Fun, Fitness, and Fresh-air

So I went to New York this past week, and they're not lying when they say NY is a melting pot. It's like a huge box of blocks full of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. It was eye-opening for me. It showed me how small Philly actually is, and how many (outer) beautiful, hip people there are (all gathered in one place!). New York is actually a good place to provide motivation if you wanted to drop a few pounds...passing by so many skinny, modelesque people will make you want to get fit as well. And with all the walking you can do across that sprawling city, it would be easy to shed some weight if you really desired.

While NY is known for its blending of people, I am also very fond of the numerous juice blending places the city offers. On almost every block you can find a fresh-squeezed juice venue. Since NY has such a mass and mixture of people, it is able to provide a wide array of restaurants and cuisines. New York has more nutritious/vegetarian/macrobiotic/etc. based restaurants than I have ever seen in once city. These kinds of restaurants allow you to go out and get good food that's actually healthy, making them great options for when you want dine out without loading on all the typical grease and fat.

Almost everyday I would wake up and walk down the street to pick up a freshly-juiced carrot juice. You could also choose to have a mixture of several fruits/veggies. For example, you could mix carrots with a combination of parsley, celery, beets, ginger, or spinach. Pictured above was a beet/carrot juice blend that I enjoyed one morning. I also sampled a fresh-squeezed orange juice, but surprisingly found it to not be nearly as good as the carrot juice blends.

While I already happened to be a fan of carrot juice, I was super excited when I saw it being offered in so many restaurants/cafes. Carrot juice is astoundingly sweet, and doesn't taste like what most people would expect. While it does have a hint of earthiness to its taste, it's nothing like V8 or any other vegetable concoction. If you haven't ever tried carrot juice, I definitely recommend it. And nothing beats freshly-juiced carrots (or freshly-squeezed anything for that matter). Personally, I enjoy just simple carrot juice, but it's also worth trying with either beets or ginger.

Carrot juice is loaded with vitamin A (good for the eyes!). It also contains vitamin E and B vitamins, as well as numerous minerals that include calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron. The vitamin A from the beta carotene in carrots is said to cleanse the liver, strengthen bones, and protect skin. It's also low-cal for a juice, containing just 70 calories per one 8-ounce serving.

Providing numerous nutrients and health benefits, and a great taste too, carrot juice is one of my favorite drinks. Give it a try, especially if you get the chance to head up to NY and go to one of the fresh-juice venues.