The NEW YORK CHRONICLES: 2 Smoothies a Day Keeps The Doctor AWAY

Friday, February 24, 2012

MY MORNING SMOOTHIE

Yes I just love my Berry Smoothie in the morning. It tasty, refreshing, and good. Makes me feel good, in my mind and throughout my whole body. Wish I would have gotten started on these babies a long time ago. You are what you eat. This is oh so true, not just a cliched saying. If you're 50 or older you'll know what I'm talking about.
Well, today my smoothie was made of 1 banana, about 7 fresh Strawberries, 4 Kiwis,1 pineapple slice, a bit of water and a good dose of Honey. Everything was fresh except the pineapple slice which I happened to have in a container in the frig. My shakes depend on what is on sale and or is the best price when I go down to Chinatown(New York) where the prices on fruits and vegetables are 1/2 to just a third the price of produce in the supermarkets near my house. When I was in Chinatown yesterday I got 12 Kiwis for only $3.00, and a large container of fresh Strawberries for only $2.50 and I picked up 3 bananas for 65 cents. Last week I was able to get a large container of Blueberries for just $2.00 .. Dam, I wish I would have bought 2 more containers and froze them. They were so cheap. Berries can be really expensive. Those same amount of Blueberries that I paid just 2 dollars for would have cost me 7 or 8 dollars at my local supermarket.
Well as last week, I was making my shakes with Blueberries, Bananas, Kiwi, Honey, and Pineapple, this week I'm making them the same way, just substituting the Blueberries for Strawberries as the Strawberries were cheaper and the Blueberries more expensive this week. The point is, you buy what is on sale and you'll save a lot in the course of a year.
It's not cheap making these Smoothies my dear friends, but it can be a lot cheaper if you are smart. I approximate that I spend about $12.00 a week on my smoothie ingredients. And I'd wager to say that other people might spend $25 to $30 a week on the same exact ingredients, simply because they are not as good of a shopper as me or they have so much money it doesn't matter to them. I calculable that I spend about $600 ..
And I also calculate that if I wasn't such a smart shopper that I would pay $1,200 to $1,500 a year on the same exact fruits and vegetables for my daily Smoothie consumption. Wow! That's a big difference! Huge! That's an average of about $750 a year that I ,save by being a good shopper and buying only produce that are on sale in Chinatown as compared to the overpriced supermarkets in my neighborhood (Greenwich Village, NY). Do you relieve that's $3,750 in five years time compared to what I could spend if I wasn't so frugal. That's $7,500 in 10 years time. Dam! That's a lot of dough. Even if I was more conservative on that figure i could easily say that I save $6,000 every 10 years with my wise produce purchases. Looking forward to the next 10 years, saving that $6,000 then taking a nice vacation to Sicily with that, where I'll eat fruits and vegetables like you've never seen. Yummm!

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

STRAWBERRIES BLUEBERRIES and BANANAS

                                     MAIN INGREDIENTS
                     of MY FAVORITE FRUIT SMOOTHIE

         Along With Water and Honey

A FRUIT SMOOTHIE A DAY KEEPS The DOCTOR AWAY

NEW YORK and The $3.00 PBR

New York and the $3.00 PBR, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer has been a God-Send to many New Yorkers. As you all know, the US Economy has been in the Shitter for the past 3-Half years or so.

Many people are out of work, and many who are working, are taking home Half-as-Much Money or more of what they used to make. People have had to buckle down and give up or curb many things they enjoyed previous to the current state of our economy, which is in almost a Depression Era State.

Yes, everybody says that we are not in a Depression, we're in a recession. Those are the Rich and Well-Off talking. To many, the state of our Union and their feelings are of Depression.

So, because of the Terrible State of our Economy you have given up eating out 3 times a week, you buy less clothes, spend less on Entertainment and any number of things and you haven't had a vacation in the past two years, maybe more. You given up a lot. We all have.

Now when it comes to socializing, going out for a few Beers or Cocktails with some friends, you've had to cut back on that too. But hey, you gotta draw a line somewhere, and everyone is entitled to a few drinks to unwind every now and then. But if you live in the Great City of New York this can be a costly undertaking, especially in this day, and of all times, to be having a Boom in The $14, Sixteen-Dollar-Or -More-Cocktail.W hat is a Poor Working Guy or Working Girl to do??? Well Boys and Girls, let's Thank God for that great thing of wonder and the Bars and establishments who so graciously and kindly serve it, The $3.00 PBR, That's right, a $3.oo Beer in The Land of The Over-Priced $16.00 Cocktail, Manhattan, New York, NY..... It's quite Sad, Greedy too.

Yes, Thank God and let's thank the Kind-Heart proprietors who serve $3.00 PBR'S or any Beer for just $3 or $4 in a New York Bar. You are doing you fellow man a public service and we thank you for that. Whoever you are, you are to be commended, and Shame-On-You, all those places that serve $14 PLUS Cocktails. "RIP-OFF" !!! Wish the masses would Boycott these places and patronize places like Blue & Gold Bar, 7B, and anyplace who has a heart. Bars that serve 3 and 4 Dollar Beers.

I just have to say, it's great to go to a place like Blue and Gold Bar on East 7th Street and know that you can have 3 or 4 Beers for just $12 to $16, accounting for a Buck a Pop for the Barkeep. Now that's pretty good. I have had the best times hanging at Blue & Gold with some friends. You sit at the Bar or get into a nice comfy booth, drink your Beers ($3 PBR'S), relax, listen to the Music, Chit Chat, and just enjoy, and it's not going to cost you The Shirt Off Your Back.

Yes, you can have 4 Beers, tip included for the price of 1 Rip-Off Drink at one of those Rip-Off Joints. And if you are Dumb enough to have four drinks in one of those places, guess what it's going to cost you? About $75 my friend.

Well, do the Math, and if you can afford $75 for only 4 drinks, God Bless You. And if you can't, you've got an alternative. Right, your local $3.00 PBR Joint. They're a God-Send.

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke