food | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

food and clothes.

31 May, 2015 by Gracie 10 Comments

They say what a person photographs says a lot about them. So what does it say that most of what I snap photos of is food and clothes? (…and NYC + my friends, for good measure). I like to think it says I should have a blog 😉

I’m definitely that person who takes pictures of my food, and since so many of you are interested in my flexible dieting (AKA “just eating”) journey, here are some of my eats from the past week.

1) bacon cheeseburger from David Burke Kitchen (full disclosure - didn’t eat the bread. Ate about 10 fries). 2) Toasted Coconut Arctic Zero with chocolate chips and peanut butter. 3) Toast - I have toast of some sort just about every day. 4) Market veggie plate from Westville - roasted beets, fried plantains, roasted brussels sprouts, sautéed mushrooms.

5) Crispy Rice Sushi from Mercer Kitchen. 6) Whipped banana oatmeal with chocolate and peanut butter. 7) MashBar + coconut water from Hu Kitchen. 8) Burnt Ends burrito bowl from Mexicue.

I should probably clarify that I don’t dine out for every single meal, ha (although yes, I do a lot - most New Yorkers do). The meals that I eat at home are usually either toast, oatmeal, eggs, or smoothies. Since I’ve been dining out more than usual, it’s easy to just make sure to always have those staples on hand.

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On the clothes front, I must say I’m preeeeetty excited that I finally found a (non-snapback) hat that I actually like. Apparently I have an abnormally large head. LOL. Thankfully Urban Outfitters had like a zillion hats to choose from, so I landed on this one.

(Clearly a Snapchat. You can follow me @alagracie)

I’m also loving this new black & white dress from East & Lo. They were kind enough to send me a few cute pieces, and this is a perfect light dress for summer.

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If someone looked through your phone, what would they see the most photos of?

lessons in flexible dieting (AKA - just eating).

25 May, 2015 by Gracie 10 Comments

For the past couple of months I’ve been ~~experimenting~~ embracing Flexible Dieting. I hate even calling it that because the thing is - it’s not dieting. Does anyone have a suggestion for what else we can call it…? 😛

I actually must admit that I haven’t even been strictly adhering to the principles (i.e. tracking macros) of Flexible Dieting. In fact, I’d say the way I’ve been eating is closer to Intuitive Eating. AKA…just eating.

I wanted to share of the things I’ve learned over the past few weeks because a handful of you asked me to share more about my experience - specifically breaking free from the whole “clean eating” (Paleo) mentality. I’ve said this a million times and want to say again - that I don’t find anything wrong with Paleo style of eating. I had a lot of great results (physically, mentally, etc.) from eating that way, and I really do think it’s one of the healthiest ways to eat. It’s just not for me, and I think these points will explain a bit more why.

1. I don’t like meat as much as I thought I did. I’ll probably never cut it out completely, but when I go with my cravings/what my body wants, most of the time that’s a combination of plants + grains (as you can see in the meals above).

2. I don’t want to have to control my sweet tooth. I get it - sugar isn’t good for us blah blah blah. But quite frankly - I just don’t care anymore. I love treats, and I’d rather find a way to fit them into my life on a daily basis.

3. I am naturally a healthy eater. I don’t know when I started to think I had to try harder to eat healthy. I naturally gravitate toward foods that are good for me, so I think I really can just trust my body (as cliche as that sounds - it’s true!).

4. Logging meals is extremely helpful, but not a necessity (for me). About a week ago I stopped tracking my meals on MyFitnessPal. I’ll probably still log a few days a week just to keep me on track, but I don’t want to become obsessed or dependent on it.

5. Arctic Zero is my jam + one of the few “diet foods” I can get behind. The Cookie Dough, Salted Caramel, and Toasted Coconut flavors are so ridiculously good.

6. So is Free Bread. I eat it toasted almost every morning with smashed avocado + a fried egg. It’s the best gluten free bread I’ve tried - hands down. The flavor and texture is perfect.

7. Breaking the mentality that sugar/carbs/dairy are the devil isn’t so easy. It’s everywhere! But each day it gets easier and easier to trust myself/my body over what everyone else is saying.

8. Instead of ignoring cravings, I’m embracing them. Sometimes that means I’m going to eat a cupcake in the middle of the work day. Other times that means a salad. And yes - sometimes I still want a big plate of “clean” meat and veggies. Nothing is off limits, and that’s a wonderful way to eat/live.

…that’s I’ll I’ve got for now! I’ll make sure to do a follow up post as I continue on with Flexible Dieting (which, I think I’m going start calling Just Eating. ha).

Can you relate to any of these?

a very work & play kind of day.

23 May, 2015 by Gracie 10 Comments

Hey guys!

It’s definitely time for a little day in the life action, yes? I realized I haven’t done a DITL post since I started my new gig as a full time Social Media Director, so this will give you a bit of a glimpse into my new routine. Every day can be totally different from the next, but yesterday was pretty standard for a Friday-in-the-life for me.

7am: Wake up. Coffee. God time.
7:45 - 9am: Do my daily social posts + catch up on emails and Podio tasks.
9am: Get dressed, eat a banana, head to SoulCycle.

9:30 - 10:15am: One of the best SoulCycle classes I’ve had in a while. (Read about it here.)
10:45 - 12:45am: Went Hu Kitchen for a late breakfast. Caught up on more work.

12:45 - 2pm: Headed up to Midtown to pick up samples from two of our clients for a photo shoot next week.

2pm: Went home. Finished up more work (scheduling posts). Wrote blog post. Drank a green protein smoothie.
3pm: Wrapped up with work for the day. Got ready for a late afternoon rooftop party at Le Bain.

4:30pm - 6:30pm: Hung out there with Sydney and Martina. It was such a beautiful afternoon/evening!

6:30pm - 9pm: Went home, made myself breakfast for dinner (avocado toast + eggs). Washed it down with half a pint of this deliciousness 😛 Seriously - this stuff is UH-mazing.

9pm: Watched a little bit of TV. Got ready (again). Drank some coffee.
10:30pm: Headed down to Le Poisson Rouge for their weekly 90’s party + my friend Jenn’s birthday celebration.

If you’re ever in New York on a Friday (and a child of the late 80s/90s ;)) you’ve GOT to go to this party. It is ridiculously fun. Zero pretentiousness, fun people, and sooo much nostalgia. The cover band (The Bayside Tigers) is incredible!

2am: Way past my bedtime 😉 Headed home to end what was quite the perfect (work & play) Friday.

And now here I am on Saturday morning, coffee in hand, excited for the long weekend!

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Do you have any fun plans for Memorial Day Weekend?
What’s your favorite 90’s song?

eats & moves | 5.11.15.

11 May, 2015 by Gracie 13 Comments

Once again I need to play a bit of catch up with my workout recap, oops! For the sake of accountability I’m trekking all the way back to April…

Week of 4/19: took 2 cycling classes, off the rest of the week.

Week of 4/26:
4/26 - off
4/27 - 45 minute Peloton cycling class
4/28 - 45 minute SoulCycle class
4/29 - off
4/30 - 45 minute SoulCycle class
5/1 - off
5/2 - 25 minutes treadmill intervals, 25 minutes strength training

Week of 5/3: went for a 40 minute jog on Monday, off the rest of the week

As you can see, I’ve been doing a bit of pendulum swinging in the exercise department, ha. The week of 4/19 was tough mostly because there was just a lot going with with work/She Is Free, but last week I honestly just needed a break…mostly mentally.

I wish I could say I was one of those people that likes to work out when I’m feeling stressed/overwhelmed - and sometimes that is the case - but most of the time feeling like I need to squeeze exercise into what is already a busy time just makes things worse. I’m learning more and more than *for me* making sure I don’t let myself get mentally/emotionally drained is more important than exercise when it comes to being healthy.

With that being said, the week off was great (and totally served its purpose), so I’m excited to get back into some sweat sessions this week!

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As far as my eats go, I’m keeping up with Flexible Dieting (AKA IIFYM) and loving it. I’m definitely still in the experimental phase and trying to get over the clean eating/Paleo mentality that I somehow adopted over the past year. Some of my meals have looked like:

(sushi, Juice Press, burrito bowl, steak, Arctic Zero)

Clearly I haven’t been starving 😉 I’ll be honest - my macros haven’t been entirely on point. I’m getting there slowly but surely. But from the start I had decided I didn’t want to be super strict. I do think that my goals will eventually tighten up, but right now I’m focusing on (re)learning how to eat healthy and balanced without feeling like sugar and *gasp* gluten are going to kill me in my sleep.

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What are your fitness/health goals right now? Do you prefer to exercise or rest when you’re feeling stressed?

lessons lately.

3 May, 2015 by Gracie 16 Comments

Ah, what an amazing week it’s been. Spring is in the air, fun things are happening, and I’ve just been all sorts of thankful lately.

I’ve also been doing quite a lot of…oh, how do you say, pondering about life. But who am I kidding? I’m always doing that 😛 Lately, that has looked a bit like…

1) Did you know that awe is awesome for your health? Sometimes I find myself in awe of the dumbest, most insignificant things (I can’t even imagine how I’ll react when I finally start to travel more, ha). But I really want to make it a point to be even more observant of the world around me. Not just nature/sights, but conversations. “Average” moments. Even the tiniest of miracles and surprises.

2) I want/need to start acknowledging my story more. I always discredit it because it’s nothing special - what I’ve “been through” is the same as most other people. Fear. Insecurity. Anxiety. Heartbreak. The same old, same old.

But last week I got a message from a reader that left me nearly in tears because I could so deeply relate. It brought back so many old emotions, and I realized how thankful I was for certain experiences (no matter how difficult they were) because I could empathize with her and maybe shed at least an ounce of hope on her situation.

I’m rambling. But I guess what I’m saying is that even though my experiences/story is similar to so many others, I’m the only one who can tell mine. That transparency, though, it ain’t so easy…

3) Being an adult rocks. Yeah yeah, technically I’ve been an adult for 10 years. But over the past year I really feel like an adult, and it’s awesome. It’s not so much feeling old - it’s feeling comfortable in my own skin, more in control of my destiny, and much easier to let go of the things that don’t actually matter.

4) Flexible dieting is where it is AT. I can’t believe I let myself think that bread, cheese, and even quinoa were “bad” for me at one point. Seriously, that’s not cool.
(left - avocado toast. right - a bowl of awesomeness from Roast Kitchen)

5) I need a personal mission statement. I may or may not be working on it already 😉 The other day I read an article about creating your own mission statement, and I actually got sort of pissed at myself that I didn’t think to do it before. Basically it’s a compilation of your core values, goals, etc. Now that I think about it, I should do a separate post about this - yes?

6) You’re (I’m) never ever EVER too old or too far along to break a bad habit. Same goes for starting a new (good) one.

7) I have a feeling that by this time next year, my life is going to look drastically different. Do you ever feel that way…?

8) I’m a sucker for a good inside joke. The more we have, the more I probably like you.

9) Always ALWAYS sleep on your decisions (when possible). Give a few weeks for the bigger ones. Personal example - if I did not do this, I would own the adorable-but-not-good-decision of a bunny rabbit right about now.

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What’s a lesson you’ve learned lately? With me on any of these?

eats: White Chocolate Covered Cake Batter {Easter Egg} Truffles.

2 April, 2015 by Gracie 3 Comments

I like to think of myself as a Cake Batter connoisseur. While I certainly haven’t come up with the majority of the incredible cake batter recipes out there, I really do take pride in the fact that I invented Cake Batter Blondies (all the way back in 2010, ha!).

But even more so than that, I just freaking LOVE all things cake batter. I’ve never been a huge fan of chocolate, so cake batter satisfies that almost-too-rich sweet tooth of mine.

I had seen a trillion recipes for Cake Batter Truffles over the past few years on Pinterest and blogs, so I decided it was finally time to try them for myself. And since it’s almost Easter, I figured I’d make cute little Easter eggs of out them.

…AKA shape them in ovals instead of balls. Not exactly rocket science, but still cute, right? 😉

White Chocolate Covered Cake Batter Truffle (Easter Eggs!)