And now a word from somebody else

Just got back last night from New York – another super inspiring weekend at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Once I have time to let it all soak in I can't wait to share with you all some of the things I learned from Sally Fallon. (Are any of you already into raw milk?) Aside from school, I also had a great meal with an old friend at Gusto Organics near Union Square. It wasn't cheap, but the beef was grass-fed and the beet-parsnip soup was delicious.

Alas, I haven't even had time to unpack and it's already Monday and back to work. So here's a video I'm sharing with you until I get to writing a full post of my own! I'm a big fan of Mark Bittman already because of his cookbook How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Enjoy!

There's no place like home, especially for meals

Lately I've been a bit of a gypsy going back and forth to New York for my weekends of school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. It's ironic that during these weekends I'm forced to eat some of my least healthy meals, often while riding on a long bus ride! Not exactly the loving home cooking that is recommended...

Sometimes I do a really good job of finding real food. Sometimes I cave to whatever is available. The way I see it, every meal is an experiment. Here are some of my very scientific discoveries!

Pictured above, top left:
This was a surprisingly good Harvest Rice Bowl from Au Bon Pain that I ate on the bus ride down to New York. Have you been to Au Bon Pain? As food court food goes, Au Bon is one of my favorites. There are a few vegetarian options and this salmon curry rice bowl had brown rice and no dairy of any kind. Pretty sweet.
Meal grade: B

Pictured above, top right:
This meal I'm very proud of. Using Yelp.com (a fab resource) I hunted down the tiny Green Symphony market and found myself amidst a buffet of all natural dinner choices. All the ingredients were listed, making choosing easy. I went with some kale, beansprouts, chickpeas, and a turkey meat hawaiian meatball. Random! But it was a great meal costing only $5.50.
Meal Grade: A

Pictured above, bottom left:
I've written about Souen before so just let me reiterate how much I enjoy their food! The thing about eating a macrobiotic meal is that you know you are going to get an excellent variety of real, whole food. In this case I went with their Planet Platter and a side of pickles. No fear of scary sugar/fat laden sauces or anything that would upset my stomach. Score!
Meal Grade: A+

Picture above, bottom right:
Ok, ok. I had this awhile ago but I need to confess. During the holidays the only place open at the highway rest stop was McDonalds. I was curious about this Big N' Tasty burger...seemed like a stab at a slightly healthier burger option. Turns out they just stick an extra large piece of lettuce on it. Way to go, Mickey D's!
Meal Grade: D


When you travel, how do you handle food on the go?

Harmony on a NYC dinner plate

I've been meaning to write about my trip to New York a few weekends ago, and maybe now is the perfect time since most blogs are all about sweet potatoes and turkey basting today. While we all prepare for Thanksgiving, here's something I was thankful for: An awesome, healthy meal in the middle of NYC at about $8/plate.

So let me back up. I went down to New York because I'm obsessed with something called Journey Dance, or maybe some of you have heard of a version simply called Yoga Dance. It's a chakra-shaking dance party that admittedly sounds awfully weird, but whatever, I love it. How often do you get to dance like mad – minus an impending hangover, late night out, or a wedding DJ? Anyway, I went to New York for a Journey Dance workshop at the Jivamukti School and it was a lot of fun. Although honestly a lot of girls there seemed to be aspiring dancers who may have confused this workshop with an audition. But at any rate, right around the corner from Jivamukti, Max and I found a sweet macrobiotic restaurant called Souen.

Pictured up top is the vegetarian meal I got: Chestnut Polenta with winter veggies. And below is a picture of Max with his hardcore macrobiotic plate, all perfectly balanced (the menu said) for a temperate climate.


This place was the real deal, with kanten desserts and grain coffee. And to top it off, the prices were swell. $13 for my special, and $8 for Max's plate. I heart Boston, but no restaurant like this would survive here. Souen has been around since 1971 and the place was packed with people young and old.

Now enough of this restaurant talk, we all have homemade goods to whip up. So get to it and have a happy Thanksgiving!