NYFree

New York City is an expensive place to be; there's the food, the shows, the museum tickets, the $3 bottle of water you buy from the guy on the street when you are so thirsty you just don't care anymore. The good thing is that there is an astounding number of really cool free things that you can do every single day, you just have to know where to look. TheSkint.com and PulsD send daily emails with all the free and inexpensive things happening in the city that day as well as deals. There is always a free comedy show, usually free food and a free meet and greet with a celebrity or two. You can even work out for free! Nike.com/NYC updates their weekly schedule of free classes on Sundays at 3 pm. Be on time and you can get your barre, yoga, interval, strength and running classes in for the week with Nike trainers at no cost. BONUS - you usually leave a Nike class with free stuff too. Googling "free activities in New York" is also a great way to find free museum hours, kayaking and lists of ideas such as this one.

Although my free time to do free things is over, I had a blast exploring the city by bopping from free activity to free activity. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of my favorite things I found to do:

• #TrainTuesdays with Nike on Roosevelt Island

• This was just the coolest; Four Freedom Park was closed off just for us, I got to wear a new pair of Nike Zooms for the class, it was photographed by drones, we did Parkour, free snacks afterwards and a Nike workout towel. Train Tuesdays only happen once a month so keep an eye out!
• Lolë Yoga Event with Ingrid Michaelson Concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park
• NYC Taping of the Ellen Show
• Free Wine and Massages and Manicures on the roof the Yard House in the Lower East Side
• Comedy Shows

• Britpack Theater in Chinatown
• Standing Room Only at Videology in Brooklyn
• Music Festivals
• BBQ & Blues Festival in Tribeca
• Emerging Music Festival in Bryant Park
• Folk Music Festival in Washington Square Park
• Cookbook Signing with Julie Bauer of PaleOMG.com

Another thing people love about NYC are bagels. Guess what isn't paleo? An everything bagel with scallion cream cheese from H&H. Yes, there a plenty of paleo bagel recipes out there on my list to try, like these made with almond and coconut flours and these made from cauliflower. However, bagels didn't top my priority list until I came across a recipe for Meat Bagels from Ditch the Wheat. First of all, they are so cute and clever. Second, they take the trouble of figuring out what protein to eat with your bagel out of the equation. Finally, from the moment I saw this recipe, I couldn't stop thinking about a BLT with Avocado on a Meat Bagel.

But really, what good is a bagel without cream cheese? And how good would that BLT be if it became a BLT with Avocado and Chive Cream Cheese on a Meat Bagel? I should just give up eating paleo right? WRONG. Kite hill (available at Whole Foods) almond milk "cheese" products have come to save the day. They make a ricotta that is great for giving the appearance of cheese on a flatbread or pizza, but really doesn't add much flavor. I've just been throwing it on salads so that people at work aren't confused why my salad has no cheese on it. However, as the nice gentleman who sacrificed the last container on the shelf to me, the chive cream cheese is spot on. So, I give you BLT with Avocado and Chive Cream Cheese on a Meat Bagel; aka Nirvana.