Hello friends! I know July 4th is old news by now but I will just give a little rundown of my holiday weekend! It went a little something like this….

Saturday

-Wake up and run my butt to Port Authority to catch the 11:00 a.m. ghetto Greyhound casino bus.

-Get to the station at 10:50 a.m. but can’t get a ticket until the 11:30 a.m. bus.

-Feel secretly happy that I miss my bus because I desperately need coffee and food.

-Head to the only decent looking food place I see (Dean & Deluca) and blow $15 on an omelet and iced coffee.

-Make my 11:30 a.m. bus but get stuck next to a smelly guy. Hard to eat my omelet.

-Arrive in Atlantic City and get jipped out of my $25 casino credit since I purchased my ticket from a self-service ticket machine. Really?

-Head inside Hilton Casino, gamble my money away on Video Poker, and find my parents.

-Go to the beach and hang out with my mom’s friends. They had Jello shots.

-Eat sushi (not sure where my food photos are), drink a Lychee Martini, and call it a night.

Sunday

-Wake up from the loud thunder and feel depressed that it is storming while finally at a beach.

-Wait for the rain to stop and decide to ride bikes.

-Consider just going for a walk instead of bike riding when I see the helmet my dad brings out of his car for me.

Hello 80's Child!

-End up wearing a helmet all day…just not that one.

-Ride bikes and decide to cross over a giant bridge to get to Ocean City.

-Arrive to the Ocean City boardwalk 9.5 miles later. Totally worth it for the banana soft serve sundae from Bashful Banana.

-Ride bikes all the way back to Atlantic City. Can’t believe I rode a bike for 20 miles.

-Stop in the Pink Bunny Boutique to get my mom a sexy costume for her sparkle party at the Zumba Convention this week. Can’t believe I am in a sex shop with my mom.

-Head to dinner at the same sushi place, drink another lychee martini, watch the storm, and take the Greyhound back to NYC.

-Get back to NYC, walk outside, watch the cabs fight over me, get inside one, and direct him to my apartment.

-Make it home thanks to a handy, dandy GPS. Wonder what the point of being a cab driver is if you don’t know directions. 3:00 a.m = goodnight.

Monday, July 4

-Wake up an hour too late for Darbi’s bootcamp in Washington Square Park. Damn.

-Decide to do the Core Fusion Bootcamp DVD instead. Love it and realize how much I need Core Fusion in my life.

-Get kicked off my yoga mat. Decide it is time to drink.

-Head to Lisa’s apartment in the city and feel extremely jealous of her amazing backyard.

-Enjoy a Skinnygirl Margarita (or five).

-Eat an awesome piece of vegetable hummus pizza and blue corn chips.

-Try to be somewhat healthy so I eat a burger minus the bun.

-Try a grilled cheese corner. Amazing.

-Contemplate jumping in the pool so I can hog all of the beer.

-Meet Snookie.

-Try on really cool glasses.

-Head down the street to the fireworks.

-And enjoy the rest of my Independence Day with good friends, laughs and Sangria.

What did you do for the holiday weekend? Have a good day!

Related posts:

1. City Harvest Winner and Weekend!
2. Weekend in Atlantic City
3. My Birthday Weekend!

Happy Thursday! I am all energetic right now since I started my morning off with Core Fusion Cardio! I did it in the comfort of my own home courtesy of YogaVibes.com! It was just like being in class except I got to wear less and blast my own music! I seriously never sweat so much from any other exercise DVD at home! My neighbors below me probably hate me after all of the mountain climbers but they will have to get used to it! By the way, you can download a free class on YogaVibes by using the code, FBFREE. You must all try this class! Speaking of free, it is Thrifty Thursday! I will post some free samples and then talk about food!

• Free “A Little Bit of Philly” tote bag
• Free Saladworks T-shirt
• Free sample of O.N.E. organic all-in-one skin care
• Free Ready-to-Shine Gift Pack with Pledge wipes (1st 3000 entries)
• Equinox gym is free tonight for everyone! You can try intensati at the Union Square location!

Enjoy your freebies! I think my food from yesterday is worth sharing too so let’s move onto breakfast! I am still on a little oatmeal kick. It is cheap and fills me up all morning!

This bowl contained 1/4c plain oats, 1/2 of a banana, Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter, and Navitas Naturals Camu Power. Did you know Camu Camu fruit has more natural Vitamin C than any other food source on the planet? It gave my oatmeal a slight citrus flavor. Pretty good! 

For lunch, I picked up a quick sandwich from the health food store in the morning since I knew I would be spending the entire lunch hour getting my hair cut.

Hello hummus!

I snacked on some popchips later in the afternoon!

After work, I tried a class at Equinox called Rockin Models! I am going to save the review for next week since the instructor gave me her Rockin Models DVD to review as well! Let’s just say my legs are very sore today!

I made an easy dinner when I got home thanks to my good old microwave! I heated up some frozen veggies and a Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger. I crumbled the burger up over a big salad! I added some Riceworks chips on the side for something to munch on. Gotta love my 5-minute meals!

I had a Musselman’s Totally Fruit Mixed Berry applesauce for something sweet after dinner. I like to add chocolate to everything.

Musselman’s hooked me up with 2 new flavors of applesauce to try a few days ago. I also got a cute tote and calendar!

I got to try Healthy Picks Granny Smith and Totally Fruit Mixed Berry!

Disclaimer: Musselman’s provided me with the applesauce at no cost to review.

Official Description:

Our Healthy Picks apple sauce line is designed specifically for women with active, healthy lifestyles, while Totally Fruit offers a scrumptiously sweet taste without any high fructose corn syrup (naturally sweetened with fruit juice). Whether you’re just getting back from the gym or simply in need of an afternoon snack, treat yourself to a quick snack that won’t leave you feeling guilty.  These new flavors are packed with essential nutrients and they taste great.

Both flavors of applesauce were delicious and contain just 70 calories. I always need something sweet after dinner so I’ve been enjoying these almost every night for dessert! They also make a good pre-workout snack.

Since I am all about deals and samples today, here is a coupon if you would like to try either flavor of applesauce. I suggest trying it with some chocolate chips added in! Perfect fall treat!

What is your favorite fall dessert?
How do you use applesauce? Do you cook with it, eat it plain, add chocolate??

I am choosing the winner of the Body by Bethenny DVD tomorrow! Bye for now!

Related posts:

1. Winners and Thrifty Thursday!
2. Thrifty Thursday and 3 Winners!
3. Core Fusion Yoga DVD Winner and Thrifty Thursday!

Last night I was given the opportunity to try a brand new hummus restaurant in Brooklyn called Yummus Hummus. I received an invitation from a woman named Elissa who used to be a consultant for Sonny & Joe’s hummus (I reviewed this hummus last June. Elissa’s husband Jay and their friend Sean opened up a hummus joint in East Williamsburg and asked if I wanted to try it out. I am in love with hummus so of course I said yes!

About Yummus Hummus (source):

The Space:

Located in the latest up and coming neighborhood of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn in New York, Yummus Hummus has found it’s home at 55 Waterbury St, just 2 blocks off of the Montrose stop on the L train.

From the start the owners, James Leritz (Master Craftsman and Owner of Kiln design studio) and Sean Biloski (Master of many things) envisioned a cool neighborhood restaurant with gourmet style food that would be built from the ground up. Jay and Sean personally designed and constructed the Cafes decor entirely out of salvaged, reclaimed, raw materials rescued from New York City’s five boroughs. The hand crafted hardwood floors, tables, wall accents, plates and even the glassware are all exemplary of their professional motto:

“Instead of adding clutter to the streets of NY why not take it away and make something beautiful.”

The Food:

Staying true to it’s name, delicious and homemade, Hummus is the draw at Yummus. Everyday different home made varieties are served alongside freshly baked pita bread with a medley of different vegetables and toppings to make you crave your next visit.

In addition to the main menu. options Yummus will be open from the crack of dawn to serve you gourmet coffee, tea and breakfast goodies.

I was excited to go to Brooklyn since I’ve only been there once or twice! It was only a 20 minute train ride away from my work which was nice. My roommate and I walked over to the restaurant and noticed that there were a bunch of music buildings around. There were absolutely no restaurants except for Yummus Hummus! Elissa told us that this was great for business because now people had a cheap, delicious place to go during their lunch hour. The restaurant had cute outdoor seating. As you can probably see, the entire area seemed very artsy.

The restaurant was awesome inside! James and Elissa are both designers so they made all of the decorations themselves!

Everything on the menu looked great! Luckily we did not have to pick and choose because Elissa told me she would just bring us out whatever she thought we would enjoy most!

I love that the restaurant is BYOB! A typical glass of wine in New York is at least $8.00 so this saved us some money. We picked up a bottle of Pinot Grigio on the way to Brooklyn.

The first thing Elissa brought us was an avocado and grapefruit salad.

This was delicious! It also contained onions, olive oil, pepper, and a few other spices. Grapefruit and avocado make a wonderful combination!

Next she brought us a snack plate of pita, feta cheese, pickles, and olives.

The pita bread is made fresh all day. Just to prove it, here are some pictures of Sean making the bread!

Fun Fact: Sean is on a TV show called Food Party! It is on the IFC network.

Next Elissa brought us: The “Baked” Bulb: A plate of hummus topped with an oven baked garlic bulb, drizzled with olive oil, tahini, and sprinkled with yummus spice.

I loved this hummus!! I’ve never seen fresh garlic bulbs in hummus before. It was so creamy and flavorful!

Our next hummus to try was the “Hummus Hot” : Topped with a yogurt jalepeno harissa sauce and our house hot sauce, drizzled with olive oil and tahini, and topped with tempered with crumbled feta cheese, and then sprinkled with yummus spice.

Elissa warned us that this one is VERY hot.

How good does that look? I will be pouring feta cheese all over my hummus from now on! Elissa was right! My mouth was on fire! I loved it though!

We were not finished just yet! She brought us out some falafel to try next!

“The Fal-ini” 3 oven baked falafel balls, a dollop of yogurt jalapeno harissa sauce, tahini and olive oil, and a dash of the yummus spice.

Their falafel is baked and not fried. It was honestly some of the best falafel I’ve ever had! It tasted so fresh and you could see the actual veggies inside!

No…still not done! Elissa insisted we try one last salad!

“The Reta” Roasted red peppers Chopped thin, topped with capers and crumbled feta, with a fresh squeeze of lemon, olive oil and a dash of salt & pepper.

This was also amazing! Such a simple dish yet so flavorful!

Talk about a hummus coma! We still had to try some dessert of course but we decided to let our food digest for a while. We admired the pretty decor while waiting.

Candles made from the bottom of Guinness bottles!!

Alissa & Sean

I loved that Alissa went back into the kitchen and made the food herself each time she wanted to bring us something new! Amazing service!

Dessert was grapefruit sorbet!

It was super refreshing! There were fresh chunks of grapefruit inside. Loved it!

Full belly of hummus and wine=one happy girl!

I will definitely be going back to Yummus Hummus in the near future! Everyone was incredible friendly, the environment was artsy and cute, and the food was incredible! The prices are also very reasonable! Thanks Elissa for a wonderful dinner!

Related posts:

1. Hummus Gone Wrong
2. Dripping Hummus?
3. Macaroni Grill Winner, Blogger Core Fusion Class, Gobo Dinner!

Happy July! I wanted to let you guys in on a little deal before I get started! A few of you have emailed me expressing interest in attending my school, Institute for Integrative Nutrition. They are holding an Independence Day special where if you enroll by Tuesday, July 5, you will receive a $300 tuition scholarship plus a “Let Freedom Ring” gift bag .

Here’s what’s in the “Let Freedom Ring” gift bag:

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 50 Card Deck
• Achieve Everyday Journal
• EnviroSax MiniSax
• Goji Cranberry Cacao superfood bars by graduate Moria Felber
• How to Find the Work You Love book
• Strengths Finder book
• Write it Down Make it Happen book
• IIN logo goodies

Just call (877) 730-5444 to speak with an Admissions Advisor about enrolling. You don’t have to live in New York to attend because they have a distance learning program. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions about the school! Also, if you mention my name when enrolling, I will personally send you an extra $50.00 check! Let me know if you are interested

Yesterday’s Eats

I’ve been having the same breakfast every single morning this week: a Chocolate Banana Burger!

It doesn’t get much better than that! I finally ran out of the Nature’s Pride wheat buns so looks like I’ll have to move on! Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter is dangerous in my apartment anyway. I will explain later. The tub is almost gone just after 1 week. Oy.

I brought a lovely lunch to work! I made a salad with a Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lovers burger, avocado, hard boiled egg, and grilled mushrooms.

Delicious lunch! I also brought a snack to munch on for the side. The folks over at Smile.ly sent me Snikiddy Cheddar Cheese baked fries to try out.

About the fries:

• 50% less fat than regular potato chips
• Gluten and wheat free
• No preservatives
• No corn syrup
• No trans fats
• Low in saturated fats
• No hydrogenated oils

I liked that there were a ton of fries in the bag for just 130 calories. I don’t think I would buy them because the ingredient list is just way too long and they don’t really have any nutritional value. They were fun to munch on though! I guess they are a better option than french fries!

After work I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical and some hand weights. I also walked outside for another half hour to pick up a package at my sister’s. I made up for not going to the gym in the morning!

I made another fun salad for dinner!

It contained salmon cake bites, edamame, mushrooms, avocado, and hard boiled eggs. I used my cool egg slicer that I got at the Eggland’s Best event!

So fun! It made slicing my eggs much easier. Daisy spotted the hummus on my plate.

One more…

I had an intense chocolate craving after dinner, like always. I searched my fridge and freezer and found a Chocolate Heart Thrive bar. I heated it up in the microwave for 30 seconds and then went a little dessert crazy….

Apparently just the bar itself was not enough. I wanted more chocolate for dipping! Then I saw a banana and decided that it would be fun to dip in the chocolate peanut butter. Then I saw whipped cream and decided to make it like a sundae! It was delicious! That was all fine until I went in the fridge again. I made myself another banana chocolate burger earlier in the evening to bring for breakfast today and just could not let it sit there. I ate half of that too. Blah. I guess I can’t make such a good breakfast that involves chocolate the night before because it is too tempting! Maybe it is just a bad time of month.  I don’t know. I didn’t let it get to me. Instead I just set my alarm for 5:45 am and hit up the gym this morning. I knocked out 45 minutes of cardio plus some arm weights. Good to go. I was just sad this morning when I only had half of a breakfast left! I ate it as my pre-gym snack. Perfect. I will try to be a better intuitive eater today. It was just one of those nights!

1) Do you struggle with intuitive eating? Can you stop when you are full even if you are craving something?

2) Are there any foods you crave after a meal? Chocolate and fruit for me!

Related posts:

1. Veggie Burger Competition
2. Bill’s Burger and a Winner!
3. Blueberry Banana Oats

Hello! I have a few exciting things to talk about today.

1) Core Fusion!

Exhale Spa is currently on sale at Rue La La! That means Core Fusion classes are much cheaper than usual! You guys all know that I’ve been waiting for this for months since I can’t afford a normal membership. I am very excited to start going again! I was in some major Core Fusion withdrawal!  The sale goes on for 2 more days if you are interested! I plan on going a ton in August since I am starting a new challenge in July…

2) New intenSati Summer Warrior Challenge!

You may remember my January intenSati Challenge!I was required to take 3 intenSati classes per week. I also got a free month pass to Equinox gym! I loved the class and was sad when it was over! As soon as I heard about the July challenge, I applied and got accepted a few days later! This one is going to be a little more intense than the last one! I have to go to 4 intenSati classes per week and 2 of them have to be morning classes! The morning classes are at 6:30 am which means I will have to wake up at 5:00 in the morning! Luckily Mari also got accepted so she will be responsible for making sure I get my butt out of bed! Thank you Mari, lol. I get a month pass to Equinox again so I put my NYSC membership on hold for now. I can’t wait for all of the amazing classes at Equinox. I have to admit that I am extra excited for their fancy showers again! My first class is this Friday morning!

3) New Contest from Dove!

Dove gofresh just got better with a boost of NutriumMoisture™.  To celebrate, Dove has launched its “Better Than Ever Contest.”  The contest asks you to share what in your life is better than ever and submit a “before” photo and a “now” photo in one of the categories below, and then explain why your life is better than ever!

Categories:

Play: Have you gone from bunking up in hostels to staying in quality hotels? Have your vacations gone from spring break to lifetime adventures with family and friends? Tell us how you’ve enhanced your passions.

Love: Did you exchange a burn-out boyfriend for a loving man? College parties for dinner parties? Show us how your relationships have evolved.

Live: You used to microwave mac n’ cheese but now you cook meals made from scratch. You used to share an apartment but now you’re decorating your own pad. Show us how your living has gone from surviving to stylin’.

Style: Have you upgraded your hairstyle? Traded trucker hats for ballet flats? Show us how you’ve come into your own when it comes to style.
 
One Grand Prize winner will receive a spa and adventure getawayfor two to Sedona, Arizona, plus $1,000 to use towards making your or someone else’s life better (Think: charitable contributions, gifts, or anything that makes the world a better place!). Runner-Up prizes such as a Nintendo Wii™, Sony® BRAVIA® Theatre System, gift cards to Home Depot, Crate & Barrel and Sephora will also be given to four winners, one from each of the categories Love, Live, Play, and Style.

I thought you guys might be interested in this one! I would love a spa and adventure getaway!!! Good luck to those who enter!

4) Yesterday’s Eats!

I am still doing great with last week’s goals by making breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home. I even went to bed at 10:30 Sunday and Monday night! I am still tired every morning but feel a little better! Yesterday for breakfast I made PB & Co Dark Chocolate Dreams and a banana on a Nature’s Pride whole wheat bun.

Heaven! The buns are so big and fluffy! This breakfast kept me full for 4 hours which was nice too!

For lunch I made a wrap using my roasted veggies from Sunday night! I added Sabra Caramelized Onion hummus.

I packed some kale chips on the side using my cool EasyLunchBox! Great lunch!

I went to the gym after work and did 45 minutes on the elliptical. I also did 3 sets of biceps, shoulders, and back using a body bar. Oh, and I did a plank and some push ups. I always get proud of myself when I do this stuff on my own and not in a class!

I had a few roasted veggies left to use for dinner so I knew I was going to make a big salad. I found some salmon cakes in my freezer to top my salad with.

I made 5 salmon bites and added avocado, veggies, and hummus.

Delicious! I was not completely satisfied so I had a huge bowl of grapes for dessert! I added some chocolate brownie crumbles and whipped cream on top. That did the trick!

Well I am off. Gotta go buy my Core Fusion classes! Wahoo!

1) Are you taking on any new challenges in July?
2) What is your favorite “healthy” dessert?

Related posts:

1. Core Fusion Challenge: The Results
2. The Stay on CORE-Se Challenge
3. Core Fusion and Food Challenge Update