Tipsy Parsons

This has been a fabulous week thus far! My workouts have been right on plan, I enjoyed a wonderful first experience with Blue Print Cleanse, and now my parents are in New York City for the weekend!

Workouts

My workouts so far have been exactly the kick start week I needed after last week’s travel.

Sunday: Strala Yoga STRONG class

Monday: 4 mile run + Strala Yoga STRONG class

Tuesday: personal training workout

Wednesday: 4 miles of speed work+ slow flow yoga at Equinox

Thursday: personal training workout

I want to dedicate a full, separate post describing my Blue Print Cleanse experience. Even though it was only one day I still learned a lot about myself and successfully completed it. While I didn’t have to follow any prescribed post cleanse activities, I did find myself craving lots of fruits and vegetables today, proof from my pictures of today’s meals and snacks.

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Even though I did a very tough workout this morning, which normally leaves me ravenous all day long, this is a complete look at today’s food. My salad is larger than normal because I was trying to eat unprocessed foods today. By having a larger salad, I wasn’t hungry for a can of soup or bread on the side.

After a day of clean eating, I was looking forward to a comfort food dinner with my parents who are in town visiting for a long weekend.

024 We didn’t have dinner plans tonight because we wanted to start the weekend off on a relaxed note. To my surprise, when I walked through the door this evening, my dad had dinner reservations taken care of, complete with a great review from Garden & Gun magazine.

Tipsy Parsons, a new to me Chelsea restaurant, is known for their comfort food served with a dash of panache.

006 The antique filled restaurant’s cute candle lit tables welcomed us in from the cold as soon as we entered.

007 Within moments of sitting down, we were greeted by the waiter and a plate of warm cornbread.

011 The jalapeno honey served on the side paired perfectly with the warm, buttery cornbread and was the perfect way to start the meal. On the side we toasted to the start of a wonderful weekend with some local beers from Fire Island Beer Company.

027 The menu was filled with Southern classics including three types of grits, macaroni and cheese, greens, and ribs. How does a Southern family make one choice? They share!

010We shared three appetizers: slow roasted pork ribs, quinoa salad, and the soup of the day, cream of celery infused with white chocolate.

026 028 025 Sorry about the last picture but unfortunately my camera didn’t cooperate. The appetizer winner was the celery soup; rich in celery and apple flavor but perfectly balanced with the cream and white chocolate drizzle. You couldn’t taste the white chocolate in every bite, but when you did it was a true treat. We shared this huge bowl three ways and each of us were wishing there was another spoonful left when we were scraping the bottom.

The appetizers only made us more excited for our entrees, which were served almost too quickly. The service was impeccable tonight, ensuring that our water glasses were never low and everything was served fresh and promptly.  We asked our waiter what three dishes were Tipsy Parson’s signature entrees and took his advice by ordering each. My mom chose the chicken & dumplings, which were a unique take on the comfort food classic. It was much lighter and herb infused than the original but still filled with tender chicken chunks and doughy squares.

022 My dad chose the Cheerwine braised short ribs, which our waiter promised would be fall off the bone tender. To my surprise, his favorite part of the meal wasn’t the ribs but instead the parsnip puree,

021 Last but not least was my entree, the crispy skate. Unfortunately, I think my mom’s was the best and mine could barely compare. The skate was seasoned perfectly but the sautéed arugula and pasta side was oily and flat. While I was disappointed,  this one dish couldn’t ruin the dining experience.

023 This meal was the perfect way to kick off our long weekend. We’re not planning every moment of the weekend but we do have some fun things on the agenda.

  • Breakfasts: Murray’s Bagels, Alice’s Tea Cup
  • Lunch: Meatball Shop
  • Dinner: ABC Kitchen and Tamarind
  • Sights & Sounds: Tenement Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, Essex Market, and Central Park Zoo.

Are we forgetting any of your favorites?

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Marathon+Moderation Guest Post #28

Holla – Healthy Happier Peeps! My name is Jocelyn and I blog at Enthusiastic Runner.

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I am excited that Ashley asked me to guest post for this series. I finished my first marathon in November 2010, and now I am training for my 2nd marathon on May 2012.

I find that one of the hardest parts of marathon training is balancing your life, work and training. My first marathon I didn’t balance my life at all. Now, the second time around, I want to make sure that marathon training doesn’t take over the rest of my life. Please note that I am in no way an expert (not even close) but here are my marathon training tips (take it or leave it):

  1. Schedule Everything. And I mean everything. You are obviously going to have your marathon training schedule, but you also need to figure out when you are going to fit in other things: friends, family, dating, relaxing time, haircuts, doctors appointments, grocery shopping, work, etc.. (yes, even if you have a 9-5 job put it on the schedule).

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  1. Kill two birds with one stone. If you can run with friends or family (or even as a date – good luck with that btw) – DO IT. If you look at all the activities on your schedule (see #1), you are going to notice that your schedule can get real busy real quick. But that doesn’t make marathon training impossible. One of the tricks is to do two things at once (please don’t date and go to the doctors at the same time), but running with friends/family is completely doable! Group runs are even better…

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  1. Think Small, but Dream Big. I know that when I talk to other people (non-runners) about signing up for a marathon the idea of marathon training can seem overwhelming. My advice is to think small – meaning focus on the run you have THAT day, not about the 20-mile run you have in 12 weeks. In 12 weeks you will be ready for that 20-mile run – trust me. Be patient. But in order to even start a marathon-training or sign up for a marathon, you must DREAM BIG. So start with that.

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Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/154952043398947700/

  1. Get A Running Coach. If this is your first marathon, this is completely NOT necessary, but if you are trying to make a specific goal time then I HIGHLY suggest getting a coach. At first I was completely against this idea, but then I got a running coach and it completely changed my training. If you need a coach – I recommend Dorothy (http://www.mile-posts.com/)! (see photo below)

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  1. SPARKLE. Honestly Run Team Sparkle skirts (http://www.team-sparkle.com/) have changed my whole race attitude. I always thought that you had dress a certain way when running a race… now I realize I don’t have to take myself so seriously. Also, sparkles = speed. In case you didn’t know.

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  1. Eat well and Don’t over eat. A huge misconception of marathon training is that you can eat what you want whenever you want. WRONG. Not just because you will gain weight, but you won’t feel as good running. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge every now and then. My advice: If you are going to indulge – make it count.

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  1. Hydrate. Sounds simple but during the winter I always find this extremely difficult. I never really feel thirsty, but I know I have to drink water or else I will start feeling sick. So I always keep a huge bottle of water on my desk for during the workday. I also like to drink NUUN a lot to keep my electrolytes replenished.

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  1. Start a blog. I first started blogging so that my friends and family could keep up with my marathon training, but now I love it! Honestly it helps getting feedback from other bloggers/readers regarding training. It will also help you make friends to run with (See #2)

 

  1. Download New Music. Every Tuesday morning when iTunes updates the new music for the week, I start downloading new songs that will be fun to run to. I am always asking people for new suggestions…although I have a love for country music…

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  1. Have some freaking Fun! Why else are you running a marathon than to have fun? No one is paying you to run a marathon (unless you are a professional athlete which in that case please stop reading this post – I will give you zero good advice). YOU signed up for a marathon, so you might as well enjoy it!

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Have fun Marathoning! Later Gators!

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Healthy Tikka Masala

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Truth be told, I spent most of my life avoiding Indian food. I thought that all Indian food was spicy, curry laden food. Boy was I wrong! A few years ago, my friend Raj invited a number of his college friends to his parent’s home for an Indian feast. It was all homemade by his mother and delectable. I often forget how much I love Indian food until I see it on someone’s blog or an inspired by the smell as I run through the Curry Hill district, between Gramercy and Murray Hill.

Last week I asked Bo if we could make a healthy Indian recipe Monday night for dinner since we both had the day off. He eagerly agreed and also suggested that we go for Tikka Masala instead of Tandoori since we have that more often. Without thinking, I agreed and started searching the web for recipes. To make my search even more complex, I knew that I wanted to use our slow cooker instead of standing over the stove all afternoon. There is great debate both within our family and group of friends about whether a slow cooker can truly make a delicious meal. Some people argue that it doesn’t reach high enough temperatures, while Bo believes that some steps need to be done in advance if you want the carmelization factor or to truly bring out spices.

I finally found this Real Simple recipe online and thought it would serve as a good base for our adaptation.

As we reviewed the recipe, a few things stood out which we knew we wanted to alter.

  • They don’t cut the chicken thighs into pieces before putting in the crock pot. We believed that it would be more authentic if they were cut and also allow for more even cooking.
  • The heavy cream could easily be replaced with some skim milk and 2% Chobani yogurt to reduce the fat and calories.
            • The 2 teaspoons of spice mixture barely seemed enough for the large amount of food. Therefore, we chose to double it and then ended up tripling it as we tasted the evolving dish.
            • While the recipe called for Basmati rice, we substituted brown Basmati rice in it’s place. This allowed us to have some extra fiber while still enjoying the Basmati texture and flavor.

The best part of this dish, other than the flavor, was the small amount of preparation time it required. I literally did the prep in 15 minutes before heading out to the gym Monday morning. Real Simple also gave great instructions on making your own garam masala (½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon coriander, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne).  if you didn’t have any in the pantry. Luckily, I had all the ingredients in the pantry to make my own which saved money!

004 005Eight hours later and a few spice adjustments later, we had a delicious dinner ready and waiting for us. Using the slow cooker allowed us time to run errands, workout, and watch a movie on the couch during our day off instead of sweating in the kitchen.

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Healthy Tikka Masala

Serves 4

Prep Time: 15m

Cook time: 8hr

Ingredients
  • 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 6 teaspoons garam masala (Indian spice blend)
  • 1 extra teaspoon cumin
  • 1 extra teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 extra teaspoon cinnamon
  • a few heavy dashes kosher salt (1 1/2 teaspoon) and black pepper (1 teaspoon)
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
  • 1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup brown basmati rice
  • 1/2 cup Chobani 2% yogurt
  • 1/8 cup skim milk
Directions
  1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, garam masala, extra cumin, coriander, and cinnamon, 1 1/2  teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, cover, and cook until the chicken is tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).
  2. In a small bowl, toss the cucumber and cilantro with the lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
  3. Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions.
  4. Just before serving, stir the yogurt and milk into the chicken tikka masala. Serve over the rice with the cucumber relish.

This reminded us that the next time we’re craving something, take a few minutes to search the web for a few recipes and some inspiration before ordering in.

Also, as promised, I’ve been tracking my food on Weight Watchers every day. I’ll try to get better with sharing each day with you. Below is today’s food which also happened to be the exact same as yesterday’s. See, I said I’m a creature of habit!

imageIn addition, the winner for the Gaiam 3 month subscription is Lauren from Fun, Fit, and Fabulous! Please email me your contact information.

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