Monthly Archives: August 2013

Aug082013

Fit’s Movie Review: The Wolverine

For once, I (Alana aka “Fit“) am writing the movie review for the superhero movie. I personally don’t think I’m qualified because I’ve never read the X-Men comic books (although I really want to *ahem*). So let me just say, if you haven’t read the comic books, you will enjoy this movie. At least I did. A few reasons include Hugh Jackman’s performance (duh), awesome battle scenes, and interesting plot. And I love anything Japanese too.

Let me doubly preface this by saying I didn’t watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I heard it was great–haha, just kidding, heard it was terrible. So I haven’t seen Wolverine’s past, but I did watch all the “X-Men” movies with the whole cast and all. So this movie is set after those X-Men movies. Jean is dead, but reappears constantly to talk to him and goad him into death so that they can finally be together. She gets pretty annoying, kinda creeps me out. But it was interesting, kind of letting the audience see what was going on in Wolverine’s head during this whole movie.

To make a long story short, Wolverine goes to Japan to visit someone he saved long ago. There are a few famous Japanese actors here such as Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Will Yun Lee which were a pleasure to see. They delivered excellent acting, creating believable roles whom you actually felt for. Hugh Jackman always steals the show, though. In any movie I’ve seen him in, he gives his all, emotion and body. It was great to see Wolverine be his badass self with the softie inside, always “playing the hero” as Jean taunts.

This movie really kicked butt in the action, battle scenes. They were fun, fast-paced, and exciting with settings like on top of a bullet train and in a huge laboratory with tons of stories. It didn’t leave you seasick like many jerky-camera action scenes in other movies, but stayed to the point and hit it where it hurt. It left me gripping Chris’ hand, hoping that she escaped, or that he didn’t get his head ripped off by a cable.

Speaking of gripping, this movie had a plot that had me guessing. I kept thinking I had it (obviously that Viper girl is evil), but then another twist would appear and throw me through a loop! I really appreciated that, it makes movie-going a more active activity, if you will, for me. The movie combined the perfect mix of suspenseful plot action in the middle of huge battle scenes, giving the audience the feel of anxiety and curiosity and even some sense of emotion for these characters.

All in all, if you aren’t picky about the background of X-Men comics, I believe you’ll enjoy this movie. Sure it’s not going to win the Best Picture at the Oscars, but it was worth the $7 ticket we paid for. I’d even get it on DVD, though I’m not sure Chris would. Fit gives this movie a definitely thumbs up. Watch “The Wolverine” to stay hungry and fit (seriously, it made me want to do some beastly workouts and learn martial arts)!

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Aug072013

Product Review: Marukome Miso Soup

I’ve been wanting to buy some take-home miso soup powder from the store for a while. However, it’s usually expensive or has horrid ingredients. Both things I stray away from. And even ones that I have found before haven’t been good, I know my friends can attest to this. Guys…I’ve found it! I’ve found one that’s worth the money (though it wasn’t that expensive) and tastes just like from a restaurant. It may help that it’s directly from Japan too.

The brand is called Marukome. Its ingredients are exactly what you would expect (or hope) a miso soup powder to be: powdered miso, rice, dried tofu, dried green onion, powdered yeast, bonito powder, etc. This was the first good sign (besides the price that stopped me to look at it). The next good sign was that it’s a “Product of Japan.” If I’m eating an “ethnic food” (I hate that phrase), then I want it right from where it was created. Miso soup should come Japan or a great chef. So being a product of Japan (and having a cool Japanese address too ^_^) gave it a huge plus. It also has a freaking awesome mascot, who wouldn’t want some miso soup from that guy?!

Perfect texture

The directions are really simple. Pour powder into bowl, pour 1 cup of boiling water into bowl, stir and serve! That’s it! Dinner was awesome last night because it took all of 5 minutes to get everything on the table. And for the big package, you get 3 miso packet servings, so we have one left over! As you can see, I’m all about this product, and they’re not even paying me to say this! They also have a great “miso secret” about miso and your health (look at pic below). I found this at our standard grocery (no special, local, or organic grocery–just the plain main one) so you have no excuse. Use this product to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Sajah enjoying the view

Aug062013

Techie Tuesday: CARROT To-Do App

So I’ve become obsessed with getting things done lately. Which is GREAT. Great for me, great for the house, great for everybody. But why? Well…I give all credit to my new to-do app, CARROT. I constantly struggle to find apps that improve my productivity and organization, and still would like more, but as far as to-do apps go, CARROT really works for me.

CARROT is brilliant for gamers or competitive people because here’s the thing: it’s an AI to-do list with personality that gives you points for completing tasks. So I started at Level 1. I’m now at Level 41. Yeah, I’ve been going crazy. But at Level 1, I didn’t have many capabilities. Some people may be turned off by that, saying if I’m paying for an app, I should get all the capabilities right away before me! I totally hear you. But I’m okay with this because it actually improves my productivity. I want to complete more and more tasks so I get more and more upgrades. So at first, I couldn’t set reminders, now I can. I couldn’t rearrange my list, now I can. And so forth. Even though it holds back all it does until you gain levels, that is one of the biggest reasons you want to keep being productive.

My to-do

Obviously, it’s very different from other to-do apps as it’s interactive. It gets mood swings. CARROT will be happy if you complete many tasks, but if you slack, CARROT will turn angry and turn all black and red and make me scared. It’s not always an upgrade when you level up, sometimes you get a KITTEN (yup) or sometimes he tells you a story. Or asks you to sacrifice bunnies for him. I think it’s a female, but I always change the gender.

All in all, CARROT has all the features other to-do apps have, but it makes you work for them so that you are improving your productivity. It makes getting things done fun because who doesn’t like leveling up? I think I may have found my to-do app, finally! Check it out here: http://www.meetcarrot.com/. Use this app to stay hungry and fit!

My cat, NBD

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Aug052013

Easy Chicken Parm Recipe [Made By a Vegetarian!]

This is my first time making Chicken Parmesan (or better known–Chicken Parm) and I think I did pretty darn well! I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t taste while I cook, which I don’t particularly like, but I was able to feel it out and follow directions and made ’em nice and tasty. I found this easy recipe here and changed it to fit what I wanted. This is a quick fix for any hungry meat-eater and boy did Chris like it!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
Serves: 2-3 people (or JUST Chris)

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I used homemade)

Directions

Wrap the chicken breasts in some plastic wrap. AND BEAT IT! JUST BEAT IT! Really, smack the heck out of it until it’s around 1/3 inch thickness. Or just eye it.
In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, and oregano. In another bowl, combine the egg and salt.
Now roll those smacked-up chicken breasts first in egg and salt mix, and then, once coated in that, roll it in the breadcrumb mixture. Really coat it.

Heat up some oil and once it’s nice and hot, place those breaded-up suckers in. It should only need about 3 minutes on each side, but just keep an eye on them until they’re golden brown. The original recipe calls for putting mozzarella on top, but, ummm, I forgot to put it on and it was just fine without it.

Heat up some marinara sauce (I made mine from scratch) and pour on top of the beautiful golden breaded chicken and serve!

It was delicious and Chris literally ate all 4 chicken breasts. I served it with a broccoli-zucchini mix on the side. It’s the perfect meal for after work because it takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s DELICIOUS. It feeds a whole family if you don’t have a freak like Chris who can eat the world (hi Vishnu). Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

yum!

Homemade sauce

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Close-up

Aug042013

5 Benefits of Meditating after Workout

So you just worked out. You’re hot, sweaty, and feel that euphoric sense of exhaustion. Your endorphins have just released and you feel great. You’re ready to go get something to eat to fuel your body back to what it needs. But wait! Don’t go anywhere yet! Meditating after a workout can be one of the most wonderful things. Here’s why:

1. Working out can help clear your mind. You’re exhausted, but through that exhaustion and endorphin-release, you can now focus easier. You may not believe me, but meditation after a workout is something I strive for every day. I’m sure you’ve heard of how working out can improve the mind’s function. Well, here it is. You workout, your mind is working more sharply, allowing you to focus more easily and delve into meditation more deeply.

2. You can find happiness faster. Sounds like a strange phrase, but meditation often brings a sense of deep joy and happiness from finding peace. Because of those lovely endorphins that were released during your workout, your mind and body are already feeling great. Which then means in your meditation, you can find that happiness faster than normal. You will find yourself smiling as you meditate, really absorbing the joy that comes from the workout.

3. You are more in tune with your body. One way of meditating is doing an internal scan of your body—feeling what’s tight, loose, imbalanced. After doing a workout, which obviously uses your body, you are so much more in tune with your body. You can feel your heart beat strong, your muscles tingling, and your skin sweating. I know it sounds weird, but it’s a marvelous feeling to meditate after a workout just for that reason. You feel your body invigorated and alive and it’s wonderful to be able to tap into that.

4. It allows for reflection of your workout. Often we drive or walk home after a workout thinking, “Oh I could’ve gone deeper on those squats” or “that HIIT killed me, but I killed it too.” Imagine doing a meditation right after you’ve done these things. Diving into your mind and body for a true reflection, feeling your muscles and your mind connect as you think about these things. You can meditate on what to improve on or what you’re proud of. It’s truly one of the best times to reflect.

5. It allows for a deeper meditation. Because of all the reasons above, you are able to go deeper into meditation faster than normal. Due to your body’s work, that focus is highly-tuned so that you can concentrate better and focus on your breath. The normal annoying distractions fade away because of the supercharged feeling of your body. It’s so much easier to slip into meditation, and feel your breath coming in and out until you find peace.

Still not convinced? Just try it, I promise, you’ll find something amazing. Even if you are new to meditation, this could be the best place to start. Your body is alive with all of its functions which allows you to hone in on them more. It’s one of the most peaceful meditations you can attain and your body will feel stronger and refreshed coming out of it. Practice meditation after working out to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

zzz

Aug032013

Healthy Greek Yogurt Mini-Cheesecake Recipe

I’ve been wanting to make these for a loooong time. First, the problem was I couldn’t find one ingredient anywhere. Then, it was that I was prepping for the contest, so I stayed away from dairy. Finally FINALLY, both those problems are over. I found the ingredient (Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese) at Wal-Mart (unfortunately) and this past Monday, my contest was complete!

I can hear you saying, HEALTHY cheesecake?! Give me a break! Sure, it may not be better for you than a protein shake, but hear me out. This magical ingredient cuts half the normal fat of a cheesecake and deals twice the protein. Can you say SERVE ME ANOTHER?! I thought so. I got this recipe from here and cut it in half. It was very easy and so so good. Creamy, delicious, and light—and it doesn’t leave you feeling like you have a bowling ball in the tummy, which I appreciate. This is a recipe I will often go back to as Chris and I love cheesecake. You could do it with or without the lemon twist (we happen to like it).

You pretty thang

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes

Macros

Serves: 6 (you can always double it for a bigger party)
Calories: 182
Fat: 8.9g
Carbs: 19g
Protein: 6.8g

^_^

Ingredients

3 cinnamon graham crackers
1 tbsp butter
¼ cup sugar
zest of ½ lemon
1 egg
1 8-ounce package of Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese & Greek Yogurt
1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners (I used ones that were waaaaaaay too big)
Ground your graham crackers finely—I used the bottom of a glass and a bowl…and eventually my fingers

Mix in the butter with the graham cracker crumble
Put the crumble at the bottom of each cupcake liner, try to make it even

Bake for about 5 minutes and let cool
Grate some lemon zest
The recipe asks for a stand mixer, but we don’t have one of those. So I used a whisk! Mix all the rest of the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Make it smooth.

Pour into muffin liners about 2/3rds full. Mine definitely were not all even. Do what you can.

Put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Mine were good at 23. A little cracked, but after refrigeration, they smoothed out.

Make sure to let them cool. Then pop them into the refrigerator for about 3 hours before you serve.

Oh so goooood

That’s it! You can garnish it if you’re feeling fancy, but I like ’em plain. These are just so good and mini…it’s perfect. And the macros don’t leave you feeling bad. It’s easy to make, easy to eat–what’s better than that? Use this delicious recipe to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

A hot Sajah just chillin’

Aug022013

15-Minute Upper Body Home Workout

Ever since the completion of the contest, I haven’t done any hardcore or intense workouts. I’ve done some running, yoga, and light weights. I plan to get back to heavy lifting soon, because I miss it! Anyhow, after work one day, I was feeling sluggish and I knew a fast-paced light-weight circuit would give me that pick-me-up and turn on the sweat. All you need are some dumbbells and an elevated surface such as a chair, bench, couch, or bed. Repeat this circuit 3-6x as time allows. Each set is until failure, meaning that your muscles are too tired to complete another rep.

Disclaimer: Pics were taken after the home workout as they are obviously taken in a gym 😛

1. Elevated crunches. Put your legs up on the elevated surface, contract your abs, and crunch. Don’t pull your neck, but use the core to crunch up, creating that contraction and eventual burn of your soon-to-be six-pack. Use weight if you want to challenge yourself further.

2. Concentration curls. Sit down on your bench, chair, couch–whatever it is that you have. Lean your elbow on your leg, bend forward, but keep your shoulders back and curl one at a time. Then switch to other arm.

3. Triceps extension. Grab your dumbbells and stay seated. Lift up your arms and hold your hands behind your head with the weights in them. Lift up vertically until your arms are straight then come down to the bent-arm position behind your head.

4. Shoulder press. Hold dumbbells at shoulder level, so that your body almost looks like a T. Press up and almost touch the weights, then come back to starting position.

Coworker making me laugh…

5. Dips. Use that elevated surface and place your hands on the edge, fingers facing forward. Have your legs out straight and bend the elbows, lowering your body. Then raise up to starting position (do not sit in between).

Again, repeat 3-6x. The more times, the better. This will hit core, biceps, triceps, shoulders, and a little bit of chest. Not a bad upper body workout if you’re short on time. All you need are dumbbells and an elevated surface. Let us know how this goes! Stay strong. Use this workout to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Teehee, caught sleeping

Aug012013

Vegan Nutrition Isn’t Rocket Science

Everyone knows that staying away from fatty animal products is a great way of staying fit and healthy. You avoid all that cholesterol and saturated fat, and keep your calorie counts down where they should be. Eating vegan makes it much less likely that you’ll develop heart disease or diabetes, and all those good antioxidants help ward off cancer.

However, people who aren’t vegans wonder where you get all your nutrients. They’ve been brought up with the idea that you need to eat from all of the five food groups in order to have a healthy, balanced diet.

If anyone asks you about this, tell them they needn’t worry. You can get everything in plants that you can in animals, except for the bad stuff. Just take a look at the healthy vegan diets from organizations such as Weight Watchers that you can find on sites like healthy-dietplans.com

One of the first things that people worry about is how you get all your vitamins and minerals. They know that things like oranges are great for vitamin C, but what about everything else? Well, it’s actually pretty easy. For example, don’t you need calcium for strong bones? Yes you do, but cows are completely optional. Foods like collard greens, black-eyed peas and almonds are all a great source of calcium, and you can also get calcium from fortified soy or rice milk. The same goes for iron. Forget about a bloody steak, and think about Popeye. Spinach is absolutely packed with iron, as are beans, lentils, sunflower seeds and quinoa.

B vitamins are also a concern if you are vegan. The good news is that you can get lots of these from processed grains, as well as from potatoes, beans, bananas, lentils and molasses. These are all a good source of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin and folic acid. The only thing you really have to worry about is vitamin B12, which isn’t found naturally in plants. However, you can get B12 by taking a multivitamin or yeast supplement, and it’s also added to some rice and soy milks, so it’s worth checking for this when you buy them.

As for your other vitamins, vitamin A is found in things like liver and butter, but did you know that carrots and sweet potatoes are also a great source of vitamin A? 100 grams of raw carrots can give you all the vitamin A that you need in a day. Most of us get hold of the vitamin D that we need just by being in the sun, but you can also get vitamin D by eating things like shiitake and portabella mushrooms. Vitamin E is also a simple one – sunflower seeds, almonds and peanuts are packed with it.

Finally, you may get a lot of questions about complete proteins. The truth is, as long as you eat a good variety of vegan foods, complete proteins just aren’t a problem. For example, soybean protein is complete, and combinations such as beans and rice will give you all the amino acids you ever need.