Acai Smoothies

Before my weeknight dance cardio workouts at AKT in Motion, I try to have a healthy snack to get a boost on energy. I received a package of acai packets from amafruits and I mixed it into my regular smoothies for an extra kick. My friend from Brazil said that acai is super popular in Brazil and people eat it a lot before workouts because it gives you so much more energy. My ingredients:

I like using green superfood or green superfood with chocolate instead of a protein powder because it has a ton of vegetables and is also less chalky. I add in a scoop of both (for just a hint of chocolate flavor), add in some berries from Trader Joe’s, the entire sleeve of acai fruits, and a cup of water:

Blend for a few minutes (in smoothie mode if you have a Blendtec!) and the end result:

A great pick-me-up before dance cardio and a super great way to get your daily serving of fruits and veggies. It’s also a great way to have something sweet without indulging in a fatty dessert! If you can’t find acai in your supermarket, check out this list of where to buy acai..

Hurricane Sandy Update

Ken and I are back to normal now – we were without cell service, power, or heat, but managed to stay in our apartment the entire time. Ken’s office was absolutely normal so he ended up going to work everyday (except Monday) and I managed to find my way around the city (one day at Equinox, two days at Kristen and Waising’s and finally back at our apartment on Friday night when the lights came back on!)

When we left the apartment on Monday afternoon, we tried to walk uptown to get some much needed supplies (food, mainly). We walked by our old place on 31st and Third and saw that a tree fell on a poor Honda Civic:

We were lucky – the only inconveniences were lack of showers (I actually ended up going without showering for three whole days…taking a hot shower at Kristen’s place was the best feeling ever), our fridge and freezer had a ton of smelly food, and we didn’t have any lights after the sun went down (walking up the stairs at night was quite a scary feeling). On Friday night, I called my super about 50 times to check on the power situation, eventually, he gave us the wonderful news that indeed our power had been restored. Ken said that the cab ride from Kristen’s place on the upper east side to our place in Gramercy was like driving through Tokyo because of all the bright lights!

There are still a lot of people without electricity, running water – please consider donating your time or to the Red Cross!

Graeter’s Ice Cream

When I received an email from Graeter’s Ice Cream, I was wondering why they were mailing me since you can’t get their ice cream in New York. Well, GOOD NEWS: the email was to tell me that they now SELL the AMAZING ICE CREAM in New York supermarkets! Specifically, D’agastino’s’ all over the New York City area. To celebrate the occasion, they sent me some of their famous flavors with chocolate chips. I sent the package to my office since I wouldn’t be able to pick up the ice cream at home until the evening and I was worried about having it melt. The package:

The package was filled with dry ice and the ice cream was perfectly firm and ready to eat. They sent me four different flavors:

I’ve only ever tasted black raspberry chocolate chip (and I have actually never tasted any of the other flavors so I’m super excited to try them all!) We are actually going to have a big game night at work and I told my friend Kristen that she’d have to come if she wanted to try the mint chocolate chip – she’s an ice cream aficionado and specializes in mint chocolate chip, so I hope it measures up to her expectations. She actually has a bowl of Friendly’s ice cream every single night after dinner and even had it when she was getting ready for her wedding! I am trying to be a little more healthy right now because we are going to Chicago soon to try on wedding dresses (a month away!) but I think if I indulge a little, it should be with the best stuff – Graeter’s Ice Cream!

Bethpage Black

For Ken’s 30th birthday, I wanted to plan a really special event but Ken shied away from a big party. Instead, his friend suggested making a reservation at one of the golf courses in New York where they play the US Open, the Black course at Bethpage. I looked online to make the reservation but it’s actually not online at all – you have to call in advance and some people even get to the course at dawn to wait and try to walk onto the course because it’s so difficult to get in (David even said it’s referenced on Everybody Loves Raymond!) Making a reservation isn’t too difficult if you just follow their easy instructions – you have to fax in your drivers license and once your license is in the system, you have to call a week before you want to reserve the tee time and enter your requested tee time.

The weather had been kind of cold and dreary so I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to golf, but luckily, last Sunday, the weather was about 70 degrees, which is perfect golfing weather! We made a reservation for a 2pm tee time and drove out in the morning (you have to arrive an hour before your tee time!) If you’re a New York resident, it’s actually not an expensive round of golf – around $70 – but out of towners have to pay almost twice as much. Initially, I didn’t want to play because you have to walk the entire course and Bethpage Black is known for being a SUPER long course. Me, right before I teed off:

I wore my running shoes instead of my golf shoes because there was absolutely no way I could survive walking for 6 hours in golf shoes! It was a really beautiful walk the entire day and we had a lot of fun playing with a third person, Rohan. Even though the course is public, they take great care of their greens and it’s such a beautiful walk and great exercise. There are really difficult hills to walk because they’re so steep, but it’s definitely a worthwhile trip to take to Long Island.

Here’s the practice green by the clubhouse – they were having a wedding when we played:

And here’s where you submit your bracelet that the clubhouse gives you when it’s time to tee off:

There are other courses at Bethpage and it’s all completely public, so it’s definitely worthwhile to become a member by faxing them your license so you can play all of the courses! My friend said that he enjoys playing the red course as well, so we’ll have to try it the next time we go out.

The Breslin’s Suckling Pig Dinner

Two weekends ago, Ken and I went to The Breslin in the Ace Hotel for their suckling pig dinner. At the time, I was on this REALLY crazy diet so I abstained from eating anything at the dinner, which was an extremely fun test of self control. We were celebrating our friend’s birthday (Happy birthday, Hughie!) and had the main table at the restaurant for the pig dinner. First, you’re served different types of salad, then Mexican-style corn on the cob and glazed carrots, potatoes and then the suckling pig. You have to make a reservation well in advance because they have to get the little piglet:

There’s actually pinspotting on the pig to really accentuate its crispy skin and really tender meat! Another shot of the pig with some of the corn on the cob on the side:

The server cuts up the little pig like a pro on both sides and with a knife and some tongs and then she takes the head to the back to cut everything up for another course (which includes the cheeks, ears and the brain). Hana was brave enough to try the brain and she said it tasted like a plain pate. While everyone was eating, Ken and I snuck off to take photos at the photobooth in the Ace Hotel lobby:

For dessert, they brought a pear tarte and homemade vanilla ice cream:

Ken put the homemade ice cream into his Guinness because the ice cream was served a lot sooner than the tarte. Everyone said the pig was REALLY good – I hope the next time we go, I’ll be able to eat!