NY eats: family time

I'll begin the New York series by posting the least glamorous eats. The apartment is always packed, with people sleeping in nearly every room, including the dining room. This is a nice change of pace for me, since my house is so quiet, but it also drives me crazy sometimes. Every day except for one day of the trip, I got up at 7:15 to go running in Central Park and was back before everyone else was awake. The running was WONDERFUL-- I've decided that I definitely prefer running in a circle because 1) You don't have to turn around and feel obligated to stop, and 2) you never see the same thing twice,
Day one-- I didn't run very far-- just around the reservoir, which is a little less than 2 miles around, but it was SO HOT! It must have been 60 degrees out, and people were running in shorts! I, meanwhile, was running in my insulated leggings, shorts, a long sleeved shirt, and a sweatshirt.
Day two-- I ran around the bridle path this time, which is about 2.5 miles. After that, I ran around the park, going up and down the hills.
Day three-- this was KILLER. Either I've been lying to myself when I say I've run 6 miles or it was just the hills that killed me. I decided to go all out and run the ENTIRE jogging path around the entire park, which is 6.1 miles. I guess I didn't realize how far it was. My building seemed to get smaller and smaller no matter how far I ran. I ran at least half of it without stopping and really enjoyed it, but when I came to a couple big hills, I couldn't kid myself anymore that I was having fun. It was torture, honestly. I stopped to walk a few times because my knee and hip were KILLING me. I made it back, and could feel it in my legs with every step. I definitely overdid it that day, since it was definitely the furthest I've run-- probably because in addition to the 6.1 miles, I had to run to and from the park to the apartment. Also, I come from the land of pancake-flat topography, where a bump in the road is considered a hill.
The day after that I took it easy. The thing is, in addition to the running, I was walking a good 4-6 miles a day. That's what I love about New York-- how much you walk, and I LOVE public transport.
The final day I ran around the bridle loop again. It's amazing how after that 6 mile run, anything less seems to go by so fast!
Anyways, I got sidetracked. Who was in the house? Well, in addition to my parents, my grandparents, my aunt, uncle, cousin, half-sister, her husband, and my niece and nephew. And me.
Because of the kids and the huge group of people, a lot of the time we just ordered take-out and lounged around. I made my niece breakfast most of the time, but I had to pretty much shove the food down her throat or she wouldn't finish it. All she seemed to want to eat were grapes, apples, and bananas. When I got her to eat something like cheerios, she would have a few bites and then say she wanted toast. I told her she couldn't eat the toast till she finished her cheerios. How strange, not really wanting to eat... apparently I was also a really picky eater.



I did make her a really luscious cup of hot chocolate with whole milk.
And yum-- look at the mocha my mom made using the leftovovers

Some of my breakfasts:


Taken at a cute cafe near Columbia called Cafe Fresh--
a lowfat cranberry bran muffin that my mom thought was disgusting. It was so unsweetened that I had to actually dip it in maple syrup, but it reminded me of those Chinese corncakes that have no flavoring, so I enjoyed it.

My mom and I shared a portobella and onion omelette.

And I had a mocha as well-- it wasn't sweet at all!


Some dinners (Chirping Chicken, blech, where I could only eat salad):

Lots of deli spreads, smoked salmon, leftovers rearranged, etc.



On New Years Eve I had already eaten, but came back to see them having dinner. The main event was lobsters, which nobody photographed, but there was also hummus, labneh (yogurt cheese), salad, and a chocolate cake.