January 2023 – The Cookie ChRUNicles (2024)

I have two important things to discuss before listing my workouts from last week!

Lifetime in Boca

While in Florida last week, I went to Lifetime in Boca Raton. I was last there 10 years ago!

At the time, I was a Lifetime member here in New York. Now, as an Equinox member, it was pretty interesting to go back to a Lifetime. Let me explain…

Don’t get me wrong – Lifetime is a big beautiful facility with all of the amenities you could want from an athletic club.

However, it’s what I would call a fancy sweat factory. It was sweaty, not as clean, didn’t smell pleasant, had a lot going on, and just didn’t feel as pristine as my daily experiences at Equinox.

My son had told me this same opinion once he joined Equinox after having a Lifetime membership more recently than me here in New York. Now that I experienced Lifetime again for myself, I see the difference and exactly what he meant.

Now, that does not mean I didn’t enjoy myself at Lifetime in Boca. In fact, I checked the class schedule for the day I was going and got so lucky to see Warrior Sculpt at the time I could attend!

If you have been reading for a while, you may recall that I used to do Warrior Sculpt through Lifetime on Demand workouts during the pandemic. It was my FAVORITE workout and turned me into a yoga-loving person. I had never taken the class in person until now!

Warrior Sculpt in person was challenging, amazing, and so fun. I’m actually really proud of myself for how far I’ve come with yoga and my ability to keep up with these types of classes.

I had this PB & B smoothie right after the class from the Lifetime Cafe. I mentioned the smoothie in Friday’s post but just in case you missed it, it was delicious and necessary.

My First Precision Run Class

I’m so excited to report that I FINALLY tried the run class at Equinox! While I usually choose spin on Saturday which conflicts with the run class time, I opted to try Precision Run on Saturday instead of spin because I hadn’t run in a week and was really in the mood.

First, although I was new to the class style, I’m obviously not a new runner. In fact, I was likely the most experienced runner in the class – other runners and the instructor noticed I was going really fast and not having any issues with the intervals. The girl next to me was so nice and said at one point – wow you are really fast!

The class is structured for all levels because you control your pace range but need to know what your PR pace is — well, that was not something I knew right away. PR pace as in fastest ever? Fastest for what type of workout and/or distance? I really wasn’t sure at first so I just played a bit until I figured out halfway through the class that 8.0 and even above was my PR pace to base things around.

The class is run/walk intervals. I don’t normally walk during my runs — if I’m running intervals, I would run fast and then run easy for the slower intervals. This particular workout was one min running/one min walking with a mixed focus on inlines and speed. So honestly, this felt relatively “easy” because every minute I was walking but not really easy if that makes sense. Running is always a workout and the intervals, even though they included walking, were much different from my usual runs which is really A GOOD THING. I like variety right now so it’s nice to add variety to my running.

I mentioned the class structure to Laura who also wrote this good post about the benefits of Run/Walk intervals.

Will I take the class again? YES. Will I try to remember I can also use the Equinox+ App for the running workouts to do on my own? YES.

Last Week’s Workouts

I was away for the first half of the week but jumped right back into my Equinox routine the day after I got home.

• 3 Yoga Classes
• 2 Walk Classes
• 2 Equinox+ App Classes
• 1 Run Class
• 1 Barre Class
• 1 Pilates Class

Monday – 20 Min Pilates + 15 Min Yoga (Equinox+ App)

Tuesday – 60 Min Warrior Sculpt (heated / 3 lb weights)

Wednesday – Off (travel day)

Thursday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga

Friday – 30 Treadmill Walk + 45 Min Barre (2 lb weights/ball)

Saturday – 45 Min Precision Run + 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga

My first run class!

Sunday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 45 Min Pilates

I’m back from Florida with a recap highlighting some of the things I did and ate.

I was in Florida for basically five days, which felt like a day and a half. Wow, how time flies!

I think that because I’ve been going down to South Florida so often again, it doesn’t even feel like a vacation, more like I’m just going down to see Heather and we have things to do in an area I know pretty well.

Love and Hip Hop Baby Shower Set Up

So remember that Heather and I both work in the events industry? While I’m still sorting out my next steps after leaving my company, Heather is busy with rental decor 24/7, designing the most beautiful tables all over South Florida.

I chose this past weekend to go down to Florida so that I could help her set up a baby shower for reality stars on Love and Hip Hop Miami.

Heather has such an eye for tabletop design. The layout was beautiful. The mix of liquid velvet and sequin linens were to die for and totally what I would choose for my own event!

Once set up was done, we had some fun posing with the balloon decor. The shower will be in an episode on VH1 this summer! I can’t wait to see it.

What I Ate (Highlights)

I never capture everything I eat but here are some highlights!

Pizza and salad are always a favorite combo for me — Sicilian Oven is a really good restaurant, even if it’s not New York pizza.

We had a delicious lunch at Prime Catch in Boynton Beach. This eggplant dip and pita bread were really good for sharing.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’m trying to eat more wild salmon for the health benefits which is why I had it added to my salad for lunch. Normally I would order without the added protein but I went for the salmon and I think it was the best salmon I’ve ever had.

Crumbl is right near Prime Catch so we preplanned a stop for cookies after lunch.

I went with the classic chocolate chip cookie and it did not disappoint. I did take bites from a few of the other cookies but come on, chocolate chip is the best. We all know that.

This greek salad with a side of hummus was very satisfying after we spent hours setting up the baby shower layout.

If you saw my instagram stories earlier this week, you saw that I went to Lifetime one day. I took a heated Warrior Sculpt class and was so super excited about it! I will talk about it more in Monday’s workout recap but from the Lifetime Cafe, I had a PB&B Smoothie and a Southwest Bowl (I think that’s what it was called) which I ate a few hours later for lunch.

I loaded a box from the Whole Foods food bar one day too. Don’t ask me what was in it! I don’t really know but I chose a lot of roasted vegetables and a few different grain salads I think.

One night we had dinner at Lulu’s in Delray.

We shared a hummus appetizer and then I had some sort of bowl. I wanted the Buddha Bowl but they were out of it.

Candy! I need a candy bag after dinner.

I always pack a peanut butter sandwich for the airport and as an emergency snack!

And finally, I can’t close out a trip to Florida post without mentioning Stoney Clover. While I didn’t take pictures of all of the pouches I used, here’s a picture of the pouches in my tote on the plane. That’s one clear travel pouch and a mini pouch.

And that’s about it! See you Monday to discuss my workouts from this week.

Hi from Florida!

I’m getting back into a routine of flying down to the Boca/Palm Beach area every few months it seems — I used to do this in high school and college so it feels really nice to be doing it again! Especially this time of year. To get off the plane and sit by the pool in January is everything.

Last Week’s Workouts

I had an excellent week of workouts prior to leaving for Florida on Saturday. We know it’s hard for me to choose which Equinox classes to take each morning but I planned Monday – Friday really well this time knowing I would miss classes over the weekend and into this week too. I also made sure to run on Friday because it’s rare that I run on vacation – i don’t even bring my running shoes, i just take an extra pair of my friend Heather’s athletic sneakers if I need them.

• 3 Runs
• 2 Barre Classes
• 1 Spin Class
• 1 Yoga Class
• 1 Walking Class

Monday – 20 Min Run + 45 Min Barre (2 lb weights + ball + band)

I love adding short runs into my routine. It helps me satisfy my indecisive feelings when choosing which workout to do and when. Even if I only run for 20 minutes, I satisfy the runner inside me and then happily head into barre class.

Tuesday – 15 min Run + 45 Min Spin (Beats & Bands)

I love this new spin class!

Wednesday – 60 Min Bala Bangle Barre Burn (2 lb weights + bala ankle weights)

Thursday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga (strap + block)

I really love this class combination. Inclines on the treadmill ranged from 3 to 15% with increases in speed when the inclines dropped.

Friday – 5 Mile Run (treadmill)

I briefly considered taking a spin class but decided I wanted to run as my workout.

I followed my easy run on the treadmill workout to start, then dropped speed for some hills, then increased speed again. Once I hit 3 miles, I thought to myself that it was hard and maybe I should stop. I quickly said NO WAY. I used to run 13 miles in my sleep, of course, I can continue.

For some reason, the last two miles were a bit of a struggle but I did it, and I was really proud.

Saturday – 30 Min Yoga (Equinox App)

I really enjoyed this yoga flow. It was perfect before my flight.

Sunday – Off

My plan for the next few days while in Florida is to do a few Equinox app workouts like yoga pilates,barre.

This is likely the last Chopt salad you will see from me, at least for the time being.

Literally, a day or two after I had the above salad, Chopt changed their menu (and raised prices!) so now they don’t carry the ingredients I routinely order and if I alter the salad to include the basic ingredients that I don’t even love from the list, I can pay a few extra dollars for it too.

My go-to order is all marked up in the app like I did something wrong.

The crispy chickpeas really made the salad – how did they remove them from the menu? No roasted brussels sprouts anymore either? No cucumber mixed with tomatoes?

Chopt is down to majorly basic ingredients and charging more for it. No thank you. I will now go to Sweet Green which may be expensive but at least I like the various options they have if I’m not going to make a salad at home. At this point, I don’t even think Sweet Green is more expensive than the new Chopt prices.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s move on to a few recent meals…

I didn’t know if I wanted breakfast or lunch after yoga on the weekend so I made it a combination of both—

Toasted Ezekiel bread with vegetable cream cheese and an egg on top with a side salad.

I had salad and baked ziti for dinner one night recently when my son and I did take out from Vincents.

We ordered the family meal deal where you can choose a salad, pasta, and entree.

I’m very into roasting cauliflower again. I roasted it last night and added it to tomato sauce with lentil pasta. Such a good combination for dinner!

This is what it looked like all mixed together in the pan.

I made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s yesterday. I’m not doing a full grocery shop because I leave for Florida in a few days!

I just needed a few necessities like chocolate chips, mints, oatmeal, and the organic rainbow cauliflower from the frozen section. It’s not an easy find so when Trader Joe’s has it in stock, I always buy it.

I did take note of what Trader Joe’s was out of stock on that I would have bought if I saw it:

• Organic Chickpeas
• Organic Crunchy Salted Peanut Butter
• Frozen Broccoli
• Organic Apples
• Organic Tomatoes (only had the grape tomatoes in stock)

The peanut butter has been out of stock for a while and the organic chickpeas have been hit or miss at Trader Joe’s over the last couple of months.

Hello!

I don’t have much to add beyond the workout recap details listed below. In Friday’s post, I mentioned that last week was a blur. I wasn’t kidding! Something about it felt very blended together, which is likely why I have nothing to add beyond what I noted below each day.

Last Week’s Workouts

Last week played out a little weird – I usually get to an additional barre and pilates class.

• 2 Runs
• 2 Spin Classes
• 2 Yoga Classes
• 1 Barre Class
• 1 Walking Class
• 1 Pilates Class

Monday – 3 Mile Run + 45 Min Barre (2 lb weights, ball, band)

This is such a great workout combo!

The run was not too challenging but very engaging. It went like this:

• 1-mile warm-up following my easy run on a treadmill workout with an incline between 1 – 1.5%
• At the 10-minute mark, I dropped speed to 6.3 and ranged inclines in this ladder: 1-2-3-4-3-2-1
• At the 20-minute mark, I picked up speed to 7.0 and stopped at 3 miles

Tuesday – 5 Mile Run (outside!)

I really wanted to try the new spin class on the schedule for this morning – Beats and Bands – which incorporates cycling with resistance bands. However, I knew I needed a day off from the gym so I will try the spin class next Tuesday.

I did have energy though and decided to run outside for a change. Time flew by and before I knew it, I was at five miles.

Wednesday – 45 Min Walk (treadmill)

My glutes were sore from Monday’s barre class so I opted for a walk today followed by stretching. I hate missing today’s bala bangle barre class but I just knew it was not a good idea for today.

Thursday – 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga (yoga blocks)

I love the instructor for today’s yoga class – challenging but so doable and worth it! She also teaches the Friday morning pilates that I’m currently not taking because I don’t need to get up and out in the winter for 7:00 AM classes if I’m not working — but I will be back to that class for sure.

Friday – 45 Min Spin (Beats & Bands)

To my surprise this morning, the spin class I often take on Friday mornings had an instructor sub and he chose to run the class in the new format – Beats & Bands. I was so excited to try it! They incorporate two sections into the class using a resistance band that you attach to the bike for some upper body work. It was so fun and a great workout.

Saturday – 45 Min Spin (Anthem Ride) + 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga

Sunday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 45 Min Pilates

We regulars for the walking class agreed that today’s incline walk was HARD. Although we don’t know why, we think it had something to do with the intervals being 2-minutes vs the shorter lengths we normally do. It’s always an accomplishment when it’s done and the restorative pilates class 15 minutes later feels great.

I try to reserve my newest pair of Brooks Ghost 14’s just for running but today I wore them for the walking class — I definitely felt the added cushion (because they haven’t been worn as much yet) and it was really nice on those inclines!

It’s suddenly Friday and I don’t know how that happened! This week flew by in a real blur for me.

Favorite Food

I finally had lunch at The Shed!

It was easier to get a table this week so I was very excited. My friend and I both had the veggie bowl (shocker) – it was delicious. I could see by looking around at what everyone else was eating why the restaurant is so popular – the pancake stacks, waffles, various bowls, and burgers really looked so so delicious.

Favorite Fitness

This week feels like a blur to me. I know I took a barre class on Monday and ran both Monday and Tuesday, but it all feels blended together.

I did get to the Thursday morning yoga class yesterday which is such a good one — her flows are a little more challenging but I can keep up which makes me happy.

Favorite Fashion

This isn’t the best time of year for shopping because it’s a bit early to think about spring and I already have the winter clothes I need. I am going to Florida soon but I really don’t need to buy anything for the trip.

However, there are some decent sales going on!

Splendid is having a HUGE SALE.

Bloomingdale’s is running a long weekend sale with an extra 40% off a lot of already-on-sale items.

J.Crew has a long weekend, Epic sale with lots of discounts to take advantage of — use code EPIC.

Stoney Clover launched their Valentine’s Day collection yesterday – some pieces are already sold out but grab what you can while you can!

Favorite Find

I’ve talked about Olive & June nail polish products in the past (and you can get a lot of them at Target!) but right now, my favorite finds from Olive & June are the hand serum and hand/foot scrub. Both products are made with quality, clean ingredients and get the job done. The scrub is not harsh and leaves my skin so soft and smooth. And the hand serum – I love it! It adds a fragrance-free silkiness to my skin before I add moisturizer on top — no dry skin for me, that’s for sure!

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Just a few random thoughts from my workouts last week:

I asked myself if I was running enough and then quickly said – running enough for what? This is literally my internal battle for five years now since I drastically cut back from high mileage and never returned to it. I like my lower running mileage and definitely love the Equinox class variety I have going on right now BUT the runner in me still tugs at my feelings – but never wins.

My blog is 10 years old this week. 10 YEARS. 10 years ago when I started this blog I was a member of Lifetime, taking spin classes, running a whole lot, and utilizing the Lifetime kids club for my son. My son was 9 at the time and is now 19 (!!) and now we both belong to Equinox – just different locations.

To think that 10 years ago, I hadn’t begun to take barre yet, and rarely did anything but cardio. I may have run a lot of races back then but I would say I’m stronger now and definitely more flexible!

10 years ago was the time period when bloggers were the influencers and social media wasn’t too much of a thing — the below picture is from the Fitness Magazine Meet and Tweet — they wanted you tweeting from the event, because Twitter was the popular platform back then. Instagram had barely become a thing and reels and tik toks weren’t around yet.

Last Week’s Workouts

• 3 days included running
• 2 spin classes
• 2 barre classes
• 2 pilates classes
• 1 walking class
• 1 yoga class

Monday – 15 Min Run + 45 Min Barre (strap, block, ball, 2 lb weights)

I love a quick warm-up run! Also, this barre class incorporated allll the equipment.

Tuesday – 60 Min Pilates Fusion (yoga block)

Wednesday – 30 Min Run + 30 Min Walk (treadmill)

It’s funny how running became my “day off” — I needed a day off from classes, even though I hated to miss the barre class that uses the bala bangle ankle weights.

Thursday – 60 Min Barre (2 lb weights, ball, band)

It was a toss-up between barre or vinyasa yoga today. I made my decision first thing in the morning and based it upon waking up on the early side which put me in the barre time slot vs the later yoga time slot.

Friday – 15 Min Run + 45 MIn Spin (Anthem Ride)

Saturday – 45 Min Spin (Anthem Ride) + 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga

I stuck around after spin for a yoga class and I’m so glad I did. Also, this particular yoga class goes so fast. It’s an hour but feels like 20 minutes.

Sunday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 45 Min Pilates (pilates ring)

Today’s incline walk class ranged inclines from 3 – 15% but is broken down into 1 minute and 30 second intervals that it goes so fast!

Friday snuck up on me this week!

I have a quick round of favorites to share so let’s jump right into things.

Barre

I took two barre classes this week and love them so much. While I said last week that I just cannot pick a favorite Equinox class, I’m always so happy during barre — really brings me back to my Pure Barre days.

Both classes used 2 lb weights and a ball, along with bands, blocks, and straps. So much variety for those little isometric movements!

Fashion

I get very excited when Z Supply launches its Valentine’s Day capsule. I love the Classic Heart Joggers which match the Happy Heart Long Sleeve Top and Tank Bra. There’s also shorts to match this set. The material is SO SOFT.

The Gap does a heart print pajama set this time of year too.

These Converse Run Star HIke sneakers are cool.

I don’t run outside right now but this It’s Rulu Run Long Sleeve Shirt in the Pink Peony has my attention. Also, packs of scrunchies are on sale – always worth it.

Big sales going on at Shopbop. I’m a sucker for skirts like this. You really have to dig around and sort the sale to find what you may like. A few Stoney Clover items are included in the sale – always worth checking out.

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Beauty

I bought this facial roller at Target recently and really like it. I was using a Gua Sha but I dropped it on the floor and it cracked in half.

I get monthly facials at Glow Bar for the last six months and really love the results and experienced. I asked the esthetician the other day if she feels facial rollers/gua sha tools are really worth the hype and she said YES. It’s a really small investment of time and money so it’s worth trying if you haven’t.

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Have a great weekend!

Let’s start today’s post with one of my favorite combinations – pizza and salad.

We went to Iavarone for lunch last week which happened as an alternative to The Shed, which was the original plan. The wait at The Shed is insane and they don’t take reservations.

Sweet Green

I had two salads from Sweet Green since we last discussed food. Now that my gift card has run out, I won’t go as often because, as I said last week, I think it’s too pricey. I enjoy the premium toppings and they add up!

Of the two salads I had in last few days, I liked this combo below the best:

• Romaine
• Quinoa
• Beets
• Avocado
• Pickled Carrots
• Curry Cauliflower
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Green Goddess Ranch Dressing

Town Bagel

My son was happy to have lunch with me at Town Bagel the other day. Salads and bagels for both of us — and an iced coffee for him.

I bought a side of vegetable cream cheese and used some on the everything bialy in the above picture and brought the rest home.

The next day, I had the vegetable cream cheese on a toasted English muffin with an egg on top too — who am I to eat a few eggs a week suddenly?!

I like this as a brunch combination lately when I get home from the gym closer to lunchtime. This usually happens when I stay for yoga at Equonox — yoga is on the schedule a bit later in the morning.

Cooking Again?

I’m slowly feeling a little more interested in cooking again now that I’m not working.

Don’t get too excited. I don’t ever cook anything elaborate.

However, I do find that I’m more interested in buying different vegetables and maybe roasting them in different ways to make new meal combinations.

My son is not too thrilled about this. He came home to me roasting vegetables and caught on right away.

Is this what you are going to do now that you don’t work? Smell up the house with roasted vegetables? Actually using the oven – what is going on?

He’s lucky I only roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. I purposely left out the brussels sprouts so he didn’t yell at me….and he yelled at me anyway.

I made this salad below using the roasted vegetables and sweet potatoes plus:

• Romaine
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Chickpeas
• Onion
• Avocado
• Feta Cheese
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

And look, I made wild salmon again for dinner.

On the side, Whole Foods 365 Organic Shoe String Fries and broccoli. I added feta cheese with the broccoli because it sounded like a good idea.

I call cooking the Trader Joe’s lentil pasta, which literally takes like three minutes to cook, cooking.

All ingredients for the below lentil pasta quick dinner are from Trader Joe’s:

• Frozen Cauliflower
• Frozen Broccoli
• Olive Oil
• Plant Based Bolognese Sauce
• Lentil Pasta
• Mozzarella Cheese

The other night I got more elaborate when cooking the lentil pasta for dinner.

I cooked broccoli, shaved brussels sprouts, onion, and cauliflower in a pan with olive oil, oregano, diced tomatoes, and some of Trader Joe’s low sodium roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Then added the lentil pasta once it was cooked.

And that’s it for today! I’m hoping to get a Friday Favorites up post at the end of the week.

Happy 2023!

Welcome to the new year and all the fitness and diet messaging overwhelming all of our social media feeds.

If January’s diet and fitness hoopla bother you too, then you will appreciate the January message put out by Equinox. I knew I was in the right fitness club! Waiting for January to start something new is like waiting for Monday. Why wait?

Last Week’s Workouts

So remember how I was in the city last Monday? While it was such a great time and although my Converse Run Star Hike Sneakers are comfortable and warm for walking, I think I covered way too many blocks and avenues in them because I woke up Tuesday with discomfort in both shins. For this reason, I waited to run until Friday when I stopped feeling anything in my shins.

Still a busy week of workouts!

• 2 yoga classes
• 2 pilates classes
• 2 incline walking classes
• 1 barre class
• 1 run
• 1 spin class

Monday – 30 Min Pilates (Equinox App)

I chose a quick pilates workout from the Equinox app before walking several blocks (really, several miles) throughout the day. It was my first time using the App and it was great. I will use it when I go to Florida later this month!

Tuesday – 60 Min Pilates Fusion (2 lb weights + slider)

Wednesday – 60 Min Bala Bangle Barre Burn (2 lb weights + ankle weights)

Thursday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 60 Min Vinyasa Yoga (yoga blocks)

I loved this class combo!

Friday – 30 Min Walk/3 Mile Run (treadmill)

I was on the phone for the first 30 minutes catching up with a friend. Once we were off, I switched to running and stopped at three miles.

Saturday – 45 Min Spin + 60 Min VInyasa Yoga

The spin class was scheduled 15 minutes later than usual which timed out perfectly for me to stick around for yoga.

Sunday – 45 Min Precision Walk Elevate + 45 Min Pilates