Back on Track

Curious what a back on track day looks like in pictures and words? Enjoy and welcome to a day in my world!

Morning Run (5:45-6:15am)

Good morning New York. While I don’t always love your slow tourists or the traffic, running up Lexington and seeing the lights on the Empire State Building illuminated over the city. There is nothing like friendly bodega men sweeping their sidewalks and giving cat calls at 6am.

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Breakfast (8:15am)

Oats, protein powder and an apple heated in a microwave makes for quite the Fall breakfast, especially on a cooler than expected morning. Pair it with a side of chai tea and it’s like fall in a cubicle.

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Lunch (1pm)

Oh hello lovely greens. I forgot how much this fiber and protein could fill me up and keep me energized all afternoon. I’ve upgraded my salads from romaine to spinach permanently. That in itself makes me feel better about my lunch time choices. This salad was so large that I didn’t even crave bread! I enjoyed an afternoon tangelo and a handful of almonds later in the afternoon since I knew I had an evening workout.

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Workout (6-7pm)

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Uplift Studios, I spent an hour sweating and stretching with Dori, Missy, Marielle, and other local fitness bloggers. I returned to my first love, Fit & Flow, a class that combines 30 minutes of heart pounding and muscle quiver inducing exercises with 30 minutes of relaxing yoga flow. I’m a huge fan of Michelle, who led the “fit” portion of the class. She uses the timer method so you know exactly how much longer you have and how hard you should push your body. Some of the moves left me dripping and panting. All of us agreed that the first 30 minutes almost had us in tears at points!

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Another fun aspect of Uplift Studios is the community aspect. Everything about the studio invites conversation and mingling: open bar, open layout, mirrors, open locker rooms, and friendly space. We enjoyed some healthy sips and bites while catching up and talking all things social media and workout related.

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Oh yeah, they even offer phone chargers so you can recharge your phone while you recharge your body!

Dinner (8:30pm)

Dinner at 8:30pm means that it needs to be quick and easy in addition to being healthy. While this may not be beautiful, a Thomas Bagel Thin with some Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese served alongside egg white and veggie scramble is the perfect option!

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Okay your turn! I need some salad inspiration once again. What’s your favorite topping these days and why? Ten points if it is something I can find on a salad bar or at one of my local “chopped salad” places.

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30 Comments

    • ashleyd September 12, 2012 / 9:54 am

      I love grapes in my salads as a different texture and sweet punch. Fresh fruit is the best! I’ll have to look into that dressing!

  1. Sana September 12, 2012 / 3:19 am

    Nice, love that they had phone chargers!

    • ashleyd September 12, 2012 / 9:53 am

      Trust me Sana, I loved this last night!

  2. Angela @ Fit Fun Mom September 12, 2012 / 5:35 am

    I like to top my spinach with strawberries, feta, red onions and poppyseed dressing.

    • ashleyd September 12, 2012 / 9:53 am

      YUM! I wish I could get strawberries at my local salad place!

  3. Charlie (therunnerbeans) September 12, 2012 / 7:51 am

    I have become obsessed with beetroot, goats cheese and walnuts on top of my salad at the moment. Also loving adding some quinoa, lentils and bulgar in for a nutty addition to any salad!

    • ashleyd September 12, 2012 / 9:53 am

      Charlie I love beets too!! So delicious!

  4. Helen September 12, 2012 / 9:16 am

    So so jel of all the classes and gyms you have at your fingertips in NY – my gym offers sweaty, smelly muscle heads hogging the weights benches, pervy gym instructors, blocked drains and over subscribed classes! LOL!

    • ashleyd September 12, 2012 / 9:52 am

      Yeah it’s definitely nice Helen to have so many options. Sorry to hear all yours are muscle head filled!

  5. Philly Running Girl September 12, 2012 / 9:37 am

    I tried a new Combo this week which was amazing. Spinach, goat cheese, dried cranberries, apricots, walnuts, and sun dried tomatoes w/ a splash of raspberry vinagrette. So good! Fit and Flow sounds awesome. Wish I had that class in Philly.

    • ashleyd September 12, 2012 / 9:52 am

      That sounds delicious! I am going to try that today but I don’t think I can get apricots at my salad place. Sad!

  6. Chase September 12, 2012 / 11:41 am

    I’ve permanently switched to spinach from romaine or (gasp!) iceberg. The salad is much healthier and it feels more decadent too!

    • ashleyd September 13, 2012 / 10:40 pm

      Great job Chase! I feel 100% healthier eating the spinach salads and I feel they fill me more!

  7. Alison September 12, 2012 / 12:08 pm

    I love the bitter/sweet combination on my salad, I always add sliced fruit, strawberries, Peaches or a crisp apple… with bitter greens (you could a a little arugula or radicchio)… yummy I also love to add a few seeds, hard boiled egg or grated carrots and radish….
    Hope these help.

  8. Jen September 12, 2012 / 12:33 pm

    I loooove jalapenos in my salads. They add a sweet and spicy element. So good!

    • ashleyd September 13, 2012 / 10:39 pm

      Wow Jen-Jalepenos? Those sound spicy! I’m not a big spice person but I’m sure some people would love that!

  9. fionarwbl September 12, 2012 / 1:12 pm

    Uplift looks really awesome! I’ll have to go check them out soon. Great food choices!

  10. Stephanie C. September 12, 2012 / 1:37 pm

    Great post, Ashley! I love the idea of getting back on track in September after a hectic summer. I agree with Jen, jalapenos are a great addition to any salad. Yum!

  11. Dori September 12, 2012 / 2:52 pm

    Great seeing you last night! That first half of the class really did have me practically in tears, it was TOUGH and it felt like we were working for a lot longer than 30 minutes.

    • ashleyd September 13, 2012 / 10:38 pm

      Dori it was great seeing you too! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought class was tough. I was drenched!

    • Michelle September 14, 2012 / 5:28 pm

      You guys were awesome! I had so much fun 🙂

  12. michelle kim September 12, 2012 / 6:24 pm

    Instead of bread or croutons or something, I like having roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes in a salad (along with fruit, dried fruit, nuts, and lots of veggies).
    That class sounds so fun!

    • ashleyd September 13, 2012 / 10:38 pm

      Sweet potatoes in a salad sound delicious Michelle! Yes, the class was awesome!

  13. Michelle September 12, 2012 / 6:50 pm

    I’m a big fan of yours, too! I’m so glad you enjoyed the class last night.

    Another big spinach fan here, and I love topping salads with quinoa, cranberries, goat cheese, avocado, eggs and walnuts. Any other veggies are good to throw on there too, but I think these things make the salad 🙂

    • ashleyd September 13, 2012 / 10:37 pm

      Aww thanks Michelle! I wish my salad place had quinoa. Do you use dried cranberries? That sounds delicious!

      • Michelle September 14, 2012 / 5:28 pm

        Yep, organic dried cranberries from Trader Joe’s are a Staple over here. Benevenuto introduced me to the idea of quinoa as a salad topper, and now I make a batch at home all the time for this purpose!

  14. Allie September 12, 2012 / 7:58 pm

    I often order a veggie burger for lunch. As my side, sub in a side salad for the fries. Then, ditch the bun and crumble the burger over the salad. You avoid all the carbs, and it’s really filling. Plus, I love having a warm protein on my salad.

    Also easy to replicate for an easy packed lunch if you have veggie burgers in the freezer!

    • ashleyd September 13, 2012 / 10:36 pm

      Allie that is a great idea. I may have to try bringing veggie burgers to the office to top my salads. Yum!

  15. Sara September 16, 2012 / 10:42 pm

    I have two favorite salads that I rotate between (both 6 Weight Watchers points plus for the lunch servings I make for myself) –

    Salad #1 = spinach, avocado, light feta, tomatoes, grilled chicken + Newman’s Own light balsamic.

    Salad #2 = spinach, grilled chicken, goat cheese, walnuts, craisins, granny smith apple + Newman’s Own light balsamic.

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