What I’m Loving Wednesday 12.19.12

1. Last night I went out with Danielle to deliver samples of the new Red Bull Editions that we tried a couple weeks ago. While out, the bartender made us a little shot with the Bakon Vodka, Zing Zang, and pineapple juice. It was supposed to taste like a pineapple pizza which sounds totally weird, but it was so good. He said the Bakon Vodka is really good in a Bloody Mary.

2. Old Navy’s Compression Capris. I know you guys love your Lululemon gear because it stores fat in unknown places, but I promise these do the same. It looks like I worked out for a month straight when I wear them.

3. This.

4. Boding finally went to Mi Xao with Eric and me. It was weird not going with Danielle! My new favorite menu item is the Chicken Salad: steamed chicken breast, cabbage, carrots, shallots, fresh herbs, and peanuts with a lime dressing. I want to drink the dressing and I’m not joking.

5. Eric said lunch was BYOC: bring your own chopsticks. It was the perfect opportunity for me to give Boding one of his Christmas presents early.

6. I partnered with my new best friend Carly for The Ornament Swap. She decided to go above and beyond with the gift giving. I’ll show you it all soon, but check out the best item in the box: an inflatable dreidel.

I can’t decide which I like more: the dreidel or the boy holding it….hahah I am going to be in so much trouble for sharing this.

6 days until Christmas!

Feeling Hungry and Healthy? Purée Café Is Your Place.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been head over heels in love. But no, not for a boy. For a restaurant! Purée Café in Mt. Pleasant is a new gem that you must check out. Purée caters to those health-conscious individuals like myself, but will surely please the appetites of anyone smart enough to eat there. The menu is vegetarian, with many vegan and gluten-free options. Fillers, preservatives, artificial colors, and GMOs are no no’s at this joint. Go in hungry and leave feeling happy and healthy!

My first visit to Puree was with my friend Eric, a meat-loving man, who worried the vegetarian menu wouldn’t satisfy him. While we glanced over the menu, we ordered two juices: the Green Clean (spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, parsley, apple, and lemon)  and The Vitality (kale, beet, carrot, and peach).

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We also couldn’t pass up the White Bean Dip with pita chips as an appetizer. I could not stop eating the dip!

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We shared a salad too. Hey, we saw a lot of things we liked…The arugula, goat cheese, & roasted beet salad with toasted nuts & berries was another great starter -- sweet, savory, and summery. Pretty, isn’t it?

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The meat-eater immediately spotted two items that intrigued him:  the Blackened Jalapeno Cheddar Burger and the BBQ Tempeh Sausage Burger. Jenan, the owner, stopped at our table and convinced him to go with the latter. Wise choice – the burger was huge and topped with sautéed onions, avocado, and melted cashew cheese

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I chose the Mediterranean platter:  falafel  & hummus, served with mixed green tahini salad & toasted pita. I loved this dish because I got to try a little bit of everything. The falafel is a family recipe and the roasted red pepper hummus is better than anything you could buy in a store.

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After my visit with Eric, I was hooked. Thankfully, so is my good friend Danielle, and we’ve been going pretty often. One day we didn’t tell each other we were going for lunch and happened to go at the exact same time. I’m not sure if we were more embarrassed or amused that we caught each other. :)

On more than one occasion (like four, sue me), I’ve had the Black Bean Burrito. I can’t stop! Jenan urges me to try new things, but I keep going back to it. The whole wheat wrap is filled with black beans, greens, pico de gallo, and avocado.

One afternoon, Danielle and I decided a cocktail with lunch was necessary. She got a margarita with organic tequila and I got a mixed drink with organic vodka, beet juice, strawberries, and lime. These were probably the healthiest cocktails we’ve ever encountered, ha!

My most recent visit (when I spilled the beet juice everywhere) was for brunch. I had the The scrambler: tofu with cheese, tomatoes, kale, sweet & Yukon gold potatoes wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla and a side of pesto. The tofu tasted pretty darn similar to eggs and I loved that there were two kinds of potato.

Locals, please check out this adorable café! Vegetarian or not, I know you’ll find something delicious. Stop in for a juice, eat one of the awesome entrees, chat w/ the sweet owner, and leave with a freshly-baked dessert. The vegan chocolate chip cookies are ridiculously good. Trust me, I’ve had a couple. ;)

Check out Purée on their website, facebook, or twitter. Tell Jenan I sent you!!

Do you often find yourself ordering the same thing over and over because it’s so good or do you like to always try new things?

What’s your favorite vegetarian dish?

Thoughts On Thursday

1. I picked up my second box of the Fall CSA with Gruber Farm. This box had more Summer vegetables than I expected. I guess because the weather is cooling down (low 80s, ha), I feel like I should be eating Fall veggies.

In the box:

• potatoes
• radishes
• eggplant
• onion
• cucumber
• arugula
• tomatoes
• watermelon
• cantaloupe

2. Before leaving for the beach house last weekend, Amanda and I stopped by the liquor store for tequila. While checking out, I spotted this pickle flavored vodka. Can you imagine? I’d love to try it, but buy a whole bottle? I will not.

Once at the beach house, Amanda whipped up some tasty drinks with muddled strawberries, lime, vodka, and a splash of champagne. Party we did.

3. My aunt told me I needed to ask Siri to tell me a knock knock joke. I did, and her response was kind of rude.

4. To make things better, I set myself a happy wake up alarm. Starting the day on a positive note or being narcissistic? Don’t answer that.

5. As I was walking out to work this morning, I noticed two leaves in the shape of a heart. Is the universe trying to tell me to fall in love? EEEEK!

6. Though we don’t have an actual Fall, Charleston really is gorgeous this time of year. The humidity said sayonara, which makes for perfect running temps. Amanda and I are soaking up as much of this weather as we can and running outdoors a lot.

7. Try not to laugh at this.

WHEN MY BEST FRIEND AND I ARE TRYING NOT TO CRACK UP

Tomorrow is Friday! Yippee!!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

1. Since eating more like a pescatarian, I get asked a lot of questions. Many of those I will answer in an upcoming post, but for now, I will leave you with this pie chart I made on Sunday.
Yup. The most typical reaction people have is shock that I will no longer be eating my beloved Chick-fil-A chicken. I can, however, eat their oatmeal, Icedream, fruit cup, and drink my favorite Diet Lemonade. :) Just imagine the money I’m saving…
2. Firefly makes a skinny tea vodka using Truvia sweetener. I picked up 2 of these mini bottles last Friday  for my roommate and me. I bet they’d be delicious with a Diet lemonade from you know where…
3. I might actually be obsessed with Ali Baba on Daniel Island. Their vegetarian options  are incredible. Everything I’ve ever eaten is so fresh, and I try  at least one new item each time I go. Last week’s lunch consisted of (clockwise from top left): foul madamas, orzo salad w/ golden raisins and apples, grilled vegetables, and fattoush salad. The orzo salad may have been my favorite just for the name.
4. In a crossword puzzle I was doing the other night, clue # made me laugh.
The answer? Geeks. Funny though, because there is a difference between nerds and geeks.
5. I TOLD YOU!!
Chocolate before a workout is my favorite type of motivation/energy enhancer. Even nasty 100% cacao.
What are youuuuuuuuu loving?

Hula/Spin Success and Black History Month

I promise the above topics are related. Just read on.

Hula/Spin was a success! David gave me a wonderful introduction and I’m confident that everyone in the class thought it was a neat concept. We had one girl win a free personal training session because she was able to hoop the duration of a 3 1/2 minute song. I’m seriously contemplating buying a book on hula hooping so I can become a master hooper and start my own fitness classes. Just imagine that. Would you attend?

During the cool down song, David usually comes around for high-fives. He instead announced that in honor of Black History Month, he’d be walking around asking us individually who our favorite black person was. I almost fell off my bike laughing. I mean really, we were getting our burn on AND our learn on. Most people responded with celebrities like Denzel Washington, Sydney Poitier, Michael Jackson, and Usher. I chose an Eco celebrity:

JULIUS!!!

Julius was my trainer last year and became one of my favorite people in the world. I highly recommend him if you need to learn how to pump iron. He is the reason why I am no longer afraid of the gym’s man zone and can babe-hunt like a pro.

Because I was in class, Ashley was left to gawk at the babes alone. I received this tweet from her:

Past gym-related tweets that will make you chuckle:

(Feel free to add me on twitter: @christinaorso.) About that last tweet, Ash’s most recent gym crush appeared to be a babe until he jumped on the treadmill next to us. It was like big foot joined Eco Fitness and his main mission was to pound down on heavy machinery. I guess he can still be a babe, but if he wants to run on the treadmill, he should probably put on ballerina slippers.

Question 1: Do hot gym babes motivate you to work out? I don’t have a gym crush but I do appreciate any male who likes to work on his pecs/lats/biceps. Not traps though. Those are freaky.

Question 2: How do you feel about men doing the stereotypically female fitness classes like yoga and pilates? My ex-bf pumped iron but loved pilates. I’m a huge promoter of doing whatever fitness routine that makes you happy, but that always made me wonder. Then again, I find exercise while drinking. Who am I to judge?

Vodka curls last summer: