Missy Maintains » tuna

Endless Sushi!

MissyMaintains — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:46:06 +0000

Last night I discovered an amazing sushi restaurant that all of my New York readers must experience at some point! My roommate has been trying to take me there for months now but it is located in Great Neck so is pretty difficult to get to. Luckily I brought my car to New York recently so we decided to drive there last night. The restaurant is called Sushi Palace and is all-you-can-eat for just $20.00! I usually try to avoid places like this because I immediately think of two things: 1) low-quality sushi 2) eating way too much. I am not good at the whole stopping when full thing, especially when there is delicious sushi on my plate! My roommate assured me that the sushi was fresh and made-to-order so I agreed to try it. Sushi Palace is also BYOB (oh yeah)!

Jackie and I drove there and it was just 20 minutes away from our apartment in Queens. There was even a free parking lot behind the restaurant (a very rare luxury in New York). We arrived at the restaurant around 7:00 p.m. and did not have to wait for a table. It did get very busy about an hour after that so I would recommend going on the earlier side. We were handed an appetizer list and sushi list and got to check off anything (almost everything for us) from the menu! We took full advantage of the $20.00 all-you-can-eat deal. Evidence pictured below….

Japanese Mushroom Soup

Spring Rolls

Seaweed Salad

Seafood Udon Noodles

Garden Salad

Edamame

Round 2! More Salads and Sweet & Sour Soup

Sushi Part 1: Eel Avocado Roll, Crunchy Shrimp Roll, Sashimi!

Sushi Part 1: Salmon Avocado Roll with Crab, Salmon & Tuna Sashimi

Rock Shrimp (AMAZING)

Aged Tofu

Green Tea and Red Bean Ice Cream

Talk about sushi coma! I’m going to go ahead and say that we got our $20.00 worth! I loved everything that we ordered besides the tofu (just because it was too slimy for me). I can’t even put into words how delicious the rock shrimp was! All of the sushi was very fresh and the food came out super fast! The service was incredible for such a busy restaurant. If you are able to visit Sushi Palace, do not leave without trying the Red Bean ice cream! If anyone needs a ride to Great Neck, do not hesitate to ask me. I’d be happy to eat at this restaurant again ASAP!

Have a great Friday! Happy 11/11/11!

Do you like all-you-can eat restaurants and buffets? Why?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

The IntenSati Situation

MissyMaintains — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:10:33 +0000

Morning! I just got back from an awesome intenSati class with Mari!We were up at 4:45 in the morning again for our 6:30 am class! Crazy but worth it. Unfortunately I’m not sure if I can go 4 days a week now. Last week I mentioned that I may not be able to participate in the July Warrior Challenge. The final decision was no. I am still very upset. The rules of the challenge said that you would have to attend 4 intenSati classes a week for the month of July. Two of the classes had to be morning classes. It also said that you cannot participate in a challenge twice. I did participate in one back in January but I figured I would apply anyway just in case they had extra room. I thought that I would have a chance at getting in since it was summer and the challenge involved 6:30 am classes! Turns out there are 90 people in the challenge! Who knew? Anyway, a day after I applied, I was accepted. In fact, I got this email 3 times:

CONGRATULATIONS!! You have been accepted to our Warrior Challenge Rise & Shine!

Your Team name is Team Determination!

We are looking forward to meeting you and supporting you on having an awesome summer!

Go to satilife.com to order an IntenSatiDVD for a friend before July 2nd. We recommend intention and power. Send us your invoice number to verify you have ordered the dvd no later than July 2nd.

I was excited and figured they had enough room for me! I was extra excited when I found out Mari got in too! Mari and I planned our first class together last Friday morning. As I got on the subway at 5 am on Friday, I saw an email on my phone. It said:

Hi Melissa,

You were in a prior challenge.
Requirements:
Only open to non members who have never participated in previous challenges. If you despute it could you let us know how?

Thank you,
The Sati Life Team

This was sent to me at 12:30 am the night before the first class! I would have been fine with the whole thing if they had never accepted me in the first place. As soon as I got the acceptance email, I put my gym membership on hold! I also spent $23.00 for the intenSati DVD that I was required to purchase. They should have checked to see who was in previous challenges as soon as people applied. Instead they just accepted people right away and checked the night before. I was able to attend the kick-off class but my name was taken off the list after that. I emailed the Sati-Life Team and told them my situation. I explained that I put my gym membership on hold after they accepted me so now I was stuck with nowhere to workout for a whole month. I also said that I wanted to review the challenge on my blog and asked if there was any way they could make an exception. They still said no.

Luckily I still have some other options. Even though they rejected me, they were very nice about it. They gave me all of the instructor’s emails and said that I could try to get on their guest lists. As soon as I heard this, I emailed 3 different teachers and asked if I could be added to their guest list for classes this week. All of the teachers said yes! I was able to go last night and this morning. I am also on the list for Friday and Sunday morning. I am good to go this week but I am kind of worried about the rest of the weeks in July. I’m not sure how often they let you on a guest list. I will definitely email them again for next week though and give it a shot. Luckily I have a 10-pack of Core Fusion classes as a backup plan! I think I should be fine!

Wooh…I think I got a workout just from typing that story! Let’s move onto some eats from yesterday. I know this looks nasty….

…but it was delicious! That brown stuff is apple butter! It gave my mushroom omelet a deliciously, sweet flavor.

Lunch was another wrap!

Tuna, lettuce, and Eggland’s Best hard boiled eggs. I made a ton of hard boiled eggs last week so I’ve been trying to figure out new ways to use them!

As I mentioned before, I went to intenSati after work with Mari. We were both starving afterwards and Whole Foods happened to be down the street! I made a nice big salad of course.

It contained yucca fries, quinoa, kale, bok choy, sweet potatoes, beets, etc. Mari got some great looking sushi! I am getting it next time!

I always crave soft serve after Whole Foods so I finished the night with The Lite Choice!

I got half Vanilla and half Chocoleche with crunchies. It never gets old. I needed the cold dessert because my air conditioning is broken so I had to sleep in a 90 degree room. Luckily my dad is coming to New York later to save the day. He used to own an air conditioning business so I am good to go! Okay, I am off to go chug some more coffee! I’ve been awake for way too long!

1) Besides going to the gym, what other kind of workouts do you enjoy?

2) What is your favorite way to use hard boiled eggs?

End of the Week Reflections and a Winner

MissyMaintains — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:10:13 +0000

Hello and happy Friday! It’s “Summer Friday” which means I get out 2 hours early! That just means I get to begin my happy hour 2 hours early! More on that later Let’s start things off with the winner of the Wanchai Ferry frozen entree coupon and 2 tea sets!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

5
Timestamp: 2010-06-18 13:50:54 UTC

5: Kelsey: “I would rather eat fresh food over frozen but in a pinch lean cuisine makes some good meals. I really like the Santa Fe-style Rice and beans with some fresh salsa! YUM!”

Congrats AGAIN Kelsey!! Kelsey is on a little winning streak because she won my Core Fusion Lean & Toned giveaway too! Enjoy

The Lite Choice Deals!

Before I get into some food highlights from the week, I wanted to share two exciting deals with you!

*Head over to Living Social Deals to get 8 cups or cones of soft serve for just $14.00! That is a $28.00 value. Of course I already bought mine

*On Father’s Day bring your dad to TLC and enjoy a free cup or cone!

Okay, now I am craving soft serve. Maybe later! So I realized most of my posts have been just dinner recaps so I thought I’d show some of my breakfast and lunches from the past week.

Egg whites with feta cheese and mushrooms on whole wheat bread

Pineapple cottage cheese with bananas and iced coffee

Westside Market salad with tuna, broccoli, feta cheese, avocado, black beans

Chelsea Market salad with carrots, peppers, chickpeas, cauliflower, tofu, guacamole

This wrap was a newbie for me! It contained organic tempeh bacon, avocado, lettuce, and organic vegan mayonaise. It was really good but I couldn’t find any avocado! It was mostly just tempeh bacon and lettuce. It wasn’t until halfway through the wrap that I found one slice of avocado!

Still very good though! I love vegan mayo!

Last but not least….

I had to throw that one in there!

End of the Week Reflections

I felt like I was not very healthy this week and exhausted every day. Overall it looks like I ate pretty well during the day but I also drank a million calories in alcohol every night! I only made it to the gym twice this week but can still go Saturday and Sunday hopefully! I also don’t like that I ate almost every meal out including breakfast! On a positive note, I had so much fun every single night socializing with friends. It’s been an awesome birthday and is still not over yet! Being social and having good relationships is definitely key in staying healthy. I have a few goals for next week:

Make it to the gym at least 4 times during the week.
Run a 5K. Yes, I have my first 5K next week! I did not really train for it but am pretty sure I can make it if I run really slow. I don’t care about my time but I just don’t want to stop and walk! Maybe I can squeeze one run in this weekend just to be sure.
Go to bed by 11:00 Monday through Thursday. I basically lived on coffee this week since I went to bed at 12 or 1 every night! Not okay.
Bring breakfast and lunch to work 4 out of 5 days of the week. I spent way too much money this week just because I never made it to the supermarket at the beginning of the week to stock up on food.
Make dinner instead of going out to eat at least 3 nights next week. This one is hard because I don’t like to turn down happy hours but I need to save money. Eating at home is always healthier too.

That looks good for now! Next Friday I will look back at my goals and see how I did! Hopefully I will feel a little better! I am not setting any weekend goals right now because I already know what this weekend entails..lots of drinking! Tonight is half-priced margaritas and tomorrow is an afternoon open bar party on a rooftop! Wooh wooh!

1) What is one goal you have for next week?

2) What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Weekly Workout Roundup

MissyMaintains — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:42:33 +0000

Happy Friday! I’ve had quite the day already! It all started when I woke up at 5:40 for Core Fusion. I made it out the door by 6:05 and thought I’d make it on time for the 7:00 am class. My train finally came after waiting 10 minutes. Some days it comes right away but you never know at that time of morning. About half way there, we were stopped for another 10 minutes. They said a train was broken in front of us. I decided to hop off and get on another train which drops me off pretty far from Core Fusion. At 6:55 on the dot, I got off the subway, found a cab, and told him to speed to class! $8.00 later, I rushed into class 5 minutes late and found my spot next to Dori. It was very stressful since they charge you $35.00 if you miss a class. Luckily I only missed the warm up and part of the beginning plank.

The rest of the class was very good. Our favorite teacher, Kate, is always very challenging but extremely helpful. We have her scheduled for every single Friday from now on. After class, I stumbled to the subway. I have to take 2 subways to get back to work. I ran onto the 2nd subway and it was going in the wrong direction! I had get off and get back on again at some random stop. It was not fun walking up all of those extra subway stairs since my legs were incredibly sore from my week of gym classes! The worst part is that I did the same exact thing on Wednesday! I will never learn.

Exercise Class Reviews

I wanted to talk about some other gym classes I took this week! On Saturday I decided to try a class at Equinox called WillPower and Grace. The website describes the class as:

A cardiovascular fusion of calisthenics, dance principles, yoga and Pilates. You will use your own body weight as resistance to tone your muscles and practice exercises to enhance your posture and walk with more confidence.

It sounded very similar to Core Fusion so I knew I had to try it before my Equinox membership ended. I walked in and we were told to take off our shoes and socks. I don’t really like being barefoot in sweaty studios like that. Hello foot infections. I took my socks off anyway since everyone else did. I don’t even know how to describe this class. We did weird flowy movements and stretches the whole time. We did really fast squats andlunges. It was nothing like Core Fusion. I kind of could not wait for it to be over. It was a little too weird for me and it did not feel like a workout. Oh well.

There was a class right after called Cardio Sculpt.This one was right up my ally. We used weights, a step, and a weighted ball. We did fun cardio moves while holding the ball and then weight exercises while walking up anddown the step. I was drenched during this one. If I ever joined Equinox, I would take this one every weekend. I was glad I left the gym feeling like I actually worked out!

New Core Fusion Challenge!

Sunday was a nice rest day. Monday and Wednesday morning, I went to Core Fusion. I really like going Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays before work. It will be perfect for the new challenge I am taking on this month called Buddha Camp!

The challenge runs from Febuary 1st to March 31st. How it works:

Throughout this 8 week period, Exhale Spa will keep track of the average number of Core Fusion and Yoga classes you attend each week and reward your hard work with great incentives. Here’s what you can get!

3 classes

Core Fusion Cardio class pass
Exhale Mind Body Lounge Music CD
Choice of Core Fusion DVD
Gift bag of exhale products

4 classes:

Core Fusion Cardio class pass
Exhale Mind Body Lounge Music CD
Choice of GRN manicure or pedicure
Gift bag of exhale products

5 classes:

Core Fusion Cardio class pass
Exhale Mind Body Lounge Music CD
30 minute True Facial or Fusion Massage
Gift bag of exhale products

This will definitely motivate me to go at least 3 times a week! I like prizes After seeing Dori’s results from her first month of the challenge, I’d be happy doing Core Fusion every day! She lost 4.3% body fat and barely did any cardio! Amazing!

inTensati

This is the last week of my inTensati challenge! I went on Tuesday and Thursday and have my finale class on Sunday. I will do a more detailed summary of my likes and dislikes of the class once the challenge ends. Overall it was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed each class. I am definitely going to miss it but luckily they offer some free classes so I will be able to take it every now and then! I will take measurements on Sunday as well since I took them before this challenge. I don’t really notice my pants getting any looser but we’ll see!

Attention L.A Readers!

Patricia Moreno, the founder of inTensati, will be teaching the class for a month in L.A. She is looking for people willing to do the same challenge I did! All you have to do is commit to going to 3 classes a week! You can find more information
here!

That’s it for workouts! Tomorrow will be a much needed lazy rest day in the snow!

Eats!

I will just show some quick highlights of great meals I had the past 2 days.

Lunch on Wednesday was a salad with tuna, corn, kidney beans, broccoli, peppers, and a beet! Yes, I officially like beets!

I had these delicious hummus chips on the side!

Lunch yesterday and today was a turkey and cheese wrap with spinach and mustard on a flat-out wrap! I promised myself I’d start bringing my lunch more! Gotta pay those bills…

Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato chips on the side. <3

Dinner=the last of my cooking class leftovers!

Some sugar-free pudding for dessert! (I may have cheated and used the boxed kind).

Dinner last night was a salad with a Morningstar Farms Mushrooms Lovers burger, extra mushrooms, tomato, and American cheese! More sweet potato chips and hummus on the side

Dessert was grapes, Oikos, and chocolate chips! (And a little crumbled brownie left in the kitchen by my roommate).

Now I am off to lunch! Hope everyone has a great Friday!

1) Any plans for the superbowl?

2) What is your favorite way to eat grapes?

Don’t forget to enter my Teather Giveaway!

Friends and Family Weekend!

MissyMaintains — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:01:08 +0000

Good Morning! I was about to say Happy Monday but luckily it is Tuesday! Yay! I will recap back to Saturday!

My parents came to visit for my sister’s birthday. We went to a restaurant called Vynl and I got the best vegetable goat cheese wrap ever! We went to a bar after and watched the football game for a little while. I left early so I could meet Dori and Melanie for dinner! We went to a restaurant on the Upper East Side called Merchants!

Dori and I both got 2 Lychee martinis. They were so good there…very strong!!

I have to show you Dori’s soup since it was so pretty!

It was Roasted Tomato and Fennel Soup. I tried some and it was delicious! I would definitely order it next time.

I got the Goat Cheese Salad with Peppercorn Crusted Tuna.

The salad contained arugala, blood oranges, warm goat cheese “croutons” and red beet vinaigrette. I thought I hated beets but I loved the little chunks of beets in the salad! The goat cheese balls were delicious too of course!! The 3 of us don’t get to hang out too often so we had a great time catching up!

Sunday

I woke up at 8:30 for no reason and my gym class was not till 12:15 so I decided it would be a good idea to eat breakfast! Normally I would just have a small snack but 3 hours is enough time to digest!

I made 1 egg and 1 egg white with mushrooms and Laughing Cow on a flat out wrap. I had a Click Espresso protein drink as well since I was very tired!

I went to my sister’s apartment in the city and she took me to her new gym, Club H. It was very pretty and new inside! Everyone was extremely friendly too! We took Reboundingclass first. I liked it a lot more than the one at Equinox. The teacher was fun and nice and he played great house music. I think I was more familiar with the moves this time so it was easier for me. I also liked that we used weights for some of the class. We did abs while laying on the trampolines at the end. It was a great workout!

We decided to stay for his next class, Abs, Back, and Butt. We kept our rebounders and weights but also got a body bar, a ball and sliders. We started out with the sliders under our feet. We did planks while holding onto the trampoline and had to slide our feet back and forth. It was extremely challenging! I was drenched after 5 minutes of these moves. We layed on the trampolines and did abs with the ball between our legs. My ball was too huge so I couldn’t use it for that section. We did a ton of legs moves while lifting our feet the way we do in Core Fusion! We did all kinds of other crazy moves for 45 minutes! It was a great class. I burned 350 calories in rebounding and 250 in the abs class.

We were both starving after so we went to Whole Foods!

I made a delicious salad. It had salmon, edamame, mushrooms, kale, sprout salad, baked tofu, seeweed salad, and cucumbers. I had some popchips on the side!

I hung out at my sisters apartment for the rest of the night and played online. Eventually we ordered dinner from Baja Fresh.

We split a whole wheat burrito with beans, grilled chicken, and avocado. We had some salad and wine on the side! It was yummy. We made really random dessert plates. Don’t ask.

I got hungry a few hours later once I got home so I had a little midnight snack of grapes, a Vitatop, and a few chocolate chips. Oh and I ran out of whipped cream

I went to another gym class this morning but it was not fun. I will save that for tomorrow! I will leave you with Daisy!

Don’t forget to enter to win a free cup or cone to The Lite Choice!
Also be sure to check out their $40 Gift Certificate Giveaway!