Healthy Liv

Easy, Nutritious Recipes to Fuel an Active Lifestyle

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • Health & Fitness
  • College
  • Links

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

You are here: Home / Life / NYC Eats

June 10, 2015 36 Comments

NYC Eats

Hi, friends! Happy Wednesday!

After my trip to New York last week, I thought it’d be fun to share my experience with one of the things for which NYC is most famous: the FOOD! Although New York is known for its pizza, cheesecake, hot dogs, etc. my food experience was pretty different from a typical tourist experience since the group I was with didn’t spend much time in the tourist-y parts of Manhattan and instead were spending every day eating in and walking around Little Pakistan in Brooklyn.

Oh yeah, I spent last week in New York City on a missions trip with my church. The idea of a missions trip in the U.S. (instead of somewhere overseas) may seem a little funny, but so many people from all over the world live in New York City!

My church partnered with a NY church called Global Gates, and my smaller group spent the week in Brooklyn in an area referred to as “Little Pakistan.” We did a few different things, but one of our hopes was to find people who would be interested in hosting Bible studies in their homes in the Little Pakistan community, since some immigrants don’t feel comfortable going to a larger church where people speak mostly English. It was really rewarding and I learned so much. I’d be happy to answer questions about the experience if you have any!

So, onto a typical day of NYC eats during the trip:

Breakfast: For the first few days, I just had a granola bar. Then, I discovered that there was a small organic food shop down the street from our guest house where I could buy fresh fruit and snacks. I loved these cute little glass jars of Greek yogurt for breakfast!
nounos greek yogurt
Lunch: For just about every lunch and dinner, we ate in Little Pakistan, which meant that every meal was pretty similar. The food was fairly heavy and not exactly photogenic, but it was all really delicious, authentic, and the prices couldn’t be beat. Plus, we got to talk to the people who owned the small, local restaurants.
This was spicy lentils, chana masala, rice, “salad,” and warm, freshly-baked naan– all for $7! And I could only finish about half of it.chana masala nyc little pakistan
Dinner: Since most dinners were really similar to the meal above and below… (yep, I know what it looks like…)
chana masala nyc little pakistan…I’ll share one unique dinner we had towards the end of the week. We went to the Whole Foods store in Union Square and I may have jumped up and down in excitement because it was a health food lover’s paradise. There were so many great options, including a huge hot bar, salad bar, and burrito bar.
whole foods union square
I ended up getting a really delicious salad (spring mix, carrots, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted butternut squash, southwest chicken, tomatoes, peas, chickpea salad, and a whole bunch of other things) with a side of what may have been the world’s greatest mac ’n’ cheese. The lighter, greener food (just ignore the mac for a second) tasted incredible after a week of heavier, more dense meals.

whole foods hot bar union squareSo, those were my NYC eats in a nutshell: lots of breakfasts on-the-go, things like chana masala & warm naan, and no pizza (although I did get cheesecake on our free day!). There were few fruits and veggies to be seen…but I decided to be okay with it for the week.

Questions for you:
New York-style pizza, cheesecake or hot dogs: if you could only pick one, which one would it be?
Cheesecake
What’s your favorite type of ethnic food?
Are you a fan of hot bars and salad bars? Which ones do you like?

Sharing is easy!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Free Things to Do in NYC
Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Comments

  1. Alison @ Sweetly Petite says

    June 10, 2015 at 10:18 am

    Cheesecake alllll the way!
    My favorite cuisine has to be Mexican. I love my beans and rice! #carbsarelife
    The Whole Foods salad bar always makes me swoon. I love getting their quinoa salad with some baked tofu. Their sesame dressing is outstanding!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 4:28 pm

      Quinoa salad and sesame dressing sound amazing! Yep, #carbsaremylife

      Reply
  2. Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves says

    June 10, 2015 at 8:42 am

    I’ve never been to Little Pakistan before, and I didn’t even know there was such a place! Learning from the tourists myself 😉 That’s so wonderful that you went on a mission trip there. The US definitely has places where people need to hear the Good News!
    My favorite type of ethnic food is either Mediterranean or Japanese. And now I’m craving both.
    I get giddy in Whole Foods too, haha!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 4:31 pm

      Right? I’d heard of Little Italy and Chinatown, of course, but there are so many ethnic neighborhoods in New York City that I had no clue existed before now!

      Reply
  3. Ashley Tukiainen says

    June 10, 2015 at 8:52 am

    Yum! Looks good!!

    Reply
  4. Alyssa @ Renaissancerunnergirl says

    June 10, 2015 at 8:58 am

    As a lifelong NYC’er, it can feel crazy how there are always parts of the city you don’t discover until someone from out of town makes it catch your eye. I’m a Manhattanite and until one of my close friends moved to Brooklyn recently, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d been there!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 1:26 pm

      That’s so interesting! Because of the nature of our trip, we stayed in Queens, spent our days in Brooklyn, and then toured Manhattan on our free day. I loved getting to experience all of it because the boroughs were all SO different!

      Reply
  5. Nicole @ Squash on Squash says

    June 10, 2015 at 10:05 am

    That all looks great! crazy that you can get all that food for only 7$ too! Also that Whole Foods is AMAZING.. I plan on hitting it up all the time (by that I mean as much as my wallet can handle) this summer

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 4:29 pm

      YES, I hope you get the chance to go to that Whole Foods lots this summer! Hope you enjoy your time there 🙂

      Reply
  6. Hayley @ Full of Life says

    June 10, 2015 at 11:08 am

    Naan bread is AMAZING! Love that stuff. I am definitely a fan of the Whole Foods hot bar, but not a big salad fan. My favorite part of Whole Foods is actually the burrito bar 🙂

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 4:01 pm

      There were so many things I wanted to try that I didn’t get to try the burrito bar 🙁 Next time!

      Reply
  7. Lacey @ Runs and Roses says

    June 10, 2015 at 11:33 am

    Pizza definitely! And the cute sprinkle ice cream cones from the trucks you find on every corner:) Whole Foods was definitely my go do when I was in NYC too! There’s something so comforting about that salad bar…haha.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 4:02 pm

      Right? And even though Whole Foods isn’t exactly NYC-style dining, the Whole Foods there was so different from mine back home!

      Reply
  8. Lacey @ Runs and Roses says

    June 10, 2015 at 11:35 am

    Pizza for sure! And the cute sprinkle ice cream cones you can find on every corner! Whole foods was definitely my go to when I was in NYC! There’s something so comforting about that salad bar…haha.

    Reply
  9. Miss Polkadot says

    June 10, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    Colour me jealous. Not only of the food part but the whole NYC experience. It’s still [and obviously will always be until it happens] my dream to fly there one day.
    All of the meals you had look amazing – especially since I really like the ethnic fare you ate. I’d be very interested in hearing more about your missions trip and it’s outcome, too. This is something pretty much unknown over here.

    Reply
  10. Faith VanderMolen says

    June 10, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    This post made me so happy!! I’m so glad you got to experience the diversity in NYC. That’s exactly why I love living in Queens so much…I feel like I’m overseas! Oh, and our world may have collided: did you meet Brad Wall or Chris Clayman?!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 10, 2015 at 1:24 pm

      We stayed in Queens! And yes I met Brad!!! No way, I had no idea you were part of that?!?!?!?

      Reply
  11. Hailey says

    June 10, 2015 at 5:02 pm

    I’ve never been to NYC and never knew that they had “Little Pakistan,” that sounds like a really awesome experience!

    Mmm that Naan bread looks so good! :). Greens taste even more amazing after a few days of heavier food. I always am amazed how salad can taste even better on vacation after a few splurge days haha.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:49 pm

      Experiencing Little Pakistan was so cool. After a Subway ride, it really almost felt like we were in a different country! And I agree that when I haven’t eaten much fresh food in a few days, a salad can taste like the greatest thing ever!

      Reply
  12. Cookie Yi says

    June 10, 2015 at 6:47 pm

    OMG I LOVE the Whole Foods salad bars! I just wish it wasn’t so expensive or I’d eat there everyday!

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:50 pm

      I always underestimate how much my Whole Foods meals will cost! I think it’s very intentional that they don’t have scales near the salad bar and hot bar so we’ll have no idea how much our food will weigh haha 😉

      Reply
  13. Paola Angeli says

    June 10, 2015 at 8:10 pm

    Delicious eats! NYC definitely has many great places to eat, I love middle eastern food. Those to me look great no matter what anyone says haha.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:46 pm

      Haha I’m glad you can see past the brown and unphotogenic nature of the food- it really was delicious 🙂

      Reply
  14. Rebecca @ MyEagerFeet says

    June 10, 2015 at 8:33 pm

    One of the (many) surprising things I learned when I moved to Cleveland was that downtown we have Asia Town, instead of China Town, etc.. Yes – they’re all combined together! We also have a Little Italy, which is full of yummy bakeries.

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:43 pm

      That’s awesome that you have an Asia Town and Little Italy in your city! I can only imagine how good those bakeries must be…

      Reply
  15. Emily @ My Healthyish Life says

    June 10, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    Sushi is my favorite ethnic food 🙂 Union Square Whole Foods is awesome. I live right by one uptown and go every day. I’ve gone to 7/8 Whole Food’s in the city (I’m crazy, I know).

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:42 pm

      7 out of 8 Whole Foods?! That’s seriously impressive! If nothing else, you’ll be able to navigate the city by figuring out where things are in relation to the closest Whole Foods 🙂

      Reply
  16. Julia @ Lord Still Loves Me says

    June 10, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    I’m not a huge fan of yogurt, but I think I could get behind that blueberry one! Also pita bread is my happy bread but no one else in my family likes it and I would not eat it often enough to go through an entire loaf! Looks like you’re soaking up a great variety of food there! How fun. 🙂

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:42 pm

      I never really knew that I liked pita bread or naan until recently, but it turns out that I really just like any freshly-baked bread. Who woudda thought? 😉

      Reply
  17. Jessie says

    June 11, 2015 at 12:37 am

    It’s really sad how unphotogenic middle eastern food is considering it’s so friggen delicious! I wish you had the opportunity to actually visit the Middle East and try it out here.

    Favorite ethnic food will always be Mexican! Mmmm

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 11, 2015 at 4:40 pm

      I would love to try out the real deal in the Middle East with you! And Mexican is always a good option 🙂

      Reply
  18. Emily says

    June 11, 2015 at 2:14 am

    OOh wow! I actually really like beans and rice kind of meals. I wish they had them more as staples in the American diet. :)) And I love local restaurants because getting to know the restaurant owners is always super fun!

    Reply
  19. Emily says

    June 11, 2015 at 9:15 am

    Those beans and lentils look so yummy. I <3 beans and rice. And I also love teeny little mom and pop restaurants. 🙂

    Reply
  20. Bethany says

    June 14, 2015 at 9:32 am

    I love eating in NYC! there are so many different types of cultures so you can pretty much eat anything you want 🙂

    Reply
    • Liv says

      June 14, 2015 at 2:53 pm

      I agree! There were so many different types of foods that I wanted to try while we were there but so little time 🙂 I’ll have to go back for sure.

      Reply
  21. masala girl says

    June 27, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    i did not know there was a little pakistan in NYC!! I’m hoping to go there next month, and hope i’ll check it out!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rating




Hi, I’m Liv! I originally started blogging to share easy meals I made in my college dorm kitchen. Years later, as an attorney now, my goal is still to share delicious, approachable recipes with simple ingredients. You can most often find me running, eating ice cream, and making a mess in my kitchen. More...

Want new posts in your inbox?

Copyright Healthy Liv © 2023 · Fun WordPress Theme On Genesis Framework · privacy policy