Dec102014

Our December Goals

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… and the end of the year! 2015 is right around the corner and even though you might be working on those New Year Resolutions, we all need to realize we have three more weeks of quality time that shouldn’t be wasted! So let’s brainstorm… think of five REALISTIC goals for December. These will help keep you focused during the frenzy of the holiday season. They will also get the ball rolling so you have some momentum moving into January. It’s hard to go full throttle the first of the year, so build some steam in December by creating and achieving these reasonable goals.

Hungry’s Goals

1. Train every day! For what? Life! I don’t have any fitness related goals right now but after skipping the last six days of November, I’ve trained every day of December. Let’s keep it going since consistency is key for progress.

2. Perfect work attendance! Since starting at my new Y in October, I haven’t missed a shift. I want to stay healthy, or tough, enough to keep those paychecks flowing and build other’s trust in my abilities at my new workplace.

3. Bring all meals to work! Every time I forget to pack lunch or go grocery shopping, I end up spending an average of $10 on a meal. I can eat healthier and save crucial money by preparing simple meals once a week.

4. Continuing Education Rush! I did a TRX GSTC on Sunday and have loads of YMCA training courses lined up for December. Still, let’s push the envelope and finish one more I didn’t plan to do! I have some ideas so stay posted.

5. Celebrate Christmas! I love Christmas. I love presents. I love the holidays, the decorations, the music, the meals with the family. And if I’ve done 1-4, you better believe I’ll be celebrating such a great month and year.

Fit’s Goals

1. Train six days a week. This means either lifting, cardio, yoga, OR all three! There’s always room for something. I’m letting myself have one day off, but I’ll always be doing with my walks with Noke at the very least.

2. Bake once a week. This was my jam every week back in Boulder, where everything was simpler and easier. I’ve baked only a few times since living here in LA, whether due to lack of time, lack of ingredients, or just laziness or tiredness. No more! Getting back on that baking…plus it’s great therapy.

3. Cook legit meals at least three times a week. This doesn’t mean I’m eating out the other times, but Hungry and I have what we call “lazy meals” which we’ve been thriving on lately. This means quick microwaving, or fridge food. I want to get creative and into cooking more and come up and try out new recipes! My work provides my lunch so I just have to cover breakfast and dinner!

4. Meditate every day. Oh this horse I have fallen so far off of! Yesterday, I was thinking how badly I need to get into meditation. It creates such a healthy impact on my life and I crave it especially during these stressful times.

5. Go through my emails every day. Boring one? Most certainly, but for me–necessary. I used to be good at keeping up, categorizing, etc with every single email, but during these hectic times, I just throw my hands up. Every day, I want to have my inbox organized by the end of the day. This doesn’t mean every email is taken care of, but at least it’s starred or in the proper folder. Even though it’s slightly more work, it will alleviate stress in the long-term.

For December, there be our goals. I’m excited for us to start this tradition every month. It’s always good to set goals. It keeps you motivated, it keeps you focused, it keeps you grounded while you dream. Remember to make them (or at least most of them) realistic so that you can reach it! It’s good to set standards high, but you want them completable so that you can feel good about yourself at the end of the month. Encourage yourself and those around you to create at least 3 monthly goals. It should help keep you in line ;). Make goals to stay hungry and fit!

Dec092014

How to Make Cream

This may be the simplest recipe you will ever see coming from us. But when it’s done, right, boy is it sooo good. Most Americans will usually pick out the whipped cream out of a can, but that’s a no go for Kiwis. Plus, once you go real cream, you can never really go back. I’m drooling just thinking of it. Thick, barely sweet cream good atop anything you can picture up. Plus, there’s no excuse not to make your own cream because it is so darn easy! So you want to know how to make cream? Let’s go over the incredibly difficult recipe.

Homemade Cream

2014-12-08 23:01:46

An easy way to make your own cream

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Total Time

2 min

Total Time

2 min

Ingredients

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sugar

Instructions

Put ingredients into bowl
Beat them until it turns into whipped cream

Notes

The higher quality heavy whipping cream, the better your cream will come out

By Hungry and Fit

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

I know you’re lying to me if you tell me this doesn’t look good

Remember, the better quality heavy whipped cream you start out with will dictate how good your final product will be. You can use this cream for anything: pie, hot chocolate, coffee, fruit–the list never ends. I will make a big bowl when I make scones and then savor the rest of it for decadent hot chocolate nights in winter time. Can’t get better than that, huh? I swear, once you go homemade, you’ll never buy a can again! As always, stay hungry and fit!

*Question of the Day: What’s your favorite thing to put whipped cream on?

BONUS ANIMAL PIC

Can you spot all three critters?

Dec082014

Our Weekend in Pics

Our weekend involved food (what’s new)

Workouts

Work get-togethers

Fitness training courses

Happiness

Kitties

My favorite pic 2014

Dec042014

Exciting, Big News!

From our last post (which oddly appeared to have upside down pictures for some people), we promised big news to be revealed today. We always like to share big news with you guys, so here we go. Well, it’s very exciting for us. Hungry and Fit are (is?!) engaged! Yup. It was a big weekend for us. We are very happy. Although we are far from gushy romantic people, we thought we would share the story.

As you saw in our previous post, we flew east for Thanksgiving vacation. First to New Jersey, then to Philadelphia, then to Lake Placid, New York. Lake Placid holds a very special place for Hungry as him and his family have been traveling up there since he was young. Lake Placid is a beautiful small town filled with gorgeous views and delicious food. We were lucky enough to book an awesome little cabin/cottage with its own fireplace, beautiful wooden furniture and an indoor hot tub! It was absolutely amazing. I can’t underline enough how our time up there let us truly unwind and just relax and be happy. It was a phenomenal time together.

Once we returned from Lake Placid to New Jersey, we had the day to relax until we flew out that night. It was the December 1st, the beginning of Hungry’s favorite month. After working out and hanging out most of the day, we went to Abma’s Farm to snack on some fresh donuts and pet the goats–one of our favorite spots. After this, we headed to the Wildlife Conservatory we always visit when we’re in town. It’s basically a mostly open space of forest and woods where animals like wild turkeys and deer roam around. They also rehabilitate animals like hawks and foxes. Our favorite thing is to be surrounded by animals and nature–no doubts there. The weather was brisk and we took a walk through the woods. It was silent save for the trickling of a creek and the scampering of squirrels. After walking a good ways around the woods and to make a long story short, I turn around and find him close with a ring around my finger, proposing, on one knee. I kind of wanted to throw up…in a good way. I said “Is this real?” “You’re serious?” a good number of times to make him properly nervous before the decency to say yes. I’m still in shock! It was a wonderful surprise.

Panorama of the surroundings

That’s the short version, but we’ve been floating on Cloud Nine ever since. We aren’t gushy, lovey-dovey people so it’s hard to describe things romantically. Definitely feels weird to have a ring on that finger, but it makes me smile every time I look at it so I guess it’s a good thing. We wanted to share the news with you all. If you want the long version, you know our emails or feel free to call us if you actually know us! We are very excited. We haven’t gotten any further than just enjoying it, however, no dates or anything like that have been set. Thank you for reading 🙂

The ring

BONUS ANIMAL PIC

Dec032014

Our Thanksgiving Vacation in Pictures

We went out east for our Thanksgiving Vacation (we apologize for the lack of posts). We hit New Jersey, Philadelphia, and then Lake Placid! It was an amazing trip. Please enjoy the pictures…and we have some exciting news to share NEXT post!

Good New Jersey eats of course…

An amazing Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Hungry’s sister

Cool rest stops on the way down and back

SNOW!!

Brr

Our adorable AWESOME cabin which had an indoor fireplace and hot tub…relax city (was amazing)

Lots of beautiful views

Our journey to Lake Placid was slightly dangerous…but we made it

And tremendous food

Lots of little local store shopping

Bowling with the family

Good looking men…

Only slipped one workout in

Our favorite place to see goats

and a goat

Nov252014

Hungry’s Hearty Hash – Veggie Mode Engaged

Here is a vegetarian breakfast option that packs a ton of protein! It also has a decent amount of fats and carbs too, so this is a real winner in my book! It’s simple too. You’ll only need one burner, one skillet, one spatula and or your favorite thing to move stuff around in a pan with! And a microwave doesn’t hurt.

Hungry's Hearty Hash (Vegetarian Style)

2014-11-24 22:40:34

Serves 2

A vegetarian style of a hearty breakfast--a complete meal with protein, carbs, and fat!

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Prep Time

3 min

Cook Time

8 min

Prep Time

3 min

Cook Time

8 min

Ingredients

1 potato
3 eggs
1 cup spinach
4 cloves garlic
2 Morningstar sausage patties
1 piece toast
Olive oil
Salt pepper

Instructions

Wash your potato and cut into small cubes so they cook faster.
Throw them in a skillet at medium heat, then treat with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Throw your patties into the microwave for a minute. Use that minute to rough chop your garlic.
Put your garlic in with the potatoes.
Cut your patties into 8-12 pieces each and wash your spinach.
Put the patties into the skillet, then cover everything with the slightly wet spinach.
Once the spinach has cooked down, crack three eggs into the skiller.
Add some more salt and pepper as you spread the egg around the pan evenly.
Now, once it looks like a beautiful omelet that is ready to flip, smash it into a hash.
Serve with your favorite ketchup or hot sauce!

By Hungry and Fit

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

It’s a fast one that should take under ten minutes total! It filled us for an amazing Sunday. We believe starting the day includes a great, hearty breakfast. Especially if that day includes Dragon Age and workouts. We believe it’s good to include all macronutrients in a meal, if possible. And we show you despite being a vegetarian, it is possible to get all your nutrients! Even a meat-eater like Hungry knows it. Eat this breakfast to stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite breakfast?

Nov242014

#16 Greatest Video Game of All Time

We apologize for the short break in between our countdown, but we just had to post about the huge video game releases last week! And yes we’ve been playing Dragon Age Inquisiton non-stop since then. We are now back and at ’em with #16 Greatest Video Game of All Time brought to you by the video game brain trust. If you aren’t familiar with this countdown, it’s basically a top 25 list of our most favorite video games! Check back to see the ones you’ve missed so far: #25, #24, #23, #22, #21, #20 #19, #18, and #17. As in Mario’s style, here we gOOooooo!

Kai – Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear- Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter FPS, a much more realistic FPS than games like Half-life or Doom. You play as the leader of a top-secret international anti-terrorism force. The first part of the mission is planning, where you decide exactly which of your personnel are joining you on your mission and how exactly they’ll be deployed and move during the mission. Then you (attempt to) execute your plan, where anything that can go wrong often will.

The gameplay is very rapid and dangerous, with one or two shots disabling or killing enemies or friendlies. The engine doesn’t really hold up to modern standards, but I had a great time sniping, clearing doors, and coordinating different teams to execute the mission plan. It’s one of the few games I’ve beat on multiple difficulty levels, although I haven’t tried any of the newer editions. I really enjoyed Rainbow Six’s realism and it still shines through today.

Po – Gunstar Heroes – Look no further for epic co-op action. Great for drinking. Great for hangovers. A collegiate classic.

Andrew- Fable (series) – Fable is kind of looked down on for not delivering as much as it promised, but it still succeeded in giving the illusion of free design. The original game touted the idea that you’d be able to watch any tree grow from a sapling into a beautiful full tree and that you’d be able to have children and have them aid you/possibly carry on the quest…some of those things (it was the tree one) was answered finally in the 3^rd game when you were able to chose how to condemn or save certain areas. Regardless of that, the first game had the best feel to it and maintained an almost Legend of Zelda meets Quest 64 feel to it. The music for the entire series was stunning, the upgrade system was balanced, but there was no difficulty to the game at all. When it came out I had friends who were dying/struggling at certain parts and I just responded with “you can die?”. I haven’t played the newest Kinect equipped one on Xbox 360 and don’t intend on playing on future ones in the series because I think that co-op is too far a departure for the series and that it should go back to its roots. The 2^nd and 3^rd games were not necessarily anything special (great storylines – sacrifice being a general theme in the series) but they all utilized choice and passage of time to make the player feel like their choices had even bigger impacts than single lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re6ETH49eYg

Fit – Indiana Jones (LucasArts old series) — Ahh, the memories! You’re going to see many LucasArts games on my list (and already have), and this is one of them. LucasArts just has absolutely spot-on writing and is just so darn funny. I’m not talking about the newer series with nicer graphics, I’m talking old school. Again, the memories playing with my brother are what brings this game to #16 for me. It comes all down to a deep mind and a sharp eye with this game. These Indiana Jones games were not easy. However, they were full of humor (“Don’t ask”) that made us chuckle along with its awful graphics.

I think what made this game great for us was the depth of the game. You could play this game for hours and hours, trying to solve puzzles and mysteries in order to move the plot along. For such an old game, it was absolutely captivating and tons of fun. It was also great for the mind. You really had to put two and two together and be creative to make things work. I love that there were many different options, that you had the ability to put stuff in your inventory together, and that it wasn’t just a mindless computer game. I still look on to this game with a great fondness and I wonder if my brother would be down to do another play-through with me like old times.

Hungry- Dragon Age: Origins (PC) – What perfect timing! Dragon Age Inquisition was just released, I’m a solid twenty hours into it, and Origins jumps onto the list. I already know that I won’t like Inquisition as much as 2, which I didn’t like as much as Origins. It was the first game in the series, but the most complete for me. The story was amazing, the characters were extremely well-developed, it had tons of choices but kept you focused on your quests, and the controls were more than adequate. The Hero of Ferelden, the Gray Warden Commander, will always be Thedas’ greatest hero in my book. The DLCs were great and created MY perfect ending, while leaving a HUGE sequel opportunity open. I can’t say enough about this game and I liked it so much more than the others, which I also really enjoy (top 50 for sure), that it made my enter it on the list as a non-series entry, but rather by the lone game. Those characters, those romances, all those options!

That brings us to #15 for next time! I can’t believe we are ten down already. I’m always interested to see what everyone puts down and also what you guys think as well! Feel free to comment below. As always…stay hungry and fit!

Nov212014

Don’t Lift Those Heavy Weights!

Last night while getting back into squatting regularly, someone else was making some serious mistakes in their form and training program. I was concerned for their health and said something to their friend, hoping he could convince him to clean up his act for his own good. Then, the friend asked me about his own issue relating to some pain in his shoulders when he is doing what his demonstration seemed like dual bent over posterior deltoid flyes with 35 lb dumbbells.

This all leads to my point, to stop lifting heavy weights… if you’re not ready for it. I know you want to get big and strong fast, but this process is a progression that needs to be taken slowly. The muscles in your chest are large and can handle a significant amount of weight, but with poor form (or even with proper form) your shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints might not be conditioned to do the same. It will take correct technique and a significant amount of training to make sure your stabilizing muscles that protect your joints are prepared for a larger load.

Here are five tips to protect yourself and maximize your effort!

1. Warmup! It’s important to perform warm up exercises to loosen muscles fibers that are shorter, tighter, and colder from inactivity. Some internal and externals rotations can really help maximize your bench results without fatiguing your shoulders for the lift.

2. Set a rep range and stick to it. If you’re going for five reps of 135 lbs on the bench press, you’re doing that for a reason. Make sure you can perform all of those repetitions almost perfectly before considering doing five reps of any more weight in the same exercise.

3. Use assistance when necessary. I’m not telling you to let your spotter row the weight from your chest, but protect your joints when performing heavier weights or higher repetition ranges. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of using belts, straps, and wraps often (because I want to strengthen my core and stabilizer muscles), but it’s important to protect your body!

4. Rest! Someone at my facility benches and curls weights every single day of the week. When you isolate a body part and damage muscle fibers to the point that they need to be repaired, you actually have to let them repair before you hit that muscle group hard again! Don’t waste your progress by being reckless.

5. Do it properly! When you walk in the gym, leave your ego at the door. No one is going to be impressed by your 1/3 squats with two plates on each side. Well, no one who knows what they’re talking about. Ask for advice, learn proper form, use a coach, and make sure you are getting the most out of the exercises without risking getting injured.

So there you have it. Be smart. Condition your joints and strengthen your stabilizer muscles. Everyone complains about elbow pain after doing chest and triceps with flared elbows and heavy skull crushers. Everyone complains about their lower back hurting when they deadlift and squat. Avoid being sidelined and train smarter! And as always, stay hungry and fit!

Nov202014

Peanut Butter Pancake Cookies

Here’s another good recipe for a quick snack for plenty of people. This one is inspired by Carrots n Cake, but I kind of changed it drastically. Pancakes are great. Cookies are great. Putting them together is absolute genius…meet the Pancake Cookie. I was nervous about the recipe, but it ended up turning out well. I like that this recipe is totally versatile and you can make it what you want it to be. Plus, it only took about 15 minutes to create–that’s a time I can get behind. This is actually a perfect breakfast idea because it’s a PANCAKE ON THE GO! What! Genius! Alright, alright, let’s get to the actual yumminess.

Maple syrup is king

Peanut Butter Pancake Cookies

2014-11-19 22:28:57

Yields 7

A cross-breed between a pancake and a cookie that is downright delicious and easy to make.

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Prep Time

3 min

Cook Time

12 min

Prep Time

3 min

Cook Time

12 min

Ingredients

1 cup pancake mix (we used Protein Kodiak Cake)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
handful of chocolate pretzels (but you can use chocolate chips)

Instructions

Pre-heat 350 degrees F
Mix all ingredients together
Put dollops (cookie-size) onto a greased baking sheet
Put in for 10-12 minutes
Take out and enjoy

Notes

I would definitely serve with maple syrup if you can!

By Hungry and Fit

Adapted from Carrots n Cake

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

Simple, healthy, delicious. Three words that describe this recipe. I was actually shocked about how quick this recipe was and pleased as well. When I need a snack or a breakfast, I can whip these up in a second and store them for the week. What do you think? They may look strange, but they do taste good and they are guilt-free! They go so well with maple syrup and a glass of milk so I highly suggest doing this. And remember, you can put whatever you want in this recipe! Go crazy, have fun! Try this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

Nov192014

The Gym as a Community

Crossfit. One of the fields that Crossfit excels in is its tendency to build communities. Most of the boxes that I have visited or heard about are very supportive environments for the athletes that are either regulars or guests. Now, I’m not going to go into great depth in this post about the nature of the community. I won’t discuss the dynamics of the community in terms of the quality or availability of help and advice, just overall encouragement, support, and comfort.

As a member of many gyms, fitness facilities, martial arts studios, and public workout areas, I have a lot of experience with different fitness groups. The reason I continue to provide my services at a YMCA is because of the community aspect that it offers to the members and guests. Every day, individuals come in to check out our facility and as I give them a tour, they realize how much of a more supportive and friendly environment we offer. I ask them where they workout and the most common answers, in order, are Equinox, Spectrum, Dave Barton, 24 Hour Fitness, and LA Fitness. (We are in LA right now.) They change their memberships often and are much happier.

Now, without calling out any single organizations directly, every facility offers something different. Some open in order to make a lot of money, some want to work with celebrity clientele, some enjoy doing what they do, and others wants to help people. Most do it for multiple reasons. I’ve always worked at the places that REALLY want to help people. (Because I can achieve the other three through my private services, when I want.) So why is that supportive environment so important to others? I won’t tell you my reasons, I will tell you what the people say.

They don’t like it when the front desk staff doesn’t say hello and goodbye. They don’t like it when other members ignore them when they ask a friendly question. They don’t like feeling as if they’ll get in trouble for doing something wrong, when it might not even be the wrong thing to do. They don’t want to feel like an employee, member, or guest is going to steal their stuff. They don’t want to feel like people are talking about what they’re doing for their workout behind their backs. They want to feel comfortable, because they’ve earned that by paying for a membership and being a respectable member.

Everyone going to the gym is making an effort to look, feel, and/or live a better life. I respect that in almost every instance and recognize that these people, whether they are health-seekers, elite athletes, or any other level are doing something that they might not entirely want to do or enjoy doing, but are trying to make a difference. Maybe they are having health issues and need to strengthen their heart; perhaps they have come from hard times and becoming a professional athlete could help support a large family, or maybe they are retired, bored and looking for some friends and activity through a group exercise class.

The reason almost doesn’t matter, what matters is that they deserve an environment that is conducive to creating a healthy lifestyle. That doesn’t just mean reasonable rates, great parking, and the best equipment on the market. It also means a friendly and knowledgeable staff plus some members that at least have the courtesy to tell someone, “Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush, maybe next time.” Now, I’m not trying to change the world or force people at the gym to alter the way they workout. We all know what gyms are more welcoming and those that are a little colder.

If you like to workout alone with your playlist and hoodie on, I’m not stopping you, but if someone asks to work in with you, don’t ignore them. Give them an answer. If some popular facility hired you to work the front desk and you can’t help someone with a question because you’re too busy flirting with the attractive guys and girls that come in, well… to be honest, I’d fire you but maybe your supervisors are okay with that. Says a lot about the facility. Have some respect for the industry and leave some feedback about your facility and what category it falls into below! Finding a great community that supports you is one of the best ways to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC