Weekends Should Never End

The definition of time flies: Summer Saturdays & Sundays.

Sunny Sunday in Bryant Park

Seriously — where do those S-days go? When I become Rearranger of the Universe, we will have many more weekend days than we currently do. You can quote me on that.

*Side note:  I know you can’t see much of it above but I found an adorable romper on Amazon that was such a surprisingly great find for only $20 and now think I’m becoming a believer in the romper trend. Really good quality for the price, just listen to the reviews and size up (I usually am a small and this medium fit perfectly).

Running. It was beautiful here both days this weekend, so even though I didn’t get any crazy big runs in as we had to be down to the Jersey Shore (not crazy Jersey Shore –think quiet, lovely little beach where football players have houses) early on Saturday, I had two pretty decent runs: a 4-miler on Saturday am and a slow and easy 8-miler last night. I have zero photos to show from my sunset run along the Hudson but let me assure you it was lovely.

I’m no closer to making a marathon decision as I only clocked in 12 miles total this weekend, and I should be running 18 at a pop…but I’ll see how September goes and how my body feels and take it from there. I’m praying for lots of 70s and humidity-free days!

Eating. In other news, I tried this last night for the first time and am now insta-obsessed:

Dairy isn’t my friend and so I rarely eat ice cream, but this almond milk frozen dessert in my all-time favorite flavor was soooooo good. Will be buying on repeat for sure.

Drinking. The boy and I also tried our hand at making wine slushies, as I was super excited about that endeavor, and we were pleasantly surprised with our first attempt! We froze a bottle of Josh Cabernet into ice cube trays overnight, then blended them in the morning with a bag of mixed frozen berries and added a few packets of natural sugar…annnnnd success. Such a perfect summery drink!

(Not my photo but very close to what ours looked like in color/consistency.)

Reflecting. So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about perfectionism and how we do ourselves such injustices by allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good (this is also a theme in the book I’m reading so I definitely recommend Daring Greatly if you want to delve into this more).

 

It’s often so true, though, and I think affects everyone in different areas of our lives at different times. If we constantly strive for the ideal of perfection, which is an impossible construct that we will never achieve (and no objective version of perfection can exist anyway as we all see things from our subjective POVs), we sell ourselves short and miss the wonder and beauty in everything around us that might very well be so darn good but just shy of what we consider perfect.

How does this apply to me? Gah, in so many ways. Realizing that the 8-mile run I do do is better than the 20-miler I don’t and feeling pride in that accomplishment rather than disappointment in what I didn’t do. The blog post I write that may feel all over the place and “purposeless” is still a reflection of what I have to give that day, as opposed to the two weeks I spend not writing because I’m not sure I’ll be interesting enough to read. That book I’m always talking and dreaming about writing? Once I let go of what it means to write “the perfect book,” maybe I’ll actually start getting something out — and whatever I do write will be far better than the idea in my head that never gets put onto paper.

There’s so much freedom found when we learn to ease up on ourselves and embrace the reality of what we can do, rather than be paralyzed into inaction by thoughts of failing at what we see as the perfection we must achieve.

So be gentle with yourselves, friends, and don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for the things you do accomplish and take risks even if the result is “good enough” as opposed to “perfect.” Because sometimes our “good enough” is more amazing than we think. ❤

Something good from your weekend?
Anyone else jump on the wine slushie fad?
What are you learning about yourself these days?

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Pinknic & Beach Bummin’

This weekend was a best weekend. So much so, that I have no choice but to link up with Katie for my first Marvelous in my Monday post in a while, because, well — my weekend was nothing short of mar-vel-ous.

I’m talking jam-packed from start-to-finish with all sorts of wonderful people & events & activities & food & fun. I honestly can’t think of anything I’d have rather done this weekend than exactly what I did. Riding that high pretttyyyy nicely this Monday morning.

When the boy arrived on Friday evening, we set off for our first highly-anticipated weekend adventure: a dinner date trip to Pokeworks, a casual Hawaiian poke place near Bryant Park, where we took our food and had a lovely little park date dinner.

This build-your-own poke bar was such a stellar choice, and we quickly agreed we’d be back soon (and often). He had a Pokiritto (White Rice & Seaweed Wrap) with ahi, salmon and shrimp, and I chose a salad option with ahi, salmon, and so many yummy toppings (ginger, wasabi, scallions, garlic, mango, seaweed). I could seriously eat this all.the.time. His only gripe was that it didn’t fill him up, but that’s easily fixable — two orders next time for the boy, please.

We also stumbled upon a nice little surprise at the nearby wine store in the form of this hard-to-find-in-NYC bottle for which we’ve been looking for months now, popping into every wine store we pass to ask if they have this cab sav we stumbled upon at a West Village speakeasy this winter and really enjoyed: Owens & Vaughn.

So happy this actually exists in NYC! We somehow managed to refrain from drinking it this weekend (you’ll see why in a moment), so I’m already looking forward to enjoying it upstate at the lake next weekend.

Thanks to a quiet Friday night, I pumped out a felt-so-good 8-mile run on Saturday morning (woot!) before we dressed up in pink & white and met our friends for a full day double date at NYC’s first Pinknic at Governor’s Island!

This was my (and Ty’s) first time to Gov Island, which is literally a 5-minute ferry ride from downtown Manhattan. It was so fun to see all the pink & white clad pinknic-ers festively gathering to drink rosé and lounge around all day. After all, isn’t that what Saturdays in Summer are designed for?

This was the inaugural event, and we were glad we went and had a wonderful time drinking allll the sparkling rosé and playing Phase 10 (do yourself a favor and buy that immediately if you don’t have it) and picnicking to our hearts content. We all felt that the event could really benefit from making some organizational changes in future years, however. The line to get in was an absolute nightmare and they clearly needed a lot more people working the entrance to expedite that process, as we stood in line for about 45 minutes; there didn’t seem to be enough pink blankets spread out for everyone (although we found one easily, thankfully); they ran out of sparkling wine toward the end, and the boys said the wine tables weren’t organized intuitively either. We agreed we probably would just buy our own bottles of wine and recreate this in a park next year, but we had a blast and are glad we experienced it.

Sunday started with another morning run for me, a 4-5 miler this time, before we set out for a day of that beach bum life at the Rockaways. This beach community in Queens is where my mom grew up going, and it was another first for me this weekend that totally did not disappoint. The area was devastated by Sandy and then rebuilt beautifully, with a wide boardwalk and beach bar, and is a haven for surfers. An easy hour subway ride from NYC, you feel like you’re transported to an entirely different world than the one you just left — one much more California-esque than NYC, which we loved.

The highlight of the Rockaways (aside from the beach, of course) is definitely the raddest bar I’ve been to in NYC: The Rockaway Beach Surf Club, which also houses an uber popular taco stand inside it called Tacoway Beach.

This place was everything an authentic beach/surf bar should be, IMO, and I wish I owned it/lived there/lived close enough to make it my regular hangout. We drank frozen watermelon margaritas and ate delicious little tacos (grilled tofu for me, which were yum) and played Phase 10 yet again, and felt like we’d found the bar on the East Coast that best fit our personalities and beach bum dreams. Seriously, I already cannot wait to go back.

So, that was my marvelous weekend in a nutshell! Hope you guys had amazing weekends as well.

Weekend highlight?
Best beach by you?
What’s your ideal bar/hangout? Surf bum style for me, all the way!

Two Things Tuesday

Remember when I used to do these posts?

That was fun. Let’s do that again.

1. Sports bra love. Because I’m on an ever-constant quest for the best-feeling-and-fitting sports bras on the market, I feel entirely compelled to let you all know when I find a keeper — and as of this morning, I can confidently say that New Balance’s Tenderly Obsessive Bra falls into that category. (It’s also only $17, which is quite the steal, as it’s really well-made and supportive!)

I wasn’t totally sure about it as it offers more (cup) support than I generally prefer, but after wearing it on a run this morning, I’m hooked (and realize I probably have been wearing options with too little support). It’s lightweight, breathable, comfortable, and has built-in no-slip padding, which is clutch, b/c I hate those removable pads! Plus, I think every runner needs a fluorescent yellow sports bra, no? It just screams summer fun.

2. Spindrift. One of my bffs recently introduced me to this amazing real fruit infused sparkling water and am totally hooked. It’s seriously delicious, seltzer-fans, and entirely unsweetened — just splashed with a little real fruit!

I’ve had the Raspberry Lime and the Cucumber so far, and definitely have my eye out for the Blackberry. I feel like that’s going to be a winner for me. They also give 1% of their sales to environmental organizations and partner with non-profits all over the country.

Try them. You’ll like them.

Sparkling water: yay or nay? What flavor of Spindrift entices you most? I’m currently drinking a cucumber one as I write this and it’s totally hitting the spot!
Sports bra fave? I love Lulu’s but this new one is a real winner!

 

L’Appart (Restaurant Review)

A little over a week ago, I had what very well may have been one of the best dining experiences of my entire life. I was completely and utterly blown away by every aspect of this place, which just so happens to be located right in my office building at Brookfield Place in the Financial District. There’s a phenomenal French marketplace called Le District on the first level off the atrium, and I was invited (plus guests) to experience their new venue L’Appart during their friends & family soft opening weekend. I jumped at the chance, and what ensued was an incredible evening that blew any expectations my friends and I might have had completely out of the water.

Since they describe this venue so beautifully on their site, I’ll just share that with you:

The design of the dining room reflects that of a “chef’s living room” – sophisticated, intimate and relaxed with modern touches throughout, featuring just eight tables accommodating up to 30 seated guests.  The room mimics that of an open-concept living space with a state of the art kitchen, where guests can watch the buzz of the line over marble countertops while enjoying the aromas of the chefs preparing their meal, flanked by a glass wall with views of the Hudson River.

Tailored to provide the highest quality exceptional fine dining experience each night, guests will select a one-of-a-kind meal based on a multi-course tasting menu of extraordinarily fresh and unique ingredients procured daily throughout Le District’s markets. The menu will change weekly, if not nightly, and feature seasonal ingredients prepared under the direction of Chef de Cuisine Nicolas Abello and George Thomas in the room.

L’Appart, which means “apartment” en francais (you’re welcome), is designed to be just that: a cozy, apartment-style venue where the guests are made to feel welcomed into the host & chef’s home, and treated with the utmost respect and hospitality. It’s an open kitchen layout, so you can watch the chef making your courses as you eat. Loved that.

The space itself is gorgeous. We were also fortunate enough to meet the interior designer, who is the wife of one of the owners, as she popped in for drinks later on in the evening. She was personable and rad and just added to our favorable impression of everything.

The staff is a highlight here. Both the apartment host/maitre’d and the chef de cuisine are lovely, charming, personable people with a true knack for creating a warm, enticing environment that offers everything a guest could want: great service, charming conversation, exquisite attention to detail, and absolutely delicious food & wine. We felt rather doted upon and extremely comfortable, and could not stop talking about what an amazing time we were having (basically as soon as the 4 of us walked in). 🙂

When we entered, we were greeted with a sweet little vermouth cocktail sporting some muscat grapes, which we welcomed happily…

before immediately zipping ourselves into Chef Nico’s personal space. I was not about to miss out on capturing anything from this evening.

You know those moments in life when everything just feels exactly right? When you’re in a lovely place, with the exact people with whom you want to be sharing that moment, and you can linger there indefinitely and feel like you’re precisely where you’re meant to be in the world? That’s the closest I can come to describing this evening. I was with three amazing girlfriends who warm my heart and make me love life, in an intimate, darling place where everything was just right, and none of us would have changed a single thing.

And so, the food. What can I say about the food except that we loved every course and were amazed by how much flavor and detail was included in such small bites. We were served tiny course after tiny course, each entirely different and unique and hand-crafted by the chef from his own personal whims and tastes, and we loved them all. He was also overly accommodating to me and catered to my no dairy/no gluten/no red meat preferences, which is utterly ridiculous for a chef to do on a tasting menu and I was so grateful.

Here’s a glimpse of some bites from our amazing tasting menu, with unofficial descriptions as close as my memory can serve up:

cucumber bites stuffed with poached lobster

beet & goat cheese stacks

goat cheese zucchini bites

avocado bite with cauliflower garnish

tuna crudo (i loved this, right up my alley)

i can’t recall what this was — fish i think? — but it was delicious & these signature plates were amazing

shaved ice topped with cubed pineapple over rum

apricot sorbet over blood oranges

dessert display of mini berry dough bites and this rich sea salt dark chocolate infused with lime

Everything was so unique and so meticulously crafted and so consistently amazing. The other girls had lamb in place of my chicken (unphotographed), and there was rosemary bread, and a course of cheese and bread as well. We also had two bottles of delicious French wine (their Chenin Banc was perfection), and they sent us over complimentary glasses of some wonderful bubbly while we were choosing our wine. Seriously! This place could not have been any better.

The chef came over and chatted with us a bit at the end, which was a sweet touch, and we were able to gush over how much we adored everything and thank him for the wonderful experience (and assure him we’d all be back). And to top it all off, they gave us little boxes of delicious chocolate to take with us when they escorted us to the door, lil souvenirs to remember them by. As if we could ever forget this evening. 🙂

So thanks to L’Appart for such an unforgettable evening. We could not have possibly enjoyed ourselves any more than we did, and we can’t wait to return. It’s perfect for dates, perfect for girls’ evenings, perfect for — well, okay. It’s just perfect.

Thinking Out Loud

Hey-o, Friday eve! Happy almost-weekend, Think Out Loud Thursday – linking up with Amanda @ Running With Spoons to do just that!

1. Bunnies. All the bunnies! They’ve overtaken my office building and I absolutely love it.

This perfect-for-Spring public art installation is called Intrude by Australian artist Amanda Parer and showcases giant inflatable, illuminated bunnies sprawling all over the place.

How amazing are these guys?! So fat & happy & lazy & adorable. I want one.

Fun fact about me: I was obsessed with bunnies (especially albino) as a child and not only did we have real ones (after years of begging I finally did get my albino baby dwarf bunny and promptly named her Snowball!), but my room and life were cluttered with every bunny stuffed animal and object a girl could possibly dream of acquiring. Seeing this exhibit hit my workplace (did I mention I work in an amazing building/area?!) this past week just made my week, and it arrived right in time for the glorious weather.

2. I can always count on the wine store on my corner for some post-run humor.

3. I made a white bean dip the other night and put cabernet in it, and it was delicious — and purple. That made me really happy because I still think life should include as many art projects as possible and if you end up with one inadvertently, that’s bonus points. I wish I could say I had a recipe for you but really I just emptied a can of cannellini beans into a food processor, added a little salt, and poured in some wine (twice). And it was amazing.

4. I think I bought these half because I love them and half because the word made me feel like a giggly little girl:

“Figlets”?! Am I the only one new to this word? It kills me with cuteness. I’m finishing the bag as I write this post and can’t wait to buy more — they were delicious and soft and perfect. And have the cutest name ever and I feel like baby pigs should eat them. Some words just seem built to have “lets” on the end and made into cute little versions of their normal-sized selves, and I guess figs are a case in point for that!

5. This video is everything.

I probably should start watching this weekly. I desperately wish I’d written it and it basically sums up my internal struggle and overall life perspective. LOVE.

6. So I recently realized that I’m somehow not registered to vote (whoops) and should probably change that. I incorrectly assumed that when I changed my address on my license to New York City (over 5 years ago) that I’d be automatically registered to vote here. Wrong. So I sent in my application last month…only to have my registration returned with my last name spelled incorrectly. I’m taking this as a sign that I really need to start educating myself better politically before I even consider voting this fall…

and anyway, this makes me smile every time so there’s that.

7. I’m going to Chicago next week (woot!) and stoked about it! I haven’t really spent any time there ever and will have lots of free time, so please send me suggestions of things to do & places to see & running routes to explore & establishments at which to wine & dine & any other wonderful silliness to be had.

Have a lovely Thursday, friends. ❤

Tell me something random or silly from your week!
Favorites things about Chicago?
What will you regret not doing or becoming or seeing or learning if you don’t accomplish it? 

2 Things Tuesday

It’s been birthday central in my world lately!

I am such a birthday lover — is there anything more fun than being able to honor and celebrate the people you love most on a day that belongs to them?? The first week of April was a good one for me: my BFF had a baby on April 7th and it was my guy’s birthday yesterday and his mom’s on Wednesday, so forevermore, the beginning of April will be spent full of celebrating some lovely humans, like this amazing boy of mine…

which we did by drinking some sparkling sangria, courtesy of a girlfriend’s baby shower on Saturday that doubled as Tyler’s birthday cheers. 🙂

Maybe next time I’ll remember to ask him to pose with me — whoops. I sadly didn’t take any photos at home this past weekend (other than baby pictures, which I’m not going to reveal yet until my BFF does!), so instead I’ll link you up to the two restaurants upstate at which we dined Fri & Sat night to celebrate Tyler’s birthday weekend (because birthdays always get full weekends in my life):

1. New World Bistro Bar

If you live in the Albany area, you love this place. It’s just a given. We had brunch here the weekend we started dating and both love the food and ambiance, so it was a no-brainer for his birthday dinner. The dinner menu is extensive and offers a wide variety of unique options (his sweet potato & legume veggie burger with hummus was delicioussss), AND they serve my favorite wine, Josh Cabernet, so I can’t say a bad word about New World.

2. Rocco’s on Main St.

I’d never heard of this adorable rustic restaurant until I started dating someone who lived near it, as it’s on the outskirts of the Albany area, and we went for the first time on Saturday night. It was like stumbling into a hidden gem of a country setting that seemingly sprung up out of nowhere. The place was packed, and rightfully so, as the food was great. (I had the salmon and would definitely order it again.) I really loved the atmosphere as well and want to emulate the centerpiece light fixture in my future home (if that ever becomes a thing!): it was a base of wooden planks with various industrial-filament light bulbs that I thought gave the room such a cool character in its simplicity. I should have snapped a photo but the best I can do is steal one from Yelp:

Definitely doesn’t do it justice and I am making a mental note to have one of these made for me one day.

Rocco’s is a bit off the beaten path but definitely worth a drive if you’re an upstate-er looking for somewhere new to dine. I want to go back and sit at the huge bar sometime and just enjoy the atmosphere of being at such a quaint little rustic place in a small town.

Sometimes a city girl just needs a country environment like this to soothe the soul. 🙂

What do you look for in a restaurant (besides good food!)?
Anyone else dined in the Albany area? What places do you like?
Are you a “celebrate all the birthdays” person? What do you like to do??

 

Two Things Tuesday

ONE: Noshing. We had a health fair yesterday at work, which was fun in that every company represented brought snacks with them, so basically we all just made mad dashes from table to table to stock up on treats and pretended to show interests in scheduling podiatrist & acupuncture appointments between handfuls of chocolate & chips.

Just the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my entire life, nbd.

Essentially, it was a lazy man’s adult Halloween, right here in our event space at work. I’m not mad about it at all, especially because the foot doctor table was giving away Oatmega bars, of which I’m a big fan…so I babbled to the guy about being a runner and losing toenails on the regular and knowing I should probably pay them a visit long enough to feel justified in trying a few samples and then taking a whole bar. Hey, gotta go after what you want, right? And it was a new-to-me flavor: Lemon Chia Crisp.

Not quite as yummy as the Vanilla Almond Crisp, but good nonetheless. This made for a happy breakfast this morning after a nice & quick 5-miler on the treadmill. Which leads into today’s #2…

TWO: Inspiration. I used to post more inspirational quotes/images and realize I haven’t done that in a bit, and now that I’ve started an IG page for the therapy practice at which I work (follow us @renewcounselingnyc!), I’m constantly on the hunt for great quotes and inspiring messages. Feel free to send me any you like and I’ll happily post those!

True for both running & life in general:

makes me think of the Serenity Prayer:

& always a reminder to stay true to your passions and live from who God created you to be.

Such simple advice, but so often gets lost in the flurry of activity that is our daily life. Remember to do what makes your heart soar and love those you love as well as you can. ❤

Tell me something happy from your week!

My Weekend in Verbs

I really hate to say that I essentially live for the weekends, as it’s not entirely true: I live for vacations, too. 😉 I just want to be able to do whatever I want with my days; is that too much to ask?

Like spend a lovely weekend with this one, who has entirely turned my world around in every magical & wonderful way possible in the past 6 months (time flies!):

This was our best attempt at a “let’s take a 6-month-iversary-photo” while having brunch at Mercury Bar (this rather unassuming sports bar in Hell’s Kitchen actually has awesome brunch options) and watching a Formual 1 race (I basically have no idea what that means but I brought a journal and they had John Mayer on so I was happy). 🙂

Ran

Saturday: 8 miles outdoors (steady comfortable pace): 5m solo, 3m with T. I was cold (and sore) pretty much the whole time, but it was one of the longer runs I’ve done in a while, so that felt good. I will admit that I’m still mentally adjusting to running with someone, it seems; I want to run with the boy but I sort of psych myself out a bit and always seem to get into a flow better on my own, but I know it’s good to have someone push me & I like working out with him, so I don’t want to stop running with him…it’s a Catch 22 and I need to adjust! Anyone else experience this tension between adjusting from being a solo runner to a couple runner?

Sunday: 4 miles treadmill. The freezing temps and unbelievable wind prompted us to opt for an indoor session yesterday morning, which ended up being beneficial for me, as I decided to take advantage of the chance to do some speedwork. I’m really trying to incorporate this into my routine weekly. I did 4 miles and included intervals of 1-2 minute increases in speed and definitely felt myself working harder and pushing, and it felt great! Must do more of this.

Ate

We ventured out to a new (to us) restaurant I’ve wanted to check out for a while called Friedman’s, a homey, rustic spot squatting unexpectedly on 35th St and 10th Ave, an area almost entirely devoid of other cute places to dine. I’ve been wanting to check it out, and as it was, it served as the perfect ending to our Saturday.

Friedman’s entire menu is gluten free (except for two items), and they’re a family-run business who lives by the mantra #eatgoodfood. Well, they certainly lived up to that.

We both wanted the fish tacos & grilled salmon salad, so that was easy: I ordered the tacos, he ordered the salmon, and we shared.

Both were delicious and we already decided we’ll be back there soon. Well done, Friedman’s. I was a happy girl.

Watched

The Big Short.

It was great. The cast was phenomenal, the story was riveting, and it was just overall so well done. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never delved that deeply into the logistics of the whole 2008 financial crisis, so this was really important and informational for me. Definitely recommend this.

Hope you had great weekends, friends!
Weekend highlights?
Best movie you’ve seen recently?

Friday Five: April Fitness Goals

So, today was destined to be a good day. First of all, FRIDAYAY. Secondly, this is a fun thing to be able to say:

Don’t get me wrong — March was an overall great month for me. I’m just stoked we’re counting down the days til it feels like Spring has truly sprung, and “April” just sounds so much happier. It’s really such a nice word, too, I think, and I’m all about words that make me happy. 🙂

What’re you looking forward to in April? I have some good things: my man’s bday, the arrival of my bff’s second baby, a family trip to Chicago, and nicer weather for running —

Which segues nicely into this week’s Friday Five Linkup theme with the DC Ladies Mar, Courtney & Cynthia:

5 April Fitness Goals

1. More morning running. I miss my days of running outdoors regularly at 6am before work, and with the advent of warmer weather, I’m determined to get back that. I’m making it a goal to run before work at least two days a week this month, on top of one after-work run and my weekend runs. This also means earlier bedtimes, I hope!
2. Easy does it with the leg workouts. Granted, I’m saying this in the wake of a “Whoops that was too much” leg workout earlier this week from which I’m still unable to walk easily, but I really do try not to overdo it on the leg strength session when I’m training for a race, as it negatively impacts my ability to run in a big way. With the BK Half coming up in May, I need to keep my legs in good running shape (ie, I’d like to be able to walk without wincing). 😉
3. Strength train 2x a week. This has been going really well and I want to keep doing 2 mornings a week, primarily upper body (see #2 above!). Push-ups, kettlebells and planks are the name of my game, and I’m really happy with how strong I feel.
4. Speedwork. Okay, so this is something I’ve rarely incorporated into my exercise routine, and never consistently — but the past two weeks I’ve done a bit, and I rather enjoyed it. I want to try to commit to one speed workout a week and take it from there, even if it’s nothing too crazy. I think it’ll be good for me.
5. Watch the nutrition carefully. To me, healthy living is a balance between working out and paying close attention to what I eat, and I’ve been feeling better lately since I’ve made an effort to clean it up even more. I’m eating almost entirely gluten and dairy free, with very little sugar or processed foods, and eating a lot of lean protein and good fats — and I’m happy with the results and want to keep monitoring what I eat and how I feel.

With that, I’m off to see a client, meet the boyfriend and kick off this wonderful weekend! Hope your Friday finds you in high spirits as well!

Enjoy today, friends. ❤

Any April goals, fitness or otherwise?
What’s April weather like where you are?
Favorite “clean eating” meal or snack?

CoffeeBar: Eat Your Coffee!

I have a great product review to share with you today — one that was entirely new to me before this week, and of which I became an immediate fan. If you’re a coffee lover like I am, I’m confident that CoffeeBars will be right up your caffeinated alley.

CoffeeBars are aptly named, given that each one of these all-natural bars contains a full cup of coffee.  Created by two college students during their first year of college (I wish I had been doing something as cool at that time in my life!), they’re 100% organic, gluten-free, non-GMO and vegan, and available to ship worldwide.

The deets

·        Full cup of coffee in every bar

·        100% organic, vegan, non-GMO and gluten-free

·        Uses natural caffeine from fair trade coffee

·        Eight-month shelf life

·        Gives back by partnering with the non-profit organization Chain Collaborative, and its affiliate Planting Hope, which has programs to support migrant coffee-pickers and their families in Nicaragua. To date, the company has helped 30+ students stay in classes for an entire year!

·        $2.99 for a bar, $8.99 for a sample pack and $29.99 for a box (12 bars)

·        Available for purchase on NewGroundFoods.com and ships worldwide

My personal review

I realllllly like them and was super impressed, and would absolutely buy these on the regular. I tried each of the 3 flavors they offer: Coconut Mocha, Mocha Latte, and Caramel Macchiato. As a big coconut fan, that was my hard favorite, followed by mocha and then caramel (to be expected, as I’ve never been a caramel girl — but I didn’t mind it as much in this form, as it’s not the gooey kind), and I really liked the consistency of the bars and the fact that they actually taste like coffee! (Side note: the first ingredient in them is dates, which is the same as Larabars.) As one who loves the flavor of coffee and can happily munch dark chocolate espresso beans, these bars were a hit for me. They’re not sweet, despite the cocoa nibs that add a nice little punch, and they’re so different than any other bars I’ve had, in a good way. I can see myself wanting these on the regular.

I also love to support companies with a social justice component in their business plan, so that holds great appeal for me as well. Check out their “Locations” map on their site to see if they sell these bars anywhere near you, or order right from their site or on Amazon.

DISCOUNT: New Grounds Food has also been so kind as to offer all RTA readers a 15% discount on all orders made from their site! Use the code RUNTHISAPPLE at checkout.

Happy coffee noshing!