Rest Days, Feller Bunchers, and Battlefields – Oh my!

Based off that title… I’m sure you’re wondering what I am talking about. I had an interesting and busy (no surprise there) week! I have a lot to talk about but once again, you’re getting the abbreviated version…

No denying it, my life feels like a bit of a whirlwind lately. Between work travel, wrapping up a couple of classes, making trips home to see my family & grandmothers, and scheduling in my workouts – I don’t have much free time. That’s why when I finally had a rest day scheduled last Monday, I took full advantage. I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to a rest day so much. I left work a little late, but once I left I ran home, threw on PJ’s and fully embraced the rainy evening to chill on my couch, read, and hang with the dogs. Pure bliss. I do enjoy staying active and busy but I must admit I really enjoy a down day when I have one. And it turned out that it was a good thing that I enjoyed my Monday because Tuesday morning my day started early with a swim and the rest of the week brought on all the chaos of this life I have chosen!

Last week brought the wrap up of both the class that I have been taking through EdX – Food for Thought – which was taught by McGill University. Last week also marked the end of year 1 for LEAD NY.

First, Food for Thought was an interesting course – it gave a high level overview of a number of food topics and dug into the science behind various issues. Basically it worked to try and debunk many of the popular “health” myths and to help explain some of the reasons why various diet choices are better or worse for individuals to consume (Hint: the proper diet varies by each individual). In addition to the overall diet they looked at various marketing claims made by different food companies and groups – for instance, what you are really purchasing when you purchase organic. They explained how organics still use pesticides – just not synthetic ones, and the fact that there is no nutritional difference when grown under similar conditions (soil type, water, sunlight) as conventionally produced foods. Another item that the class analyzed was the various controversial topics in food (hormones, antibiotics, GMOs) and the science behind them. Again, what is heard and reported on in popular media and promoted by food marketers is not necessarily the truth when you really look at the facts.

From my perspective, it is very sad how food is marketed and sold. Food is something that is emotional, it effects everyone, and it is a tool to nourish the body. However, it is also a business and provides many livelihoods. As someone that works in food and agriculture, it supports my own life and career. It has supported my upbringing on my family farm, and agriculture and food is made up of many good people. My biggest take away from the class is that you should try to maintain a healthy diet, avoid processed foods, but also try to be realistic and enjoy some of the fun things about food too. (Maybe its more of an ‘everything in moderation’ type of take-away).

For LEAD NY last week, we were in Cortland, NY and learned about forestry. It was a very interesting class. To start, we took a tour around a sawmill and boy was it loud!! I can’t imagine working there everyday – even with earplugs it was more than I could handle for an extended time. Despite the noise, it was really interesting to see the entire process of the logs coming in, being sorted, debarked, then cut into various sized planks and graded before heading to the kilns to dry. Next, we headed out to the forest and learned about how they walk various wood plots, select which trees to cut down, and how they work to promote regrowth of trees for 30 to 50 years in the future.

As part of our woods walk, we learned about canopy cover, and some of the other considerations for tree harvest. We also learned that deer are one of the largest difficulties in working to get a tree lot to regrow. The deer like to eat young trees and will often eat away at the seedlings before they have a chance to really establish themselves and grow for the future. Finally, we discussed some of the equipment that can be used in tree harvest, and I have to admit, due to my three year old cousin, I felt really smart due to his obsession with his toy feller buncher – I actually knew what the lumber guys were talking about when they were discussing feller bunchers (Thanks G-man!)! If you don’t know what a feller buncher is, it’s a giant tractor that grabs a hold of the tree and cuts it down to minimize risk from just cutting down a tree with a saw. Pretty cool. (You can check one out here: Feller Buncher).

After LEAD NY and our Year 1 graduation ceremony on Saturday, I headed back to ‘cuse to do laundry, go for a run, and pack up for another week on the road. Sunday I was able to get home and spend some time with my family. This involved going to church, visiting both of my grandmothers (who seem to both be doing better!) and then spending a few hours on my bike. It was so great to spend time with the family and also to get a ride in outside…. even if I did get a little disoriented at one point, it just meant that I had the opportunity to better understand some of the roads around Saratoga County and see some additional beautiful countryside!

I think the bike story is best told through pictures, but let’s just say I was looking for a battlefield and took a detour to the lake instead. I eventually did find the battlefield and the detour to the lake actually helped to fill my time and mileage so all in all it was not a bad thing. Except for having a bee fly into my helmet at the battlefield and sting me… but I digress. All in all, it was a great day – mid 70’s and sunny, even if it was a bit windy! (I swear I can’t get through a weekly update without talking about the weather, I’m just happy ecstatic it was a good weather update this week!)

Weekly Workouts (Recovery Week)//

• Monday – REST DAY! (Yay!)
• Tuesday – 1800 yd Swim
• Wednesday – 2500 yd Swim
• Thursday – 50 Minute Z2 Base Run
• Friday – Rest Day (Two in one week! Although… with LEAD NY, it didn’t feel like much of a rest day…)
• Saturday – 50 Minute Z2 Base Run
• Sunday – 3 Hour Endurance Bike Ride on a Hilly Course

Weekly Totals//

• Swim – 4300 Yards (2.44 Miles)
• Bike – 3 Hours, 47 Miles <– First long ride outside, I have some work to do as far as my speed goes….
• Run – 1 hour 40 minutes, 11.5 Miles
• Total Time – 6 Hours, 6 Minutes (much different than the 10 hours, 30 minutes last week!)

Weekly Photo Recap//

 Chillin’ with the pups on Monday night – turned into a competition for who can get the most attention from me…

If you ever spent anytime during your college career at Dunbars in Ithaca, NY… there is no explanation needed. The fact that this was on the radio made me really happy.

Probably ranks up there as one of the best emails I’ve received. You know you’re going to have a fun day when…

At the sawmill. Sorting out logs in the yard.

The de-barker at the sawmill.

One of the saws cutting a log. I know it’s hard to see what’s going on here, but I swear that’s what’s happening…

Boards getting ready to be graded, sorted and then sent to the kiln.

Our group out in the wood lot.

While a bit chilly, a gorgeous afternoon!

So one of my classmates owns his own winery. Finally got to take advantage of that – purchased some wine to sample and give as gifts!

Our Year 1 graduation picture for LEAD NY.

Ragnar Shirts & Swag. Gearing up for some Ragnar fun at Seneca 7 in a couple weeks!

My grandmother’s cat, hiding in her new apartment. (I was tasked with trying to get a good picture. Easier said than done, especially due to the fact I only had my cell phone with me…)

My detour to Saratoga Lake

And just when I thought I was really lost, this little guy saved me! (Got to love stone markers! – Yay History!)

And my official bike path for the day. Love when things work out perfectly. Especially when not 100% planned…

And that’s all for this week! I have a few articles and things to share with you, but I think I’ll save them for a shorter post. However, I can’t resist throwing in this crazy collection of dog pictures. For a random distraction, feel free to check out the 26 Dogs Who Totally Redefine Perfection. You’re welcome.

Cheers & Have a Great Week!

Running Around: Travels Continue.

I returned back to Syracuse last week from my two weeks on the road, however I really didn’t get much time to stay at home… Monday I had a trip back to Albany, back on Tuesday, a trip to Southeastern PA and back on Wednesday (yes during our blizzard action), around town for the rest of the week. This gave me 3 days to try and catch up on everything at work and at home while also trying to continue to train for my triathlon, and pack up for my next trip.

Travel this time of year is always a bit crazy for me as everyone wants to cram in meetings before the farms have to start working in the fields again to raise crops for their animals.

I swear, the other people that have to travel in my work have a much better deal since most of them have spouses that can help with chores at home! Ah well, the story of a single young(er/ish) professional right? Although I am fully aware that I am the one that has pursued this life and all my crazy endeavors – although I might have overdone things as of late. Life has a funny way of showing you when you need to simplify things again!

The travels this week were all work related and since I avoid talking about work online, I guess the focus is back to my workouts. Some of you may be happy about that, and to the new followers that my series of posts from last week attracted – I’m sorry if you were hoping that this was completely a food issues related  blog. I will mention food and agriculture issues from time to time, but this space largely focuses of my athletic endeavors since I need an outlet to talk about things without driving my friends all crazy with my triathlon and running talk!

And with that, a quick recap of my past week of workouts:

• Monday: REST DAY!
• Tuesday: Swim Time Trial – getting faster – shaved 7 seconds off my 100 yd pace!
• Wednesday: 1:30 Bike <– i.e. the torture of the bike trainer continues… Spring where are you?
• Thursday: 1 Hour Run with Cruise Intervals
• Friday: 2600 yd Swim in the morning and a 3 mile Fun Run with Brooks Running, and Fleet Feet (Reppin’ Ragnar!)
• Saturday: 2:50 Brick – 2:20 Bike and 0:30 Run
• Sunday: Missed workout – supposed to have a 1 hour 50 minute run but I just ran out of time between packing, laundry, and trying to pull my life together before starting my travels again!

All in all, I am SO ready for the weather to break. I’m not sure I can handle too many any more bike trainer rides. Bike riding inside is nothing like being outside and climbing and coasting the hills!

But on the bright side, I had some great runs, and a really great swim this week.

PLUS the run on Friday night with Fleet Feet for the official Brooks Transcend launch was lots of fun. I took the opportunity to wear some of my Ragnar gear and ended up talking to a lot of people about Ragnar Relay – I know I’ve said it before but I just love spreading the word about this amazing event!

As part of the event, I had the opportunity to wear a new pair of the Transcends – I am a major Brooks Running fan and have been wearing their shoes for all my running endeavors for the past 3 years, but I have to be honest, I did not love these shoes. They have a very different feel from the rest of the Brooks line up due to the larger toe box. They reminded me of the fit that a pair of New Balance would provide. I know this would be a big benefit for many, but I definitely like my shoes to have a more snug fit.

Still, it was a great event, and I really do appreciate Brooks and Fleet Feet providing the opportunity to really take these shoes for a spin! And for providing us with some sweet freeze-dried ice cream – tasted better than I expected (although I went into my tasting with VERY low expectations)!

And to wrap my post for the week, my phone photo dump:

The radar as I headed back North on Wednesday. The last part of my trip should have taken 30 minutes… it took almost an hour and a half thanks to the crazy winter storm – better safe(ish) than sorry!

My neighbor’s tree. In my yard. Amie’s Tree Removal Service coming right up! (I took this baby down on Saturday by myself, it was as tall as me but luckily fairly light weight!)

And I finally finally finally got to see this movie:

I may or may not have watched to more than once this weekend. I had to do something while stuck on the bike trainer on Saturday!! Plus I just love the costumes they use for these movies – AND I’m a total sucker for book series that have been turned into movies and TV shows, especially after I’ve read the books. I like to see how differently they can be interpreted!

Roxanne fully enjoyed a night without her little (BIG) brother on Saturday. Back to Queen of all things in our house, for a little while. First task, destroy all the toys.

And finally, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking around this concept these past few weeks.

Although it was pointed out to me that there is an exception to this rule: Snuggies. Snuggies are comfortable and are pretty great – touché Scotty, touché.

Well, I’m off to Kansas City for the first part of this week. I hope you all have a great Monday, a very Happy St. Patty’s Day & that you fully enjoy your week!

Cheers!

NYC Food Adventures: Part 5 (aka Media and Perceptions Day!)

Hello all, and welcome to my final post about food in NYC. I promise, this will be much shorter than my previous posts. (Click on these links to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.)

Our final day in NYC was only a half day to allow for travel back to our homes, but it didn’t mean it was any less impactful than the prior days spent in and around the city. We had a great discussion with a speaker that works to poll consumers to understand what they truly care about when it comes to agriculture and food.

BUT before we get to that, a few of us decided to get up that morning and swing by the Good Morning America studios to see if we could have a little fun and end up in the background of GMA’s morning broadcast.

It was a cold morning, but being from Upstate and having endured the winter that we have had, the 16 degree weather didn’t seem all that bad!

As we walked up to the studio, the producer came outside and let us know the Ginger Z would be outside in about 10 minutes to do the weather, and that we should make our way to a roped off area. Our crew of about 10 scooted over to the fence and joked around about if we would actually get on national television or not.

The outdoor broadcasting area:

As it turns out, our crew (and especially myself) ended up getting more than we bargained for! As you can see below we ended up on TV (this is a picture that one of my classmates kid’s snapped at home – and yes, I know everyone in that picture – lots of fun!).

We were all pumped that we got on the pan of the crowd and were about to leave when all of the sudden I heard someone come up next to me and say “Hi Amie!” – I glanced over and realized it was Ginger Z standing next to me and then thought, she couldn’t possibly be talking to me because she doesn’t know me. So I kind of responded with an “Um, Hi?” back and then she just stood there. Kinda of confusing but a few seconds later they went live and Ginger Z started to talk about how she loved coffee cups because you can really freak people out when you randomly know their name and say Hi, then she used that as a bridge to cut to Amy inside the studio – haha! Pretty random and fun way to start the day!

It was also funny to watch the Facebook posts come rolling in as friends saw me on GMA as it was broadcast across the various time zones! Seems like it surprised a few people to see me on TV (yes, the few people includes me)!

Since I don’t have a picture of my little clip with Ginger Z, I thought I would just share my awesome-sauce cup that provided 0.5 seconds of national exposure…. I know, I know, you’re completely overwhelmed by my little story right now. Yes I completely dorked out over this, and no I won’t apologize for it – it was unexpected and fun! (And yes, due to the spelling of my name, my alter-ego always orders my coffee).

ANY how, with that experience under my belt, our group headed to our meeting space around the corner and had an awesome session with a Consumer Pollster that focuses on consumers perspectives on food and agriculture. The basic story (some of which I was already aware of) is that most consumers have no concept of where food actually comes from or how it is grown/produced. Only 1% of the US population actually works on farms today, and only 2% work in agriculture related jobs.

Additionally, a large number of consumers don’t actually care where the food comes from or the difficulties that producers encounter in growing the food.  The average consumer just wants the food they want, at the time it is wanted. A hard message to hear by a group that is so engrained in agriculture and food and takes a lot of pride in growing and providing food.

A lot of our discussion circled around how producers can determine how to meet consumer demands in food and understand what is truly desired. We also talked about various ways to help connect consumers to farmers and to help spread knowledge of agriculture where it is desired.

After our 3 hour discussion about consumer demand, my head had more questions than answers. I think this is a good thing. It’s good to be challenged to think about issues differently – which NYC and Long Island absolutely helped to do.

As we headed back home, we had a little time before our train. A few of us were sitting by the lobby door when a classmate came in and exclaimed that this would be an awesome spot for a picture! So hence the picture below…

One of my classmates thought this should be the album for our band cover (he volunteered to play the tuba in our band, we’re off to an amazing start if I do say so myself!).

And of course since that picture looked pretty cool, we thought we should collect a few more of our classmates for a second picture:

While we didn’t get everyone, I thought this was a great photo to end an amazing week!

NYC Food Adventures: Part 4

Well, I had been working hard to get these posts up each day last week, but fell off the wagon for these last two posts. If you missed my updates on my first few days in NYC and our discussions around food, you can find them here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Day 4 of our trip we headed out to the North Fork of Long Island to visit a few growers and to learn about the challenges that agriculture faces on Long Island.

Our first visit was to Stony Brook University’s Business Incubator. We met with the 2 staff members that oversee the building to learn about how they are trying to help new food businesses grow and develop into viable longterm businesses.

Essentially, if you want to start a business that requires food preparation, processing or packaging there is a lot of very expensive equipment needed to be able to produce in volumes large enough to sell at retail. Commercial grade (and sized) ovens, coolers, and other equipment is very expensive and often stops individuals from growing their businesses from roadside farm-stands into food items that could be found at the farmers market or retail. In addition to the equipment needed, there are a lot of regulations from the Department of Health in terms of the area in which food prep is conduced, and the FDA oversees labeling requirements.

The idea behind the incubator was to provide facilities to help lower start up costs, and also to provide support from staff to help these start up companies navigate the packaging guidelines and other regulation. In addition to providing these services, the incubator is working to connect local food producers to the individuals with the business concept to try and enhance grower returns in Long Island.

It was really neat to tour the facility and understand how the incubator is trying to help businesses. While we were there, we spoke with Steven Amaral, Executive Chocolatier of the North Fork Chocolate Company. He was making chocolates to bring to farmer markets and outlet malls to sell. The chocolates he was producing were a work of art and used many local ingredients from Long Island.

Next, we headed a bit further out on the island and visited a certified organic farm, Garden of Eve. Garden of Eve is home to a fairly large farm stand, CSA and agriculture tourism site. (Note, picture to the left.)

We met with Chris and he explained the challenges of growing produce on Long Island as well as the advantages. His biggest challenge is land costs and availability. Long Island is a very populated place (although, it actually still had a surprising amount of open land in my opinion), and to be able to expand the Garden of Eve, they would need a crazy amount of money.

Chris mentioned there was a nearby farm for sale – 50 acres, for $4,000,000. That’s about $80,000 per acre! To put things in perspective, farmland in Upstate New York would range closer to $4,000 per acre. AND to make things even more difficult, to be certified organic, Chris would have a 3 year waiting period before this land would be certified and he would really be able to start using it. So, at the end of the day, buying more land is just not a viable option for their farm.

After we spoke with Chris, he gave us a tour of their farm. Since it was still quite cold out, they were just getting ready for the spring planting season. We visited the greenhouse were some planting was going on, and he showed us some of the unique equipment he has for transplanting and weeding crops.  It was pretty neat to see the innovative equipment they had available to them since labor availability is also a challenge that they face.

On the opportunity side of farming in Long Island, Chris pointed to the obvious benefit of having a large population in Long Island and NYC to sell his products to. This is what has helped them become successful, especially as more people want to understand where their food is coming from and how it is produced.

In addition to produce, Garden of Eve offers free-range, organic eggs and has paired up with other producers to offer meat along with their produce CSA. It was kind of neat to see the chickens in their little coops out in the field.

It was also interesting to learn about how the farm keeps their birds safe since there are a number of predators present on Long Island. They have official guard dogs (seriously, we couldn’t touch them – it was expressed that they were not pets!) for the birds that are trained to protect the birds from raccoons and other potential dangers.  Despite the fact that these dogs were not pets, they were still pretty adorable (although I bet that changes when the flock is threatened!)

As with all of these visits, I feel like there is so much that I’m not sharing! If you want to learn more about Garden of Eve, check out their website!

After the Garden of Eve, we headed to the Polish Hall in Riverhead for lunch and to discuss issues around land availability in Long Island. For this discussion we had a panel of speakers including people from Long Island Farm Bureau, American Farmland Trust and the Peconic Land Trust. Again we learned about the struggles that producers have in buying land on the Island, especially those farmers that want to start a new operation. The land costs prohibit many people from trying to start up. One thing that drives the cost of the land up, that many would not consider, is what was referred to as ‘high net worth’ individuals that come to Long Island to start up or purchase equine (horse) farms. (Both Matt Lauer and Madonna were mentioned.) Celebrities and others with expendable income purchase the land at absorbent prices which drives the demand/cost up for everyone else. One way to combat this issue to keep the open spaces utilized for growing food is to remove both the developmental and equine rights from the land which will bring the values down closer to $20,000 per acre – a real bargain as compared to the $80,000, yet still a far cry from Upstate land values!!

Next visit for the day was at the CJ Van Bourgondien Greenhouses. We met with owners Bob and Mark to tour their greenhouses and learns about some of the obstacles and victories that their greenhouse business has been through and where they believe their future is headed. A quick visit to the ‘about us‘ section of the CJ Van Bourgondien website and you can see that the family’s roots run deep in the business, and that they have adapted to a number of changes throughout the years. (Rather than recap them here, I’ll let you go to their website if you are interested…)

Even though the Van Bourgondien family has overcome a number of past challenges, they are currently facing a few more. We discussed the stress that the recession has placed on their business with many people not spending extra money on flowers for their homes, then as soon as the economy started to gain momentum, Super Storm Sandy hit which caused many people to spend their money to replant trees and shrubs that had been washed away. In addition to these events, the family mentioned that a constant issue is working to compete with the larger chains (think Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot) and larger greenhouses that ship products into the region and serve the market at prices that are unattainable by a smaller business such as the Van Bourgondien’s.

One thing that has allowed Van Bourgoindien’s to continue is the technology that they employ at the greenhouses. They demonstrated their pot filler and the machine they use for replanting. (I wish I had a video of this to post, it was really neat!)

Additionally, they have modified their greenhouses to allow for large trays of plants to be moved around on a rail-based system. (you can see how large the trays are below.)

And one thing was certain – they grow some beautiful flowers. It was so nice to see hints of spring after spending a lot of our week touring around in the cold and snow!

Our last stop on Long Island was Pindar Vineyards. We started our visit with a tour of the facility and learned the methods that the winemaker, Edward, employs at the winery. Similar to our other tours, we had another discussion about the challenges that the winery faces.

Most of this discussion focused on the challenges of regulations surrounding alcohol sales and the distributor network. Additionally, we talked about the general costs of winemaking and the creative ways that Pindar has worked to try and cut costs out of their own process.

After our tour, Pindar provided us with wine tastings and we had our dinner brought in by a local caterer. It was nice because many of the speakers we had spent time with throughout the day joined us for dinner at the winery which allowed us to learn even more about Long Island agriculture!

All in all, the visit to Long Island was my second favorite day. I was completely amazed at everything that was going on to try and help farmers maintain sustainable businesses in the face of the challenges that are present. Until this trip, I was unaware that Long Island is home to some of the best soils in New York State due to glaciers depositing the soils there.

Long Island also has a large aquifer located beneath it which creates many opportunities, mainly available fresh water, as well as obstacles with battling pollution and run-off from various sources (homeowner fertilizers, golf course fertilizers, suburban runoff of oils and other chemicals, as well as any contribution that farming may have – although due to regulations farmers can tell you exactly how much fertilizers are used, when and where, and what risk of pollution is present).

At the end of the day I did learn that many things are grown on Long Island! I hope you enjoyed my long (yet very short considering all the things I didn’t tell you) post about Long Island Agriculture!

NYC Adventures in Food: Part 1

Last week, I headed to NYC and Long Island with my LEAD NY Class to investigate and learn how food and agriculture interacts with our largest population center in the U.S.

Fair warning, this is part 1 of a 5 part series that will be largely talking about something non-sports related. Yes, I have a ‘real’ job that does not involve running, biking or swimming that does take up most of my attention span that I don’t normally talk about on here. I work in food and agriculture and I am part of a leadership training program that focuses on food and agriculture. (So if you’re not interested in non-sports related, food and agriculture information, feel free to skip the next 5 postings…)

My adventure started early Sunday – I left my parents house bright and early to head to Albany to meet up with a few of my classmates to catch a train to NYC.

Our Crew:

When we arrived in the city a few hours later, we had just enough time to jump off the train at Penn Station, walk the 10 blocks to our hotel, drop our bags and then scoot over to the Guggenheim for a tour.

The weather had threatened to bring a big snow storm, but it was actually kind of nice Sunday when we arrived, which was good since we had to walk quite a few blocks and cross Central Park to get to the museum. I hate to admit this, but it was my first time in Central Park – my visits to the city always seem to land in the November – March timeframe, so my trips have never ventured toward Central Park… new item for the bucket list, see Central Park in the summer!

Unfortunately we were about 10 minutes late for our first visit of the week, but our guide (the head archivist) of the provided us with  insight to both the architecture of the museum as well as the current exhibit of Italian Futurism. If you have not visited the Guggenheim, I would definitely recommend it, the building is a neat place to visit and the current collection of Italian Futurism was definitely impressive and interesting to learn about!

After the quick tour at the Guggenheim, a few of us scooted down to SoHo to visit with Chobani. We met with the manager of Chobani’s retail store to learn more about how the company is using the SoHo location to sample various flavors with their yogurts while also teaching people about the various ways to use Greek yogurt in their everyday diet. (If you are not aware, Chobani has played a major role in food and eating in the past few years by popularizing Greek Yogurt in the American market.) Greek yogurt is such a great a versatile product, and I love the fact that it has made its way into the mainstream grocery market in the U.S.!

As part of the visit, we were provided samples of the various yogurts available to purchase at the store. We started the tasting session with a Turkish Red Lentil Soup – a recipe from Hamdi’s (the owner of Chobani) mother’s kitchen.  Next, we sampled the savory recipes from the menu – including Hummus + Za’atar, Mango + Avocado, Red Pepper Harissa + Feta, and Pomegranate + Caramelized Onion. My favorite was the Mango + Avocado – who would have thought of putting mango, avocado, jalapenos and a few other ingredients together with Greek yogurt to make a dip?! It was amazing!!

After the savory dishes, we sampled the Smoked Salmon and Herbed Labne sandwich and it was so tasty! This was my first experience with Labne and it was delicious!

After the sandwich we  tried the sweet dishes. These are more in line with a traditional American palate and expectation of yogurt dishes. However, after sampling the savory dishes, I couldn’t believe how sweet these dishes seemed! Our whole group agreed that we actually preferred the savory over the sweet dishes and we kept switching back to the savory to help reduce the overall sweetness! For the sweet dishes we sampled the Pistachio + Chocolate,  Fresh Fruit + Granola, Blueberry + Power, Toasted Coconut + Pineapple, and Fig + Walnut.

My favorite was the Toasted Coconut + Pineapple, but of course I LOVE anything coconut (and pineapple is a close second) so I was pretty much sunk from the start once they told me the combo of flavors!

Overall, everything that Chobani served us was absolutely delicious. I loved all the various flavor mixes and really enjoyed experimenting with new flavors that I would not normally sample. Also, I was super psyched since they provided us with goodie bags to go home with – we were given recipes for all of the yogurts we tried, some glass Chobani cups and a pound of their coffee! So excited to make some of these dishes for guests to try in the future!

After our visit to Chobani Soho, we finally went out to eat a meal. (This was my first meal all day, so it was much appreciated!) And then we checked out Times Square and headed to see some of the food marketing that occurs in that area.  (Of course this included a stop at the M&M Store as well as the Hershey Store!)

After we finished up in Times Square, I crashed hard. A full day of travel and walking around for 14 hours made it a very long day!

Not to mention that we had an early start for our Monday… check out Part 2 for the next day’s adventures in NYC Food!