New Healthy Noms in Union Square

Usually when I receive restaurant pitches they are pretty off topic (as a PR girl I am also guilty of this) but when I got one perfectly on topic I had to jump at the opportunity to test it out. Cevich is a new healthy grab-and-go spot in Union Square. 21 E. 15th Street to be exact.  They opened on June 2 and the dishes are inspired by traditional Peruvian recipes along with a little bit of the owners own preferences. 

Co-owners Reina Laws and Lindsay Goldstein developed the idea while living in Miami Beach. Both have a love for seafood and savory sauces and knew this project would be the perfect fit. 

Before I got a chance to try a few of the delicious menu items, I got a chance to sit down with Lindsay. The former project manager thought a modern Ceviche spot would be perfect for NYC (spoiler: she was right. The place has been packed during lunchtime since opening) and knew healthy "fast-food" is hard to come by. With a healthy state of mind, Reina and Lindsay make sure all ingredients are fresh and in their most natural form (they are prepped in-house) and the dishes are filling, satisfying, gluten-free and pure protein. 

In her spare time, Lindsay loves to run, swim in the ocean, play sports and eat (a lot!). 

Cevich has something for everyone and each dish is customization. Here are a few of the dishes I got to sample: 

The Wild Tiger Ceviche is the traditional Peruvian citrus "Leche de Tigre" with white corn, red onion, and cilantro. They included white fish in this one for me. 

[Wild Tiger Ceviche]

Lime N Da Coconut Ceviche was my favorite! It had shrimp, Caribbean coconut ginger sauce, mango, carrots, red onion and cilantro. The coconut flavor wasn't over powering at all and I love shrimp so this was perfect!

[Lime N Da Coconut Ceviche]

The Parma-Viche Ceviche had the yummiest crunchy onions on top. They called this the Caesar salad of Ceviches. It had a creamy Parmesan sauce, radish, red onion and salmon. 

[Parma-Viche Ceviche]

The last Ceviche I tasted was the girls favorite- The Santorini. It was exactly like a Greek salad! They made this one with white fish and always in it is Kalamata Olive sauce, red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. This is my second favorite for sure!

[Santorini Ceviche]

The last thing I tasted was the Miso Hungry Taco. It was shrimp tossed in a soy ginger sauce, coconut ride, carrot, cabbage, red pepper and Thai Basil. I really liked this because I liked shrimp but there was a bit too much cabbage for my personal preference and it had a bold flavor. I also liked the wrap was a blue corn tortilla. 

[Miso Hungry Taco]

I also got to have a small dish of the coconut rice and it is the BEST. I would go back solely to get a side of it. 

If you haven't been to Cevich in Union Square in NYC I highly suggest you make the trip. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Xo,

Lynette 

Lole & FITiST Meet Up: ReXist360

Last Tuesday I went to Pier 25 for a large group fitness class hosted by active wear brand Lole, Hudson River Park and FITiST. Shay Kostabi was the instructor and the class was called ReExist360. Huh you ask?

According to the Facebook event listing, ReXist360 is a high-energy, high-intensity interval training class that combines the best of HIIT training with body sculpting and strength training using the patented ReXist360 training system. The hottest resistance bands on the market, designed to build, sculpt, tone muscles evenly in less time without the bulk. 

This is hands down one of the best resistance band workouts I have ever done. The ReXist bands are super comfortable. They strap on with Velcro and give you tons of space for movement and flexibility. We got 2 options in our pack, easy and medium. I chose easy since i had never done the workout before. 

Before class, I had tweeted Shay to see if there was going to be cardio involved (mainly because I ate everything and anything that day) and she assured me I was not to worry. Our warmup was without the bands but once we got them on, things heated up pretty quickly. From lunges to jumps to squats to running to abs, this class had it all. And I definitely felt it the next day. We also got to keep the bands so we could use them at home. Shay has a few online videos you could use to workout with them again. 

If you haven't tried these bands, I don't know what you're waiting for!

Xo,
Lynette

NY SportsMed Opening

[Source]

About a month ago I was invited to the grand re-opening of NY SportsMed's West Side location. They moved a few floors down to a larger space with ample room for many physical therapy appointments. When you first walk in there is a reception desk in an open area. To the right there are lockers rooms and a personal training area. To the left is the physical therapy area complete with massage tables, a treadmill with gait analysis equipment and an Alter-G treadmill. 

In addition to athlete care, NY SportsMed also hosts a running club each Wednesday at 7 AM with one of their physical therapists. The group is designed to helps members prevent reinjury, strengthen their injury and train and improve their running form.

On big race days, NY SportsMed stays open for runners and their family and friends. They provide coffee, bag check, tapings and a place for everyone to meet after the race. 

If you need a conveniently located PT, I suggest checking out NY SportsMed at Columbus Circle. 

Xo,
Lynette 

Queens Scene: Free Fitness in Astoria

I  wanted to share another one of my pieces from Queens Scene. This one was featured on the website and let's you know where to find free fitness in Astoria. Take a look below and check out their site. Then follow Queens Scene on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Free Outdoor Fitness

Lynette Pettinicchi

Instead of sitting inside of a gym or fitness studio during these bouts of nice weather, take your workout outdoors. After the winter we had, do you really want to be glued to a treadmill watching TV? Fortunately for Astorians who may need a little motivation from a group class, there are plenty of free outdoor workout options to fulfill your needs.  

Astoria Park Alliance is hosting free Zumba and yoga classes on the terrace overlooking the pool. Zumba is the first Saturday of every month and yoga will be on the last Saturday of the month until September. The classes run an hour long and free to anyone. You just have to show up! No equipment is needed for the Zumba but if you are coming for yoga make sure to bring your own mat. Take advantage of a free 12 PM Savasana in the sun.  Just remember to keep hydrated under the hear!

 To kick off the summer series, Liz from The Rock Health and Fitness Club led a relaxing yet challenging Vinyasa class. The generous sponsors who are making this happen are The Astoria Fine Arts Dance Studio, The Rock Health and Fitness Club and The Yoga Room Studio.
Credit: Astoria Park Alliance
MeetUp.com has several groups for Queens’s outdoor fitness mavens. They meet in the park and are typically free. When you pick a group to join you are asked to fill out a short questionnaire about yourself. After you are approved, you can RSVP to different events.  I recently joined Yoga In Astoria Park and Track Workouts for Runners at Astoria Park.  Aside from yoga, Meetup can find you bootcamps, track workouts, recreational sports and more.


So instead of soaking up the artificial heat indoors, head down to the park and take your fitness outdoors for the summer. 

Where are you working out this summer?

Xo,
Lynette

National Running Day

Happy National Running Day! Whether you are out there for 1 minute, 1 mile or 1 hour just get out there and get it done. Fortunately for me, run club happens to be tonight so that's where I'll be. Now get off the computer and go!

Xo,
Lynette

Featured in Queens Scene Magazine!

Aside from writing for this wonderfully always up to date blog (holy sarcasm) and my amazing job as a publicist, I've been contributing to a new magazine local to Astoria. It's called Queens Scene and I found out about through a college friend. The June issue is there second ever issue and I was lucky enough to have my article printed in it. Take a look below and check out their site. Then follow Queens Scene on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Here is the link to the full issue. But don't forget to pick up a print copy. Look out for more articles from me regarding health/fitness/wellness!

Xo,
Lynette

Hot Summer Days

[Source]

In my opinion, it’s that time of year for 5 AM wake up calls on Saturdays to get those runs in before the heat takes over. As I write this in Central Park watching runners and bicyclists whiz by I can’t help but wonder how? I’m in a sundress, getting sunburn on top of sunburn (sunscreen appears to be in my Queens apartment, oops!), writing my little heart out and I feel worn out and dehydrated. That could also be because I didn’t sleep last night, who knows.

Anyway, as someone who has some newbie runner friends I wanted to share a few tips as we begin summer training (I’ve picked 0 fall races yet so I supposed training is not the correct work) so everyone stays happy and healthy.

• Drink up! When I first started running I thought nothing of bringing a hand held water bottle with me and did not understand dehydration. Now, that comes with me for every run over 6 miles and to half marathon races. I’ve watched one too many people go down because they did not have enough fluids in them. Just drink. Before, after and during. You’ll thank me for that reminder.

[7 PM and broiling]

• Dress for the occasion. Yes the weather says it will be chilly at 6 AM but you’re going to be running. Don’t overdress. Stick with shorts and a T or capris with a tank if you feel like you are going to be cold. Chances are within the first mile you are going to feel the heat! If it says 60, assume you should be in shorts and a tank. If you do end up running during the day, dress very lightly, wear some sunnies and for god’s sake buy a thing of sports sunscreen. I still look like a lobster after 1 hour of bootcamp from Memorial Day weekend. Just do it please.

• Refuel! I don’t know about you, but summer running seems to take a lot more out of me then in the winter. Make sure to fuel up within an hour of finishing your workout. I’m not going to give you expert food choices because mine include water, mimosas and brunch. Replenish what you took out of yourself so you can enjoy the day without feeling like you are going to pass out!

[She never ran a race before this yet celebrated like she won the marathon. As it should always be]

• Be proud of yourself. Maybe it got too hot for you to finish all 10 miles, or you had 3 on the schedule and your friends are bragging about 5 in brutal heat, or you decided it was a 1 mile sprint kind of day. Whatever it was, you got your ass up and got something in.

Happy summer running! Hope to see you out there.

Xo,

Lynette