Joining a gym...

...This should be interesting. Haha. Not that I have never worked out before or that I don't know how. I was a college athlete so I'm well versed in fitness. As I am getting older, I'm starting to realize that my metabolism is slowing down and I sit at a desk all day. Time to get up and moving. I have included some interesting articles that I came across today. One is myths about working out and the others is a food intake infographic to help explain which foods keep you full for longer while still being healthy.

Enjoy!

Myths:
http://lifehacker.com/5895140/10-stubborn-exercise-myths-that-wont-die-debunked-by-science

Food:

http://lifehacker.com/5895525/are-bananas-as-bad-for-you-as-cookies-which-foods-to-eat-to-keep-you-full-and-not-crash-later

Becoming an expert chef

Next goal : Learning how to cook from scratch without instruction. Learning the uses of spices/herbs/seasonings and how they enhance/detract from food flavors. Creating my own recipes and eventually creating a cookbook with those recipes.

So I have briefly have started this goal. I have been fumbling around cooking for a few weeks now. I have been following recipes to hopefully learn which spices go well together and the ratios in which they are used. 

So should be quite the adventure as I learn as I go.

Some reference sources:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-use-herbs-and-spices-in-cooking/






Spice Rack Must Have:

Need a Rueben Now

Thanks to Arby's commercials, I have seriously been craving a rueben sandwich. I am trying to not eat out for two reasons. First, moving is expensive and has left my funds somewhat depleted, in other words, I'm broke as a joke. Second, all the processed food is bad for you and I am trying to be a bit healthy, within reason of course.

I have never actually made a rueben sandwich before. But it is like four ingredients, how hard could it possibly be. Now folks, something to note about me. I'm more of the dive right in and learn while I go type of person. Not so much the detailedly planning everything out person. There were a few things I figured out along the way and important to note upfront.

1.  Corned Beef - With that much corned beef, it will not work like a "grilled cheese" and toast the meet inside. I needed to fry that for a few seconds on the pan.

2. Sauerkraut - It is important to drain the package first. Also, only making a few sandwiches does not require the whole pack to be made. I will be eating sauerkraut all week (which really isn't a bad thing).

Ruebens require a few key ingredients

1. Rye Bread
2. Corned Beef
3. Swiss Cheese
4. Sauerkraut
5. 1000 Island Dressing

The process below worked pretty well for me.

1. Spray pan with cooking spray
2. Lay out rye bread on pan
3. Cover with swiss cheese and let the cheese melt on the bread
4. Place corned beef on pan until it reached desired temperature, a minute or so worked fine.
5. Fry Sauerkraut

6. Once bread is toasted and cheese is melted, layer on corned beef then sauerkraut
7. Top with 1000 island dressing
8. Place other piece of bread on top

Enjoy!

Also, as a healthier alternative for lunch today (since I have so much sauerkraut left over), I followed the same basic steps but swapped out a few ingredients. I used whole wheat tortilla as opposed to bread and turkey rather than corned beef. Another option is to switch out for fat free dressing.

Wine Tasting

I have always wanted to learn about wines. Maybe its my desire to be more cultured? When I say that I laugh at myself because that's a pipe dream. I love sweat pants, bad music, and the disney channel way too much for that to ever happen. Anyway, I was off to meet a friend of mine last night. She has asked to interview for a proposal she was working on. She asked if I would like to grab a drink and of course I said yes. So we went to this trendy little wine and coffee bar called 1215 and I was really pleased with my experience there. We got out menus and we ordered an appetizer of bruschette. It had the strangest toppings. One of them had sweet potatoes, one had brussel sprouts and the other had gonzo beans. It was absolutely delicious! Especially, the sweet potato one, but may that is because I am partial to sweet potatoes, who knows? Also, I was soon informed that every Wednesday was wine tasting and was asked if I would like to participate. I mean, come on, is that really even a question, duh! So we each received four glasses of wine and descriptions of what the four we were blind tasting were. Then we had to guess which was which. I didn't get any of the right, shocking news! No, no its not. I am terrible at that kind of stuff. However, I got talking to the bartender who is studying for his next wine exam and told him that he needed to teach me his wise ways. I am eager to go back and learn from his expertises and actually learn the difference between wines.