A Weight Loss Week

I am intent on having a week that ends in weight loss this week! I weighed myself last Monday and will check in this Monday to see how I'm doing. I have a couple of things coming up this weekend that could hurt my efforts, but I'm going to do my best:

- Night out with friends on Friday: I'm going to work out in the morning, and do my best to take it easy with drinks/food. If we are sharing food, I'll try to suggest a healthy option and fill my plate up with that.
- Bridal shower on Saturday: my first friend's bridal shower! I'm so excited for it, but have no idea what the food/drink situation will be. Luckily it will be just one meal, so I'll make sure to eat a healthy breakfast and dinner. Saturday is my rest day so I won't be working out.
- St. Paddy's Day on Sunday: I signed up for a 5k to run in the morning! I know everyone is going to be drinking a lot/eating a lot all day so I just have to decide what I want to do. Part of me wants to take it easy and drink but a bigger part of me really wants to get back on a roll with losing weight.

I've been doing great with my eating this week and have been following my food plan to the T. I can't believe how many salads I've been eating lately. Here is some of my food from this week:

Turkey, tomato and avocado wrap, fruit & veggies

Mexican pizza!

Grilled chicken ceasar salad + fruit

Same lunch as above + a cheese stick

Chicken sausage, roasted red peppers, roasted cauliflower & broccoli, a bit of mac n' cheese (Tom made some for himself and I couldn't resist)

Cheese omelette, apple with Teddie's peanut butter drizzle

Same lunch as above

Tonight I'm going to a gym class and I can't decide which one (Tom has already responded to this with #whitewhine and #firstworldproblems. I agree but this is my blog so whatever)! Here are my options:

1. Body Sculpt at 5:30 - I can never go to this class but I could tonight since I'm working from home:
Pros: I like strength classes, good workout (maybe), would be done working out early
Cons: Don't know the teacher, am already pretty sore, would have to be ready to go in 10 minutes

2. Spin at 6:30
Pros: Love the teacher (my Tuesday class teacher), great workout and would count as cross, would be done working out fairly early
Cons: My butt may be sore for the week, haven't spun in a long time and I'm nervous, class might be too full and then I'd have to find something else to do

3. Cardio Dance at 7:30
Pros: FUN! Great music, know the teacher, decent cross workout
Cons: Easiest workout of the three, teacher lacks energy, would get out late, might not be enough people to actually hold the class

At this point I'm pretty sure I'm gonna try for spin. Hopefully my butt will be okay!

Alden & Harlow - Harvard Square

Tom's birthday week ended with a visit from his parents, and I was excited I'd get to be part of another birthday dinner! Tom decided on Alden & Harlow, a new restaurant in Harvard Square that opened in the former Casablanca space (a restaurant I never got around to checking out). The chef, Michael Scelfo, was the executive chef at Russell House Tavern. I really like RHT, but it isn't on my "favorites" list. Still, I was really excited about the opening of Alden & Harlow and thrilled when Tom picked it for dinner.

The restaurant can be difficult to find -- it is underground and has some subtle signage pointing to a staircase. It was very dark inside, but I really liked how the restaurant looked and felt. It was simultaneously cozy and modern, with a huge wraparound bar, open kitchen and exposed ceiling. I didn't snap any photos, but I was a fan!

The menu at Alden & Harlow is based around creative small plates made with local ingredients. They recommend 2-3 plates per person, so our party of five shared 12. We started with some drinks -- beers all around despite a nice cocktail menu. With our drinks we were brought a plate of pickled green beans. I actually loved them and was happy to have gotten the beans versus bread.

The food started rolling out FAST! I was actually shocked at how quickly our first round of plates arrived. In the first round we ordered:

Salt cod & turnip brandade, chick pea, fennel cracker, pickled mustard seeds.

Washington state mushrooms, 60˚ egg, pine nut crumble.

Pickled Verrill Farm corn pancakes, buttermilk, maple, shishito peppers, topped with popcorn.

Scallop crudo, cauliflower kimchee, chili oil, uni aioli.

Chicken fried local rabbit, celery, apple, blue cheese, chili oil

My favorites in the first round were the scallop crudo and the mushrooms. Luckily no one in Tom's family would eat the crudo, so the plate was basically mine and Tom's to split. The mushrooms were a hit all around, and I may have been scooping up the mushroom puree at the bottom of the bowl with a spoon.

The second round came out quickly after we finished the first round of food. Honestly, I would have liked a longer break or for the food to have been broken up into more rounds. I didn't take any photos during this second course (oops!) but here's what we ordered:

House made rye pasta, confit chicken thigh, crispy skin, fig and liver butter.

Island Creek oyster gratin, uni toast, creamed leeks & guanciale.

Crispy Berkshire pork belly, Anson Mills grits, roasted kumquat, bergamot cure.

Seared Hudson Valley foie gras, spiced fruit, sherry vinegar, warm crumpet (only photo from this round).

My favorite during this round was the gratin, but the pasta and the foie gras were close seconds! I'm generally not a huge fan of pork belly, but I did like the flavor in this dish!

For our last round, we ordered:

Creekstone Farms New York strip, marrow, fennel, blood orange (one 8 oz and one 16 oz).

Grilled lamb sirloin, cocoa rub, grilled carrot mash, ramp puree.

I was a big fan of both of these dishes. I especially liked scooping the marrow onto the bread, adding a piece of steak, and topping it with some blood orange. Yum!

Even though we were all stuffed, we couldn't leave without one final birthday dessert. We ordered the smoked chocolate bread pudding with Jacobsen salt ice cream and 5 spoons. This was super delicious and a great way to end the meal. The smokey flavor almost made it taste like there was bacon mixed in!

Overall I really enjoyed dinner at Alden & Harlow. I'm so glad I got to experience the restaurant in a group so that we could taste a large portion of the menu. I would definitely go back for dinner or a drink at the bar if I'm in Harvard Square!

Alden & Harlow is located at:
40 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 864-2100

DietBet Month 3

DietBet month 3 hasn't been a total wash, but it has been pretty bad. I'm weighing in tomorrow and I know there's no way in hell I'm making my goal.

Losing weight is hard for me. As much as I like fruits and vegetables and healthy stuff, I also love eating out and trying new foods (healthy or not). I ate out A LOT this month and it really made a huge difference in my ability to lose weight. But it's not like I'm going for secret late night drives to Burger King. I'm going to some of the best restaurants in Boston and when I'm there, I actually want to try things (all the things!).

This month started with the big Valentine's weekend, then I spent a week at home in NY where I pretty much ate my feelings in the form of bagels, pizza and deli sandwiches. I came back from that week a few pounds heavier. There were 14 days until my weigh in was due and I really wanted to get back on track, but out of those 14 days I had 9 nights of eating out. Not exactly a recipe for success.

But I did what I could, I ate well during the day and tried when possible to make a healthier choice. I kept drinking to a minimum and at least attempted to keep my portions in check. I worked out hard and as often as I could. I've lost the weight I put on in NY, plus a bit, but am still not near my goal for this month. 

So, I'm looking forward and I'm feeling confident. This next month has a lot less going on, and I plan to make each day count with my eating. I'm going to continue to schedule my workouts first, then make plans around that schedule. I meal planned for this week and went shopping on Sunday. Here's what's on the menu for the week (I only meal plan M-F and then wing it with whatever is left over the weekend):

Breakfast:

1. Oatmeal + fruit x 2

2. Greek yogurt + fruit x 2

3. Eggs + fruit

Lunch:

1. Turkey, tomato and avocado wrap + fruit and veggies x 2

2. Grilled chicken ceasar salad + fruit x 3

Dinner:

1. Chicken sausage w/ roasted broccoli and cauliflower x 2

2. Mexican pizza x 2

3. Dinner @ trivia (I go to a gym class at 6:30 then straight to trivia and don't get home until 10)

So that's the plan for this week. I really want to get back on track with the DietBet and this is the month to do it!!

Half Marathon Training Week 2

Monday, 3/3
Long run: 3.5 miles (44 minutes)

Since I skipped my long run on Sunday I did it on Monday instead. Since I'm starting from the bottom my first run was "only" 3.5 miles, but that's still tough for me. I took a number of walk breaks and finished in 44 minutes. I was cramping up a bit, but since it wasn't debilitating I was able to push through it. I can't wait until these "shorter" runs are just easier.

Tuesday, 3/4
Total Body Strength class: 60 minutes

Wow, what a difference from last week. I felt so great during this class! In every move I felt confident and strong. It's been crazy hot in the fitness room the past few weeks, so I wore a tank top for the first time to this class and could see my arm, shoulder, and back muscles in the mirror. Quite the motivator!!

Wednesday, 3/5
Yoga class: 60 minutes

This is the best yoga practice I've had thus far. It is pretty unbelievable what 6 months of strength training did for me here. The last time I took a yoga class was 12/18 and the difference was so crazy! My balance, strength and flexibility had all improved tenfold. We do a lot of balance work in the Tuesday class and I could really notice a different in the standing poses. The class was small and the instructor asked us if there were any muscles or poses we wanted to focus on. I was also super tight from class the day before so I asked her if we could stretch out our shoulders and triceps. We used a rope to get some deep stretches in and it was amaaaazing.

Thursday 3/6
2.5 mile run on treadmill: 29:30
Strength: 2 sets of 10 reps each

Plank (30 sec)
Side plank (30 sec each side)
Russian twist
Back extension with dumbbell hold
Squats with dumbbell press
Bent over rows
Plank on hands - knee to elbows
Hip raises
Tricep kickbacks
Lunge with overhead hold
Balance exercise (leg at knee height and then in scale)
Bicep Curls

Good workout. Not much more to say than that! Oh, I hate side planks.

Friday, 3/7
Rest!

Saturday 3/8
Long run: 4 miles (50:45)

I decided to do my long run on Saturday because it was gorgeous out and I needed to take advantage! I'm running a 5k in Southie next weekend so I decided to run the route. It is SO hilly but I actually liked it. I walked up most of the big hills and then would just fly down them. I ended up finishing the 5k in about 38 minutes, then I struggled along to finish out the last mile.

Sunday 3/9
Cross: 35 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes on the stationary bike, 20 minutes walking, squats and lunges

After a tough week of workouts I was really looking forward to an easy day of cross training while reading my book. For me cross training is not about pushing myself, it's just doing easy cardiovascular activity for 60+ minutes. I find it more enjoyable to switch it up between cardio machines rather than just stick to one. Whatever works, right?

Friday Five

Five Things I Can't Stop Thinking About:
1. Warm weather
2. Getting a new phone
3. Going back to blonde

In South Africa at the height of my blondeness...thanks to constant sun exposure.

On the T on the way to graduation!

4. When will my nose stop being itchy?
5. I have a lot of doctor appointments to make :(

Five Things I'm Doing This Weekend:
1. Taking a cooking class at ArtEpicure tonight!
2. Hanging out with Tom's parents
3. Some sort of cross training on Saturday
4. Long run on Sunday
5. Going to South Bay shopping center?

Five Blogs I'm Loving Lately:
1. Happy or Hungry
2. The Hungry Runner Girl
3. STFU, Parents (serious LOLs with this one)
4. How Sweet It Is
5. The Dose of Reality (more LOLs)

Five Ways I'm Being Healthier:
1. Wearing my Nike Fuel Band again
2. Drinking 100 oz of water before the work day is over
3. Standing at my desk more often
4. Flossing! Remember my 2014 goals?
5. Planning workouts each week and following it as much as possible!

Five Pictures of Cute Animals (you're welcome):

On Salads

I used to be a big salad eater. At least a few times a week I would eat a salad for lunch, and almost every night would have a small salad with dinner. For the past two or three years though, I've been really anti-salad....hence the creation of my "snack" boxes with raw vegetables. I've realized that my aversion to salads is all about the dressing. I'm so sick of Italian and balsamic vinaigrette and don't really eat creamy dressings.

Well, guess what? I've eaten a salad 3 days in a row! The first was at Tom's (second) birthday dinner on Monday at the Franklin. Chicory salad with sqaush, apples and honey-thyme vinaigrette:

I ate it with some salmon tartare.

Side note: how good did Tom's burger look?

On Tuesday at trivia I ordered a cup of turkey chili and a garden salad, which was an enormous plate of mesculin greens, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Surprisingly, I wasn't hating it.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping at the gym and decided to grab a small salad to eat with dinner from the salad bar. Very simple:

I had it with a bowl of much craved pasta:

I'm going to try to incorporate salads back into my life. I think the few keys are: find dressings I don't hate and use them lightly, go heavy on the raw veggies I like (cucumbers, tomatoes, snap peas, etc.) and pair them with something else. I hate having a salad as a meal.

Asta - Back Bay

I get a lot of e-mails about new restaurants/endeavors in Boston. A LOT of e-mails.

About 6 months ago I started to see a new name coming up in a number of food-related articles and "best of" lists: Asta. I had never heard of Asta before, nor had I heard of the chef/owner Alex Crabb. After seeing that Asta was a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2014 and that the Boston Globe had awarded Chef Crabb the honor of "best new chef", I decided to add it to my long list of restaurants to try.

And here's what really drew me in, and what ultimately made me decide to book Tom's surprise birthday dinner at Asta:

"Right now, Asta might be the city’s best chef showcase. The bar faces directly onto the kitchen, offering an up-close view of Crabb and his team at work. The former L’Espalier sous chef serves nothing but tasting menus, which range from beautifully homey (three courses) to wonderfully creative (five courses) to all-out adventuresome (eight courses). Each illuminates Crabb’s talent from a different angle."

I made us a reservation at 7 o'clock on Saturday night and requested the chef's counter for our seats. I was a little nervous about this, as I sometimes find chef's counters can be a little invasive/awkward and stools make me uncomfortable in general. I was so excited when we arrived on Saturday and were taken to Asta's chef's counter. Instead of a bar right on top of the chefs, starting a few feet away two counters were angled toward the kitchen. There were four seats to a counter and we had a spectacular view of the all of the action and especially the plating area. It was so incredibly cool.

As soon as we sat down we were given some complimentary sparkling wine. Such a nice touch! Asta only offers tasting menus -- either 3, 5 or 8-courses with pescetarian and vegetarian options for the 5-course. What is unique to Asta is that diners in the same party can choose whatever option they'd like. With every tasting menu Tom and I have done we've had to order the same option -- not a terrible thing when the food is so delicious, but I can see how Asta's options would be really appealing to a lot of different people. After all, not everyone wants 8 courses (I can't imagine why)! We decided to order both the 5-course and 8-course options since they featured entirely different menus. We also, of course, opted in for the additional foie gras course. Who can say no to foie gras??

Our meal started with an amuse bouche: house made ritz cracker with jam and lardo. It was a perfect, decadent first bite.

While we waited for our courses to arrive, we ordered some beers. I was happy that Asta had a nice beer list and went with the Rochefort Trappist. Tom ordered the Orval.

The kitchen did a fantastic job timing our meal. I was unsure of how they would handle bringing out our meal since we had mixed the two tasting options, but they really did a perfect job! I'm going to describe the dishes as we ate them, but oftentimes two of the plates came out together.

First plate: Warm oyster with turnip and peppers. I always love a good oyster, but I definitely prefer raw, cold oysters over warm ones. While I enjoyed this in the moment, looking back this was probably the most forgettable course of the evening.

Second plate: Cauliflower, trout roe, mushrooms, lemon sauce, fried capers. I didn't expect to love a dish centered around cauliflower, so I was shocked out how much I enjoyed this. It was flavorful and the fried capers gave the dish a fun, crunchy, salty pop.

Third plate: Salt cod on a toasted crostini with carrot slaw, mustard seed, micro greens and olive oil. Since our trip to Iceland Tom has been just a bit obsessed with salt cod. I think this dish may have given Iceland a real run for its money! I also really enjoyed this dish, but it totally stole the show for Tom. One might even say the cod was so good it was tear-inducing!

Fourth plate: Monk fish in a bacon broth with brussels sprouts and pickled mustard seed. This was one of my favorite courses of the night. The bacon broth was amazing -- I was literally spooning it into my mouth! The fish was perfectly cooked and I even really enjoyed the pickled mustard seeds!

Fifth plate: Beef heart, bitter greens, pickled pumpkin, sunflower butter and seeds. Probably the most creative combination of the evening, the beef heart was delicious. I would never dream to pair it with pumpkin, sunflower, and greens, but that's why I'm not a professional chef! The bitter greens were just a little too bitter for my palette, but overall this was an enjoyable, surprising dish.

Sixth plate: Braised celery, chicken skin, black gnochi, duck confit. Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to the star of the meal. This signature dish is like a deconstructed chicken soup. Chef Crabb came over to our seats right as we were given this plate and I noticed that our black gnocchi were missing! He immediately went back to the kitchen and whipped us up a little plate with the gnocchi plus some extra chicken skin (that's why you see two separate plates below). But seriously, this dish was heaven. I'd go back to Asta just for this plate!

Photo taken after we cut it up, it looked much prettier!

Doesn't look very appetizing but this is a plate of serious goodness!

Seventh plate: Roasted celery root, apples, black truffle. This was another standout dish. I didn't expect to love the celery root but this was a sweet, refreshing and exciting course.

We were also served some doughy bread with butter during this course. We each got our own little plate

Eighth plate: Seared foie gras, huckleberry, gingerbread and citrus. As expected, I loved the foie gras course. Having foie is such a treat, and it goes perfectly well with fruit and citrus. I had to be careful with my bites because the gingerbread could easily overtake the flavor of the foie gras if it was too large of a piece. This cinnamon and citrus notes on this dish almost made it feel like dessert!

Ninth plate: Crispy duck with lentils and fermented rutebaga. The duck was another excellent plate. The lentils had just enough spice, and the duck skin was so incredibly crispy (while watching the chefs cook we were shocked at how long the duck was on the grill on one side). The duck was definitely one of Tom's favorites of the night.

Tenth plate: beef with kale and kale foam. Although the picture is dark, this dish tasted as bright as it looked. The beef was cooked perfectly, and I absolutely loved the kale foam. Tom wasn't overly impressed by this dish, but it was one of my favorites.

Eleventh Plate: Roasted sunchoke, black mushroom puree, thyme oil. This dish was small but packed a huge punch of flavor. I'm pretty sure I've never eaten sunchoke before, so I was impressed out how delicious it was.

Twelfth Plate: Carrot soup with coconut. We were both skeptical when we saw this on the menu. Carrot soup with coconut? Yuck. Once again, we were blindsided by how delicious this little dessert was. We both happily slurped it down.

Thirteenth Plate: Black sesame cream puff with smoke maple syrup. It was so fun to break open this cream puff! The cream was delicious, and the flavor reminded me a bit of the dessert I had at Kitchen Kibitz last month. Tom favored this dessert, while I favored the next one...

Fourteenth Plate: Pavlova with passion fruit, blood orange and olive oil.  Yum! This was such a refreshing way to end the meal. The citrus was delicious and paired perfectly with the pavlova. Loved it!!

Which the check, we were given some signature sweet treats. How cute is that little rabbit cracker?

Besides the incredible food, what I really loved most about Asta was sitting at the chef's counter. I truly felt like we were a part of the team. The front of house lady and our server (who also is a co-owner), the sommelier, and all of the chefs were constantly interacting with us. While the service didn't compare to the likes of Menton or Clio, I really felt like the experience was a unique one.

Case in point: as we finished up Chef Crabb came over to me and Tom to ask how we enjoyed the meal, say goodbye, etc. He asked us if we wanted something (I couldn't hear what) and ran back into the kitchen. I had no idea what was going on, and was surprised when he came back with 3 glasses and a bottle of Fernet. As he poured us shots, he told us people often end a meal with a minty gulp of Fernet. I had no choice but to take it. We clinked glasses and cheersed to an excellent meal. It was such a treat to share that moment with the chef, one I'll never forget!