I absolutely love that companies are bringing snacks and treats to their offices and events that are healthy, taste amazing and ingrain the culture we live by at Bari. Homemade whole wheat mini pizzas? Seriously, what more could you ask for?
Watching Chef Dave cook today for tonight’s catered event was so much fun. I don’t usually get the opportunity to be in the kitchen when the Bari Food Society team is hard at work, and today’s sneak peak made me wish that I could spend more time there because it was so exciting, fun and made me so proud of what we’re creating at Bari.
Good luck with tonight’s event, ladies. You sure picked a recipe for success!
And, Tribers, have you read the Bari Food Society Principles? Warning: they will make you hungry!
Today, trainer and BOUNCE extraordinaire Michelle is hijacking the blog to tell you all about our nutritionist, Sarah.
I developed a girl crush on Sarah Levy the first day I met her. If you’ve met Sarah, you understand exactly why I would have these feelings; if you haven’t met Sarah, let me lay it out for you.
She is super smart - we are talking evil genius smart.
She speaks sarcasm fluently.
She has princess hair. (I’m serious. It’s so shiny….)
She also happens to be a really, really awesome nutritionist.
I always knew this about Sarah because the recipes she comes up with are both tasty and deceivingly healthy, but I never knew the extent of her powers until recently. From time to time, I’ve asked Sarah’s advice on many things like, what should I be eating before and after working out? Is soy bad for you? How much chocolate can I consume before it’s considered ‘unhealthy?’ And she’s always given me a straight answer.
But recently she rocked my world. After commenting on how tired I was, she asked about my eating habits. I regard myself as a pretty healthy eater, so, without much thought, I rattled off what I’d eaten that day. I usually train at Bari for 2 to 4 hours and then run to rehearsals where I dance for 5 to 6 hours, so my ‘eating habits’ (if you could even call them that) are pretty sporadic. I found out that - shocker! - I’m not as healthy as I thought. Even though I’ve had it drilled into my head since the age of 13, I’d forgotten exactly how much protein athletes need, how necessary carbs are to fuel your body, and that FATS ARE GOOD.
My problem is that I like food. A lot. I love me some kale and brussels sprouts, but I also love a huge box of doughnuts from The Doughnut Plant. Don’t even get me started on my love affair with cheese. And bacon. So after talking to Sarah and proclaiming adamantly that I will not give up the foods I really love, she worked with me to find a way to give my body all the good stuff it needs. For example, we discovered that part of the reason I was so tired was because I wasn’t eating enough protein. Because I’m not a huge meat eater, we decided that I should be getting a reliable dose of protein by eating eggs in the morning. Just eating scrambled eggs sounded really boring, so when I asked if I could have eggs with bacon and whole wheat toast, she shocked me and said YES! (There are a few qualifiers here regarding quality and quantity - well-sourced and not too much - but, still, I get to eat bacon.)
And that is why I love Sarah Levy. She is someone who understands the pleasure of eating real food. Food should be delicious, and it should be fun to eat, not a chore. Sarah gets that, and goes above and beyond to make sure you are still enjoying your life and your meals while fueling your body the right way. And a nutritionist that lets me eat bacon (let’s be real, she’d prefer I eat tempeh bacon), is a fabulous nutritionist in my book.
So if you haven’t met Sarah, you should. Just look for the girl with shiny princess hair.
Today marks the halfway point in our Triber Real Food Challenge. Not surprisingly, we’re feeling amazing, oozing energy and basically sweating green juice. While the real food challenge has definitely given us an aggressive push to get back in the kitchen and prepare our own meals, sometimes - either due to a lack of planning or produce - brown bagging lunch just isn’t going to happen.
One of our favorite ‘real food’ meals to pick up in Tribeca is the Beverly Hills Chopped Salad at Wolfgangs. It’s huge, filling, packed with colorful produce and nutrients - and completely real. (We’ve asked, and there’s no refined sugar in the house dressing!) Here’s our at-home take on this local favorite.
Wolfgang’s Beverly Hills Chopped Salad
Ingredients:
4 leaves romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped baby spinach
1/3 cup sweet green peas
1 carrot, peeled, quartered and chopped
1/4 cup corn
1 small cucumber, quartered and chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
2 hearts of palm, sliced
1/2 avocado, cubed
2 tbsp. crumbled feta cheese
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Combine all ingredients - romaine through feta - in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, oil and vinegar.
Dress salad, tossing evenly to coat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Meatless Monday post to bring you (drumroll, please) our Two Week Real Food Challenge.
Starting today, October 8th, the Bari team will be embarking upon a Two Week Real Food Challenge, and we’re inviting you to join us. (Clearly we can’t get enough of Tribe Challenges…)
What does two weeks of real food entail? Exactly what you’d expect. Just real, whole foods; nothing packaged, processed, artificial or refined. This challenge is not a cleanse, detox or diet; it is a launching pad for establishing sustainable and nutritious eating habits.
To simplify the challenge, we’ll be eating whole foods. And, as Michael Pollan says, “When you eat real food, you don’t need rules.” The structure of your meals is in your hands; simply avoid processed and packaged foods and focus on plant-based, vegetable-packed meals.
For a detailed breakdown of the dos and don’ts, we’re turning you over to our favorite real food resource, 100 Days of Real Food.Here you can find a detailed list of what qualifies as ‘real food’ - along with what doesn’t. (Note #8, which gives the green light on beer and wine!) Need some suggestions for ‘real food’ meals and snacks? There are some great ideas here (though, we can’t promise that they’ll all support your personal health goals).
If you email us to sign up and commit to the real food challenge (you can choose to do it for one week or whatever timeframe suits you best), we’ll throw in complimentary email support from our nutritionist, Sarah, who has a recipe index filled with ‘real food’ meals.
In this episode of BariTV, nutrition guru Sarah Levy whips up our favorite no-cook breakfast. When the weather gets too hot to stomach stovetop oatmeal, try out this chilled version that “cooks” overnight in the fridge; our own breakfast for champions. Enjoy and share the love!
We love food, and we love cooking. And while we know our way around the kitchen, we’re not top chefs - and we certainly value the guidance (ahem, step-by-step recipes) of a trusty cookbook. Below are a few of our go-to favorites for simple recipes that hit both the nutritious and delicious marks.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman: This is our top pick for simplicity and approachability. Whether you’re a steadfast vegetarian or an omnivore ready to dabble in Meatless Mondays, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is informative, useful and creative. As always, Mark Bittman brings us simple, no-fuss, real food recipes.
Clean Food by Terry Walters: Clean Food is a mostly-vegan, simplistic approach to seasonal eating. If the concept of eating what’s local and in season is foreign to you, Terry Walters breaks it down beautifully. The recipes are arranged by season, and her approach to food and cooking is refreshingly ‘back to the garden.’
Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero : Veganomicon is the bible of vegan eating. The recipes are delicious, abundantly flavorful - and perfect if you’re feeding a table of both vegans and meat eaters. These are not your basic quinoa bowls with
veggies and tofu; they defy the boundaries of vegan cooking with out-of-the-box recipes like their lentil-based ‘Snobby Joes.’ Still, you’ll find no reliance on questionable meat or egg substitutes; just real food.
A note to our meat-eating Tribers: Our favorite cookbooks happen to be plant-based because we really, really love our vegetables. And we think all of these cookbooks are awesome enough to please even the meatiest palette. That said, you can sub meat into any of the recipes (most often in place of the protein source) or serve it on the side.
If you thought Food Inc. was life (or diet) changing, stop, drop and watch Hungry For Change. This new documentary-with-a-message comes to us from the makers of Food Matters and is intent on educating us to rethink the food we eat.
Take it from people who have devoured everything from ‘In Defense of Food’ to Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead - Hungry for Change is a must-see; it will truly inspire, teach and motivate you to be ethical about your food choices - both for your body and for the state of our country’s food and diet culture.
Watch the entire film online for free until Saturday, March 31st. Register today at www.hungryforchange.tv.
If you thought Food Inc. was life (or diet) changing, stop, drop and watch Hungry For Change. This new documentary-with-a-message comes to us from the makers of Food Matters and is intent on educating us to rethink the food we eat.
Take it from people who have devoured everything from ‘In Defense of Food’ to Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead - Hungry for Change is a must-see; it will truly inspire, teach and motivate you to be ethical about your food choices - both for your body and for the state of our country’s food and diet culture.
Watch the entire film online for free until Saturday, March 31st. Register today at www.hungryforchange.tv.
We try not to dwell on calories at Bari Apotheke. We choose to sweat hard and enjoy delicious, real food without over thinking it. Hold the guilt, please and thank you.
That said, the nutrition world has been buzzing about the soon-to-be released book, “Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics” by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim. Because the authors are two of the most influential experts in the food politics and nutrition field, we’re more than willing to hear where they stand in the ongoing debate of why, and exactly how much, calories count.
From the science side, we’re well aware that calories do count. If we take in more energy than we expend, we gain weight. However, we’re believers in the quality of our food sources - and we know that 1,800 calories of sugar looks and feels very different than 1,800 calories of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. We followed the Twinkie experiment, and we know that, yes, it is possible to lose weight when eating a highly processed diet; but we know our insides feel a lot better when we don’t.
We’re more interested to hear what Nestle and Nesheim have to say about the political side of why calories count. Mark Bittman wrote up a post, “Is a Calorie a Calorie?,” alluding to the political nature of calories in the processed food industry. For the food industry, the belief that you can take in your allotted amount of calories from any source and still lose or maintain weight is essential to the existence of their business. Think about it: Calories as a focal point on a nutrition label is really just a way to justify eating processed food.
“Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics” publishes on April 1st, and we’ll have a copy in our hands that day.
What’s your stance on calories? Does quality count more than quantity - or is a calorie just a calorie?
The Bari Tribe started BariPEEL today, an 80-Day Challenge leading up to Memorial Day Weekend. We’re kicking it off with Bari Apotheke’s 7-Day Detox. Day 1 is coming to an end, and we’re feeling satisfied and energized from the day’s greens and grains. We’re cutting out heavier foods, like animal products, allowing our systems to breath and revitalize.
If you’re a recurring Bari Tribe Blog reader, you know about our weekly Meatless Monday recipes. Since we’re doing a meatless week with the Bari Detox, today we decided to revisit why we’re advocates of lowering our animal product intake. Our research leading up to the initial Meatless Monday post convinced us, and we’ve continued educating ourselves with each new article published. Eating locally and vegetable-based means supporting the local economy while providing the most nutrient-dense foods to support your workout routine.
No, we’re not vegetarians… yet. But we definitely recommend watching a few documentaries and dabbling with the idea by joining the global Meatless Monday movement. We’ve seen life-changing documentaries that focus on the effect of animal products on the human body, like Forks over Knives, as well as films on local vs. mass production like Food Fight, and the result unintentionally created a shift in the way we eat.
We’re now fascinated by the local food movement that has captivated so many people and we will continue our weekly contribution by providing meatless recipes from our Bari Apotheke team.
P.S. if you’ve seen/read any documentaries/articles that left an impression on you recently, send them our way!
