Hello! Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I did not do much besides exercise and eat sushi. Some things never change! On Saturday, I woke up bright and early for a new class at Equinox called BodySoulSati. This class was recently created by Patricia Moreno, the founder of intenSati.

Class Description (source):

The BodySoulSati method is a holistic training program that invigorates the body and awakens the soul by infusing a fluid series of standing legwork with heart felt affirmations. 1lb weighted gloves are worn to tone the upper body and engage the core muscles leaving you feeling accomplished and inspired!

I decided on Saturday that I am in love with this class! It is a total body strength workout in which we do all kinds of lunges, squats, and other leg exercises while doing arm exercises while wearing the gloves. I am still so sore days later! I do so much intenSati that it felt nice to slow it down a little while getting an awesome strength workout. I loved that we ended the class with relaxing yoga stretches and a long meditation while laying on the floor. Stay tuned for a more detailed review on Thursday on the NBC Go Healthy NYC blog!

Since I spent an hour on the subway that morning travelling to the gym, I decided to stay for a second class. I was not ready to get back on that awful subway again! The next class, Zen Combat, was a much faster, high cardio workout. I immediately recognized the instructor, Violet Zaki, from a fitness DVD I recently reviewed called Fit in 5: Total Body Tone. Very cool! The class is a very high energy kickboxing and cardio workout that combines martial arts moves with strength moves. The class was pretty similar to intenSati but without the spoken affirmations. One of my favorite things about the class was the fast, trance music.  To me, music can make or break a class. Violet Zaki was an awesome instructor and really made sure everyone’s form was correct. She took the time to explain how we would use each punch or kick in real life. I would definitely take this class again!

I was starving after the two classes so I headed next door to Whole Foods for a giant salad.

Delicious as always! I headed home and passed out for 2 hours! Those classes kicked my butt! Since it was down- pouring when I woke up, I decided it would be the perfect night to order sushi, drink a beer, and watch a movie. I ordered myself a lovely meal from Chikurin. I started off with a salad and ginger dressing.

I was craving some type of tempura so I got a Spider Roll with brown rice. It contained fried soft shell crab, mayo tobiko and cucumber.

I was also craving some sort of protein so I got Beef Negimaki: beef wrapped around scallion. The sauce was delicious and the beef was so juicy.

Perfect rainy night dinner!

On Sunday, I woke up and headed back into the city for intenSati! Sunday intenSati has been amazing lately. Darbi adds in crazy plank and push up sequences at the end of class after we are already dying. I knew almost everyone in class which always makes it twice as fun.

I know…we are so cool.

Later that night, my roommate asked me to go eat sushi with her. I was not about to turn down sushi even though I had it the night before. It was my last chance to have rice and beer before Passover! I enjoyed every last sip of my last beer of the week!

We started off with some edamame.

Chikurin has an entire new menu full of special sushi rolls! It took us forever to decide which ones to try out. We ended up with three amazing rolls.

We tried an Alaska Special roll: salmon, avocado, cucumber with spicy kani and lettuce on top.

This was delicious! I loved the spicy kani on top of the roll.

Next we tried a New York roll: kani, cucumber, avocado inside with spicy tuna and tempura flake on top.

Heaven.

Finally, we went with our usual Eel Avocado roll.

This was definitely the perfect Pre-Passover meal. I already miss rice and beer. The good thing about Passover is that I always end up eating much healthier than usual. My refrigerator is stocked with protein and veggies! In my next post, I will show some of the meals I’ve been eating to avoid bread products. I just made an omelet to bring to work with me!

What is your favorite kind of sushi roll?

If you celebrate Passover, what is your favorite way to eat matzoh?

Don’t forget to enter my Betty Crocker Potato and Cookware Giveaway!

Related posts:

1. Sushi and Saki Triple Date!
2. Michael Season’s Winner, Wine, Run, and Sushi!
3. Sushi Coma!

Last night I attended part 1 of the “Live the Life You Love“ event series.

About:

Live the Life You Love is a three part, women’s-only lifestyle series will consist of meaningful conversations with a panel of trusted professional experts. Each seminar offers insight, innovative tips and creative ideas to help you thrive at work, home and in your community. Not to mention a great opportunity to meet other fabulous single women just like you!

I really enjoyed the 3-part series last year so I knew I wanted to attend again this time around. Sherri, the founder of SingleEdition.com, was nice enough to let me (and a MissyMaintains reader) attend for free! Monique was the lucky winner of my ticket giveaway last week so we met at Columbus Circle before the event. It took place in the Samsung store this year. There were pretty electronic devises everywhere!

The first thing we saw (besides lots of TV’s) was food!!!

I should have took notes on what each appetizer was! The plate below was some sort of bread (can’t remember what was on top but it was good!)

More bread with BACON!! Anything with bacon is okay in my book.

Raisin rye bread and walnut whole wheat bread.

3 different cheeses, candied walnuts, and a pear jam:

I tried one of everything!

Mo and I both agreed that the best part of the spread was the candied walnuts! We may or may not have went back for seconds. I felt really weird eating this stuff on a table full of shiny, new laptops. I tend to break all electronics. I guess that’s why there was no alcohol this year!

They did have a pretty interesting drink to try out!

The Neuro Trim is supposed to have fiber to keep you full and promote weight loss. The Neuro Bliss is supposed to make you happy! To avoid any stomach issues while at an event like this, I went with the Neuro Bliss.

Contains:

• Acetyl-L-Carnitine – may help promote memory
• L-Phenylalanine – a precursor for neurotransmitters
• 5-Hydroxytryptophan – promotes relaxation
• L-Theanine – relaxation and mental function
• Eleutherococcus senticosus – helps improve memory and feelings of well-being
• Rhodiola Rosea- may help improve attention spand and the body’s ability to handle stress
• Ginkgo biloba – promotes healthy circulation, memory and may reduce mental fatigue

I did feel happy but I highly doubt it was from drinking one bottle of this stuff. It was really refreshing and tasted good at least! I am surprised they did not have the NeuroGasm to try out! You’ll understand why I say this a little later in the post.

After about a half hour of chatting and eating, it was time for the speakers. Lisa Steadman, a best-selling author and CEO of Woohoo, spoke first. Her topic was, “”If Your Business Was Your Boyfriend, How Happy Are You?”

She shared the top 5 reasons of why women may not be happy:

1) Not getting the results you want (women beat themselves up).

2) Comparing  yourself to others.

3) “Making it work” even if you are not satisfied (job, relationships).

4) Feeling overworked and seeing no progress.

5) Giving too much and not receiving.

Solutions

1) Admit and ackowledge what’s not working.

2) Ask for help.

3) Set realistic goals

I took notes in my pretty Carolina Pad!

The next speaker was Jeffrey Asher, an Estate Planning Attorney. His lecture was called, “What Women Don’t Know About Estate Planning, but Should”. I know he talked about life insurance but I kind of lost him after 5 minutes!  I don’t have a long attention span when it comes to insurance talk.

The final speaker was Yolanda Shoshana,  a lifestyle expert, sensualist, courtesan coach and speaker, known as the “Luscious Lifestyle Diva.” Her talk was called, “Sensual Adventures for the Single Girl”.  This part got a little dirty! She talked about how to, ahem, reach orgasms in every day life. I won’t get into too much detail on here! She did recommend getting massages on a regular basis, sitting down and actually tasting your food, wearing oil-based perfume, and listening to your favorite ipod mix (instead of hearing people curse on the streets). I got excited when she recommended Intensati to everyone! She was a really great speaker.

We were left with my favorite thing…a goodie bag!

The bag included an assortment of teas, Food Should Taste Good chips, more Neuro Bliss, Jonathan Prep Spray, and…..Arousal Oils!! At first I thought the Zestra was birth control!! The oils will be way more exciting!

Mo and I ended the night with giant Whole Foods salads!!

I <3 quinoa and edamame! Can you tell?

It was a great night! The next event is on October 12th if anyone is interested in attending! The topics will be:

• “Dump the Slumps! Ways to Boost Your Mood when ‘Dating Fatigue’ Sets In”
• “A Woman’s Guide to Your Money Relationship” 
• “Fertility 101: Essential Tips for the Single Woman”

Tonight I have plans to try a new gym class! I will talk more about it tomorrow! Don’t forget to enter by Body by Bethenny Giveaway!

Related posts:

1. Live the Life You Love Event (Giveaway)
2. New York "Live the Life You Love" Event!
3. Live the Life You Love Event 3!

Last night my roommate took me to our favorite sushi spot for my birthday. You know you’re a food blogger when every birthday gift you receive consists of dinner and drinks. No complaints here!

We love  because the sushi rolls are only $2.99 and they are extremely delicious! It also helps that the restaurant is only a few blocks away! We started with some Sapporo. I was good and skipped the saki for once. Too much drinking lately!

Nothing beats a nice cold glass of beer. I had some green tea too. Weird combination now that I am looking at the picture.

We started with edamame.

Along with some miso soup.

We decided to go all out and get a bento box and some extra sushi rolls for the side! We went with the Shrimp Teriyaki Bento Box.

This thing was giant! We probably did not even need the extra sushi but we got an Eel Avocado roll and American Dream roll. We got all of the rolls with brown rice.

The American Dream roll is one of those not so healthy rolls made with shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, crab, mayo, and flying fish roe. I can see why it is called the American Dream! So good! Check out Gracie’s Trendy Tuesday post for more information on healthy and not so healthy sushi!

I started with some salad. They have the best ginger dressing there.

My next plate consisted of an American Dream roll, an Eel Avocado roll, and some Shrimp Teriyaki.

I stopped taking pictures there because it was just too good. It was a ton of food but we managed to finish most of it! We were both in sushi comas after dinner! We decided to go home, change into sneakers, and take a nice walk to digest a little! We ended up walking for a good 45 minutes which was nice. I tried to wake up for the gym today but that was a complete fail so I’ve got some Total Body Conditioning planned for after work! I haven’t really worked out since Monday (oops) so an intense sweat session is much needed. I had plans to workout in the morning on Tuesday because of the baseball game and Wednesday morning because of this dinner. For some reason I just haven’t been able to get out of bed that early! Last night I made sure to go to bed before 11 so I could wake up but I was still completely exhausted this morning. I guess all of this birthday partying is taking a toll on me. Next week should be a little more relaxed!

1) What are some of your tips for making it to the gym first thing in the morning?

2) What is your favorite kind of sushi?

I am choosing the winner of the Wachai Ferry Giveaway tomorrow!

Related posts:

1. Sushi Date and College Memories
2. Sushi and Saki Triple Date!
3. Endless Sushi!

Morning! It is time for a little food recap since I haven’t done one yet this week! I have a few reviews to do as well. Let’s start with my breakfasts for the week!

Breakfast!

A few days ago I received a cool water bottle and bag of Pomegranate Power from Navitas Naturals.

About the Pomegranate Power:

I also added some Oikos and FitNutz Peanut Butter. This was a great combination. The pomegranate added a nice tangy, fruity flavor to the oats. I am using my water bottle at the moment too!

Yesterday I had some extra time to get to work after Core Fusion Yoga so I decided to stop at this new deli and get an egg sandwich.

I got egg whites, spinach, and feta on whole wheat bread. Really good! They were pretty generous with their eggs! I will be stopping there more often.

Today I decided to try adding cottage cheese to my oats (hi Julie!) Julie and I tweeted about how I must try it with lots and lots of cinnamon and Stevia for my first time!

I tried cottage cheese once last year and wasn’t crazy about it but now I am giving it another shot. It always looks so delicious on the blogs! I actually really enjoyed it in my oats today! It made them nice and fluffy. I will be trying it more ways this week!

Lunch!

Dori told me that she’s been bringing hummus and frozen veggie wraps lately so I decided to try one out for myself! I actually haven’t bought frozen veggies since I got my steamer but they really are much easier to make. They don’t taste as good but are handy for when I don’t have 10 minutes to sit there and steam a bunch of veggies.

I added Sabra hummus, sprouts, and an asparagus, squash, mushroom, cauliflower mix to an Ezekiel wrap.

I also had some Mary’s Gone Twigs on the side. I loved the wrap! I actually brought the same lunch every single day this week Nice change to my turkey sandwiches.

Dinner!

Dinner on Monday did not occur till 10:00 at night since I was at Core Fusion Cardio all late! I wanted something fast and found this in my cabinet!

All I had to do was stick the packet in the microwave for 2 minutes. I also made some edamame and salad.

I had about half the packet of rice and a lot of edamame (more than above). The rice was just okay. It was kind of mushy. There was a second option of cooking it with water which I think I would do next time to make it more moist. The edamame was great of course! I just boiled it and added a little salt.

Last night I got home from work and my heat was broken. It was 66 degrees in my apartment so I knew what I was having for dinner!

The nutritional stats are a lot better than some other soups I’ve tried in the past.

Nutritional Facts
Serving Size: 1 cup
Servings Per Container: 2
Serving Weight: 245 g
Calories: 100 Calories from Fat:20
% Daily Value
Total Fat: 2.5g		4%
	Saturated Fat: 0g	0%
	Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg		0%
Sodium: 290mg		12%
Carbohydrates: 20g		7%
	Fiber: 2g	6%
	Sugars: 4g
Protein: 2g		%
Organic: 100%
Vitamin A: 50% • Vitamin C: 10%
Calcium: 4% • Iron: 6%

I had the whole can so it was 200 calories and 580 mg of sodium. Most soups are over 1000 mg of sodium for the whole can so I was happy with this. I added some frozen vegetables to make it more interesting.

It was delicious! It was very smooth and creamy and did not taste salty at all. I munched on some Dr. Kracker Apple Crisps as well. Definitely my favorite flavor.

That’s it for food! I have a fun giveaway starting tomorrow so stay tuned! Be sure to check out Mari’s popchips giveaway! I will leave you with a few questions:

1) What is your favorite way to prepare veggies (steamed, roasted, frozen in the microwave??)

2) What is your favorite way to eat cottage cheese?

Related posts:

1. Soup Craze!
2. Ow!
3. Kale Salads and Yogurt Combos!

Hello! Hope everyone had a nice holiday! I don’t celebrate Christmas but I still like to go out in the city on Christmas Eve! The boy and I went to Bryant Park to see the tree and Christmas village that they built.

There was a huge ice skating rink!

There were tons of shops and a cute restaurant/lounge called Celsius. They built everything just for the winter! We decided to eat some dinner there. They had outdoor seating with heaters at every table. I was too freezing so we ate inside.

We sat on cute long couches and got to watch everyone ice skate while eating!

I got the Polar Bear Cosmo: absolut apeach, soho lychee liquer, cranberry juice and lemon juice.

It was so good! I love anything with lychee. We got edamame to start.

I got the Seared Tuna Salad.

The salad was delicious! It had cucumber, red onion, tomato, avocado and miso vinaigrette.

I got another drink (or maybe two).

For dessert we got the Irish Winter and Snow White.

They were both so good. One was like hot chocolate and the other was like coffee but with lots of alcohol! Definitely warmed us up!

We found Santa people and snow men!

We carried it all the way home. I found a cute bow for his head.

We had to see the tree at Rockefeller Center too!

Fun Christmas Eve! We stumbled all the way back into Queens holding the snow head. Hope everyone is having a nice few days off!!

Related posts:

1. Merry Christmas!
2. Christmas Dinner
3. Celebratory Dinner!