Mar102015

Education from Traveling as an American

In the Unites States, it feels like we are the center of the world. There is no second language and everyone knows or should know (in American opinion) English. We know we are a powerful country and certain unconscious thoughts feed into your mind because of that. And these thoughts will bleed out when traveling internationally, too, and sometimes it’s not pretty for either party. I’ve been traveling since I was a baby (a mother from New Zealand will do that), but I never started to realize my own American spoiled nature until recent travel experiences. Even though I consider myself an open-minded and culturally-sensitive person, some American travel habits can be just plain dumb. You can learn a lot from traveling as an American–about yourself, your habits, and other cultures.

Chris’ favorite burger place in NZ

Mar092015

#13 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Look at us, we’re on a roll! One week back to back already! Let’s see if we can keep this up. As a refresher, this is the video game brain trust’s list of the top 25 greatest video games of all time and we are now down to #13! These are the ones you’ve missed so far: #25, #24,#23, #22, #21, #20 #19, #18, #17, #16, #15, and #14. Let’s hit it.

Kai – Goldeneye 007 – The only game on this list that I never actually owned (no N64), Goldeneye is an amazing game that I played at every one of my friends’ houses. It’s a first-person shooter based on the Bond movie and is one of the best movie to game conversions ever made.

The single-player is really well done, with complex level design and objectives that scale with difficulty. As good as that was, the multiplayer was even better, with insane tension and battles. I’ve never played more splitscreen multiplayer of anything, even Mario Kart. My friends and I would always load up license to kill (one-shot kills) and proximity mines. It truly revolutionized multiplayer shooters going forward and is still a lot of fun.

Image source

Mar052015

Cinnamon Whole-Wheat Apple Bread

Since we’ve finally settled into our “new” place, I’ve been scouring the web and the bloggers I follow for new recipes to try. It’s just something about being in the kitchen, creating, and enjoying it. I’m happy to have been doing more recipes lately. I was inspired by Cookies and Cups to do a cinnamon whole-wheat apple bread–a little healthier version of the typical snickerdoodle apple bread. It was extraordinarily easy to make, and let me tell you, the batter was delicious. Not that I ate too much… I always love trying and creating different treats that don’t make me feel bad afterwards. I can add this one to the list.

Mar042015

American Heart Month… is NEVER Over!

February was American Heart Month and March has begun, but that doesn’t mean that American Heart Month is over. I purposefully delayed this post to show you that while associating a month with this important issue is important, it’s equally important to be mindful all the time. You should be thinking of your heart every day of the month, every month of the year. Most people don’t know what the heart actually does, but it is the most important organ in your body. Your brain and lungs are also key components to the facilitation of your body systems operating, but without the heart we lack the ability to provide oxygen to the brain and the lungs.

Having been through multiple emergency response courses from ARC to AHA to React Right and more, we learn that as soon as you see an individual in need, it’s best to be safer than sorry. Call 911 and have someone get an AED immediately. The ratios of chest compressions to rescue breaths has changed over the years to favor more compressions since it is imperative to get the heart working as soon as possible. CPR stands for cardio pulmonary resuscitation, in other words, creating an artificial flow of blood that carries oxygen through the body, so that brain function stays intact and body systems do not suffer long-term damage, or the worst short-term result of total body system failure, or death.

Mar032015

Traveling is Exhausting

Especially if the point of travel is a sad reason. Recently, I had a death in the family in New Zealand (my mum is from New Zealand). So not only was I in very low spirits, but New Zealand is a long way to fly. It is especially long when you’re buying a ticket for the night of and you’re looking for the cheapest one. The cheapest one usually has the worst travel times and worst stops. This is true, but it was not something I was concerned with when trying to get to New Zealand as fast as possible. With a frantic packing, I got to LAX February 17th, and arrived in Fiji the 18th. Time zones start to switch hardcore now, so I’m pretty sure it was actually the 19th in Fiji, but still the 18th in the States. The airplane was cramped, but I slept some 5 hours. I then spent $40 to spend about 7 hours in the lovely Fiji VIP lounge until my flight to Auckland, New Zealand. At one point, I was the only traveler in the Fiji airport.

at LAX

Mar022015

#14 Greatest Video Game of All Time

Yet, again, there has been a big gap between this series! We apologize, as sometimes it takes a bit to get everyone’s entries in. If you are new to this countdown, it’s just a top 25 list of our most favorite video games! These are the ones you’ve missed so far: #25, #24,#23, #22, #21, #20 #19, #18, #17, #16, and #15. Let’s dive into #14!

Kai – X-COM – I’ve played three versions of X-COM: The original, X-COM UFO Defense, the third version X-COM Apocalypse, and the latest offering from Firaxis XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within. The original was revolutionary in scope, with everything from morale to technology research, and still holds up very well today.

X-Com is half real-time strategic base management and half turn-based top-down tactical squad management. The basic story is that aliens are real and are terrorizing human cities. You’re put in charge of defending earth from this alien threat.

During the base management phase, you train/recruit soldiers, build weapons/vehicles, dispatch people on missions, and research alien artifacts to get new technology. When a mission happens, it switches to the tactical mode, where you explore alien wrecks, kill/capture alien soldiers, and rescue civilians.

The games are difficult but addictive, enticing you to complete just one more mission with your squad of veteran troops. You care deeply about your veteran soldiers as you’ve played with them for multiple hours and it’s very painful to lose one (or a whole shipful). The theme is well-integrated and the gameplay is very tight, where every action you take is meaningful and possibly dangerous. If you’re looking to blow an afternoon tracking down aliens and defending earth, I highly recommend picking up something from the X-COM series.

Image source

Feb282015

One-Protein-Fits-All: Sunwarrior

I have a friend at work who struggles to get enough protein as a kind-of-vegan (she just doesn’t eat cheese and milk by itself) and who also can’t eat soy. I can suggest all the protein powders in the world, but they usually end up having either milk proteins or soy in them! It’s been a tough case to try to find one that would work for her. As fitness professionals, we run across a lot of people who are soy or dairy limited, so it can be a struggle to provide enough options for good protein. Here at Hungry and Fit we finally found a one-fits-all product! Enter Sunwarrior (epic name, right?).

Feb162015

Chocolate Oat Apple Crumble

I have an unfortunate sweet tooth. I try to curb it, but sometimes I don’t. Sometimes, however, I think in advance and then make something that’s sweet, but still on the healthy side. That’s when Smitten Kitchen inspired me! Jasmine is a very close family friend who turned me on to “crumbles” very early in my life–particularly apple crumble. This recipe calls for very few ingredients so I decided to give it a go. It was really easy and made the house smell wonderful! I made a Chocolate Oat Apple Crumble and my sweet tooth was absolutely overjoyed without killing my health.

Finished product, but not before I dove in

Feb142015

Last-Second Valentine’s Day [Healthy] Treat

You have a busy life, a busy schedule, or maybe you just forgot. Well, it’s Valentine’s Day today, so if there’s someone special in your life, you should make sure that they know you feel that way about them. If you didn’t get them anything (don’t fret, there’s still time)–or if you want to do a little something extra–you’re in good hands! I was inspired by Life with spices to make a healthy version of a “red velvet mug cake” just in time for V-Day. Even if you’re not romantic, this will put a smile on your partner’s face. Plus, even though it seems decadent and delicious, it actually has decent ingredients! Gotta love guilt-free baked goods. This takes, all in all, four minutes. No oven, just microwave. NO EXCUSES. Let’s hit it.

Feb132015

The FitExpo Los Angeles

The FitExpo LA has come and gone. March brings exciting new events in the fitness industry including the Arnold Classic, IHRSA, and SCW Mania. While we won’t make it to the Arnold due to a crazy schedule in the next two months, we will be going to the other two. (They are geared heavily toward facility managers, operators, and professional instructors. The Arnold is focused on competitions.) Still, let’s take a minute to recognize some of Hungry & Fit’s standout moments from this year’s FitExpo, in no particular order.