Leaves are falling, apples are ripe for the picking, and October is here! Groove through your weekend with these fresh new beats.
Tag Archives: Fall
Retox & stay balanced with KEEL Vodka
It’s that time of year again – when our diets and best efforts to stay healthy and balanced are thwarted by pumpkin spice lattes, the office candy corn jar, and soon, cookie swaps and champagne flutes. This season of indulgence proves challenging for many of us who like to keep a balanced diet year-round. With endless friend and family gatherings, it is difficult to keep moderation in mind. Sometimes “just one cookie” turns into three or four, and before we know it, we’re in a sugar coma. It’s happened to all of us at least once, and it doesn’t help when alcohol is involved, making it easier to justify cookies two, three, and four.
Not only is it challenging enough to keep track of how many fun-size Twix and Reese’s Cups we’ve had, but it’s even harder to keep track of drinks as we hop from party to party. I personally hate wasting calories on sugary cocktails, mixers, and mimosas, but when put in social situations where not everyone may be conscious about their personal health and food choices, it often proves impossible to say no or opt for a healthier option. That’s one of the reasons why we are so excited to have KEEL Vodka sponsoring our 2nd annual Glo-Cycle ride this Thursday!
KEEL’s “I KEEL GOOD” cocktail was featured in the October issue of Women’s Health.
KEEL Vodka is a new, premium light spirit, meaning each shot (1.5 ounces) contains 58 calories, zero carbs, and no harsh bite as compared to its higher-calorie competitors like Grey Goose, Kettle One, and Belvedere, which average about 120 calories per 1.5 ounce serving. Similar to light beer, KEEL gives you a much better caloric “bang for your buck” than its heavier counterparts. We found KEEL’s mission – helping us stay balanced – so aligned with The HB’s work hard, play hard culture that we just had to share. KEEL will be providing a post-ride “retox” after Thursday’s Glo-Cycle rides (sign up here!).
To hold you over until then, here are a few smart cocktail ideas from the folks at KEEL:
Keel + Spiced Blackberry
- Muddle blackberries
- Add ice
- Add 3 parts KEEL vodka to 1 part ginger beer
- Garnish with mint and fresh blackberry
Keel + Tangerine:
- 2 parts KEEL over ice
- 2 parts fresh squeezed tangerine juice
- Top with soda water
- Garnish with an orange slice
Don’t forget to follow KEEL on twitter and like them on Facebook for cocktail ideas and exciting new products. From KEEL & the HB, stay balanced – we’ll see you in the saddle on Thursday!
An important note for our riders
Dear Riders,
As summer comes to a close, we pack up our beach chairs, put away the flip flops and get back to our autumn routines. It has been a summer to remember here in Boston- sunshine and low humidity have made for some great sunsets at the Barking Crab and daytime lounges at M Street Beach. We hate to see it go… but we do love thick sweaters and brisk walks on Newbury Street..#silverlining
The Handle Bar has certainly had a summer to remember.
We opened our 2nd studio in the Fenway neighborhood, hosted a kick ass Summer Share competition, and were named Boston’s Best exercise class by the Improper Bostonian. We are ecstatic that our classes and studios are so well received by our riders and community, and want to continue bettering our facilities, equipment, and class offerings. We have listened to your feedback and suggestions and want to continue to improve your experience at The Handle Bar. This fall you’ll be seeing several changes for the better, at both studios and online!
1) Southie renovations – in September our home base studio in South Boston will undergo some minor renovations in the entrance, bike room, and restrooms. We think you’ll be pleased with the upgrades.
2) New website and booking system – Also in early Fall, we’re giving our website a facelift. Tired of rushing into the bike room to secure your favorite bike? You’re in luck. The new system will include a layout of the bike room and you will select and reserve a specific bike when you book your class. Front row riders – this means you better sign up early! The new website will also include a mobile version of the site for easy smartphone booking. And lastly, no need to worry about your account. All of your login information, packages, and visit history will remain intact.
3) Student Discount – we’re thrilled to unveil student pricing to all of our undergraduate and graduate students within the HB community and beyond. With a copy of your current transcript, you can purchase any of our class packages or unlimited pricing options at 20% off. The discount is only valid when you purchase in-studio, and cannot be combined with any other discount.
4) Price increase– Effective September 2nd shoes will be included with every ride! With improvements on both studios and significant class additions in September, we have a need to raise some of our pricing options by a few dollars. The single, 5 and 10 packs are increasing by the amount shown below effective September 2nd, 2014. The unlimited pricing options, 20 and 40 packs are not changing!
New Pricing
Single Class w/shoes – $24
5 Classes w/shoes – $115 ($23/class)
10 Classes w/shoes – $210 ($21/class)
20 Classes w/shoes – $340 ($17/class)
40 Classes w/shoes – $640 ($16/class)
1 Month Unlimited – $175
5) Labor Day Sale – We understand that increasing prices on some of offerings is bad news for you as a rider. To thank you for your continued support and loyalty to our brand and mission, we’re offering a 3-day sale good for 25% our existing pricing options. For this sale only, these packages will have no expiration date.. we encourage you to stock up! The sale details are outlined below:
Labor DaySale
CODE: LaborDay25
Single Class – $20 $15
5 Classes – $95 $71.25
10 Classes – $180 $135
As always, we encourage feedback and questions regarding these changes and beyond. It is our mission to continue offering exceptional service throughout your Handle Bar experience. We believe that these updates are a necessary step to maintain the level of quality and consistency that you’ve come to appreciate.
Sincerely,
Jess and The Handle Bar Team
Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte – Not so Hot Right Now
Originally posted by The HB’s instructor, Lena, on her blog “Beautiful You.” Check it out!
October is in full swing. The leaves are falling, the trees are turning yellow, and Starbucks is marketing the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte along with the ongoing fall favorite – the iced chai tea latte. As a chai and pumpkin flavor enthusiast and an avid coffee drinker, these fall flavors go better together than Miley Cyrus and nude pleather. However, along with that sweet spicy flavor comes a lot of sugar.
In a grande iced chai tea latte with nonfat milk from Starbucks, there is 42g of sugar. What does that look like? Well, in teaspoons that breaks down to exactly 10 teaspoons of sugar. That is more sugar than a 12 fl oz can of Coca Cola!
A Starbucks grande pumpkin spice latte with nonfat milk and no whipped cream has 48g of sugar. That equates to 11.5 teaspoons of sugar – a little under the sugar contents of a 16 fl oz bottle of Coca Cola.
So what does this mean? Am I saying, no more pumpkin spice or chai tea lattes this fall? That would be like Robin Thicke without stripes. Feel free to enjoy the seasonal beverages atyour local coffee shop, but be aware of serving sizes and added sugars.
According to the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, “On average, adults in the United States consumer 14.6 percent of their calories from added sugars[.] Higher intake of added sugars is associated with higher energy intake and lower diet quality, which can increase the risk for obesity, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day for women and no more than 8 teaspoons per day for men. Down one of these beverages and you are almost doubling the recommended amount. These beverages spike your blood sugar quickly and then leave you with an energy crash after. Here are some options to give to your barista:
- Grande Nonfat Latte with 1 pump pumpkin spice.
- Grande Nonfat Iced Chai Tea Latte with half the amount of chai powder and a shot of espresso.
These options lower the sugar contents of each beverage by more than half without losing that holiday spice. So throw on that scarf and boots, grab your latte to go, and WERK! Happy October 🙂
RAISING THE BAR 