As Chris Perrin puts it, “I live a double life.” You may know him as a local Nike personal trainer, but from 9 to 5 he crunches numbers at a desk as an accountant. “These jobs are completely different,” he says. “One I’m up and about, the other I’m sitting on my tail.” That said, his diet has to be efficient and match his activity level. “Very little energy is wasted,” he says. He’s also a vegetarian. Read on to see what food keeps him fueled throughout the day.
Breakfast (5:30 AM): “My first client is at 6 AM. My go-to most mornings is three eggs on half of a OneBun topped with salsa. I spread chipotle barbecue sauce on each OneBun. I also have a coffee, black. I take the coffee with me and sip it throughout the morning.”
To key to ordering a low-calorie lunch at Qdoba is to avoid the tortilla and opt for a Naked Burrito instead. Photograph courtesy of Flickr user Mr. T in DC.
Lunch can be tricky—you either eat too little and are starving by 2 PM, or you manage to chew yourself into an afternoon food coma. We’re here to help by rounding up five healthy meals in DC with no more than 500 calories. Many of them are protein- and fiber-heavy so you won’t be left wishing for more.
Sweetgreen’s May Salad = 460 calories
Sweetgreen’s seasonal salad is a berry lover’s dream, with its strawberries and cranberries atop a bed of spinach with feta, sunflower seeds, cucumber, mint, and Champagne vinaigrette. Note: Getting a slice of bread adds 125 calories to this meal. (The mainstay Spicy Sabzi salad is another low-cal option at just 455 calories.)
Navigating the salad bar at Whole Foods Market can be tricky. Vegan chef Rachel Morris says one tip is to avoid any creamy dressings. Photograph courtesy of Whole Foods Market Foggy Bottom's Facebook page.
If you’re lucky enough to work or live near one, Whole Foods Market’s salad bar can be a tasty and healthy lunch option. In fact, plenty of fitness instructors deemed it their go-to meal for a quick lunch in last week’s Lunch Break.
But as with most salad spots that offer make-your-own options, it can be easy to go overboard at Whole Foods. To help us out, we asked vegan chef Rachel Morris to whip up three combinations from ingredients, ranging from total diet busters to ultra-nutritious meals. You can trust her picks, as Morris frequents Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom every month to put on vegetarian cooking demonstrations.
The Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC is Sunday, April 28. Local runners who have run the race in San Francisco say to expect mid-race perks and to enjoy the 13.1-mile tour through the city. Photograph courtesy of Nike's Facebook page.
You’ve got your running gear and your bib, and your months of training have finally come to an end. The Nike Women’s Half Marathon is this Sunday, and now all that’s left is for the 15,000 participants to make it to the finish line.
To help both locals and out-of-town visitors, we created this handy Well+Being survival guide packed with advice from local running coaches and athletes. From runners’ favorite pre-race meals to great tips for recovery, we’ve got it all. Read on, and good luck!
Race time: 7 AM
Best Metro to Take: Archives Station, although Metro Center and Federal Triangle are other options. The Metro will open at 5 AM on Sunday. Parking won’t be available.
Popular Cheer Points: Lincoln Memorial, Independence Avenue, Jefferson Memorial, and Pennsylvania Avenue. However, family and friends should consider heading to Hains Point, which is notoriously the hardest part of the race for runners due to lack of spectators.
Although not exactly nutritious, chicken nuggets are at least less likely to cause foodborne illnesses, along with ham and sausage, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest's report “Risky Meat: A Field Guide to Meat & Poultry Safety." Photograph via Shutterstock.
The DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest is at it again with its mission to transform the American diet. Its most recent report, which analyzed 33,000 cases of foodborne illnesses related to meat, found that chicken and ground beef pose the highest risks.
The report, “Risky Meat: A Field Guide to Meat & Poultry Safety,” ranked 12 categories of meat and poultry based on reports of foodborne illnesses and outbreaks. Researchers found that chicken caused the highest number of outbreaks, with 452 reported in the past 12 years; ground beef came right behind, with 336 outbreaks. The two meat products are often contaminated with salmonella and E. coli, respectively, according to the report.
Jillian Michaels spoke for more than two hours to a crowd at Warner Theatre Wednesday night about health, nutrition, and self-empowerment. She chose to wear a different outfit in DC after donning the same get-up during her last 12 shows. Photograph by Kevin Hulse.
Jillian Michaels says two simple sentences have helped her become a “very rich person”: “Eat less” and “Move more.”
“Can you believe that shit?” Michaels told the audience packed into Warner Theatre last night for her Maximize Your Life motivational tour.
Michaels, who became famous for her sergeant-like training and tough talk on the reality show The Biggest Loser (now in its 15th season), spoke about nutrition, exercise, and self-worth for more than two hours to an audience eager to find out how the once-chubby kid from Los Angeles became one of the most well-known personal trainers in the country. Standing in front of a flashy backdrop and pulling examples from her own life, the foul-mouthed, five-foot-three personal trainer wowed a female-dominated crowd with her real talk.
Read on for some of the most memorable moments and helpful health lessons we learned from Michaels’s show.
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.
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.
