We all have our preferences when it comes to fitness. Favorite running trail. The best personal trainer in DC. The indoor cycling instructor with the best music.
And we want to hear your picks.
Fill out our survey to help us determine Well+Being readers’ choices for best barre studio, local race, healthy restaurant, and more. A randomly selected participant will win two tickets to see New York Times columnist Mark Bittman at Sixth & I Synagogue on Saturday, May 4, as well as a copy of his book Eat Vegan Before 6.
The winner will be announced May 2. Good luck!
Take the Washingtonian Best of Fitness Survey.
Jummy Olabanji has a seriously early wake-up call for her job as a reporter/anchor at ABC7 News, but her day doesn’t end once the show ends. During her free time, the adjunct professor of communication at Marymount University can be found at Lava Barre and Revolve DC, and manages to squeeze in some Pilates, yoga, or Dance Trance sessions at various fitness studios in Washington. Despite all that, she says, “I’m usually in bed by 8 PM.” We don’t blame her!
Read on to see how her diet of several small meals and snacks helps her wake up at 2:45 AM and stay fueled through her workouts. (Shockingly, copious amounts of coffee are not involved.)
Fitness instructors in Washington have plenty of favorite places in their neighborhoods to grab quick and healthy lunches. Sweetgreen's salads are a popular choice. Photograph courtesy of Flickr user tedeytan.
For the past two years our trusty nutrition experts have helped us scour local lunch spots’ menus, finding the healthiest and worst meals to order. We’ve learned which frighteningly fatty salads to stay away from and the healthiest sandwiches to order at our favorite sub shops.
We’re doing something a bit different for this week’s Lunch Break. We love finding out how local health experts eat for a day, so we reached out to local studio owners and Well+Being readers to find out their favorite places to order a quick and healthy meal for lunch in their respective neighborhoods. Read on for their tasty recommendations.
GEORGETOWN: Kafe Leopold, Sweetgreen, Peacock Cafe, Baked and Wired, and Unum
The yoga instructors at Georgetown Yoga have their favorite spots in Georgetown for every meal: breakfast at Kafe Leopold, lunch at Sweetgreen, fresh juice from Peacock Cafe, dessert from Baked and Wired, and a glass of wine (or two!) at Unum.
Vapiano offers plenty of customizable pizzas, pastas, and paninis. But so many options makes it easy to go wrong at this casual Italian restaurant. Photograph courtesy of Flickr user pr_ip.
Vapiano, with six locations in the metro Washington region, prides itself on its European concept of serving made-to-order pizzas, pasta, panini, and salads. But while we dig the casual dining atmosphere, the extensive menu can be pretty overwhelming.
Registered dietitian Carlene Thomas took a gander at the menu and broke down the healthiest and worst pizzas, pastas, and panini to order next time you visit Vapiano. Read on for her suggestions.
PIZZA
Healthiest: Verdure
“You may actually get a serving of vegetables from this pizza,” thanks to the tomato sauce, roasted veggies, and mushrooms, says Thomas. “The vegetables will provide a ton of sweetness and flavor from the roasting process, leaving your palate satisfied.”
Worst: Americana
Zero veggies and two types of fatty, salty meats? This pie will leave you feeling sluggish all afternoon, says Thomas.
Jetties, with four locations in Washington, is a “step above” most delis in terms of nutrition, says dietitian Jennifer Reilly. The Sconset sandwich is a veggie-friendly choice. Photograph courtesy of Jetties' Facebook page.
It’s no wonder Jetties, with locations in Georgetown, downtown DC, Bethesda, and Macomb, is such a beloved institution. Dietitian Jennifer Reilly says it’s a “step above” most delis, thanks to its offering of multigrain bread and almost as many salads as sandwiches.
Still, its menu isn’t perfect. Reilly says most options are very deli-meat heavy, which means they’re high in sodium, too. Fortunately, she scoped out the menu and picked the healthiest item on the menu for us.
WORST: Tom Nevers
With three types of meat (turkey, ham, and bacon), plus mayo and three slices of sourdough, this sandwich doesn’t score many nutritional points. The extra slice of bread “adds more calories of simple fast-acting carbs and zero heart-healthy fiber,” says Reilly.
Everyone has their favorites, but a plenty of runners say their go-to pre-race meal is peanut butter toast with banana. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
Major races are in full swing this spring, with the Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler on deck for this Sunday. Curious, we asked readers via Twitter this morning to share their go-to pre-race meals. The verdict? Some version of bread with peanut butter and banana. (We couldn’t agree more!)
Of course, everyone is different, so don’t feel like you have to change your typical breakfast right before race day. Read on for more pre-race dinner and breakfast ideas, and feel free to add your own in the comments section.
Betsy Ramirez's healthy recipe requires just three ingredients and no baking time. Photograph by Ramirez.
In case you haven’t noticed from the hordes of tourists on the Mall, it’s definitely cherry blossom season. But while the blooms are still MIA, that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate with some homemade cherry-themed eats.
We love these snacks from dietitian Betsy Ramirez for when we need a quick pick-me-up. And they’re nearly as easy to make as they are to eat—they only require three ingredients (dried cherries, dates, and slivered almonds) and no baking time.
The cherries provide a wealth of antioxidants and pain-reducing properties, dates are full of fiber, and almonds help reduce the risk of heart disease. Happy snacking!
Berries, artichokes, and asparagus are just some of local dietitians' favorite fruits and vegetables to hit produce stands this spring. Photographs courtesy of Shutterstock.
Aside from the beautiful cherry blossoms and warmer weather, one thing that always gets us excited come spring is the fresh crop of in-season vegetables and fruit at local farmers markets. Local registered dietitians have their favorite spring produce, too—and shared the ways they prefer to cook and eat it. Read on for their picks.
1) Strawberries
It seems like everyone has memories of picking strawberries at some point in their lives, Rebecca Bitzer included. The fruit is her favorite for its natural sweetness, fiber, antioxidants, and wealth of vitamin C.
How to eat: Bitzer loves strawberries on top of cereal, in a fruit salad, and on their own. Try this smoothie recipe: strawberries, banana, milk, peanut butter, ice, and Greek yogurt.
A new report released by the DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 97 percent of American chain restaurants' kids' meals do not meet nutritional standards. Photograph courtesy of Flickr user hildaaa.
They may be quick and easy for when you’re on the go, but kids’ meals at popular chain restaurants are seriously unhealthy, according to a new report.
A report released last week by the DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 97 percent of kids’ meals at American chains such as Applebee’s and Ruby Tuesday do not meet the group’s nutritional standards for four- to eight-year-olds. Nineteen fast food restaurants, including McDonald’s and Chipotle, did not offer a single children’s meal option that met nutritional standards.
“Most chains seem stuck in a time warp, serving up the same old meals based on chicken nuggets, burgers, macaroni and cheese, fries, and soda,” said the group’s nutrition policy director, Margo G. Wootan.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests found that overweight and obese young women who ate high-protein breakfasts were less likely to oversnack on fatty and sugary foods at night. Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock.
We’ve long known that breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. But new research suggests that the higher the meal’s protein content, the better—especially for those trying to lose weight.
The study, which involved 20 overweight or obese females ages 18 to 20, wanted to determine whether a high protein or normal protein breakfast was more beneficial for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The participants had a habit of skipping breakfast, something approximately 60 percent of young Americans do regularly.
For six days, researchers had the participants consume the following 350-calorie breakfasts: 1) a cereal-based meal with 13 grams of protein, 2) an egg and beef meal with 35 grams of protein, or 3) no breakfast at all. Every day the participants filled out questionnaires and provided blood samples. They also underwent MRIs before dinner to track brain signals associated with food desires.
