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By kilax, December 31, 2009 5:33 am

We all want to know – how much exercise do we really need each week? How little can we get away with?

There was an interesting (although VERY confusing) article on the Well blog covering this topic yesterday.  The article stemmed from a study done in Scotland that concluded you only need 20 minutes of exercise a week to increase your contentment. Okay, but how much do you need to be healthy?

That’s more difficult to define. The article went into a discussion about “MET” minutes, which are “Metabolic Equivalent of Task” minutes. Huh? Apparently  you need 500 of those as week, and they vary based on what you are doing for exercise and how intense it is. For example, running at 6 mph is a 10-MET activity. So if you run for 60 minutes, that is 600 MET minutes. So, you’re done for the week then? Confusing…

Has anyone heard of this MET mumbo-jumbo before? How do you decide how much to exercise a week? Do you have any exercise goals for 2010?

I aim for at least 30 minutes a day, but usually go by how I feel. If I am in the groove, I will keep going! If I feel like crap, I won’t work out at all.

A few other interesting points from the article (repetitive, but interesting):

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines report, “It has been estimated that people who are physically active for approximately seven hours a week have a 40 percent lower risk of dying early than those who are active for less than 30 minutes a week.”

Interestingly, they did not find that exercise beyond a certain point conferred significant additional health benefits. Instead, the “dose response” for exercise, the committee found, is “curvilinear.” In other words, people who are the least active to start with get the most health benefit from starting to exercise. People who already are fit don’t necessarily get a big additional health benefit from adding more workout time to their regimens.

You do not necessarily have to divide your exercise time into daily allotments, either. Existing “scientific evidence does not allow researchers to say, for example, whether the health benefits of 30 minutes on five days a week are any different from the health benefits of 50 minutes on three days a week,” according to the activity guidelines. Do what suits your schedule.

Meme time! Leah, Gelareh and Holly have all tagged me for the “7 Random Things About Me” meme. Thanks, ladies! Click “more” to read on…

And of course, Happy New Years Eve! Enjoy your evening and be safe!

Continue reading 'How little exercise can you get away with? / 7 Random Things About Me meme'»

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By kilax, December 26, 2009 6:13 am

We LOVE making homemade pizza! It’s so fun to pick your own toppings, and it’s especially fun to make pizzas with a group of people and see what everyone puts on theirs!

But for the longest time, we were using store-bought crusts (we are still using store-bought sauce – that’s the next step!). They’re okay, but nothing special. When my coworker told me she had a great vegan pizza crust recipe, I made her send  it to me ASAP! We tried it, and oh boy, it does NOT disappoint!

The ingredients are:

• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110F-115F)
• 1/4 oz (1 envelope) active dry yeast
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 c margarine or oil
  

Step 1: Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and stir (if the mixture stays clear, and the yeast clumps together, the water is not warm enough – throw it out and start over). Let the mixture stand in a warm spot for 5 minutes until a thin layer of creamy foam covers the surface.

Step 2: Mix 3 cups for flour with the salt in a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle of the mixture and pour in the yeast mixture and the margarine or oil. Stir the flour into the well with a wooden spoon until it is mixed in and the dough holds together.

Step 3: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining flour. Continue to knead, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic (10-15 minutes). Form a ball with the dough and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover with a clean towel and place the bowl in a warm area to let the dough rise (45 minutes for quick yeast, 60-90 minutes for regular yeast).

Step 4: Pre-heat the oven to 500F and get your toppings ready (we use a pizza stone, so we preheat the stone with the oven because the actual bake time is so short). Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Roll the ball out to form a pizza crust.

Step 6: Load up that bad boy with your toppings and slide it onto the stone – make sure to put LOTS of flour underneath the crust so it will slide. Bake for 10-15 minutes (or until the cheese starts to brown on the top for non-vegan pizza – usually more like 20 minutes).

Step 7: NOM it up! (Note: the pizza in the photo below looks messed up because we did not follow our own advice about the flour and it stuck to the sheet when we tried to move it to the stone! Oops! Live and learn!)

What are your favorite toppings to put on pizza?

I like zucchini, tomato, green pepper, lots of onion, spinach, and Morningstar crumbles. Steven likes all of that, plus olives and cheese. (Hmm, how did that olive end up on my slice in the top picture, Steven?)

We like to put garlic powder (not fresh garlic), cumin (yes mother – it can be used on pizza, it’s not just for chili), crushed red pepper, oregano and salt and pepper on for spices.

What I love about this crust is that it tastes like a crust you would eat in a restaurant! And you can make a big chewy crust on the end. Yum oh yum.

The only problem? It’s really hard to only eat one piece!

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By kilax, December 15, 2009 5:08 am

My office’s holiday parties are this week. That’s right, parties, as in plural. We have a team lunch at a restaurant on Wednesday (there will be 6 of us), a floor potluck on Thursday (about 100 people), and the company party on Thursday afternoon (about 300 people?).

I don’t worry too much about the food and drinks. I know I will be able to get a vegan meal at the restaurant (I called on Monday to check) and I will bring my own food to the potluck and not have anything at the other party. Really, the point is to have fun and socialize.

And that is what I worry about, a bit. I know I will be fine socializing at the team lunch and floor potluck, because I know people. But trying to navigate the company party and talk to people is difficult. And I’m not shy! I’m pretty friendly and open, and am rarely at a loss for things to talk about*. I just have not mastered the art of joining a conversation already in process, and since our company has a lot of groups, that is a lot of what the party is. I aimlessly wander around, trying hard not to stick with just my group, but struggle to break into conversations with the few people I do know outside of my group…

There was actually a great article about social anxiety in the December issue of Women’s Health containing a lot of tips about interacting with strangers/coworkers. One of the best tips (which is not in that link) was on how to break away from a conversation, by saying something like “There are a few other people I’d like to say hello to. I had a great time talking to you. I’ll catch you later.” That is definitely something I’ve been trying to figure out how to tactfully say! If you’re not careful, you’ll be talking to the same person all night!

The other tips (actually in the link) were to “play mind games,” “try a new tactic,” and “work the room” (I guess you’ll have to read it for those to make sense!). But the tip I needed wasn’t there – how to join a conversation that has already started.

Are you attending any Office Holiday Parties this year? Do you look forward to them or dread them? Do you ever feel like you have a hard time breaking into a conversation? What are your tactics? Have any tips for me?!

*This could be seen as good OR bad.

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By kilax, December 12, 2009 6:50 am

Ready to go into the oven!

This was Steven’s second time making these Vegan Cinnamon Rolls from VeganYumYum. The first time we made them was in November. We had had the recipe printed out for a long time, but check it out – it’s daunting! They’re a lot of work, but TOTALLY worth it!

I wanted to find a Vegan Cinnamon Roll recipe, because as long as I can remember, that is what we’ve eaten in my family* on Christmas morning. And I won’t be with them this year… but I still want my damn Cinnamon Rolls!

Do you have a traditional holiday breakfast meal?

I was not around** to document the first step – mixing the dough, kneading it, then letting it rise. Oops. I did smell the fresh dough though – don’t you just love that smell?

I did get to watch Steven do all the fun parts though: Rolling the dough out and loading it up with butter***…

Spreading the cinnamon/sugar mix on top…

Observing your lazy cat…

Rolling the dough out…

…into a log.

Using some thread to cut the log…

… into the rolls!

Using a well buttered*** dish (ha ha)…

… to put them in.

Whipping up some vegan cream cheese frosting (using Tofutti)…

… and baking them!

Nomming away! (I forgot to take a picture WITH frosting. Duh, Kim.)

Steven made these on Saturday and we let them rise in the fridge overnight. We baked them at our friend’s house Sunday morning. You can also put them in freezer, if you want to make them in advance!

These are SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. I love the description of them on VeganYumYum:

If you’re looking for a healthy, low-fat, calorie conscious treat, I can’t help you today. If you’re looking for a recipe that is guaranteed to win over any vegan doubter, guaranteed to please any Cinnabon lover, guaranteed to send any child into a permanent sugar high; these buns are for you.

It’s so true. These are the real deal – melt-in-your-mouth awesome, decadent cinnamon rolls. I’m so happy we found this awesome recipe! Let me know if you try them!

*Mind you, Pillsbury made those.
**Was cleaning the house.
***We used vegan margarine. Thanks for pointing that out, Mica!

Comments (31)

By kilax, December 10, 2009 5:16 am

The December issue of Shape* has an article titled “Eat what you want and still lose weight!” with nine somewhat tired strategies to “celebrate the season without feeling deprived – and may(be) even drop 5 pounds in the process!”

Ha. Ha ha.

Tip #8, “Keep Your Focus” is about not being preoccupied when you eat. “Give your full attention to the conversation or sit down to concentrate on the food in front of you – you’ll appreciate it more.”

Makes sense, right? But then they throw this in:

Where you sit a dinner matters too. Try snagging the chair next to your brother’s cute friend: A new study published in the journal Appetitefound that women who ate in the presence of a man consumed 358 fewer calories than when they dined with a group of women. Researchers at Canada’s McGill University say women often suppress their eating in front of a person of the opposite sex.

Okay. This struck me the wrong way. It’s all fine and dandy if this study is true. BUT, the fact that the magazine is encouraging it?! I think this is something women should get away from! They should feel comfortable eating how they really want to around men. I know the magazine is just including it as a tip, but I think they were better off sticking with “keep your focus” and “be mindful of conversation.”

And, really? I am more self-conscious around some women than men!

What do you think? Do you think the study is accurate? Do you think it’s a good tip? What are your holiday tips for not going overboard with food?

Here’s a tip that wasn’t included: become a vegan so you can’t eat anything at all during the holidays! Ha ha, I am just joking around, but it IS particularily bad at the office holiday potluck. Almost every dish has meat in it. I bring my own food from home for the parties.

Note: After I wrote this, I found an article on the same topic on The Great Fitness Expermient (she pretty much came to the same conclusion as me). I was going to do a similar poll, but decided not to since there was one up there.

*What is with all of the magazine references, Kim?! This is what happens when you have two flights in one day and are stuck in the airport for awhile!

Comments (26)

By kilax, December 9, 2009 5:00 am

In the January issue of Runner’s World, there is an article titled “Collision Course,” covering the rules of safety for runners sharing the road with drivers (Side note: do you ever run in the road or on the shoulder? We’ve been sticking to the sidewalks). The article tells some scary stories about runners hit and killed by drivers, talks about the push to get legislation protecting bikers and runners in some states, and gives general tips on how to run and what to wear (to make yourself visible at night).

What interested me were the stories about interactions between runners and drivers (flipping each other off, yelling, one runner jumping on a driver’s car…) and how the magazine recommended runners react to rude drivers (emphasis is mine):

Take the lead in promoting road safety, not road rage. “Always be courteous  and follow traffic regulations to encourage a positive image of runners to the nonrunning public,” suggests another Runner’s World survey respondent. “Maybe more people would make more of an effort to avoid us if they weren’t annoyed with us.” Also, acknowledge drivers with a polite wave if they move to the other side of the road for you. They will feel more inclined to do it again for someone else.

I found this interesting because it reminds me so much of tips I have read for vegetarian/vegan etiquette. The idea is, that whether you like it or not, you are representing the vegetarian/vegan group by the way you act in group dining situations (or in any situation, really). So, project a positive image – don’t preach, be enthusiastic about the variety of your diet, don’t act like you are deprived, offer to share foods, don’t make comments about meat (in hope that the omnivores won’t make comments to you).*

It’s common sense, but hard to follow when someone riles you up – whether when you’re running, about running, when you’re eating, talking about eating, or really, with ANYTHING. As much as we hate stereotypes and labels, we ALL fit in to some group. Why not always make it our goal to project a positive image? For the betterment of the group? As hard as it is to do, you’ll probably feel better in the long run.

Are you a runner who worries about safety when sharing the road with drivers? Or are you a driver who is annoyed with runners/walkers/bicyclists?

According to the Runner’s World survey, only 12% of respondents said they were “extremely concerned about being in an accident. The article says most people have the “it won’t happen to me” attitude. It is something I do think about every time I go outside for a run on the sidewalks, whether it’s day or night. Even if you are running on the sidewalks, you still have to watch for people backing out of garages, and pulling into driveways quickly, without paying attention.

And I’ve been on the other side too. I used to drive to campus and so many of the bicyclists did not follow traffic rules, making it very frustrating and dangerous to share the road with them. I felt like I had to predict their patterns. One time, a biker was on the sidewalk behind me, then zoomed ahead of me onto the street while I was waiting for a red light, and cut me off right as I took off as the light turned green. Nice. Thank heavens the brakes worked well.

And we have two women who run in the roads in our neighborhood at about 5:00 am, not wearing reflective gear. I think I should share this article with them. Or at least ask them what’s wrong with the sidewalk?

*There’s an great article titled “Compassion Matters” in the November/December issue of Vegetarian Times on “good veg etiquette throughout the season.”

Comments (19)

By kilax, December 7, 2009 3:52 pm

Hi everyone. I had to re-post this because something was wrong with it the first time. I didn’t know – I’ve been in Detroit all day and am currently trying to leave… my flight is delayed and I am frustrated.

Thank you to everyone who notified me of the issue!

Winner announced at the bottom! But first, I wanted to ask for some input…

I overhead an interesting conversation in the gym Friday, regarding the Blood Type Diet. Three people were using treadmills, and the guy in the middle was essentially preaching about it to the other two. I am not sure how it came up (meaning, I doubt they asked, he sounded pushy) but he was explaining how he thinks that is the diet everyone should follow.

I only heard bits and pieces of what he was saying, but I did catch that he was telling the woman that she should not eat tomatoes (he asked her if she liked them, and when she said yes, he said, “but do they like YOU?”), and should eat ground beef instead of steak. Hmm.

So was this guy crazy? What is this diet? I briefly looked at the official website and the wikipedia page. The theory is that there is a specific diet you should follow based on your blood type. Here’s the breakdown of blood types from the wikipedia page:

• Blood group O is believed by D’Adamo to be the hunter, the earliest human blood group. The diet recommends that this blood group eat a higher protein diet. D’Adamo bases this on the belief that O blood type was the first blood type, originating 30,000 years ago.
• Blood group A is called the cultivator by D’Adamo, who believes it to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. The diet recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet emphasizing vegetables and free of red meat, a more vegetarian food intake.
• Blood group B is, according to D’Adamo, the nomad, associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The blood type diet claims that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products and estimates blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago.
• Blood group AB, according to D’Adamo, the enigma, the most recently evolved type, arriving less than 1000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, his blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.

The wikipedia page also covers some of the scientific criticism of the theory (research evidence, blood type evolution issues, etc.). Interestingly enough, I am blood type A+, which according to above, adheres to a (mostly) vegetarian diet.

But, really? This just sounds like another fad diet to me!

Have you heard of the Blood Type Diet or read the book? What do you think about it?

What is your blood type? Does the description above describe a diet you think would make you feel your best?

I let Data choose!

Just kidding! Steven drew the name. And the winner is…

VICKI!

Congratulations, Vicki! Please send me your address and I’ll send the signed copy of Eating Animals your way. I hope you share your thoughts on the book with us all.

I really want to thank everyone who entered the contest. I wish I had enough copies of the book to give one to everyone, because I think it’s a great read. See if your library has a copy! And do continue to share your thoughts on the topic!

I have fun doing these giveaways. I hope I can do more in the future.

Comments (16)

By kilax, December 5, 2009 7:33 am

Damn. Vegan “Chicken” and Biscuits make awesome leftovers*. Like, “I can’t stop eating them and am going to turn into a tub-tub, thank goodness that’s the last of them” awesome. Steven’s cooking is so good, I almost always feel like this with his leftovers. We were thinking about making the Vegan “Chicken” and Biscuits for Erin and Jason’s visit tonight, so we tried them out on Wednesday.

Can you spot the biscuit?

Steven followed this recipe for “Chicken” and Dumplings starting at the fourth step. We used biscuits instead of dumplings.

• Saute onion, celery and mushrooms (we added) in margarine until soft
• Add flour, celery salt and pepper to make a thick paste
• Add veggie broth and bring to a boil
• Add carrots, faux chicken and bay leaf (We used a box of Heartline’s “Chicken” Fillet** for the “chicken.”)
• Reduce heat, simmer 20 mins, stirring often
• Pour this awesome soupy mix on your biscuits
• Nom nom nom away, lick plate clean

Steven excitedly told me that the biscuits had a “surprise” ingredient (before I tried one, without the soupy mix). After a lot of guesses (some silly and some serious), Steven gave me a hint that he thought the biscuits tasted like the ones you get at Red Lobster. I immediately knew what the “secret” ingredient was then – Nutritional Yeast. After my last fiasco with it, I was worried about the biscuits, but he was right, they DO taste like the ones at Red Lobster, and they taste great! (Steven used this recipe for the biscuits. He used 1/4 c. nutritional yeast instead of 1/3 c., and for the “1 teaspoon of dried herbs” used 1/2 tsp. garlic then for the other half teaspoon he used a pinch of rosemary, thyme and dill.).

We loved this recipe – especially during this time of year. It’s such a hearty and filling dish! It makes you feel all warm and good inside. And it’s got that creamy thing going on, with a little bit of a soft chewy biscuit. Yum yum. But since we couldn’t come up with good sides (besides green beans), we are making something else for our guests tonight. Ha! At least we tried something new and it turns out we love it. We*** will definitely be making it again. We both said it reminded us of when our mothers made chicken and biscuits. And Steven suggested turning it into a pot pie…

Did you have chicken and biscuits growing up? Do you like the dish? Do you know what the difference between a biscuit and a dumpling is?! If so, please tell me!

*I took them to work on Friday.
**We order this stuff online.
***By now you must know, that by “we” I most likely mean “Steven.”

Comments (29)

By kilax, November 30, 2009 5:11 am

When Steven and I attended Jonathan Safran Foer’s reading and discussion of Eating Animals we had him personally sign our copy of the book! How exciting! The only time I have ever had an author sign a book before this was when Frank Warren signed my copy of The Secret Lives of Men and Women (I also had him sign a book for my sister) – I have since lost interest in Post Secret. Ha ha.

Anyway, guess what?! I brought an extra copy of the book and had Foer sign it as well – so I can give it away to one of you lucky readers!

This book has been getting an amazing amount of press. I think part of the reason is because Foer delivers the message – that we need to start discussing whether it’s right or wrong to treat animals (for human consumption) the way they are being treated – in such a gentle, non-judgmental manner. You don’t feel put off reading this book – you feel intrigued to read more. Yes, there are some disturbing statistics, but they are not blared in your face. They’re just discussed as what they are – statistics.

A pescatarian coworker came with me to Foer’s reading. She hadn’t read the book yet, but started to right after the reading ended. When I saw her the next week, she told me she had finished most of the book and there was no way she could eat animals products every again. I was really surprised by the effect the book had on her. I didn’t feel like it pushed a vegan, or even much of a vegetarian agenda. But, Natalie Portman said Eating Animals turned her vegan as well. I’m just so surprised by the profound effect of this book!

Now, I don’t expect you to become vegetarian or vegan if you read it! I just expect you to think about it! I would love to hear what anyone else thinks of the book.

And on to the nitty gritty…

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me why you want to read this book. Again, you can check out my review of it here.
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday, December 6th. I will probably use the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Sunday evening, or the Random Integer Generator. I will announce the winner on Monday, December 7th.
4. This contest is open to readers everywhere.

Comments (18)

By kilax, November 28, 2009 7:20 am

We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with my sister, Christina, and her friend, Will. What does a vegan Thanksgiving look like? Let me show you…

The Sous Chef and Chef

The main dish: Stuffed Acorn Squash

Your choices are lentils and rice or…

Dressing!

We also had lentils and rice

and dressing on the side!

A delicious new Green Bean Casserole recipe! We used the leftover sauce as gravy for…

… the potatoes! Nom nom nom.

Of course, we had to have Cranberries. We just bought the canned Ocean Spray kind, but I may make a fresh cranberry dish for Christmas.

And you can’t forget the rolls (from ALDI)!!!

The fully set Thanksgiving Day Table…

and the fully set table with peeps!

My plate (this is all I ate – I knew we would have LOTS of leftovers)

Christina makes the classic mashed potato sandwich!

There were just a FEW servings of leftover mashed potatoes

We waited a few hours (Christina and Will played Wii the whole time) until we got out the DELICIOUS vegan pumpkin pie (new recipe here)

My plate

Everyone else’s plates!

The only thing that wasn’t vegan at this meal was the butter for the rolls, the whipped cream, and ice cream.

We had a lot of fun yesterday. Steven and I did the food prep while Christina and Will chilled, then we just played Wii all day and hung out. Sometimes, it’s good to spend a day indoors!

I didn’t do a thankful post this year. After reading many of yours, I can say I am thankful for the same things. But one unique thing I have to mention is how thankful I am too have a supportive husband who loves to experiment with food. I became vegan on June 15, but Steven is still a vegetarian. However, he fully supports my decision to be vegan and is always “veganizing” dishes we used to make with animals products, and trying out new recipes that I can eat. What a sweetie! Being vegan is not impossible, but Steven makes it much easier.