Refrigerator Look Book: Erika Bloom
(May 2011)
Erika Bloom, founder of Erika Bloom Pilates Plus on the Upper East Side and mother of two (you would not know she had her second child just this spring), keeps her devoted clientele lean, long, and sculpted. She also keeps an enviable bushel of organic produce and products in her fridge—and a milk section that rivals Whole Foods. We take a tour.
You’ve got four types of milk. Who drinks which?
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, you get really in touch with what your body needs. I crave milk. My two-year-old drinks it as well. We alternate cow’s milk and goat’s milk, which is very alkalizing and offers different proteins than cow’s milk. The soy milk is my husband’s, and I use it occasionally, too. The hemp milk has a little sugar, so it’s for when I want a little sweet treat.
Has the contents of your refrigerator changed since your second child?
The change happened with my first child. The awareness of eating for two made me realize I was making too many exceptions to eating organic… and restricting my diet too much. Now I enjoy life and eating and cooking more. My skin and digestion is better, I’m just as thin as before, and I’m setting a good example for my children.
Erika Bloom’s Fridge
There are lots of veggies on the bottom shelf. Do you cook with them often?
My diet consists predominantly of vegetables. My main go-tos for taste, nutrition and ease of cooking are kale, broccoli, and asparagus, which is in season and delicious right now.
Speaking of, the dish in the container with the red cover looks delicious.
It’s a whole roasted local organic chicken. I throw it in the oven with lots of chopped carrots and fennel and season it with lemon, rosemary and thyme, or with paprika. I make double the amount and then eat leftovers the next day.
You have bread!
I eat bread very rarely, around once a week. But when I do it’s almost always this one [Ezekiel]. Whole grains are an important source of nutrients, and this one has a serious variety of them and all nine essential amino acids.
I see flaxseed is front and center. How do you use it?
I put flaxseed on my breakfast. I like the extra bit of fiber, fat, and nutrients it gives.
And the fish oil?
It’s a kid-friendly fish oil that my son loves the taste of. We both take it occasionally, though I don’t usually believe in supplementing.
—Ingrid Skjong
