In these days before Fashion Week, you’ll find model Heather Marks jetting between New York and Mexico for photo shoots, including one for Italian magazine Velvet in Tulum. When she returns to Manhattan, she’ll strategize with her agents and attend castings for spring 2009 shows. Despite occasional indulgences with her preferred “light white wine,” Marks maintains a well-rounded diet. “I try to eat a bit of everything from all the food categories,” she says. See if she met all the daily requirements while skipping between countries in this week’s New York Diet.
Friday, January 30
Friday I was in Mexico working on another job. For breakfast: oatmeal with plain yogurt on top and a side of berries, and a black tea with milk, and then a fresh orange juice.
For lunch I had a sea bass with like a chili pepper on top, chopped. You know how they do that in Mexico? I was in Cabo San Lucas at this beautiful resort called Las Ventanas. Just water with lunch. I drink a lot of water, and because I was traveling I always take a bag of almonds and some green tea.
I was traveling back at 4:30 p.m. I had a connection in San Diego and managed to get just a salad from one of their little stands.
Saturday, January 31
Saturday I got back in the morning. I slept for a while and then I had regular toast with just a strawberry jam. The deli around the corner has really great seven-grain loaves of bread. Sometimes I switch it up with peanut butter. Whole Foods does the peanut butter you can grind yourself.
Later, I went to Angelica Kitchen, which is one of my favorite restaurants. I’ve been in the East Village for almost a year, and I eat at Angelica a lot. It never takes long, everything always tastes fresh, and the bonus is that it’s healthy. I had the Dragon Bowl. It’s one of my favorite dishes. You get a mix of everything: that grain rice, tofu, and it comes with a carrot-ginger dressing. To drink, they do a really great black chai tea.
A few hours later I went to the Russian and Turkish Baths, then had some fruit at home, and went to bed.
Sunday, February 1
Sunday morning I woke up and took my dog for a walk. I’ve got this milk frother, so I like to make my own tea misto in the morning. I buy the sugar-free vanilla from Starbucks in bulk so I can do that. It’s like three quarters tea with the foamy milk and a bit of sugar-free vanilla. And then I just had a vanilla yogurt. I like Stonyfield.
For lunch, I had a salad from Miro Cafe on Broadway. You can pick whatever you want and they chop it up for you. I had a mixed-leaf salad, some corn, sun-dried tomatoes, egg, some tuna, tomatoes, cucumbers, and they do a really great balsamic vinaigrette. I had a Diet Coke with that. I do try to avoid carbs. Depending on the time of the day, if I have a lot of carbs while I’m working it really exhausts me; it will put me to sleep.
For dinner, I had a meal I often cook at home: steamed tilapia with cut-up lemons on top and ground pepper. And then I boil lots of veggies to go with it: broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. It’s a really great meal to cook because it’s so quick and easy. Sometimes I’ll have a white wine, more like when I’m away in Mexico. I enjoy a light Pinot Grigio.
Monday, February 2
Monday morning, I had vanilla yogurt with cottage cheese and banana in it, and then I had a green tea. My mom and family started going to Mexico a long time ago and they always had both at the buffet and we would mix them together. I continued doing that when I was back in New York. It fills you up a bit more than yogurt.
For lunch, I went to another favorite restaurant of mine called 7A and got the Health Bowl. The Health Bowl has loads of vegetables and fresh tofu, kind of like a stir-fry but it’s all steamed vegetables. And you can pick your favorite dressing. They do a carrot dressing and they do a ginger-scallion dressing, and I always pick both and mix them together.
For dinner, I ordered from this local takeaway Thai place called Thai Me Up. It’s really convenient, super fast, and they have amazing noodle bowls and rice bowls with different sauces. I always get the Black Pearl sauce, a soy-based sauce, and then I got chicken in my noodle bowl; I got the pad thai one.
Tuesday, February 3
Tuesday I was flying out, so before my flight I went to early-morning Bikram yoga down on Allen Street. I like to do that every now and then, but you can’t eat before. Because it’s hot yoga they tell you ahead of time not to, because it gets so hot and they want you to be free of everything. I usually try to drink about two liters of water before, and after class I always drink a Zico mango-flavored coconut water and a banana to kind of put all those electrolytes and everything back into your body. I walk to this health market on the way home — I’m not sure what it’s called — they do these really great stuffed grape leaves. I usually get a few of those and grab a blended shake. They have a really amazing almond-butter protein blend or a berry blend. I had almond.
I flew here and had a two-hour lag to Tulum, Mexico. Once I got to Tulum it was in the evening, and we walked down the street from our hotel and went to a little restaurant and had seviche, a glass of white wine, and ahi tuna. I do like to have desserts now and then. I haven’t in the last week or so. It depends on where I am and what I’m feeling. Sometimes I just go to the grocery store and get mango sorbet or ice cream or sometimes I make my own smoothies at home after a meal.
Wednesday, February 4
Wednesday morning I met the crew. We had yogurt and some eggs over easy with a piece of toast, and English breakfast tea again. I’m not a coffee drinker.
We are shooting on the beach and in the water a little bit. The photographer has a house out here and has a chef, so for lunch the photographer’s chef cooked a pasta with a bit of oregano and tomato sauce. He did a ginger water, which was new to me, but was really great. Fresh ginger and something sweet in it.
After that he made us a midday snack of taquitos with chicken and veggies and cheese.
For dinner we went back over to their house and the chef prepared pork chops with mashed potatoes and a green salad, and then I had a glass of white wine.
