More Vacation Lunch Ideas

Tuna on brioche with radicchio and hot peppers

I was walking Hubbell along Riverside Park today and suddenly, I was famished.  It was 3 o'clock and, so far all day I had only had a bowl of cereal with strawberries and raisins.  This morning, I took a spin class and swam for a half hour.  Despite my aim to watch the carbs, I knew I had to have a sandwich.  During spin I burned over 600 calories, according to my heart rate monitor, so some carbs would be OK. 

Imported Italian tuna in oil

I've stopped buying Bumble Bee tuna in water because the tuna was getting mushy.  Even though the can said albacore, which I consider to mean it will be solid tuna, it was still like baby food.  I recently started buying imported Italian tuna in oil and the difference is night and day - the tuna is solid and the oil gives it a nice taste.  True, the olive oil has fat, but it's "good" fat.  And, with the tuna in water, I'd add mayonnaise which has calories and fat, so I consider it a wash.  All I add is a bit of champagne vinegar and lemon and it's done.  The radicchio adds a nice color and it tastes great.  Just bear in mind that canned tuna is high in mercury so plan accordingly. 

Friends gather for the holidays

And, during the holiday season, it's always good to remember to have something to eat before the cocktail hour!  Yesterday my workout consisted of a total body conditioning class with Julie for an hour, core strength with Julie for a half hour, spin with Kathy for 45 minutes, and a half hour swim.  After all of that, I thought I could eat just about anything I wanted, though I kept things in moderation.  I made sure to have a good lunch (turkey chili and pita chips) so I had food in my stomach when the civilized cocktail hour arrived.  My friend Stephen (to my left above next to Marianne) drove to NYC from Provincetown to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  He stayed at a hotel across the street from my apartment called On The Ave with his (our) friend, David.  It's a great hotel, and they have a terrace on the 18th floor - it was warm enough to have cocktails on the terrace (Hubbell was there but skipped the cocktails).  We had dinner afterwards at Coppola's, also in my neighborhood.  As I posted yesterday, I had eggplant parmesan and it was delicious.  

Tomorrow, I'll take cardio body sculpting with Julie, and then I'm seeing a special holiday matinee of The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.  I'm going to try to do my Christmas Eve and Day food shopping on the way home.  The stores here get absolutely packed during the days preceding Christmas, so wish me luck.  I at least hope to buy a turkey to cook on Christmas.  I will wait until Saturday to do my Feast of the Seven Fishes shopping for that night.  If the stores are too jammed I may have to come up with a Plan B.  Stay tuned . . .