Monthly Archives: November 2014

Nov102014

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bites

To say the least, life is freaking hectic. You have responsibilities ranging from a full-time job to kids to pets to your health to education! You get out of breath just going through your list of responsibilities! Or at least I do. Life is stressful and there’s no way around it except to roll with it. How do you roll with it? By making life easier for yourself along the way!

A big part of our life is food (surprise surprise). We don’t want to skip meals or snacks, but at the same time, we don’t always have a lot of time to prepare those meals. So, I create recipes like this one, in order to keep us fueled on the go. It’s important to us that we eat healthy on the go, but it should taste good too! So…along comes Coconut Chocolate Oat Bites. What a wonderfully delicious name. With the help of Silk Coconutmilk, we were able to create one of the simplest healthy recipes for those on the go. Can you tell I’m excited about it? Let’s get to the recipe.

Chocolate Coconut Oat Bites

2014-11-10 22:01:40

A healthy snack on the go with amazing flavors

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Prep Time

7 min

Prep Time

7 min

Ingredients

1 cup oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2.5 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 squares dark chocolate
2 tbsp Silk Coconutmilk

Instructions

Heat the peanut butter, maple syrup, and Silk Coconutmilk together over low heat in a pan.
Have oats and cinnamon mixed together in a bowl
Once warm, pour the peanut butter mixture into the oats and cinnamon and really stir.
Break the squares of chocolate into small pieces
Once it is mixed well, fold in the pieces of chocolate
Cover and put in the fridge for 20 minutes
Take out and roll into small balls and store in fridge

By Hungry and Fit

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

I’m going to keep these in a zip-loc in the fridge at home AND at work, because you never know when you need a snack. It’s important to have a healthy snack accessible, because if not, you’re just going to binge on Red Vines and Sun Chips and then feel bad about it later. The Silk Facebook page inspired this recipe as they have a lot of great recipes and healthy living idea–go check it out and like it! Also, sign up for Silk’s online newsletter to get chances to win a year’s worth of Silk supplies to keep those tummies full with healthy sustenance! They also have other great giveaways like gift cards. Keep these beautiful bites nearby and you’ll never go hungry again! As always, stay hungry and fit!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all ours.

Nov082014

Happy 1st Birthday, Noke!

Our little puppy is now one year old. It’s hard to believe that she’s already a year old and how time flies by. At the same time, I feel like she’s been in our life forever.This morning I was looking at old posts about Noke from when she was a puppy like How to Survive Your First Week Having a Puppy and Puppies: Advocates for a Meditative Lifestyle. She was so darn stinkin’ cute! She still is, but now she’s grown into a sleek-looking coyote. I’ve definitely been reflective today about how far we’ve come together and how we’ve grown. I am thrilled that she is a year old!!

Raising a puppy is tough work, but I can say now that it is truly worth it. No matter what, Noke can cheer up my day, give me plenty of kisses and tell me that she loves me. She’s my constant companion and I love her to bits. It wasn’t always easy–getting her out of her nipping habit, dealing with sicknesses, and more, but in the end, like I said, it’s absolutely worth it. Dog is man’s best friend, truly.

So today she gets to enjoy Santa Monica weather and I might even get her something from a local dog bakery just for fun. It’s her day, but more so a milestone of us being a team and getting through the terrible teens! Now it’s not like she’s going to be a perfect angel now that she’s hit a year old–far from that. However, it’s a big step into her first stages of adulthood. Thank you for being here with us for the journey of her growing up. And as always, stay hungry and fit!

A night time walk…she is such a pleasure to walk! No pulling!

cutie girl

A trip to Estes Park!! (yes that is a fanny pack)

Great walks with the pup

So cuuuuuuuute

Noke is learning every day!

Cuteness

Noke got to enjoy the sun as the whole family gardened

Getting Noke used to the car more

Noke made a new friend and we spent the morning hiking!

Which resulted in her passing out (yay!)

Hi I’m cute

Noke finally using her bed

Cute dogs

Good runs with cute dogs

Noke trying out for Sound of Music

and a hike!

Walks with Noke on the beach

Nov072014

Mark Bell at Barbell Brigade

Last weekend, through my reliable Instagram feed, I found out that Mark Bell would be doing a powerlifting seminar at Barbell Brigade. For those of you who don’t know, Mark Bell is very well-known in the world of strength training. He invents and patents products for training, makes one of the most popular podcasts, competed in powerlifting and professional wrestling, and appeared in the documentary that his brother made. (Bigger, Faster, Stronger)

Also, for those of you who don’t know, Barbell Brigade is a training facility in Los Angeles located a few blocks from Union Station. It is absolutely amazing and I will be doing a video there shortly so you will find out more. (200 lb dumbbells, sleds on turf, olympic platforms, monkey bars, freedom to do what you want, etc.)

I decided to go because it would be a great chance to see Mark present and check out the facility. It was inexpensive, so well worth my time if all went well. And it did… I even dragged Fit along with me. Now in all honesty, I’m happy with my squat, deadlift, and bench press, so my reason for attending wasn’t to get advice for myself. As a coach, I wanted to see how Mark presented to a large diverse crowd. There were all sorts of people there so I won’t even start to describe them. Nevertheless, he had experienced lifters demonstrate technique as he explained what they were doing and why they were doing it.

Typically, I find a few minor, or even major, points that I disagree with in other people’s clinics, but strangely enough… I was agreeing with nearly everything he said. It was actually a little creepy seeing someone else that you’ve never seen coach before explain topics in a similar way. (With the exception of some choice of words… I keep it PG, because I work with a lot of young athletes.)

So, that kept my attention and I particularly enjoyed how he answered most of the questions. Very open-minded to implementing various training practices while still staying true to core principles of powerlifting. Very relatable for the general populace and extremely entertaining. He had the crowd participating a lot and everyone was laughing a considerable amount. The group seemed comfortable during the “lecture” portion, which is important to creating an effective learning environment.

Us taking a creeper selfie with Mark Bell in background

Now, I wasn’t there strictly for business. I also wanted to ask Mark about the Slingshot, a product he developed that assists in the bench press. In 2011, I performed my best competitive bench press ever, and about one month later suffered a full SLAP tear of my labrum in my left shoulder. I decided to forego the only way to repair it, which is surgery and just deal with it. It took a while to get strength back, but I’ve built the bench up to nearly 70% of what it used to be by developing other muscles in the shoulder girdle. I asked Mark what Slingshot model and size would work for me, someone with nearly a decade of proper bench press experience, and a torn labrum, and he told me to order an XL Reactive, the first stage of four different levels.

Fit posing with Silent Mike, Mark Bell’s assistant

I should be receiving it soon and will write a full review on it. In the review, I will talk about how the product works for someone with a serious injury and also the uses of the product. I am sure I will find a way to use it for my non-powerlifting athletes so stay tuned for that. All in all, it was a great experience and even though we had to leave nearly 2/3 of the way through, we left completely satisfied. Fit even enjoyed it more than she expected! As always…stay hungry and fit!

Nov042014

Introducing Dani California Cooks

I wanted to use today’s post in order to introduce a new blog run by a very good friend of mine. When she told me about her idea, I was thrilled and couldn’t wait til it started. Well, it’s here now and it’s wonderful, beautiful, and everything in between. We’ve known each other since middle school and have kept in touch ever since. She has a huge gregarious personality and wonderful sense of humor–a deadly combo for a blog. I’m thrilled to present Dani California Cooks. Here is an interview with Dani from us:

And she’s pretty to boot!

1. What is the name of your blog and what is it about?

My blog is named “Dani California Cooks” and it documents all the things I cook, eat and do as I split my time between Los Angeles and San Francisco!

2. Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in California, but spent my college and several post-grad years living on the east coast. But then I came to my senses and decided to make the move out west again! When I’m not posting awkward pictures of me eating on my Instagram, you can find me at my management consulting job or hitting the pavement for a run no matter where I’m located. My mother calls me the “whirling dervish” as I am never in the same place at once – just in September I was in Baltimore, Washington DC, Tel Aviv, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

3. What inspired you to create and run this blog?

I have been an avid reader of many food and healthy lifestyle blogs for years now (like Hungry and Fit!) and earlier this summer I decided I wanted to join the community of bloggers and actually actively participate. I am so glad I went for it – it’s a truly inspiring blogosphere to be a part of!

4. What is your goal in having a blog?

I’m really looking forward to connecting with other food and foodie bloggers out there, pass along some ideas for amateur healthy home chefs, and document my own day-to-day culinary experiences to share with the world! You’ll find that my blog posts fall into two categories – recipes, and the rest of my life!

5. What’s your favorite food?

Besides the fact that I’ve already planned out my last meal on earth (penne bolognese and carrot cake, since you asked) I think my favorite foods are chocolate and a good tuna salad sandwich. Not together. Perhaps sequentially.

One of Dani’s pictures

Take it from us that her posts will have you drooling and laughing–sometimes awkwardly at the same time! Her pictures are absolutely gorgeous (way higher caliber than ours) and her writing style keeps you coming back for more. I can’t recommend checking out her blog enough! I know you will enjoy it. If you’re looking for some great recipes or other food-style posts, check out Dani California Cooks. And as always, stay hungry and fit!

Nov032014

#17 Greatest Video Game of All Time

We are battling our way through the teens of the greatest video games of all time–according to us, of course! This has been a lengthy project brought to you by the video game brain trust. As an overview, it’s a group of five of us who put a list of our favorite 25 video games of all time. I know, pretty fun, huh? If you missed these, check them out: #25, #24, #23, #22, #21, #20 #19, and #18. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Kai – Mario Kart series– For those who haven’t heard of Mario Kart, it’s a casual racing game with 8 iterations. You race in a fantasy location as one of the Nintendo characters, picking up items and shooting them at fellow racers to get ahead. It’s one of my favorite split-screen multiplayer games, easy to learn but competitive. Each race is short, making it easy to let new people rotate in and play, so it also makes a fun party game.

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Po – Toejam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron- The ultimate co-op chill sesh. Couple this with gunstar heroes and you’ve got the most balanced co-op gaming session on your hands.

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Andrew – Mass Effect (Series) – [SPOILER ALERT FOR MASS EFFECT] “I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite entry on this list”. The game is legend. From the start of the series you have the Normandy, which is an absolute beast ship that you have to upgrade in order to make it through some suicide missions and save some of your friends lives. You have the beautiful intertwining plotlines that BioWare is fantastic at. The visuals are fantastic. Legion is fantastic. Thane is fantastic. Seth Green is fantastic. Mass Effect 3 came out the week of my birthday and my 360 had just broken so I just had to auto-buy a new one. Had to be done (like when the new Zelda and/or Metroid games come out, must auto-buy a Wii U) I romance Liara 100/100 times throughout all 3 games and am devastated every time Legion gives his life. You’ll see some BioWare games higher up on the list, Mass Effect is lower because – 1) some of the games are better 2) Mass Effect 3 had a bad ending. The lack of companion explanations killed it a lot. The fact that it was overall bad killed it a lot. 1^st ending, 2^nd ending…didn’t really matter, they were overall bad.

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Fit – Call of Duty (1 and 2)– Call of Dutyyyyyyy! This is a long-time favorite. And I say 1 and 2 because I like the World War II Call of Duty, not this present day nonsense. My list is all about the memories that games bring me and Call of Duty is FULL of them. I really mean that. From pulling all nighters with my brother and friends, to pistol battles, to sniper wars, this game has provided hundreds of hours of fun and bonding time. It is such a fantastic game to play with others and have amazing fun. We would always all play in the same room and either go at each other or team up and try to beat the other team. It was always a blast. The game is a lot of fun–I was always a Kar98k gun kind of girl–a faster version of a sniper rifle. I would be patient with my prey, be silent in my positioning, and take them down! I’m a big believer in defense, so that’s what I always did in Capture the Flag games.

This game gets a respectable place on my list due to its replayable-ness and being a great social game. I can’t count how many good memories I’ve had with this game.

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Hungry – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3) – Oh man. Impending RANT. This was a pure gut instinct, change my list last moment kind of decision. There were a few games that were originally listed in a worse position that will now be higher because of my general frustration with the PS3 release, so this is very subjective. Another Elder Scrolls game, which I will not name yet, will appear VERY high on my list. Having experienced years and years of Elder Scrolls, my expectations for Skyrim were through the roof. The trailers were skin tingling and bone chilling. One of my favorite series ever plus dragons? It’s like a dream for me.

Unfortunately, Bethesda and Sony decided to not play nice and the fans suffered. It started well… we were there for the midnight launch, got the game and played immediately. I bought the game November 11th, 2011 and by mid December, 2011 I had piled up 284 hours of gameplay. The two main quests were completed and nearly every side quest that didn’t have a bug that wasn’t patched had been finished. I had every home, explored every cave, had almost every skill at 100 (except Illusion and Alteration), was at a very high level, had all the shouts, etc. The game was 99% done. I really actually enjoyed it a lot aside from the few minor glitches.

And then THE EXPANSIONS DID NOT COME OUT FOR PLAYSTATION. If they never made them, Skyrim would be VERY high on this list as well. Unfortunately, I downloaded all of them when they were released for PS3 at the same time and it actually corrupted my main file to the point I couldn’t even play it after deleting the DLCs and Sony couldn’t help me fix the problem. Well, to this day, I haven’t really played Skyrim since December 2011, they haven’t fixed my problem, and I might eventually start a new file on the PC, when I get time. It was just so disappointing and the game had so much potential for me. If that whole fiasco with Sony and Bethesda only never happened and the DLC came out on time without bugs… I can only imagine how high Skyrim would be on this list. But that’s just me. Those first 284 hours were magic though, pure magic strong enough to save this game’s place on this list and I am sure I don’t need to tell you why! FUS RO DAH!

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That sums up our #17 greatest video games of all time! We hope you enjoyed reading as much as we enjoyed writing. Be sure to be on the look out for #16. We are sneaking closer to our top 10! Have a wonderful Monday and as always, stay hungry and fit!

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