This month ourGuest columnist comes to us from across the pond in England. Sarah Ellis is a writer for Inside Soap in the UK and is a BIG fan of our pancakes as you will see! Oh and she did not attend the royal weeding as is her invite was lost in the mail...Sad but true.
Going to New York for the first time is a bit of a surreal experience. Although it’s on the other side of the world to England, everything about it is familiar, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s grown up watching it on TV and in the movies. From the moment I touched down at JFK, I already had a lot of preconceptions about what my time in the world’s busiest city would be like.
One thing I had learned from seeing this infamous city so much on both the big and small screen was that there’s a lot of food to be eaten in the Big Apple! I’d been led to believe that all New Yorkers eat at McDonalds and drink Starbucks, so I had visions that my entire trip was going to be spent gorging out on junk food, followed by weeks of starvation when I got home to make up for it (just kidding – I like my cake too much!)
On our first morning in the city, we set out in search of breakfast. Being four English girls in New York we already knew what we wanted to eat – pancakes! After all, that’s what everyone eats for brekkie (breakfast in America) across the pond, right? Thankfully, just two blocks down from our hotel we stumbled upon a glorious little eatery called Fresh and Co. Not only did it have a counter full of delicious looking cakes (you may have guessed I’ve got a sweet tooth), but it was serving up pancakes for breakfast. Hurrah!
One of my favorite things about Fresh and Co was that we could stand and watch the store’s chefs whip up our pancakes right before our eyes, so we knew they were truly fresh. And the fruit on top was always ripe and juicy, making me feel good that I was getting one of my five a day along with my lovely fluffy pancakes.
After that first day, Fresh and Co quickly became our favorite place to eat in town – in fact, nowhere else got a look-in! We loved their freshly prepared sandwiches and salads. It was great to know we could pick up some freshly made, healthy food while on the go without having to resort to the traditional holiday diet of greasy burgers and fries. Best of all, I could even get a decent cup of tea there, which definitely got the thumbs up from me.
I’m heading back to NYC again this summer with my friends, and you can bet that Fresh and Co will be our first stop – before we’ve even unpacked our bags!
The following blog is an editorial by Ty Sullivan the Director of Social Media & Marketing for Fresh & Co. The intent of the article is intended to stir fund raising efforts to help the people of Japan. We hope you have and will continue to help the people of the nation rebuild.
Last month as the media and music savvy minds gathered in Austin Texas for the South By Southwest Conference to marvel at the advancements we have made with our technical evolution, Mother Nature gave us a reminder of who is really in charge of this planet and how frail we are as humans.
For all our Twitter, Facebook, Four Square and whatever shiny new toy it is of the moment, at the end of the day it means nothing in the wake of the devastation that has been brought down upon Japan. As the waves of Mother Nature’s fury paint a canvas of chaos across Japan one must wonder what it all means at the end of the day.
Is it the one who dies with the most toys wins?
Will this Tsunami affect the Klout scores of the dead and missing?
How many friends lost on the Facebook pages of Japans population?
Will those affected ever rebuild the number of their Twitter followers?
Who cares.
We are so enchanted by how clever we are that we sometimes forget that in ONE second none of what we THINK is important IS. What is important is what we can do with the technology and knowledge we have at our disposal to make a difference in times of crisis. I have written in a previous post of how social media can help make a difference in times of change. We must remember to harness its outreach capabilities to help raise money, awareness and connecting people to sources of where and how they can assist.
If we are going to sit around on our iphones, laptops, BlackBerry’s all day, instead of updating our social media sights with what marvelous things we think are important, do something that IS important.
Be the change. Make the difference. Remember: We are a billion children rolled into one.
Here are some ways you can make a difference through social media:
The American Red Cross has launched a texting campaign to raise money for assistance efforts in the Pacific region. Last year, they were able to raise over $20 million for Haiti relief through simple text donations. If you would like to donate to the American Red Cross for Japan Earthquake Relief, just text REDCROSS to 90999. Each text will provide $10 towards the Red Cross’s humanitarian efforts.
The Red Cross has also launched a Campaign on Causes to raise at least $25,000 for relief efforts. By logging in to Facebook, you can donate anywhere from $10 to $500 to help Tsunami victims and their families.
The folks over at Explore.org are donating $1 for every “Like” of the “Dog Bless You” Facebook page, up to $100,000. Explore.org founder Charlie Weingarten delivered the challenge at South by Southwest this weekend. “Search and rescue dogs are a critical resource for emergency situations,” he told the audience.
Harness the power of your Twitter account to do some good for the people of Japan. Twitter published a blog post detailing ways you can help with the relief efforts. Not only have they updated Japan’s mobile website with the latest information on the disaster, but they have also published a list of hashtags to tweet and/or follow related to the crisis. Here are some key hashtags to remember:
• #Jishin: focuses around general earthquake information
• #Anpi: a hashtag for the confirmation of the safety of individuals or places
• #Hinan: Evacuation information
• #311care: a hashtag regarding medical information for the victims
• #PrayforJapan: A general hashtag for support and best wishes for victims of the crisis
The great people at South By Southwest Conference along with the amazing Natalie Petouhoff stepped into action while in Austin during the event. Go to sxswcares.org and make a donation via the website. It goes directly 2 Red Cross and you get an email receipt from red cross.
Not only do we appeal to the locals of our fair little hamlet known as Manhattan but we have become a favorite with our tourist friends as well! You might remember the story we did on our friend from France, Marguerite Czarnecki, who became a great pal of ours and still stays in touch via email. Now, we have a group of amazing fans from “across the pond” that traveled here to see The Backstreet Boys and made Fresh & Co. their own!
We met them “officially” during our Tuesday and Thursday Free Lunch Trivia where they started raving about their experience with us and in particular our pancakes and desserts!
Let me introduce you to our English “cousins”! We have Sarah, who writes for the magazine Inside Soap and the whole trip started with her treating herself to a visit to NYC and seeing the band for her Birthday “pressie” (British for “present”).When she isn't busy bringing us up to date on all the British soaps she is chasing down The Backstreet Boys in hopes of marrying one of them some day. Hahaha...just kidding Sarah!
Next meet Lisa, our friend who works in retail over in London and resides in Borehamwood, which is the Hollywood of the UK. They have done such small independent films as Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones (just to name a few). She would love to live in NYC just because of Fresh & Co. and…OK, kidding about that but has have dreams of coming here one day.
Kavita, a self professed “chaos princess”, works as a copywriter for a website. In other words, she is proofing this just as I post it! She says she and Sarah were first taken by our delicious homemade desserts like the Red Velvet cupcake and the Oreo Pie. I can’t say I blame her. No, not at all.
Last but not least, Anna, or Anna Banana as she goes by, is a night supervisor for a major hotel in London and is mad for cakes and baked goods. Originally from Liverpool she is not related to any Beatles and don’t ask her to do imitations of them either.
Nice to know that not only are we making an impact here in NYC but in London as well. As a matter of fact, a couple of these amazing Londoners will be guest blogging here so keep your eyes out for that!
Welcome to our 1st Guest Blog here at Fresh & Co.! We are proud to feature Alexandra Oppenheimer, RD who has been a guest of ours since we opened our first location at 681 Lexington Ave. Alexandra is a Registered Dietitian in Westchester and New York City, a Graduate Student at New York University and a Graduate of the NewYork-Presbyterian Dietetic Internship.
We asked Alexandra to give us and you some healthy eating hints and tips regarding salad as we quickly approach salad season:
Hello everyone this is Alexandra with a few tips on being "salad savvy"
Be Salad Bar Savvy
Salads are often thought of as the epitome of a healthy meal. Trying to lose weight?—“I’ll just have a salad.” Don’t want to eat too much? – “Oh, just a salad for me!” While we know how nutritionally fabulous salads can be, it is essential to make sure we’re not reversing their healthfulness. While freedom of choice can be a fun part of designing your dream salad, we need to learn to not abuse this power and avoid salad sabotage.
Balance your ingredients:
Individually, most salad ingredients can be great additions, but it’s possible to go too far. Sodium and fat are two nutrients that can add up surprisingly quick in salads. Items like beans, cheese and olives may contain higher amounts of sodium, although they still have redeeming nutrients. The same goes for fat-containing foods. Although they may contain heart healthy fats, a large amount still add up to excess calories. The solution? Balance your ingredients and stick to one serving of salad dressing. Pay attention to which toppers have extra sodium or are higher in fat. They are still healthy items that can be included but try not to pile them up. Keep the higher sodium and fat foods to only one or two per salad.
Don’t be fat-phobic with your salad:
While we want to be mindful about the amount of fat in our salads, it is not the time to go fat-free! Vitamins A and K are abundant in vegetables and are best absorbed in your body when they are eaten along with good fats. By adding heart healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, sunflower seeds or nuts in your salad, your body can better use those great nutrients. Why eat a salad unless you can get all of its goodness?
Maximize nutrition with color:
Fruits and vegetables have powerful disease-preventing nutrients called phytochemicals. These various phytochemicals are displayed by their unique color (red, orange, green, yellow, blue/purple, brown, white), and yes even white mushrooms count as a color. Utilize a salad bar, like Fresh & Co.’s, for their extensive salad toppers (likely way more then you’d even have at home at one time). It is the perfect opportunity to create a bright and multi-colored salad in order to get those diverse nutrients.
Channel your New Yorker pride!
It’s a fact, New Yorkers are extremely proud of where they come from… now shouldn’t we feel the same about our food? One of the biggest movements in food is the utilization of local and seasonal ingredients, and rightly so. Don’t we want to support our neighboring farmers… you bet! Local farmers help us put some of the most nutritious food in our bodies. Produce stays on the plants longer and gets into our stomachs sooner, giving nutrients the least amount of time to degrade and lose their power! In addition to buying local for your home, when dining out, find businesses (like Fresh & Co.) that get their ingredients from local farmers as much as possible.
Salads can make a great meal, but sometimes we just need to take a step back and evaluate our choices. By being mindful about your salad toppers and where the ingredients come from, you can truly maximize the healthfulness of your salad!
