Happy 25th Birthday, Chris! (aaand #boulderflood)

This is going to be a joint post, written by the both of us, about Chris’ birthday and the flood that erupted on his very birthday here in our home of Boulder, Colorado. And it isn’t stopping. As I sit here, I’m watching more rain pour down as it has since 8am. We got a few dry days, but now the rain is here for a while. Where to begin? Let’s just start with Chris’ actual birthday. I’ll be writing most of it, and he will pop in here and there for certain things.

6:30am, Thursday, September 12th. Chris is still sleeping in bed, I need be at work by 8, but I want to go to our favorite bakery and surprise him with croissants. It’s been raining for a few days now, started Monday and worked its way until today. It’s still raining now. I slip socks and crocs on and head out. I get to the bakery but I am kind of dumbstruck and don’t know where to park. The entire right side of the street is flooded. Now this is before we had any flood alerts or thought there was a problem. I turned around and parked on the other side of the street. The bakery was open and I wanted to get him croissants! There was a worker outside and I asked him how to get through it, and he said, “I just got my feet wet.” I still looked for a way, but it was useless. Water was pouring from the north and streaming into the streets. I ended up walking through a foot and a half of water and they had no croissants! Wish I had taken a picture.

A now-famous picture taken by someone at the library

So I get back, wake Chris up, wish him happy birthday and give him breakfast. We turn on the news and see that it’s pretty bad all over. Highways buckling, houses flooding, people trapped. We eat breakfast and open presents, all the while he is communicating with his coworkers. (It’s Chris now) I want to thank everyone for all of the awesome gifts. I’ve always been quite spoiled. I received a gift card to Macy’s, Amazon, and AMC cinemas along with $30 cash. I also got some nice Burberry cologne, a handmade snake-like bottle opener, and a handmade Giraffe head cork wine topper. I was upset with Alana for getting me so much. She got me the newest iPad with a case and keyboard attachment. She also got me two hoodies: one sleeveless one from H&M and a Legend of Zelda one from Woot. I can’t say what I like the most but all of the gifts were very thoughtful and will fit in this household nicely. I am excited as always to use the AMC tickets for two free movies for the two of us. Especially since there are a few movies coming out next weekend that I want to see. Thanks again to everyone for the kind wishes whether it was family or friends.

Birthday breakfast!

Back to Alana. The 119 (how I get to work) is flooding and Longmont is bad. Chris and his staff decide to close the shop and he goes to make sure the flood damage is okay. Everyone advises me to stay home, so I do. This is all very new and not exactly sure what to expect. It was nice for Chris to have his birthday off of work, but we felt for everyone suffering. Luckily, our apartment is 3 floors up, and we are on a safer side of town. We didn’t do much that day, played video games and stayed inside.Chris loved being able to do that, since normally we have too much on our plate. We just made sandwiches for lunch and enjoyed the down time.

We get a call around 3pm from one of our good friends who lives a block away. He is driving home from Littleton (highways are an absolute mess) and his wife and kid are at home with a flooded bedroom. We run to get the shop vac and bring it over to their place. They were the lucky ones. The western building of their apartment complex got completely flooded with 2 feet of water. We immediately begin to vacuum the carpet out which is saturated and getting worse. A battle we can’t win against the pelting rain coming at us. By the time our friend gets home, we have already dumped out 32 gallons of water.

Shop vac

Pouring out gallons of water

Kicking up water

We knew we couldn’t suck up all the water so we go outside and decide to dig a trench away from the windows and then use the mud to create a barrier. It was messy, wet work, but it did give some layer of protection.

Those rainboots ended up having holes in them…surprise!

Packing as fast as we can

Flexing, obviously

After we finish up, we wash the mud off in a flooded street. We go inside for a little bit more clean-up. Chris is bummed so many places are closed. I had this elaborate plan for the day, that I would take him out for lunch, that after work we would workout and then surprise him with China Gourmet and a birthday cake. Nope, not gonna happen. However, one of our most favorite places in town was miraculously open. They know us well at Korea House and invited us with open arms. We were soaked, muddy, and tired, and this meal invigorated us. We got a fixed menu with beer, bulgogi, korean soup, soups, salads, and mochi ice cream. Because it was Chris’ birthday and because the chef loves us that much, he served us with a big beautiful plate of some of the most flavorful sushi I’d ever had. He also gave us a large bottle of hot sake and another beer for free. Happy Birthday, right? It was just what we needed to bring our spirits up. We told them if they needed a place to stay (they live in Longmont), that they could always come to us. We left happy and it was pouring harder than ever.

Korean birthday feast

We get back safely, though main streets are flooding. We play some more video games for a while and then we get into bed. Things are only getting worse. Chris passes out, but my stomach is in knots. So before I continue, let me just tell you about the wonderful Twitter #boulderflood. Online news can’t do enough. I have been on the #boulderflood this entire time, getting minute-by-minute updates from news agencies, emergency agencies, and real-life people struggling in the flood. It has been an absolutely amazing resource, I still follow it now. So as I’m lying in bed, reading the #boulderflood hashtag, things start getting worse. The Emerson Gulch has broken and now a 30-foot wall of water is heading straight for the Creek. I know college kids can be drunk and stupid and people reported seeing some near the creek, fooling around. I stress about their lives. About how the death toll might rise. After a few hours, I finally get to sleep, only to dream more about the flood and wake up too much. Here are pictures from the house we house-sat at:

Beginning of the day

End of the day…that used to be a back yard

Friday. Despite only a few hours of sleep, we wake up semi-early. The rain has stopped and light can be seen. We stay inside for a bit and then decide to go venture out with Marga and Michael to see the damage. The “unaccounted-for” toll has risen to around 130. There is a lot of debris everywhere, but things are drying up. Mud is the problem since there were massive mudslides the previous night. I hear Lyons is an island and Longmont is incredibly flooded. The YMCA where I work at is closed. Our old street (we just recently moved) got flooded and now instead of pavement, it is a mud street. Our previous neighbors are carrying buckets of mud-water out of their house. It is all mucked up. We continue on for about 5 miles total, seeing the damage. But we don’t even go to the bad area, we get tired and head back.

Our old street

a parking lot nearby

Goose Creek where I run next to

The creek rose to ridiculously high levels

We end up going to the gym, finding a bit of normalcy in our recently turned-upside down life. After a great shoulder workout (my traps are still sore!), we head back home. More video games. We are happy for the lack of rain. I can even see a star or two. We also watch From Up on Poppy Hill, the newest Miyazaki film. We go to bed around 2am.

Saturday. Another dry morning! Evacuations continue at a much higher rate now. The National Guard is here and you can see and hear the military helicopters going here and there every minute (no exaggeration). Our friend (with the flooded bedroom) invited us to go play frisbee golf as we often do on Saturdays. Sure, why not! Well, half the course had some bad flooding, but that didn’t stop us. Afterwards, we went to Glacier (our favorite ice cream joint here) and Chris finally got his free ice cream (because it’s his birthday). We go back to the apartment for a little bit and then head out to the gym for a good chest workout (yes, my pecs are sore). As the day continues, formidable clouds begin to form. We come back, watch Castle and play video games. And have mac n cheese and ramen for dinner, good comfort food.

And now it’s Sunday. Still raining strong. Flood alerts are back. Road closures are back. Unaccounted-for toll is up to 530 people. Tragic stories on the news. I hope I can get to work tomorrow. And I truly hope everyone stays safe. I wish I could reach out and help more people, but it’s hard to get to most people right now. Chris certainly had a birthday that nobody will forget. I will stay vigilantly attached to the #boulderflood to stay in touch with everyone and all events. Please send good energy this way. And some dry weather. And despite all these horrible events, everyone reaches out to each other to help. That is what is keeping spirits up, when everything else is gone. Stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria staying warm

Sep112013

Chocolate Protein Rounds [No Baking Required]

My friend made me a batch of these for my birthday last week and I devoured way too many. Like wayyyy too many. But who cares, you only have a birthday once a year, right? Luckily, these things are pretty healthy and help me get my daily protein intake, so I wasn’t too worried. She had given me the recipe a long time ago, but I just never got around to making them. The original recipe doesn’t necessarily call for chocolate protein powder, but it’s all we have so I decided to give it a go. Really glad I did–super easy. And it’s nice not to bake when it’s 80 degrees out! I altered it somewhat and it turned out well!

My own version of a Hershey’s Kiss…without the slave labor!

Ingredients

1 cup oats
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2 cups chocolate protein powder (you could do vanilla, though)
1 tbsp honey
2/3 cup Silk Vanilla Unsweetened Almondmilk (you can use regular)
1 tbsp dried cherries (you can use any dried fruit)
1 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl

Dry ingredients mixed together

Mix the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. It’s tough at first because of the peanut butter, but I just whisked it down until it was well-mixed and of one mixture
Slowly mix the wet into the dry ingredient bowl. First I used a whisk, but in the end I had to use a wooden spoon to really mix it well.

Take out a cookie sheet and place wax paper on top. Then scoop out bite-sized pieces of the mixture and line it up on the wax paper.

Put into the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer and then wrap them individually with wax paper, otherwise it’s a sticky mess. Place in fridge until ready to eat!

Ready to go in the fridge

I am so glad the chocolate protein powder worked out. This is such a good snack before or after a workout. Gives you a bit of energy, but doesn’t weigh you down and has a good amount of protein to keep your muscles happy. It’s an unbelievably easy recipe and a great way to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Sajah caught sleeping on the job

Sep102013

September Goodies: Articles Worth Reading

Through my work, I do a lot of research into health, fitness, nutrition, and other similar articles. It’s good to stay on top of your game in the industry and it’s always important to know everything you can. These articles are really great in relaying a wealth of information and I thought that many of you would appreciate these reads as they have valuable stuff in them!

“Always”…stay hungry and fit for knowledge!

For the graceful “agers”…

“How to Get Super Fit at Any Age”

On certain eating fads…

“How to Really Eat like a Hunter-Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet is Half-Baked”

For the fitness buffs…

“Strength Vs Toned: The Truth about Gender-Specific Workouts”

“Ask Well: Eating Before Exercise”

“Doubling the Daily Allowance of Protein Intake with Diet and Exercise Protects Muscle Loss”

“How Does Heat Affect Fat-Burning?”

“10 Ab Training Mistakes You Need to Stop Making”

“Stay Cool, Stay Thin?”

Surprising fitness facts…

“Watermelon Juice Relieves Post-Exercise Muscle Soreness”

“Why A.C.L. Injuries Sideline So Many Athletes”

“How Exercise Can Help Us Learn”

New, cool fitness gadgets…

“Pocket-Sized Sensor Gives Instant Fat Burning Updates”

Recipes worth trying…

“Homemade Vegan ‘Honeycomb'”

“Baked Tomato Bruschetta”

“Almond-Crisped Peaches”

Chris with an awesome Mexican post-workout feast meal

Hope you enjoy these articles, I sure did! Let me know which ones you like the best! Use these articles to stay…hungry and fit!

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Sep092013

Happy 23rd Birthday, Alana!

Yay! Happy Birthday to me! Chris and I had a great “birthday weekend” (his birthday is this coming Thursday—yes, a pair of Virgos) involving lots of good food and good company. Though I am peeved at myself for not taking more group photos, oh well! ABC Family obviously knew that it was my birthday weekend because it was a Harry Potter Weekend (yessss). So besides home We decided on our “group birthday dinner” (meaning more than just Chris and I) we would do on the Saturday. We couldn’t decide on a place…from Korea House to Efrain’s and we finally decided on one of our favorite spots, Tibet Kitchen. But before that, Saturday morning, we went with friends to go play Frisbee Golf on a hot morning. But the view was incredible.

Frisbee golf view

Sample of a Tibet Kitchen plate

Really should’ve taken pictures of the group as a whole, but it included co-workers, friends, and family–a great bunch. We all had a ton of food and felt pretty full…but not full enough to not get ice cream! We finished the night off well with plenty of ice cream to celebrate. It was a great time. The next morning (on my actual birthday) we went to breakfast at Lucille’s, a southern, New Orleans-style breakfast joint. I always hear how popular it is and we got there at the right time. No wait, and we got a seat outside on an absolutely beautiful morning. We obviously got some beignets to share and some dishes for ourselves. It was absolutely delicious and neither of us could finish it (hellooo leftovers!).

I could eat wayyyy too many beignets

After we stuffed ourselves, we ran over to Flatirons Mall AMC (which has the most comfy recliner chairs, it’s ridiculous) and caught a double feature of The Butler and Riddick (both reviews to come). We enjoyed both, but came out starving because it was about 4 hours of movie time with no snacks in between (I forgot the popcorn!). After a long debate about what to eat, we decided on trying Protos Pizza up in North Boulder. And we loved it. We ordered 4 small pies (don’t worry, it was 4-slice, small slice pizzas, not real expensive) to try everything out. The ingredients were fresh, crust cooked to perfection, and a wonderful blend of flavors.

This is a piece from each pie

After that, Chris went to give a private swim lesson. We did a laid-back workout, and then headed to Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant. It was open late and we had never tried it. We ordered a “vegetarian passport meal for two” which ended up being a ton of food plus two drinks and dessert! Let’s just say there’s a good amount of leftovers in the fridge. It was an absolutely lovely night, we sat outside next to a creek and beautiful little lights. We enjoyed some drink and a lot of food and had a great time.

Those rolled up parts are injera (Ethiopian “bread”) to use to eat the rest of the meal

Honey Wine and Papaya Margarita

So I had a great great birthday, and I was lucky enough to get cards from loved ones and presents too. My parents sent me great gifts plus a boat load of Trader Joe’s goodies. Chris got me a wonderful collection of presents that was perfectly catered to who I am. Overall, I had a lovely birthday and look forward to celebrating Chris’ coming up soon. As always…stay hungry and fit!

Trader Joe’s yummies

Yes that’s a bento box on top (and Game of Thrones graphic novel)

Chris got me crocs!! I know my friends will be so happy (not

Miyazaki play on Wizard of Oz hoodie (from Chris, of course)

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria on her back

Sep072013

So You Overate…Get Over It!

I know I’m not alone when I find myself in a vicious cycle of overeating and then getting really angry at myself. It kind of burns a hole in the day. This is happens when I’m trying to follow a meal plan, eat cleanly, etc (otherwise I don’t much care). And then I fall off the wagon and divulge a little too much. It leaves you with guilt, anger, and disappointment. I’m sure many of you know these feelings and know what I mean. This cycle of self-loathing is useless and doesn’t get you any closer to your goals, so let’s learn how to just drop it.

Incoming…pics of food that are easy to eat too much of!

You overate. You went too hard into that ice cream. You took too much of Grandma’s toffee. GET OVER IT! We all know that emotions can tie directly into eating more, so why do we let ourselves get so upset? Sure, we’re disappointed. We’re mad at ourselves for not having enough willpower and letting our cravings get the better of us. But why should we hold onto it? Why should we sit in a puddle of disgust?

Take the first step and forgive yourself. You made a mistake. Put it in perspective. There’s not a chance you’re going to remember this in 5 or 10 years, what does it matter? Acknowledge what you’ve done. It’s okay. We make mistakes. You can’t be expected to follow something to a T 100% of the time. Don’t stray from what you did. Own it so that next time you can prevent it by understanding what you are feeling right now. Because what happens when we try to ignore or smother our emotions? We eat more!

So we own what we did, but we don’t get in a hissy fit over it. We did the deed, we ate two more cookies than we meant to, but there’s nothing you can do it about now. So don’t get in a dark mood and hate yourself. Negative energy will always set you on a worse path for achieving goals. Tell yourself, “It’s okay. I did something I didn’t want to do, but I’m going to learn from this and try harder next time.” Use it as an advantage for you. You can always turn a negative into a positive. Remember how when you put the bowl of candy out, it was that much harder for you to resist. Put it in the cupboard where you can’t see it.

Starting to get it? We own what we did, we understand why, and we put it in perspective. Take a big breath and let it out. It’s not the end of the world. Just get back on track now and let the overeating be a thing of the past. Don’t let it haunt you or give you feelings of self-hatred. Remember, that makes things worse. Forgive yourself and move on. It’s one small moment in your big life. Don’t let it ruin more than 5 minutes. Use this advice to stay hungry and fit!

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Sep062013

Efrain’s Magical Mexican Food (Fit’s Restaurant Review)

I think we may have found one of the best Mexican spots in Boulder. Yes, I’m excited too. It’s a little out of the way, but it’s a scenic drive through the Wild West (it seems like). You pass these old rusted buildings, lots of old mining spots, and such. Anyhow, we get there one night, and it’s packed. And it’s a Wednesday! Obviously, this place was popular. And it had good reason to be.

The spot is called Efrain’s II as in #2. Yes, weird name, but there are actually 3 of these wonderful restaurants, one in Layfayette and Longmont as well. They obviously saw the good fortune in expanding, and boy are we glad they did! We get there around 7:30-8pm and wait for a table for around 20-30 minutes. I had a margarita while we waited and we watched some baseball. I was surprised how busy it was because it was a Wednesday. Come on, people! But it was a good sign. Chris had gone there with his friend a few weeks earlier and had wanted to take me because he knows my fervent love of good Mexican food (helloooo, I grew up in SoCal).

Great margarita!

Mr. Muscles over here

Chris’ meal from a few weeks earlier

Once finally seated, they were quick to serve us with some chips and salsa. The bad thing about this is that there were endless refills. So yes, I obviously filled up on chips and could barely eat my meal. No surprises here, folks! As I sipped away on my margarita, Chris got a Mexican Coke (he loooooooves them). He ordered the Steak San Lorenzo (a sizable meal that even he couldn’t finish) and I ordered the fajitas. Vegetarian, of course.

Mexican coke

I couldn’t believe how big my portion was. For my fajita platter, I received three tortillas, a huge plate of lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, beans, rice, guac, etc. and a huge pot of fajita-styled vegetables. I couldn’t believe it. Everything was cooked well with lots of flavor. Chris thoroughly enjoyed his steak and we left a happy couple. The atmosphere is kinda hectic, but once you get seated, you’re in your own happy bean-and-cheese world. I can’t wait to go there again and again. Good Mexican food with a good price? Don’t mind if I do. Load up on Mexican food to stay hungry and fit!

Chris’ steak smothered in veggies

My ENTIRE MEAL

Close-up because it’s so pretty

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria kneading away

Sep042013

We’re Baaaack (Sorry!)

We have just arrived back from a nice 5-day vacation on the magical East Coast! We went out to visit Chris’ family (he’s from New Jersey/New York) and also see some friends. We had planned to prepare posts for each day ahead of time…but obviously that didn’t work. We have a little pathetic excuse, that there was no wifi we were able to get onto in the house…but still, sorry! I hope this post of deliciousness and friends will help you forgive us. It will be picture-heavy and text-light.

It was an early start to the Wednesday of us flying out–6:30am flight called for a 3:15am wake-up. We drove the car over to the airport and had a nice smooth ride, stopping briefly in Minneapolis before arriving at Newark. Since everyone who could pick us up were working, we decided to take it slow and just take public transportation back to Chris’ town, Midland Park, New Jersey. We got to the train station, his mum picked us up and we had an early first dinner of some good Chinese food. Two hours and a chiropractic appointment later, we had another dinner with his brother at a great thin-crust pizza. We finished that night off with some great Van Dyk’s ice cream and played video games all night with a good friend, Po.

Po & Chris, ice cream buds

On Thursday, we wake up bright and early (not getting much more than 5 hours sleep…who sleeps on vacation, right?) and pack in the car with Chris’ mum to visit Chris’ sister in Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia. And grabbed delicious bagel sandwiches on the way! It was a great day of relaxation, visiting Chris’ niece, adorable puppy, spending quality family time, and watching movies like Hotel Transylvania and Puss in Boots. We didn’t get home until around midnight and collapsed right to sleep.

Chris and his niece on a walk

Puppppyyyyyy

On Friday, it was another early-wake-up day for us because we were visiting the city–New York! We had a great day seeing lots of friends from college. We found our way to my friend Mary Kate via bus and had a great breakfast with her before she headed into her super awesome 60 Minutes work. Then we took the good old 1 train uptown to the college where we met, Manhattan College. We got to meet up with some friends who still are attending, some who drove in for the day just to see us, and our old bosses. Chris got to fit in a leg workout while I hung out with my old JustPeace (a social justice club I led) club while they held an event. I got to see Kathleen and Hilary here.

Times Square, crazy to be back

Yum

hi!

Roomates 4 lyfe

My boss (Lois), Kathleen, and I

Quad livin’

Sweaty buds

After that (still Friday), we grabbed Kathleen and kidnapped her back downtown where we forced her to see The Grandmaster (review coming soon), which was pretty epic at one of our favorite indie theatres at Lincoln Center. We walked around Central Park for a bit before walking down to the famous Halal Cart which came from humble beginnings but is now 3 carts deep. We chowed down on some platters and then met up with Allan to go to the Yankee game. It was a lot of fun and we got great seats! Pretty good game too–2 of Chris’ favorite players hit homers. We then got a ride back to New Jersey, had some ice cream, then went to sleep.

Central Park walk

Chowing on Halal–thanks for the pic, Kathleen

DROOL.

Yankee game

On Saturday, we actually slept in! All the way until 9am! I know–crazy. While we waited for our friend, Allan, to wake up, we went and visited Abma’s Farm for some baked goods and sheep humor. After that, and he still wasn’t up, we went to the local Wildlife Conservatory which has beautiful paths and only animals that need rehabilitation. We finally met Allan, Jane Kim (a friend of Chris’) and her boyfriend at a new place in town for “brunch” (…at 12:30pm). Although we were wary about prices and reviews, it turned out to be delicious and a great time! We walked around town afterwards, got some boba, and hung out at the Ridgewood Park. We then grabbed a Tony’s Pizza to eat the next day (because they would be closed on Sunday). Later that night, Chris’ whole family went out to hibachi and it was delicious! Then after, we of course got more ice cream and went to sleep.

This sheep had the deepest voice ever…creepy

Beautiful nature walk

My delicious breakfast burrito at brunch

Friends

Best pizza I’ve ever had

Hibachi!

We have another late morning wake-up on Sunday, this time around 8:30. I decide to go for a easy-paced run in the morning while we get started on the day. We basically spent the entire day visiting Chris’ many aunts and uncles–it was really nice to meet all of them as I hadn’t met many before. That night we met up with Pablo and Brit (Chris’ close friends) and we drove 15 miles to go to East, a restaurant with sushi on a conveyor belt. Delicious! We then watched Here Comes the Boom (surprisingly awesome movie) and, of course, got some more ice cream.

Nom nom nom

Now it’s Monday, and we’re wondering how this vacation is already over! However…our flight wasn’t until 7pm so we had a good amount of time to spend with friends before we took off. We had a nice breakfast with Pablo and Brit that morning while we waited for Allan and Po to roll out of bed. I got way too much food…brie-stuffed french toast, eggs, home fries, and toast! We then meet up with everyone else and to everyone’s disappointment, Chris coerces us to go see the Percy Jackson movie. Okay maybe not coerced, but reactions were definitely amusing. After that movie, we all piled into cars and rushed to Mitsuwa (which will be getting its own post), which is a magical place that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into Japan. Once we gobble down some delicious food, Allan is nice enough to take us down to JFK in Labor Day traffic. We owe him a big one.

Brie-stuffed french toast. yup.

And that was our trip! We had a pleasant flight and watched Great Gatsby (review coming soon) to make the 4.5 hours go by quickly. We are still catching up on sleep, and apologize again for the lack of posts, but here we come on full throttle! I’m probably forgetting a lot in this post, but I did what I could from memory! Make sure you travel to stay hungry and fit!

Thunder storm below us

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Kathleen and I ^.^

Aug282013

Sweetie-Pie Peach Cobbler

Sweetie-Pie? Huh? I say that because this recipe is sweet. Very sweet. So much so that I’m not a huge fan of it, but those who I made it for loved it (and that’s what matters, right?). At first, I thought I had done something wrong, and I was ready to angrily toss it in the bin, but I left it in the fridge overnight and it turned out great! Anyhow, this is a peach cobbler from this blog. I didn’t change much out of the recipe because I’m kind of new to cobblers. Alright, let’s take a look.

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Baking TIme: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
4 peaches
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar (yes, it’s on the ingredient list twice)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Put the stick of butter in a few-inch-deep pan, like a casserole dish and let it melt in the oven.
Let’s start with the batter. I’m not a huge fan of the batter–it’s very typical white cake type stuff. But again, other people liked this! Combine the flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the milk and vanilla to that dry mix and stir. Set it aside
Get out a pot and put in the peaches (they should be chopped up in little chunks), brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then let it boil for 5 minutes.

Pretty peaches

Cinnamon added

Gettin’ juicy!

Pour the white batter into the casserole with the butter in it, but do not stir! Make a nice layer and then pour the hot peach mixture on top too, for a delicious, beautiful layer

Ready to bake!

Bake for 10 minutes.
While it’s baking, combine the oats, the (other) brown sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl
Take the cobbler out and sprinkle the oat mixture on top. Put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes until it’s nice and brown on top and cooked through

Hot from the oven

You can serve hot with ice cream or chill it in the fridge for a nice cool cobbler. I would go for the latter. The more I kept trying it over time, the better it became. And it was perfect by the time I brought it to work. Two people had birthdays within the next two days so we decided to do a little birthday bash for them. One of them is picky about desserts (doesn’t like sweets), but mentioned that she loves peach cobbler so I gave it a go! I also made these muffins. And as always… stay hungry and fit!

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Aug272013

The How-To Guide to Smart Snacking

I’m pretty sure all of us have fallen into the trap of mindless snacking. It’s one of the biggest road blocks in achieving our goals. We get home from a long day of work, our stomachs grumbling, but our feet are tired and so our minds. Instead of whipping up a snack, we go into the fridge or pantry and just mindlessly stuff our gobs until we somehow feel full. But usually we go past the point of being full, to where the point of not eating a good dinner because of that. And what does that lead to? MORE mindless snacking after “dinner.” If you can’t tell, this is a bad cycle. So how do we stop it?

Fruit protein smoothies: stopping mindless snacking since its creation

Snack with a purpose. I can’t emphasize this enough so I’m writing a whole post about it. This is the best defense against the mindless zombie eating that can plague us all. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of “oh, I’ll just snack on a few crackers while I think of a food plan—oops there goes the entire package.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve done this (yikes), but I’ve learned now, how to beat that back with a stick. A well-planned and satisfying stick.

Popcorn, cheese & crackers,

What exactly is snacking with a purpose? It’s the opposite of mindless eating and I can’t tell you how much more satisfying it is than just stuffing your face. If you snack with a purpose, you have a plan. A plan to satisfy your hunger without going overboard and getting some nutrients to boot! It may take a LITTLE more time (and I mean little), but that is also a way that makes it that much more satisfying. Just like growing your own vegetables, when you snack with a purpose, you feel good.

Egg on top of avocado

Snacking with a purpose means you don’t go straight for the chip bag. Instead, you have something in mind for a snack. Yesterday, I was craving something cold and refreshing. I wanted to go grab an iced mocha latte or something, but didn’t want to spend money and drink a bunch of sugar. So I bit the bullet, went home, had some chocolate milk beside a Van’s waffle topped with greek yogurt. Perfect snack for after work or after school. You have some sugar in the waffle and milk to pick you up, the protein in the greek yogurt to keep you going, and the cold chocolate milk to refresh you. It’s well-rounded, simple, and took less than 5 minutes to make.

A little more extravagant version of my example

Starting to get it now? Snacking with a purpose means sitting down and eating something to keep that body and mind of yours going. It means slowing down for 10-15 minutes, making yourself some cheese, apples, and crackers or popcorn or an egg on toast to satisfy hunger and give the body what it needs. And the mind. You think your mind is happy when you shovel crap down your throat? Absolutely not. One of the reasons why we love eating is because it is pleasurable. So why skimp out on that just because it’s a snack? Make something nice for yourself, sit down, and enjoy a snack. Your body, your weight, your fitness, and your mind will thank you. Snack with a purpose to stay hungry and fit!

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Sajah trying to blend in

Aug262013

Best Veggie Burger in Town: Mustard’s Last Stand (Boulder, CO)

Mustard’s Last Stand ALSO has great meat burgers and hot dogs–they are from Chicago, after all. ESPECIALLY, the hot dogs. I, however, will be focusing on their vegetarian options as…that’s what I eat! However, from Chris’ input, he’s usually always satisfied with their burgers, full of flavor and gets him satisfied. Alright, let’s look at the place!

According to our friend, a Boulder-native basically, Mustard’s has been in this same spot since before he can remember. It’s pretty tiny inside, but you can eat outside too and enjoy the day. They even offer blankets you can use to go sit by the creek that’s extremely close by. We do that sometimes, or we’ll just go to town right in the shop. The servers can be brusque, but we don’t mind, as long as we get our food. It’s best to go to non-peak hours, unless you want to be crammed in that tiny place, but you gotta do what you gotta do. The wait time is medium to long, but for me, it’s worth it.

I’ll start off with the fries. The fries here are delicious. I don’t know what they do to ’em, but the seasoning and the way they cook them make them delectable. They have that perfect crispy exterior that makes you dig for more and more. Let’s move on to the burger. And remember…we’re talking veggie burger. More specifically…the tempeh burger.

The tempeh burger

What is tempeh? It’s a soy product that comes from Indonesia and has plenty of protein for us vegetarians. You can read more about it here. Alright, back to the good stuff. This burger is definitely the best veggie burger I’ve ever had. The texture is right, the flavors are out of this world, and the condiments are perfect. They serve it with ketchup, mustard, pickle, onions, hot peppers, and sauerkraut. I think next time, I’m not gonna get the sauerkraut (I usually don’t, anyhow), because it overtook the flavor of the burger and the cheese. And the hot peppers could be a bit hotter. But those are my only complaints. The slab of cheese they throw on there is real and you can definitely tell. It’s a melt-in-your-mouth kind of experience, and one I always enjoy going back to.

Mmmmmm-mmmm!

Mustard’s Last Stand will always be a place I enjoy going to. It’s a local joint where both Chris and I can get equally satiated without feeling left out. He gets his meat, I get my tempeh, and we split the fries (but we always wish we had gotten two orders). Mustard’s has something for everyone and they never skimp on the flavor. The price is decent too. Hit this Chicago-joint up to stay hungry and fit!

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