Thing I’ve Never Tried #6: Running Around the Park
So, I’ve tried this now. But I still have not achieved it. Haha. I ran up the east side of Prospect Park and was feeling a bit winded by the time I reached the top (only 1 mile into my 3.5 mile trek), so I instead decided to just turn around and run back home. In retrospect, I realize I was winded because the first leg of my journey was straight uphill. Running home was MUCH easier, so I swung a right at Empire Rd and ran around my neighborhood before heading home, bringing my grand total to 3.1 miles.
I could have easily done the park if I had just followed through. But I’m definitely still satisfied with what I did achieve. Last time I tried to run outside, I made it about .05 miles before deciding it was too hard and just walking back home.
And as for the park, there’s always tomorrow!
How about that beautiful spring weather!
Thing I’ve Never Tried #5: Vegetarianism
In the spirit of trying things I’ve never done before, and continuing to challenge my body in new and exciting ways, this past week (Monday through Sunday) has been No-Meat Week. I decided to see what it would be like to live as a vegetarian for a week, and, surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
The full menu for the week will be listed below, but first a few pics of some of the things that I tried.
I made this meatless meatloaf the first day of the experiment and tried to make it last all week. It was packed with protein: walnuts, whole grain cereal, eggs. After eating leftovers of this for a couple of days, I seriously gained a solid five pounds (which I have since taken back off, thankfully). It was a delicious dish. Next time I make meatless meatloaf, however, it will contain more mushrooms or beans, and fewer nuts! The side dish is brown rice with squash, zucchini and carrots. This was made on a leftover night. The original side was a spinach salad with various mixings.
Potato soup: This came a few days into the experiment. I undoubtedly could have made a healthier soup alternative, but this was cheap (and I ended up being kind of broke this week) and very easy to make. And tasty! I’ll probably finish this bad boy off tomorrow for lunch.
I was also hoping to make a seitan dish at some point, but timing and finances did not work to my advantage.
One night, I decided to have breakfast for dinner: egg-white omelet with spinach, feta, and red peppers. Toast w/ peanut butter and plum jam, and blueberries. Very yummy.
And finally, my one vegetarian dish while dining out:
We had our monthly Sushioke tonight, and I had to improvise from the menu for my last night of vegetarianism. On the left, a sweet potato roll (tempura style) and on the right, an avocado honey nut (or something like that) roll. SUPREMELY delicious. From a restaurant in Gramercy called The Loop.
Now that the week has ended, I can’t say my opinion about vegetarianism has really changed. It was actually pretty easy to do without meat for a week—except for Saturday night, when I was presented with a buffet of free foods, including a meat tray, and almost dove headfirst into it—but even then it was more about the meat being conveniently available to me. I by no means feel a desire to go without meat for the rest of my life, but it was nice to get an idea of what other sources of protein are available to me. And because my meals tended to be less calorie-dense, I also made it a priority to snack throughout the day, which I think will be helpful as I move forward and try to keep my metabolism consistently high.
Ultimately, I’m very glad I gave this a try, and I definitely plan to continue experimenting with vegetarian dishes and recipes in the future. And, of course, my menu for tomorrow already has meat on it: grilled shrimp. But with a healthy side of rice and mixed vegetables!
After the jump, my menu for No-Meat Week:
Thing I’ve Never Tried #4: Poker Night!
My friend Paul treated a small group of friends to a yummy Greek dinner (and at least three bottles of wine) Saturday night, and then took us all back to his bosses’ giant four-story townhouse on the Upper West Side to play some poker. I think I’ve played five-card draw and Blackjack before (maybe?), but this was my first attempt at Texas Hold ‘Em. And I have to say, I was pretty proud of myself.
At one point, I had almost all of the $25 chips!
Needless to say, I ended up with none of them by the end of both games. =/
Thing I’ve Never Tried #3: Cooking Paella
Turkey sausage, shrimp, tomatoes, peppers and onions, lots of spices and LOTS of hot sauce. Yes, it was *amazingly* delicious. Thanks for asking.
Other new things I did on my 24th birthday:
- One-hour massage from a Chinese lady. Very good, though I wish she had crawled up and down my back and tried just a tiny bit harder.
- Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA.
- Grown-up yoga. Much more difficult than my little fundamentals class, but very physically and, strangely enough, spiritually rewarding. I even Ommed!
Thing I’ve Never Tried #2: Hosting a Joint Birthday Party
My friend Nicole and I closed down a restaurant in Williamsburg last weekend for a private birthday dinner with a select group of our closest friends. The folks at Arepa Arepa were fantastic. We all dined on our choice of arepas, some delicious soups (especially the black bean and the mushroom!), tres leches birthday cake, and all the alcoholic beverages we could bring (the place is currently BYO).
(there’s a cake in there somewhere)
It was a great meal with great friends followed by a party at newly discovered, potentially favorite bar Heather’s in the East Village. So glad to see a bunch of old friends and co-workers I never run into anymore.
Can’t wait to see what’s in store until my next birthday!
Thing I’ve Never Tried #1: Yoga
I joined Equinox late last year in an effort to shape up my body after months of crash dieting. I’m paying out the ass for the membership, but so far I am in love with it!
Today after work, I took my first yoga class. It was a level one fundamentals class, crowded, natch, with a slew of people trying to keep their own New Year’s resolutions. The experience was incredible. I never imagined my body would be so bendy. Now if I could just muster up the courage to “ommmm” with the rest of the class. Next time. Next time.
