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A Few Healthy Places Worth a Mention

10/29/2014

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Recently, I have had a chance to enjoy some really delicious, healthy and decently priced foods at a few different restaurants. 


Now, I am not a huge "go out to dinner" type person, for the simple reason that more frequently than not, I am not certain what exactly is in my food. I like knowing what I am ingesting and therefore would rather cook my own food in my kitchen with fresh, clean ingredients. But going out to dinner with friends and family can always be a relaxing experience so treating yourself sometimes, and yes, I do treat myself too, is nice.


That being said, there are a few restaurants that I really like going out to because I can remain confident that the food is pretty healthy and scrumptious too. 


The three that I am going to talk about in this blog are: Strong Hearts, Ashkers and Squeeze Juicery. 


Strong Hearts, located in Syracuse, N.Y., is a 100% vegan restaurant. The fun part is that you could bring your non-vegan friends because they can still find grilled cheese, stir fry and even milkshakes on the menu. Their milkshakes are to die for. Using almond milk, fruits and various other vegan alternatives, that rich, creamy taste is not skipped out on. 


Last week when I visited Strong Hearts, I ordered the Fall Tofu Scramble with sweet potatoes, squash, roasted kale, roasted pumpkin seeds and a hint of turmeric for that beautiful, fall-ish, yellow tint. 
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While my dish was phenomenal, my friend's dish was amazing too. She ordered a vegan big mac! Yep, like the Big Mac you can order at McDonalds but a lot healthier. Oh, and she got a nice helping of homemade french fries with a side of organic ketchup, as a delicious bonus!
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Next on the list is Ashkers. Located in Buffalo, N.Y., Ashkers has a wide variety of food options from healthy wraps to soups, omelets and fresh juices and smoothies! I have been to Ashkers twice, as of last week, and it has been phenomenal both times. Last time, I ordered a vegetable omelet with a fresh pressed green juice at 9:30 p.m. because I wanted something light and full of protein. Oh boy did I get just that. 
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The second trip to Ashkers, last week, I ordered garbanzo bean, mushroom and kale soup with another vegetable omelet but this time with a side of home fries, and a juice called "Sweet Pumpkin," with ginger and carrots. I'm going to tell you that these home fries were like anything I've ever had before. Literally like cut up potato wedges, lightly baked to perfection and served with ketchup. Not too greasy. Just the way I like my potatoes. It isn't at too many restaurants that you get potatoes like these!  
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Oh, and another fun little thing about Ashkers is that if you want to drink water, they offer four different kinds to choose from, each with a special fruit or vegetable inside: strawberry, lemon, cucumber and watermelon. It's a hard decision, but they are all great and give boring old water a fun twist.


So, the final restaurant that I am going to discuss is Squeeze Juicery. Although not a typical restaurant, they do still offer lunch but they are known for their fresh pressed juices, smoothies and shots. By shots, I do not mean alcoholic shots, but I am talking about wheatgrass, ginger and lemon shots. 

This past weekend, my friend and I agreed we'd give wheatgrass shots a try. After being warned about their "greeniness" and distinct taste, I was still so ready to finally try this. The ladies at the counter gave me a plate with a shot of sparkling water, the wheatgrass shot and a small piece of fresh pineapple to help clear my palate afterwards. 
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I can admit to you that, yes, the shot smelled like grass out of the ground, but it did not taste "dirty." I liked it. It went down smooth and even had a sweet aftertaste. I surprised myself at my liking to it! 


Incase you are not aware, a 1 ounce shot of wheatgrass contains 2 lbs of greens and with that comes tons of nutrients, minerals and vitamins that help to detoxify and nourish your body. I felt great after taking the shot and could definitely make that a regular thing!


So, if you are ever visiting the Western or Central New York areas, be sure to check out these great places. 


Have you ever been to a 100% vegan restaurant near your hometown or while on vacation? How about downing a wheatgrass shot? Tweet me your healthful experiences! 
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Bulu Box Surprise

10/22/2014

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Happy Hump Day, everyone! Half the week is gone and that means only two days left until the weekend! 

My week's been a little hectic, but when is my life ever not crazy? Rarely. Keeps me on my feet though, so I guess I can't complain too much.

I came home from class yesterday afternoon with a nice surprise sitting at my doorstep, my first Bulu Box! I signed up for a half off regular priced subscription through a friend's inspirational blog Eats and Exercise By Amber. I was browsing her blog page one day and saw a code to subscribe and thought I'd check it out! I'm so glad that I did! 


By now, or maybe even from the beginning of reading my blog, you're probably sitting there wondering what the heck a Bulu Box even is. Let me fill you in. A Bulu Box is a monthly subscription service where you're sent (with free shipping), a small box filled with healthy foods and supplements all tailored toward your personal goals. 


Whether your goal is to lose weight, bulk up, or just change your dietary habits to become more healthy, Bulu Box is a fun way to learn about new products and try them before you go out and purchase full-size, often expensive products/foods. 


I got my subscription for only $5.00/month. My personal reason for subscribing, aside from the unbeatable price, was to broaden my knowledge of healthy foods out there that I have yet to try. 


Given my health and nutrition passion, yet my restricted college budget, I thought this may be a fun and inexpensive way to try new foods and supplements. Not to mention that receiving mail is always an exciting time too!


So, in my first month's box, I received Nuvia Cafe Instant Coffee packets, Probium (probiotic supplements), Natrol SAM-e (a compound that may help maintain healthy and balanced emotions), Barlean's CoQ10 Swirl (a heart healthy swirl), BiPro Whey Protein Isolate packets and a MHP Fit and Lean Power Pudding Pack. 
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Aside from the great sample packets in the box, there are a few coupons to use for various products and a great description of each sample that is inside the box. 

I am so glad that I subscribed to Bulu Box and am not only excited to try all of my samples, but also looking forward to your thoughts and opinions on certain sample products you receive when you subscribe (which I really hope you do)!  

Who doesn't love surprises? Especially when it's food, and healthy food, meaning your body will love it too! :)


Do you have a Bulu Box subscription? Tweet me your Bulu opinions!
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My Little Bobby Flay

10/14/2014

2 Comments

 
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My younger brother, just 13-years-old, could become the next Bobby Flay—seriously. His creativity and love for cooking and recently baking, will take him very far. Cooking family dinners almost every night, and from-scratch apple pie, Jordan impresses me with his kitchen skills and extreme passion in his work. He spends a lot of time on Youtube, finding “how-to” videos for everything from correctly chopping an onion to deliciously breading chicken cutlets for Chicken Parmesan.

If you don’t find Jordan in the kitchen, you should search the golf course, the piano, the tennis court, hiding in his room learning new magic tricks or on his computer writing blogs about food for his sister! He’s quite a busy and talented boy!

Below, you will find his own blog piece that he willingly wrote for me about his latest recipe creation. He begged me to share his recipe on my blog to let others have fun with his delicacies.

Let me tell you, his Chicken Parmesan is an extremely good one too. 
  

I came up with this recipe and it is quite easy to make and also tastes great too! The key to great chicken parmesan is the tomato sauce. Without a great sauce, the whole dish just becomes not as flavorful or impressive. I realize that most people are sometimes in a rush and don’t have time to make sauce and will just purchase a ready-made sauce. STOP! It takes about an hour and a half to do; you can even make in a few days before and freeze it if you want. What I find most optimal is to quadruple the recipe for the sauce and use 1/2 of it for a pasta dish, ¼ of it for homemade pizza and the last quarter for the chicken parmesan. If you ever struggle with menu planning, there you go! Three dishes and you will already have the base for all of them by just making the sauce and freezing it! The chicken parmesan itself, such as breading the chicken, is the easiest part to me. Also, I listed in the sauce recipe that the pinch of sugar is optional; this is because the longer you let it cook, it gains more flavor. I hope you make my dish and enjoy! The recipe is listed below.

 

Tomato Sauce:

2 tsp of olive oil

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 diced sweet onion

1 28oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes

1 28oz. can of diced tomatoes

3 bay leafs

1 tsp of kosher salt

2 tsp of black pepper

Pinch of sugar (OPTIONAL)

Directions:

Add olive oil to large pot or Dutch oven and let heat up for a few minutes. Then add diced onion and garlic. Let sauce until translucent, but not browned. Next add both cans of tomato product. Then add the bay leafs, salt, pepper, and optional sugar. Stir until combined. Let simmer for 1 hour on low heat. About 30 minutes in, take the pan off the heat and remove the bay leafs. Using a hand blender, blend all of the tomatoes so it is still slightly chunky, but make sure there are no whole tomatoes remaining. Continue simmering and add bay leafs back in. Serve with chicken parmesan!

 

Chicken Parmesan

Tomato sauce (recipe above)

4 tbsp olive oil

4 -6 Chicken breasts

3 eggs, whisked

2 cups of panko bread crumbs

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese; shredded 

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees 

Split chicken breasts down the middle vertically, and then pound until thin. Sprinkle with S&P. Drench in egg mixture and then in panko. Heat olive oil in a large pan. When oil is hot, add chicken and brown on both sides. Move to a baking sheet and spray cooking spray on it. Then add chickens and top with tomato sauce and mozzarella and parmesan and put in the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking process. Serve with pasta. Enjoy!


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2 Comments

GUAC PLEASE!

10/8/2014

1 Comment

 
Extra lettuce. Brown rice. Black and pinto beans. Roasted veggies. Extra mild salsa. Cheese. GUAC PLEASE! 
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That's how I take my Chipotle. How do you build your burrito, salad, quesadilla or burrito bowl? 

Chipotle Mexican Grill is literally one of my most favorite fast-food, chain restaurants in existence. With so many locations all over the world (yes, the world), you can almost always find one nearby. 

When I studied in London last semester, there was a Chipotle right down the street from me! I was in heaven when I discovered that one! Even though it was far more expensive than the American Chipotle's, it was well worth the "extra pounds." 

My favorite way to run to Chipotle and grab dinner is in my Piece Apparel comfy sweatpants. Chipotle satisfied and comfy at the same time? That's me. 

Aside from the food aspect of Chipotle, I love their website. Everything is so easy to find on the homepage and the page "speaks" to us with fun language. Under "Chipotle Story" tab, there is a link called "Where Did we Come from?" 

I love their font choices and especially the fun and obvious Halloween changes (i.e. the added graphics). 

Another cool feature of the Chipotle website is the ability to place a pickup order online. My family takes advantage of this bonus feature all the time. So convenient and when you're in a hurry, it takes the waiting-in-line part out of the picking-up-dinner dilemma. 

Chipotle is just great in so many ways. From its website to its insanely delicious food, absolutely nothing should change.
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Fabulous Oprah Winfrey

10/2/2014

0 Comments

 
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Photo credit to: Newhouse.syr.edu 


Oprah Winfrey is an absolutely fabulous woman. That is how I am going to connect this blog post to my general health/fitness and staying fabulous theme. 

On Monday, September 29, Oprah came to my school-- Syracuse University. She came to dedicate the new $18 million renovation project to our Newhouse 2 building. 

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is a renowned communications school that is a part of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. I have always been a proud student of Newhouse, but now, I am an even prouder one after Monday's huge event. 

The media queen, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist, Oprah, has well earned her fame. I believe Oprah is the most influential woman in this world and inspires so many people to go out and be their best everyday regardless of what they have or don't have. 

Due to her years and years of TV presence, Oprah was asked to cut the ribbon for The Dick Clark Studios and Alan Gerry Center for Media Innovation on Monday. It seems fair that she, if anyone would be able to influence such an enormously packed crowd of Newhouse alums, current students, professors and city residents with her genuine words of wisdom. 

The renovations to Newhouse 2 include, among many other things, five state-of-the-art television recording studios. 

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Photo credit to: Newhouse.syr.edu

With the blazing hot sun beating down, under a crystal clear, blue sky, Oprah just lit up the outdoor stage where she spoke to the thousands of people. This feeling of excitement (that Oprah was a visible distance away from me and not on a TV screen) and driving force vibe swam through my body like no other when I saw her.

When she finally left SU, she made her way for a surprise visit to Syracuse's South Side, the Mary Nelson Youth Center. After meeting the supervisor of the Center and hearing all that this woman does with very little that she has, Oprah felt pity. She donated a $100,000 check out of the pure kindness of her heart. 

Wow. That is still the only word that creeps into my head whenever I stop and think about that true fact that Oprah made an inspirational appearance at my school. 

Oprah Winfrey is such a truly fabulous individual and I live by her morals and values each and everyday in my own life. I try to be the very best that I can be. This proves to me that being a happy and healthy person does not simply mean eating healthy and exercising properly, it goes beyond that. Giving to others less fortunate than you and acting as a role model is another healthy way of living that everyone should consider. 
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    Hi, I'm Sarah! Thanks for checking out my blog. I'm a recent Syracuse University graduate, working at a public relations agency in Downtown Buffalo. If I'm not blogging, you'll find me cooking, exercising, traveling, grabbing lunch with friends, running to Starbucks for that unsweetened iced greed tea with light ice or listening to country music while multitasking. :)



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