Frisée, Komatsuna, Tatsoi

 I added the following vegetables into the salad:   

Cherry tomatoes, Avocado, Cucumber, Hearts of Palm, Corn, Radish, Chives and Scalions

I topped the salad with a squeeze of lemon juice. The wonderful thing about all of the different greens is they each have such distinct flavors that you do not need to overly dress the salad.

If you have a Farmer’s Market near you I highly suggest you go and try out all of the different types of produce, each vegetable contains vitamins, minerals and nutrients and can add so much to your diet both eaten raw or when cooked. 

For dinner tonight I plan to have sautéed Broccoli Raab, Tuscan Kale, and Cherry Tomatoes over brown rice. Followed by a smoothie of Strawberries, Pear and Spinach with SP Complete. 

Can You Have 3 Hints of Green in 1 Day?!?!

Today I challenge myself and you to have 3 Hints of Green.

As I mentioned yesterday, I couldn't be happier to be back on my feet!!!! I started the day off with a Strawberry and Pear Smoothie with a handful of Spinach; I can't miss my Hint of Greens!

After that I was off to the gym for 60 minutes on the bike, I am pleased to say I was on the stationary bike for 60 minutes and rode 10.5 miles (while also getting some reading done for my Nutrition class). It was nice to be doing cardio, feeling the effects and reading about exercise at the same time.

I finished up my workout with a circuit on the Body Wedge. For those not familiar with the wedge I have included a picture. It is a circuit of 21 exercises including arms, abdominals and legs.

Once I was done with the gym I stopped by Eataly to get some food for a small dinner party I am having tonight and then it was time to head home and re-fuel.

With that being said below is today's lunch

- 6oz Dover Sole

- Kale (Hint of Green)

- Tomatoes

- Mediterranean Seasoning

- 2 tbsp EVOO

 

First I washed and diced the tomatoes and Kale and seasoned the fish

Next I heated 1 tbsp of EVOO and added the Kale and sautéed

Once the Kale was almost cooked I added the fish and Tomatoes to the pan to cook

 

I cooked the fish on each side until opaque.

Finally I placed the Kale and Tomatoes on the plate and topped with the fish

Lunch is served!!!

Stay tuned for my post for tonight’s dinner of a Farmers Market Tomato Salad and Linguini with Sausage and Peppers, and yes there will be a Hint of Green in there somewhere.