Impossible is a typoRunning my pants off and loving myself along the way

Yet another huge weather event in the northeast. 12 hours before Storm Nemo even rolled in, the Weather Channel was calling it “Historic”.

“Historic” before it even happened?

WTF? You can’t call something that’s HASN’T HAPPENED YET historic. The media kills me sometimes, but that’s another post.

So yeah, there’s lots of snow.

About 18 inches right at the front door. Thankfully it was fluffy snow so I could get out the door to shovel.

108 minutes later and I was done.

108 minutes!!!!!

Sidebar: 108 MINUTES!! HOLY COW! 108!!!! Hurley should be with me pushing the button, but they didn’t have snow on the Island

How do I know I was shoveling snow for 108 minutes?

Weight Watcher’s Active Link.

108 minutes of snow shoveling gave me 61% of my activity total for the day.

Yeah, I’m nerdy and this kind of stats tracking makes me giddy.

Oh, and of course I did Nemo inspired blizzard nailart.

Snowy Blizzard nails!

FitGirl: What are you doing?

FatGirl: Eating cake! Look, it’s zero points

FitGirl: No cake is zero points.

FatGirl: Look. Pinterest says it’s ZERO points. It’s a Zero Point Cake.  You make it in a MUG. In the MICROWAVE. In 1 MINUTE. I could eat a dozen of these suckers.

FitGirl: (looking at three cake crusted mugs on the counter) Um, even if it is zero points, which it’s not, having three of them is not zero points.

FatGirl: OMG can’t you do math? ZERO times THREE is ZERO. It’s ZERO point cake. Pinterest said so.

So maybe you’ve seen this pin floating around on Pinterest for the ZERO point mug cake.

Don’t believe everything you pin.

I hate to break the news, it’s not zero points. How do I know? I got a little funky with a spreadsheet.

The info on the pin says:

IT’S 0 POINTS PLUS!! Genius! 1-2-3 Cake. You need 2 boxes of cake mix. 1 can be any flavor you prefer, but the other MUST be Angel Food cake mix. Mix them together (shake them in a big ziploc bag or stir them together in a big bowl). Then simply store the mixture in an airtight container until you get the urge for dessert. Then just put 3 tablespoons of the dry mixture in a big coffee mug and stir in 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave it for one minute

So that’s what I did, I mixed a Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix with a Betty Crocker Devil Food Cake Mix and carefully weighed out three tablespoons in grams. It came out to 30 grams per serving.

Then since a serving of each cake did not match the servings in the Mug Cake, I totaled up the boxes, added them together and divided it into 30 gram servings to figure out the total nutritional values.

Then I put those into the Points calculator, and shaazam – 3 Points Plus.

So, this is a good lesson in not believing what you pin.

Now, I’m not knocking this cake. It’s simple, tasty, and hits the spot if you need just a little chocolate to get you though the night. I totally recommend having it on hand because it’s not like a bag of cookies, that remain open and just seem to talk to you late at night. Since you actually have to cook it, you’re lest apt to have say 4 than you might with an open bag of cookies.

TIP: only cook it for 45 seconds. 1 minute is WAY too long. Your microwave may vary, but keep an eye on it, once the top stops bubbling and it looks dry and just begins to pull away from the edge of the mug, it’s done, get it out of there. Also, for one more point, add a teaspoon of peanut butter, it makes it ever so rich.

OH and I’ve also used left over coffee instead of water, that will boost the chocolate flavor just a bit.

What the heck is this whole Weight Watcher’s 360 thing? Routines? Spaces? HUH?

Weight Watcher’s 360 Spaces Tool

I’ve been trying to figure out this Spaces concept for a few days now since the launch of Weight Watcher’s 360. And I think there is something I’m not getting.

Ok, so you go log on to WW.com and you see your pretty new home page (loving the new branding colors. The blue is soooo over done but that is, alas, another blog post). You see your tracking box, the Spaces box and the Routines Box right front and center. I really do like this aspect, because you get YOUR information right front and center. Tracking is fairly obvious, and Routines I’ll talk more about in another post… but Spaces?

You click on Spaces and all you see are some tips organized by location like Home, Workplace, Shopping. You can see tips for “Planning ahead” and “Panic moments”. So OK, click on “Shopping” and then panic moments and they give you a tip for what to do if Girl Scouts “are lurking” out side the market:

Instant fix: Buy a box of cookies for your elderly neighbor. If you do bring home a box for yourself, portion out single servings in mini zipper bags, and freeze the rest. You’ll be less likely to speed through a sleeve of chocolate mint cookies.

Right ok, great tip… let’s bring this to reality, picture yourself walking out the market and there’s a Girl Scout standing there with cookies. Hello Thin Mints, how I’ve missed you. Are you supposed run home, look up what possible solution Weight Watchers might have for this issue then run back to the market to buy the cookies for your elderly neighbor? And what about people who don’t have eTools? Does the whole Spaces tool not exist for them?

I just don’t get how this is supposed to be incorporated into your life. I’m not at my computer when I’m in a “panic moment”. Are you? Sure, it might be handy if this was a part of the Weight Watcher’s Mobile app suite BUT IT’S NOT. They rolled out the new program without an update to the mobile apps. I could see a situation where you’re out with the girls and Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers are quickly approaching. You could possibly whip out the Spaces tool and get a reminder of a strategy to over come temptation… but, sigh, that’s not part of the current functionality because they ROLLED OUT THE NEW PROGRAM WITHOUT AN APP UPDATE. Yeah, can you tell this is a little frustrating for me?

Here’s the “how this tool works” page:

OK, I click a star… now what?

Unless I’m missing something HUGE, this is just a series of tips and nothing else. I’m sorry, but I just don’t find this useful in any real and concrete way. I think a better way to have presented this tool so that it would have been actionable would be like the Flylady 31 Day Baby Steps approach. If you had customizeable plans to target and rehab all your “Spaces” in a day-by-day step-by-step approach, that could have some value. Like, have a kitchen make-over check list:

Day 1 Goal: Clean out two shelves on the door of your fridge. Toss out old, expired items, wrap the butter in foil (Keeps it fresh and makes you work for a pat to put on your peas!) and label sauces and salad dressing with Points Plus values.

Just a whole bunch of tips I can click a cute little star button for? I don’t get it.

Do you have any insights into this Spaces too and how it might help your health and weight loss goals?

Weight Watcher’s is changing it up again with a new program called Weight Watcher’s 360.

Yet another branding change.

Now, don’t get your panties in a bunch, the program isn’t actually changing. Points are still calculated and tracked the same way. There are just some added features and a new look, naturally (and naturally, new products and materials to buy).

The change focuses on two new tools – Routines and Spaces. I guess the thought is that, losing weight is not just simple math of calories in-calories-out-presto-changeo-you-are-skinny. There’s old habits to break (ahem, midnight doughnut eating), new habits to form and real life obstacles to get over.

So let’s dig in, shall we?

Spaces
Some places you can control — your home, your workplace, your car. Others, not so much. We’ve created a Spaces tool that gives you action plans for all kinds of challenges wherever you are. Browse through them and “Favorite” the tips you find most helpful so you can come back to them any time.

Gee, thanks.

On first glace, this is common sense and kind of pointless in my opinion. It just seems to be a list of tips to orient the spaces you go through, like the office, the kitchen, the bedroom so that they are in line with the new habits you want to create. OK great, so you “favorite” a “tip” you find “helpful” so you can “come back to it anytime”. That’s sort of like pinning an inspirational quote to Pinterest.

Gee, good thing I pinned that, it made all the difference

Yeah, so you pinned it and you can glance at it anytime, but what change does that affect? Maybe there’s more here that I’m missing on first glance that will be explained in depth as the program rolls out. Whatevers. (Oh hey, by the way, follow me on Pinterest!)

Routines
Yes, it’s actually possible to make the easy choice the smartest choice, with just a little practice. We’ve identified small, but really healthy habits to choose from — we call them Routines — that’ll help take some of the guesswork out of making the right choice. Head to the Routines Tool to select up to three. Check them off daily and you’ll get encouragement along the way.

Baby steps might even be too much for me… sad…

Now this s a little more interesting for me given what’s going on in my life. I work from home and sometimes, it’s a real stretch to get out of my Jammies and into real clothes in the morning. My life is really unstructured right now and that’s great for somethings, not so great for others. Being 100% in control of how you spend your time is amazing and challenging. If I don’t have to be anywhere I wake up, roll over and start working. I am finding it a huge challenge to eat well, work out, even get basic errands done (ahem over due library book). Being able to do what ever I want, when ever I want has, let’s be straight here, lead me to not do anything ever.

I have never really been good at disciplining myself and keeping to a schedule that wasn’t dictated by someone else, school, a job, a boss. Maybe it’s just not in my nature, but I find it crazy difficult to put MYSELF on a schedule. Maybe I’m just lazy, who knows? This has been a hot topic for me lately and one I’m acutely aware I need to work on. Even before rolling into my meeting, I had decided that creating this huge daily to-do list was just going to be too much for me, so I’d just focus on two things a day. Color me surprised when I walked into the meeting and that’s exactly what this whole “Routine” thing is about.

There’s a few other things two, like this nifty “trophy” corner. Yeah, it’s kind of childish, but admit it, you like earning a gold star don’t you?

You know you want that gold star

A couple of annoying things. They roll out the new program and the new mobile app is still in development so none of the new features can be accessed on your smart phone. That basically means you have to use eTools on your computer to see and interact with the new content. AND if you’re not an eTools subscriber? Well, you’re pretty much left out of the experience. In the new program materials they handed out, there are about 400 words on the Spaces concept and about 300 words on the Routines idea. There’s a huge guidebook in the New Member Kit that I’m assuming explains this all in detail but you have to shell out $40 Bucks for it. AND the free paper tracker they give you has NO mention of Routines and Spaces, so they have effectively given you no free way to utilized the Routine technology without buying supplemental materials. There are silicone measuring cups in the New Member Kit that are super cute.

Don't hate me because I don't like it

CrazyInnerFatGirl: Nibble, nibble, grimace. Sip, slurp, blech.

VoiceOfReasonFitGirl: What are you doing?

FatGirl: Enjoying a Pumpkin Spice Latte and pumpkin spiced muffin.

Grimace, blech

FitGirl: Um, you don’t actually seem to be “enjoying” it. Air quotes.

FatGirl: What are you insane? Of course I’m enjoying it. It’s Fall. This is the only time you can get Pumpkin Spice stuff. If you don’t enjoy it now, it goes away and you can never never ever have it again.

Grimice, blech

FatGirl: Besides all the cool kids are doing it.

FitGirl: Do you actually like pumpkin Spice?

FatGirl: What are you insane? Of course I like it. It’s Fall. This is the only time you can get Pumpkin Spice stuff. If you don’t enjoy it now, it goes away and you can never never EVER have it again.

Grimice, blech

FitGirl: Just smile and nod.

See, here’s the thing. I don’t really like “Pumpkin Spice”, especially in my coffee. For all that is good and holy, please stop putting weird things in coffee, like Blueberry flavor. Seriously, that breaks laws of physics. I’m sure of it! And yet, I feel compelled to jump on the pumpkin spice bandwagon every fall hoping that this is the year I’ll fall in love with it.

And Pinterest is not helping. I found a pin somewhere about combining a package of sugar-free pudding, a can of pumpkin, cinnamon, and a tub of Cool-whip and Tadaaaaa “Best dessert eva!” “Only 2 WW points” and 740,733 pins later, it has to be good. So I tried it…

Simple to make…

Pumpkin Spiced Fluff

Just mix pudding with the pumpkin… fold in the Cool-Whip (Yeah, OK, hush, I know that stuff is the devil and barely qualifies as “food” but ya can’t fault a girl for liking a big ole spoonful now and again)

Pudding + Pumpkin + Cool Whip is meh

Graham cracker added flair…

Fluff + graham cracker still meh

and meh.

It was OK, I guess, if you actually LIKE pumpkin spice stuff. It was creamy, dense, just sweet enough. And I don’t, I just don’t like pumpkin spice. And I keep forgetting that I don’t like it and  eat it anyway. I know it’s a food fad with heavy marketing around it and boy does the marketing work. I feel like I’m somehow left out because I just don’t love pumpkin spice.

I am shocked to say this, but the most awesome sample from a FitBloggin’12 sponsor was the Calcium Gummy Vitamins from Nature Made.

Nature Made Gummy Yummy

Nature Made was crazy generous. They made yoga mats and carriers for us and gave each of us a sample of the new gummy and melt vitamins. And when I say “sample” I mean a life sized jar, as if you went to Walgreens and picked it up off the shelf.

Here’s a secret frustrating thing about me. I hate taking pills. I just can’t seem to manage taking pills every day. And I have tried everything. I’ve done charts to give myself gold stars for taking them, heck I’ve even tried paying myself. Take your vitamins, get a dollar! Weight Watcher’s has a easy-peasy-just-click-here feature too and bupkis, I never click it.

WW makes it easy to click... and I don't

And this is not limited to vitamins. I can’t even take prescriptions the way I’m supposed. Yes, I’m one of those horrible human beings that never finishes out an antibiotic course and will be responsible for the super bug that kills humanity. My bad.

I was kid of dubious of the gummy vitamin concept. It’s medicine, you should not treat it as candy. But since I’ve had this whole jar of calcium gummies, I can’t let it go to waste.

Holy Healthy Batman. I have taken two calcium gummies every day since Fitbloggin. Now, that’s a record for me. Two straight weeks of being a good girl with my vitamins!

Here’s another interesting factoid about me… right after dinner, I need a sweet treat. Maybe it’s just a bad habit, but I’m stuck in dessert mode. There’s something about a little something-something sweet right after dinner that I crave. Now, usually I’m rumbling in the kitchen to find a doughnut or a Weight Watcher’s ice cream bar, but for the past two weeks, my post-dinner treat has been the calcium gummies.

How freakin’ weird is that? That a you can consider a vitamin a desert worthy treat?

The only problem is that it’s hard to stop at two. But I have a tricky solution! I’m headed over to Walgreens to pick up Multi Gummies and B Gummies. I’m so very tricky!

I grew up on Long Island where you can’t drive a mile without passing at least 3 pizza shops. And we’re talking good pizza. The pizza all other pizza in the world wish they could be. Crisp yet chewy crust. Cheese that oozes all melty in your mouth. Sauce that bursts with sweet-tart tomatoey goodness. Whew, I need to sit down just at the thought. Mike’s was our local pizza shop growing up. I can close my eyes and remember the rich yummy smell of my dad walking in the house with a pie, half pepperoni, half sausage, with soda. Pizza night was one of the few times we were allowed soda growing up.

Pizza for me is the most perfect food on earth, and yeah, I’ll own it, I’m a total pizza snob and super righteous about it, which is completely justified as I had to suffer three years of pizza in Japan where “normal” ingredients were corn, potato and squid ink. Just sayin’ you don’t mess with pizza. I won’t eat pizza outside of a 50 mile radius of New York City anymore because what other people do to dough, sauce and cheese in the name of pizza can be a monstrosity.  Seriously, stop putting pineapple on your pizza, people! You want to go all crazy and put truffle and duck confit on dough? Great, call it “flatbread”, stop calling it “pizza” for god sakes! It’s just wrong and goes against all the laws of nature. No, worse than that, it breaks the Laws of Pizza Physics.

So when I got an invite to the preview of “SkinnyPizza” at Roosevelt Field Mall, I was concerned and dubious. “Skinny” and “Pizza” shouldn’t really be in the same sentence together unless of course you’re saying “Look at those skinny girls, someone should get them a slice of pizza”. I was more than pleasantly surprised by SkinnyPizza, shocked actually as it was really really good.

The shop is sleek and modern. Airy, with really clean lines, not sterile at all but also not a place you’re going to sit for a few hours with friends. This is a pizza joint after all, not a diner. They have an outdoor table area which is nice and not very common on Long Island.

SkinnyPizza Counter Service

“Shut up and tell me about the pizza!!!”

OK OK.

Sheesh.

SkinnyPizza is obviously thin crust pizza. So you’re not going to get that bready, doughy, crispy, chewy mouthful of my beloved Mike’s. Now, I’ve had a lot of “low cal” and thin crust pizza in my day, and with the first bite, it crumbles to dust, leaving your toppings to slide down your front, and you get home and find a random mushroom in your purse. Thin crust crispy pizza can be like having Saltines with pizza toppings – a serious transgression against the Laws of Pizza Physics. This is NOT the crust you’ll find at SkinnyPizza. The crust is crisp but still has the chew you expect when you bite into pizza and totally stands up to the classic New York Fold. What? You don’t fold your pizza in half? What is wrong with you? You have to fold your pizza in half or else you get sauce and cheese all over your face. Sheesh, that’s the First Law of Pizza Physics – Fold Thy Pizza. The Second Law, in case you’re interested is “If you have to eat it with a knife and fork, it’s not pizza”.

SkinnyPizza Classic - Big Flavor

The SkinnyClassic delivers on taste. The sauce is bright and bold (and that’s because they make it in-house with organic tomatoes), it comes THIS close to being overpowering but doesn’t cross the line. The cheese doesn’t do that scary non-melting thing you sometimes find with low fat cheese that makes you wonder if it’s a dairy product or a plastic. The flavor profile (I know, snobby foodie term) was exactly what you want from a classic cheese pizza just with out the calorie count. Yup, you read the card right. It says “253 Calories” and that’s for a whole slice. And not a shabby micro slice, but a real normal human sized slice.

SkinnyArugula from SkinnyPizza - BIG taste

The SkinnyArugula was the first slice I tried. HUGE flavor, the arugula adds something-something to the normal pizza experience. While it was super tasty, it was a bit hard to eat. I kept losing greens and those tasty little cherry tomatoes kept popping off and shooting across the store. Classy. Maybe salad on my pizza is beyond my hand-eye coordination skills. And salad pizza does break the first two Laws of Pizza Physics. Tasty, but hard to eat.

SkinnyBuffalo - I could eat this every day

OK, I won’t lie. I had a second slice and seriously considered a third slice of the SkinnyBuffalo. Yeah, I know, this breaks like 47 Laws of Pizza Physics but Holy Handbags Batman, this was crazy delicious. It was like eating a plate of the best buffalo wings you’ve ever had without the messy fingers and the morning-after regret. The chicken chunks were chunks. I mean CHUNKS. Look at it, those little chicken jewels, they’re moist and dipped in some crazy sauce that comes close to being too spicy but is just perfect with the blue cheese sprinkled on top. I know this was not a classic pizza but man, I seriously could eat this every day.

Pasta at SkinnyPizza

Just so you know, SkinnyPizza also does pasta, which I did not try. I mean, seriously, after two slices, OK FINE, three slices, I was getting the food woozies and couldn’t contemplate the choices. SkinnyPizza offers whole wheat and gluten free pasta options with their house-made sauces. Which is really good news as gluten-free anything is hard to come by locally. And topped with SkinnyPizza’s bold sauce, I know I’ll be back to try some. Check out their menu for salad, wraps and soups!

There was a secret hidden surprise at SkinnyPizza which, by itself will have me back at SkinnyPizza again and again…

Boylan Soda at SkinnyPizza - Best soda ever

Boylan Soda. I am not a huge soda fan but if I had a Boylan soda fountain in my house, I would never leave, I’d bathe in it, put it in my coffee and morning cereal. I discovered Boylan years ago and it’s hard to find and I’ve never seen it in anything but glass bottles. Boylan uses actual sugar, not corn syrup, in their beverages which gives them this crisp sweetness that is remarkable and distinctive. The diet black cherry is like a sparkling dessert. It’s that good.

Tasty and calorie conscious food should be enough to get you in the door but what the company stands for will keep you coming back. The owners and creators of SkinnyPizza are childhood friends and grew up in and around the restaurant industry. When they started having families, they started getting really interested in what ingredients were going into the food their families were eating. SkinnyPizza uses organic and all natural ingredients where ever possible and source suppliers that are hormone and antibiotic free. And they want you to know what you’re eating too and “we want you to have a second slice!” one of the owners said to me. Scanning their menu you’ll see calorie counts, notes as to what’s organic and hormone-free and even the fiber count of the pasta. Who does that? Apparently, SkinnyPizza does. OH and they do have Weight Watcher’s Points Plus values for most menu items if you ask.

Green SkinnyPizza

SkinnyPizza also uses as much recycled and green products as possible. I wish I grabbed a shot of the beverage cups, as they looked just like regular plastic cups but were made from plant based materials. The menus are printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper.

So, you’ve read this far and now I want you to do something. Here’s the problem. There are only 2 SkinnyPizza locations - Roslyn Heights and Garden City (Roosevelt Field Mall). Go to the SkinnyPizza Facebook Page, tell them you want a SkinnyPizza in YOUR neighborhood. Trust me, you’re skinny jeans will thank you.

FatGirl Says: Oh Duane, you really get me. You really get my needs, my wants, that little thing that will just make my day better. You’re there for me when I have the sniffles. You make me feel pretty. You have chocolate for every holiday known under the sun and you have chocolate just “because”. And it’s like you’re there like 24/7, always open and available. Le sigh.

Chocolate Covered Almonds at DReade makes the world better

I have a secret love affair with Duane Reade Drug Stores. This affair started for two reasons. Years ago, Chase Bank put an ATM machine in every Duane Reade in the City. If you’re a Chase customer, that pretty much means there’s a fee-free ATM about every 50 feet or so, either in a Duane Reade or in a Chase Bank. One of my biggest pet peeves in life that you have to pay to have access to your hard-earned cash. When Duane Reade and Chase teamed up, that meant I was seeing red about my green with much less frequency.

A Chase ATM on every block

The second reason that I came to love Duane Reade is that I’m pathologically early for things. You see, I’ve spent far too much time in Japan and it has some lingering side effects like the inability to give an unambiguous no and being on time to the point of obsession and driving everyone in my life flippin’ nuts because I simple can’t be late so I’m always early. Since I don’t actually want to drive everyone in my life flippin’ nuts AND I’m pathologically early for things, I developed the coping mechanism of wandering Duane Reade endlessly. There are like 6 billion Duane Reades in NYC (OK, like 250+ stores but really, considering Manhattan is only 22.7 square miles, that’s like, oh help me out with the math here, 10 or so Duane Reades per square mile?), you can always find a Duane Reade to pop into to kill some time. I could hit a coffee shop to kill time, but then you’re sitting there staring at your coffee with nothing to do, so you need to go to Duane Reade anyway to get a Cosmo and take the Sex Quiz to bide the time. And we all know that there will be no popping into the Gap or some fancy pants boutique with my Crazy Inner FatGirl’s illogical fear of retail sales girls. It is impossible to think you’re too fat for hair gel. And besides, there’s ALWAYS something you need, Febreeze, tissues, chocolate, mascara, so while you’re trying not to drive people flippin’ nuts, get your errands done.

Never too fat for Hair Care Products

Duane Reade started a re-branding project in about 2005 or so, and it went way beyond developing a fancy new logo. They really began to shift what’s possible for a local drug store. When you think “drug store” you think, well, drugs. Yeah, you can get your drugs in the pharmacy and all the over-the-counter-make-me-feel-better-right-this-very-second stuff like Mucinex and Advil, as well as your hair care products, last minute cheesy gifts, a few cleaning supplies, all the little necessities and niceties of life. But Duane Reade really saw the opportunity to provide something more for their customers and the communities they’re in. Duane Reade now offers flu shots, select locations have “Doctor on Premises” where you can get immediate and affordable health care for minor complaints like colds and boo-boos with no appointments – a huge service in an era where health care is pricey and frustrating and actually kind of hard to come by in NYC with hospitals closing. The pharmacy will text message you when your prescription is ready to be picked up and they even offer language assistance, so that you can really be taken care of. You may have never been sick in a place where you don’t speak the language, but let me tell you, there is nothing more stressful and terrifying than trying to buy medicine in a foreign language. You don’t know if this package is going to cure your hemorrhoids or remove unwanted hair.

Then there is the LOOK Boutique.

Looking good at LOOK Boutique at DReade

Imagine walking into your local drug store and being able to sample the newest OPI nail color, or THE anti-aging face cream wonder that all the magazines are featuring. The LOOK Boutique goes beyond your everyday CoverGirl cosmetics and introduces you to beauty lines that are 100% vegan and natural, and I can’t even begin to ooo and ahh enough about the different lines they carry. But they’ve taken that even further. Most LOOK Boutiques are staffed by people who actually know what they’re talking about and will help you find something new and fun to try. Then they took this to the next level when the 40 Wall store opened. Right in the drug store, you can get your hair blown out, your nails done, sample over 40 different perfumes and they have a virtual make-over kiosk. When you’ve worked all day and you have a big date, pop in, spruce up and not drop a load of cash. Freakin Brilliant.

But the thing I want to really talk about is food. Naturally.

Redefining fast food at Duane Reade

With this re-branding project, Duane Reade is altering the way you can shop for food and eat in NYC. If you don’t live in NYC, here’s a little known fact – supermarkets are few and far between. It is not possible to drive up to a mega supermarket, fill your cart with a months worth of food and head on home. Grocery stores in NYC are tiny, cramped and severely limited in the quality and quantity of goods they offer. There are entire neighborhoods that lack a grocery store of any sort. This means that you do a lot of your food shopping at the corner deli where quantity and quality is even more limited and you would cry over the prices, or you lug your groceries for miles on public transportation. Don’t even get me started on the lack of fruits and vegetables, organic food and basic healthy eating needs. Duane Reade already has a vast presence in NYC. They started bringing in quality pre-made food, like sandwiches and salads. Then they started to expand into basic grocery needs. This addition alone can literally alter the health and well-being of entire communities.

My business partner at Ginger Snap Works and I were invited to attend the opening of a new Duane Reade on Broadway and 52nd Street by Collective Bias, a social media and blogger engagement agency, who is working on some social media projects with Duane Reade.

Ginger Snap Works at Duane Reade

They kicked off the press event by donating $350,000 to Susan G. Komen. I was kind of hoping to see one of those giant checks like they give to lottery winners. I guess that’s a little tacky these days huh? And well, when you’re talking about over a quarter million dollars, no need to be obvious about it.

Duane Reade plays Santa for Susan G. Komen with $350,000 donation

And Antoine was there with his jet pack of coffee, so all around, it was an excellent morning.

Go Go Coffee Jet Pack

I could gush for a while about how pretty and spacious the store is, but I really want to talk about the food. The entire upstairs is food and there is a grocery section down stairs. And bestill my little FitGirl heart – there’s some good healthy stuff here. I mean, just check out the yogurt section.

A billion yogurts at Duane Reade

What drug store do you know that has a fresh produce section?

Fresh Produce at Duane Reade... next to light bulbs?

OK, the fresh produce is next to the light bulbs and dog food and that’s a bit freaky but I can work with it. And will you look at that, there’s fresh fruit within 5 steps of the entrance. Bananas, apples and oranges are actually the first product you encounter when you walk in the store.

Ninja Bananas prepare to attack at Duane Reade

Now hold on to your Points Tracker, because this is what is really amazing. At the B’Way store, yeah yeah, sure you can get cleaning supplies, magazines, cold medicine, and your usual drinks and snacks and treats. And OK, they upped the game with fresh food and bananas and even beer…

Beer in the drug store?

The whole first floor is a food market. And I’m not talking day old muffins and Cheetos.

A machine that dispenses slushy drinks;

On-Demand Brain Freeze

Self-serve Frozen Yogurt with toppings (peach is to die for!);

Self Serve Frozen Yogurt at Duane Reade

A sushi bar. Yes, a real live human being stands right there and makes sushi for you;

Sushi Fixins at the Sushi Bar

There’s a fridge case with about oh 8 dozen different kinds of salads and sandwiches;

Sammies, salads and quick healthy lunches

A fresh juice bar;

Fresh squeezed Juice at Duane Reade

Then you circle around and find gourmet breads and holy freaking cow Fat Witch Brownies next to a machine that dispenses a variety of coffees and…

Fat Girl and Fat Witch = Heaven

wait for it…

AN OATMEAL VENDING MACHINE.

A machine that gives you oatmeal. Holy cow Duane Reade!

Yes, that’s right, you put a cup under the spout and press a button and out comes oatmeal. OK, fine, it’s instant oatmeal and I’m kind of an oatmeal snob but I had a cup. It was $1.99, a wee hint of sweetness, not mushy or soupy at all like instant oatmeal and way way less sweet, and to be honest, it’s better than Starbucks oatmeal.

I’m sure I’m missing a dozen things that are new and exciting in this store as I was a wee bit distracted by the food options. This ain’t a Fat Girl blog for no reason after all!. OH! And my inner Fit Girl will break a proverbial knee cap if I don’t plug the single best thing in Duane Reade…

And FitGirl says: You’re out and about in the City, dashing to a yoga class or coming home after a run, you must re-fuel and get a healthy snack in you! Skip the candy aisle and those protein bars that have more sugar than soda, and pick up this DELICOUS “Delish Chick Pea Salad”. It’s about a half-cup portion and NOT dripping in oily dressing – The perfect protein pick-me-up!

Perfect Protein Pick-me-up

My two general complaints about Duane Reade –  I’ve never found the staff to be overly friendly. They’re helpful, no doubt,  if you ask for help. I had some interactions with a store manager once who simply kicked butt. He couldn’t solve my problem but was awesome anyway. It’s not like the staff is rude or aything and I get it blows working check out in retail sometimes, but the staff have never given me the warm fuzzies either. My second complaint is that Duane Reade can be pricy. Not over priced, but they are generally at the higher end of price point fluctuations. They do have really great sales tho if you keep your eye out on their bulletin and sign up for Flex Reward card. If you must have your favorite shampoo right this second and it’s not on sale that week, expect to pay in the higher price range for it.

I’ve been a customer and a fan of Duane Reade for years. As I’m growing and building this healthy life style for myself, it’s really phenomenal that a company and a brand I am already a fan of is growing in that same direction with me. I know that I can be on the go in the City and that Duane Reade makes it really easy for me to support the decisions that are important to me around my well being.

Please Note: After the tour I received a gift card as a thank you. I’m participating in this Duane Reade Campaign #DReade as a member of Collective Bias. #CBias. No other compensation was received. Views expressed are always 100% my own.

I am, apparently, a lunatic. Or that’s what my inner Fat Girl was trying to tell me as I was leaving the house shortly after 5am to run. ON A SUNDAY.

Sunday’s are meant for breakfast in bed, doing the crossword puzzle and staying in your jammies for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, I long ago lost the concept of what Sunday’s are supposed to be about. I’ve been working Sunday’s for a really long time. When you work weekends, you sort of lose how special weekends can be. For me, its just another work day with lots to get done.

Also, my mother, in her infinite wisdom declared that Sunday Mornings would he Weight Watcher days. So regardless of work, I’d be up at 7:30am to face the scale.

Today is the last Sunday I have to work. I’m rather not excited about that as I seemed to have filled the next six Sundays with other stuff, so I’ll have to wait till fall to experience that lounging about in your jammies kind of day.

A super fancy Duane Reade opened a block from work. For those not in NYC, Duane Reade is a chain of drugstores, that had a somewhat dodgy reputation, but as they are on every other block, they have always been super convenient. They underwent a branding project and were reborn as kind of classy. The newer stores have high end make up and expanded grocery sections that you can actually get good food in, like organic milk, Greek yogurt and a small selection of fresh fruit and veggies.

But they opened this glorious new shop on wall street with a sushi counter, juice bar, salon and walk in clinic. The food section takes up a good portion of the floor space. Of course there is junk food like my beloved cheese doodles, but they have a gluten free section, a nice selection of sandwiches and salads for lunch, the aforementioned sushi and juice.

And wonders of wonders, I found a packet of Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter. If you don’t already know, they make killer peanut butter. And chocolate peanut butter that is to die for. Seriously, I could sit and devour an entire jar of the white chocolate peanut butter in an evening. Thus stuff is that good. This little packet is actually a generous portion and at 5 points its perfect to split between two snacks.