Tips on Survival Snacks

Photo courtesy of new-york-visit.com

Hello love,

How are you doing???

I got in from NY last night and hit the floor running by 7 am this morning with clients and responsibilities out here. It was the first time I had been to NY in months where it wasn’t freezing cold, and it was also the first time in months I was served a heavy-handed dose of home-sickness. And I still think of NY as my home! With biting temperatures replaced with tepid ones, and piercing winds switched to gentle breezes, NY morphed back into the friendly, very livable and completely amazing place that I love so much.

I’ve been in LA since August, and while I love the trees and how I get to hike all the time, etc. there’s that indescribable vibe to NY that once you live there for a while, I don’t think you can ever really shake. On this past trip I went to my favorite tea cafe, met with my publisher and book editor, went out with friends in the Lower Eastside, saw my parents, went to my favorite Thai restaurant (Boyd, on Thompson Street), ate a few times at LifeThyme, my favorite grocery store, took a yoga class from one my fav NYC yoga teachers (Nikki), saw my friend Kelly at the Regis and Kelly show… It is a real phenom how much you can pack into a few days in NY isn’t it?

In LA I can stock key items in my car (yes I have a car!! I haven’t had one in years!) and I’m often at clients’ homes or my kitchens so don’t have to worry about running around getting stuck in a bad jam or going hungry.

But in NY, it could be hours, or avenues, before finding something exactly ideal. So here are some of my important on-the-go lifesavers. Whether you are a NYer or not, hopefully they can be of use to you as well!

Here are a few of my survival items:

The Tazo Vanilla Rooibos at Starbucks… is completely delicious! I know, I know Starbucks is a huge chain and I do always support little coffee shops when I can. But inbetween meetings in say midtown, or unfamiliar areas in any city, Starbucks is always a reliable and familiar entity that is sure to have this staple tea (a recent addition I think for them) that I now love. Or if I have to meet someone there, I always order it, or if I want something, but not necessarily food this little tea is awfully handy!

Fruit with skins or prepackages of fruit. In NY there are fruit-sellers at every corner. If I have a meeting and only 50 minutes before a yoga class, but I’m dying for a ‘lil sumptin sumptin, as I was before I took Nikki’s class yesterday, I ran to the corner deli and got a little cup of pre-cut fruit. Okay it wasn’t organic, but it was a decent last resort. I go for the blueberries or a ripe banana if I can find it- rather than a cantaloupe which was cut who knows when! Cut fruit has experienced oxidation and can be far less nutritious in terms of vitamin content. So BTW never buy the pre-cut apples you may find at Trader Joe’s!

Coconut water. Even in cold whether you can get dehydrated. I love how coconut water is sold so widespread now. I even found it at JFK airport! I particularly love the VitaCoco min-cartons, which have a recloseable plastic cap. If I can’t finish it all I throw it in my purse!

The salad bar…but be sure to make good choices there! When I’m really hungry and need something that is more meal-like, there are plenty of places sporting salad bars. Some are behind a counter with glass and the dude working there tosses it for you, and sometimes they are out in the open. The latter I approach with great caution, and only if it looks clean and seems that the food is rotating quickly (like certain Wholefoods).  Otherwise- yucky!!! And I avoid. Here’s the key to the salad bar experience: keep it simple! Don’t get more than 5 items, with one being the lettuce or other green base itself. I usually get mixed greens or chopped romaine, avocado if they have it, sundried tomatoes (not if they are soaked in oil though), sprouts, broccoli, and quinoa if they have it (at dinnertime) or some bell peppers. If you are really hungry and there’s no avo or quinoa, the chickpeas are a better bet than the sad looking, almost definitely hormone and toxin-filled chicken cutlets or mercury-filled tuna.

So there you have it… a few little survival tips when you’re on the go!

Come visit me again really soon…. I have a big upcoming surprise for you!!! 🙂

Love! Kimberly

 

Here I am hiking in California... I'm kind of between worlds right now. My city world in NY, where's I'll be spending more significant time in later this spring and my LA world, which is now part of my life. I'm sort of like a bird that migrates around in winter, but finds food and shelter wherever they might be... and is happy anywhere and everywhere!