Keste=HEAVEN

    I will never eat another bite of pizza in New York unless I am doing so at Keste. I had my first Keste experience  last night. I am still in utter awe over the multitude of fresh, rich and satiating flavors that danced on my tongue bite by bite.  It was perfection! My cousin, sister and myself couldn't help but smile and laugh through out the entire meal. This food truly nourishes the soul. It was made with such care, passion and love that with every mouthful my insides somehow brightened and I was transported to such a joyous place that I couldn't contain myself! I had to tell one of the partners of Keste, Rosario, how lovely and amazing the food was. As soon as he came to our table to see how everything was I lost it! I was so overwhelmed with what can only be described as a "food high" that all i could do was smile and say how it was the best pizza i have ever had in all of my life. And today I still stand by that sentiment. I ordered the Pizza del Papa, it had a butternut squash cream sauce with red and yellow peppers, smoked mozzarella, artichokes and basil. PERFECTION. I will definitely be making trips to Keste in the west village on a regular basis. Everyone that comes to NY or better yet lives here NEEDS to experience this eating delight. Its a friendly and warm atmosphere...with a great staff and wonderful dessert too! 

Keste 

271 Bleecker st

NYC

It's time to shake it up!

There is nothing more refreshing than a nice fresh fruit smoothie on a warm summer day. I personally love pineapple and mint smoothies with a lil crushed ice to make it cool and refreshing. You can never go wrong with the classic banana & strawberry combo...but try and mix it up with some blueberries or fresh champagne mangoes (mmmm)! For an alternative to those prepackaged protein smoothies try a scrumptious banana, almond and peanut butter shake. Add a tiny bit of non fat strained greek yogurt (FAGE is my personal fav) for a boost of extra protein. This way you stay away from all the protein powders with ingredients that can't be pronounced (yuck) and they taste like sidewalk chalk anyway, who wants to drink that? Keep it real and fresh. That's a pretty good motto to live by ;) So mix it up and have fun. It's finally summer, as soon as this rainy patch passes I'm sure there will be lots of blazing hot sunshine to soak up and sip on ice cold treats. Speaking of cold treats, I know frozen margaritas don't count as smoothies, but a girl can dream (at least they are blended!).  

Cornbread, La sa tom and good conversation

     Started the morning with some hot water (its one of the basic remedies for hydration according to ayurveda, an ancient Indian science of eating and overall lifestyle) and grilled cornbread with raspberry jam a tiny bit of butter. Still being held in the prickly grasp of PMS, I continued to go back for seconds of the cast iron grilled cornbread! I felt a lil statisfied/embarrassed at my own ability to not control my hand welding the knife ever so gently across the loaf of cornbread, so I decided to clean my apartment. You know to stay busy and not continue to eat when I knew I really wasn't hungry, bored maybe but not hungry. And after I had finished my cleaning I realized it was now time for me to get ready for my lunch date with my girlfriend! We try to meet up regularly for lunch and today our schedules finally agree. I am on the train now headed to union square to meet at the Saigon Grille for lunch. Its one of my favorite spots for lunch, they do a mean lunch special of la sa tom soup. I'm salavating here on the 6 train just knowing I'm mere minutes away from this delicious treat...

 Ok so the soup was good, but the company was even better! :) gotta love good gal pals, they are hard to come by.

Milky Tea...the perfect cuppa

     I am reading one of the most creative books I have ever come across titled The Goddess Experience. The author Gisele Scanlon always mentions how she enjoys a cup of milky tea. I too enjoy a nice cup of sweet milky tea (preferably with a sweet baked good too) So this morning I made a nice cup of spiced chai milky tea in honor of my love for this fabulous book. She has traveled the globe asking people what makes them happy? Then she makes a sort of artistic guidebook based on all her interviews and interactions with the people she has meet. She tells you where to get one off items from the perfect shoe to the perfect macaroon in Paris, London, New York and Ireland. You really have to go and get a copy to appreciate it fully. Until then go make yourself a cuppa as she calls it! You wont be disappointed.

Bikram Yoga....Om Shanti

      So I finally made it to my Bikram yoga class this afternoon. The teacher was kick ass and made me feel like I was part of the NFL! (ok side note this teacher actually does coach the NY Giants in Bikram so that is probably where I get that feeling from) I feel so proud of myself for making it to class even though the weather is less than desirable (cue the rain and humidity). Believe it or not I do not feel the insane need to eat everything that I come into contact with today, despite the PMS! (sorry a lil too much info) So right now I am sipping my green tea and feeling pretty good about things. I had a great conversation with my older sister (LOVE HER!) and I feel like today I feed my bod in all the rights ways...a bit of food, a bit of activity, and a whole lotta love! Namaste 

Peanut Butter Cups

         So today was another day filled with cravings. I started out the day with wonderful steel cut oatmeal with slices of fresh bananas and chopped walnuts sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. This breakfast is truly one of my all time favs! Then I went to lunch with a friend and had a pesto panini, not too bad so far. As soon as I finished lunch an overwhelming feeling of "feed me something sweet" ran through my mind. We then decided to split a molten chocolate cake with ice cream and strawberries. The cake was semi burnt so I was turned off after a few bites. Time passes as we walk around the upper westside (me in search of my next snack, him looking for the perfect sneaker). Then I remember that I said I would make him some homemade peanut butter cups because the generic ones he bought earlier are basically crap filled with chemicals. 

Project time: run to the market and buy freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter. I have chocolate waffers at home that I can melt and tiny muffin papers too. So I got down to business and made my own! Deeeeelicious! look at my yummmy treats...

SugAr bLUes...

 So its approaching that time of the month and all i want is SUGAR. (preferably in some form of a carbohydrate) Why are we cursed with this plague of unruly hormones coupled with the intense feeling of needing to empty all cabinets and the fridge in one night? No matter how well and balanced i have been eating during the weeks leading up to this point, I collapse under pressure those nights and end up sabotaging my otherwise healthy eating habits. what's up? Am I alone on this one??

Mood: Miffed

    How do you protect someone's heart when you know you have absolutely no control? You can give them advice and be their shoulder to cry on, but you cannot change their circumstances. It sucks. No amount of comfort food can solve this ailment. I'm not even going to try! So instead I'm on my way to the farmers market for fruit and veg. I've been researching Ayurveda (the ancient Indian way of eating in accordance to ones body type) and I am well on my way to formulating a 3 and 5 day cleanse based on the Ayurvedic principles and recipes. So off to the farmers market at Union Square to get my supplies. :)

A bit of bad news, a lot of cake

So, got some bad news this morning (not going there) came home from work and tried a bit of what I like to call "scream therapy." Didn't ease my worries (never really does but i thought i would give it a go) so I began to experience what I can only describe as a minor panic attack. I tried to turn my frantic energy into something useful but the need to self medicate was overwhelming. My drug of choice: FOOD! Raided kitchen and found some homemade day old blueberry cake. Looked liked it would ease some pain...and it did just that (for just about 5 min). Did my best not to ravage the last few spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream, for now I am ok, worries eased with those few sweet mouthfuls of blueberry cake....mmmmm...