Raw food dining and acrobatic workouts in the city that never sleeps, a dream come true! It has been a week since my return to DC from NYC, and it already feels like a lifetime ago. As I relinquish the memory, I can’t help but smile, because every time I go to Manhattan everything goes so smoothly. I had a magical time all while continuing my “purified lifestyle” and I must say, it was quite easy! It was also the perfect weekend to stay on top of my #100daycontortionchallenge !
NYC is filled with fitness opportunities and healthy food options, we went to two of my favorite raw food restaurants and there were about 4 Whole Foods within walking distance of our hotel. We stayed in the lower east side, minutes from Irving plaza (where my favorite famers market resides), and it has now become my favorite neighborhood, mainly because my 2 favorite restaurants are about a 6 minute walk…life doesn’t get much better for me 😉 <3
An Acrobatic City Workout
The sole purpose of this trip was to visit a good friend of mine from Kansas City. Together we walked about 50 miles in every which direction of Manhattan. It was nice not having any plans other than to catch up, sometimes we had no idea where we were going or what we wanted to do, we were free to do what we pleased. So we decided to make up a game. We called it the “walkman game” The rules are simple, you go where ever the walkman goes. We really had no idea where this game would take us but we believed whole heartedly that wherever it did takes us, it was where we were meant to be.
We starting talking about the different places we had seen in NY and the places we have yet to see, embarrassed, I admitted I had never seen the statue of liberty. Out of all the times I have been to the city, I have never even seen the hudson river– Our middle school class got the shaft because the grade above us was the last to go on the Ellis Island field trip ever, sad story I know 😉 And all the other times I had specific plans and limited time. This time, time was all we had.
I had also mentioned that I wanted to do some acrobatics tricks somewhere in the city, it was so beautiful outside, perfect weather to workout. So we kept our eye out and kept on walking with the walkman, whenever he lit up we courageously followed the light. If the stopping hand was at a countdown of 5 seconds or below we knew we could not make it and the walkman would show his face on the other side.
Then all of sudden I see a shimmering glimpse of water. We had walked 60 blocks by now and I knew the water was exactly where I wanted to be. We figured maybe there would be a nice bench to relax and look at the water all at the same time. But then my eyes lit up with joy, there was a park with monkey bars, poles, and the coolest playground stuff I had ever seen, I felt like a kid again. My friend and I quickly chose our “apparatuses” and started working out. I was filled with energy and excitement to have been led to my new favorite place in Manhattan and all by fate. We would have never found the piers if we had a specific plan, we let go of our expectations and just followed the natural flow of the world. Had our mind interfered we might have settled for less.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better we kept walking south and found 2 other playgrounds and then there she was, the statue of liberty. By the time we could get a good look we must have walked near 200 blocks! It was a fabulous journey that ended with some of the fattest, melt in your mouth pieces of salmon sashimi. All the fish was to die for, I had gone to my fitness heaven and food heaven all in the same day! I stayed in food heaven everyday I was there!
Now before I divulge into the delicious details I want to add that my NYC geography is not up to par, as you may have guessed, and so it was a complete surprise to find out that the hotel my friend booked was smack dab in the middle of my 2 favorite raw restaurants in NYC, both 6 minutes away walking. I’m telling ya everything works out perfect when I go there !The last time I was there, I went because my favorite underground artist was finally coming to the US and was playing in NY at Irving Plaza. On of my other friends had just moved there from KC and so I asked him if he wanted to join me, funny thing is…he worked there, what are the chances?!?! So of course I get to go to the very edge of the stage in front of the bars where the bouncers were. Honestly I don’t think it could have worked any more perfect.
Raw Food Dining in NYC
Pure Raw Food & Wine and Quintessence. Both serve delicious raw food but they are both very different. Pure Raw Food & Wine is very fancy, although not as fancy as Elizabeth’s Gone Raw here in DC, obviously they serve wine and they also have a larger space, dark red walls and dim lighting. Quintessence is a quaint cafe with bright colors and a light calm atmosphere. They are both very different from each other but there quality in food is very similar.
At Quintessence, my friend and I both shared an appetizer that was gone before I could even think about taking a picture, it was that good and now I can’t remember for the life of me what it was. Then we both ordered the tacos, I really loved the corn tortillas, sometimes they are a hit or miss, the filling was also a very good consistency and flavor, and the toppings of “sour cream” and avocados were simply amazing. You also get a nice side salad and a generous amount of their homemade hot sauce. Lastly we ate the pecan pie which was also very good but it was also gone before I remembered to take a picture. All the walking we did created a larger appetite than normal! The food at quintessence was very filling but if you know raw food then you know it keeps you feeling full, light and energetic, which is perfect food to fuel our nightly activities or pool and ski-ball! The perfect raw food restaurant to continue eating pure in my purified lifestyle <3
At Pure Raw Food and Wine we shared the cheese and crackers appetizer. The crackers were really delicious, nice and crisp, add on the crushed cranberries and the happy cow cheese, oo wii, it was the most exquisite bite of the night…Sip on some wine- ah, life is good… Next was the main course, I order the tamales and my friend ordered the Lasagna. Don’t forget it was completely raw! The lasagna was a standard raw lasagna with zucchini layers drizzled with olive oil, a great red sauce, pesto sauce and really good cheese. I only had a bite and it was really good but I ate that after eating my heavenly tamales so the mix of flavors was a bit odd. My tamales were a great flavor, it was so dark that I could barely see what was in it but I didn’t care, I ate it so fast I couldn’t stop to investigate. Plus we had a 9:30 reservation so dinner was about 5 hours later than normal. Lastly we ordered the peanut butter cup cheesecake, I forget the actual name but whatever they called it, it was divine. We saw the couple next to us devouring this massive dessert, I knew right then I had to try it. We also had the blackberry cobbler, I was a bit skeptical about mixing fruit with everything else I had just eaten, but I wen with it anyways. I’m glad I did because I think I liked the blackberry cobbler better. I have always been a fruit pie kind of girl, chocolate always comes 2nd for me.
There’s not much else to say other than…I’m drooling, wishing I could go there again right now!
The whole time I was in NYC my happiness was through the roof and all I could do was be thankful for every single moment. I always believe that heaven exists on Earth, we can experience true happiness right here right now, you just have to attract it to yourself. It’s the moments like these that remind me that this is so true. What a great experience <3
I have concluded the city must love me!
Stay tuned for the Spring Detox Series!! <3
All of my love,
Amanda xo
