Day 1 of Hell- I mean, Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge

This is a remnant of my 2 week goal of writing about the challenge, as around Day 3 I realized that with my schedule it was impossible to achieve as written. Having to cook something new nearly every day for every meal other than the salads really sucked up too much time, and while I have not given up trying to follow it in spirit, I feel like I wouldn't be doing it justice just writing about "this cobbled-together stir-fry that's kind of like what was in the plan" and "I couldn't make a salad so I had 3 KIND bars". So here you go: a strong beginning to what could have been.

Like others, I decided to get on the Clean Eating Challenge bandwagon and try it out for yourself. I'm starting from the 2014 one so that I can totally have free meal planning for a month. I'd be lying if I said it was for any other reason.

I wanted to do a cost analysis of this challenge, but I didn't end up following the shopping lists to the letter as there are some things I simply dislike (see: flaxseeds, fennel, floozies) and some things I already had in the freezer (old salmon, old chicken, broken dreams). That being said, the two trips that I took to the store resulted in about $140 worth of groceries for the first week for JUST ME. So yeah, it's not cheap. I'm sure some tweaking and buying certain things in bulk would cut down the cost by a lot, but the sheer amount of fresh vegetables and fruit makes that hard. Plus, a lot of the time the shopping list wants you to buy "one zucchini" or "one pear". I ended up just buying a lot more oranges to make up for the other fruits I didn't buy.

So, without further ado, Day 1:

I was not smart about this smoothie and tried blending it with a hand blender. It ended up drinkable, but I could still chew and feel all the kale bits. It also tasted horrible, since I used Nut-so butter (includes flaxseed) and the bananas were not ripe as I had gone shopping the day before and stupidly bought green bananas. So, word to the wise, buy your bananas ripe or ahead of time for this challenge. Also, the prep work says to just freeze the banana, but the actual recipe calls for 1-inch chunks. Pre-cut the bananas the day before. Your blender will thank you.

The Asparagus salad ended up being HUGE, and I had to eat it directly from the mixing bowl. The asparagus was also a pain to ribbon-ize so I ended up just chopping them and saute-ing them that way. Still tasted good. I used spinach instead of arugula because arugula makes my tongue want to die. The feta really made the salad - it combined perfectly with the shallots, olive oil, and lemon juice.

Dog break!

The kale/quinoa/chicken was actually pretty good! It took a lot more cooking than I'm used to, as most of my meals end up being one pot, no bowl, eat directly from pot in front of laptop meals, but it made a few leftovers that are supposed to carry into Monday. I would definitely make this again but probably double or triple the recipe and have leftovers for a couple days.

No pics of the snacks - I ended up having some Mamma Chia and the rest of the orange instead of the carrot sticks/hummus and pear/nut butter. The macros and calories should be about the same, and they're all healthy foods, so I'm not worried. I'm pretty excited about the caprese (sort of) salad tomorrow.

Day 1 complete! Have any of you done the Buzzfeed or any other eating challenge before?

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Review: Satura Cakes in Downtown Los Altos

Hi my lovelies!

Sorry for being away for so long! I know I fell off the face of the earth after my first pumpkin review... For the record, all of the rest of the food was delicious, and I still have the mixes left to review, so stay tuned for me to get around to that ;)

I do have a new review though! I happened to be in Downtown Los Altos for an appointment and decided to stop by Satura Cakes. They're a quaint little Japanese/French-style bakery on Main St. and have the most amazing little Japanese-style cakes. Mitsuwa San Jose used to carry their cakes, but for one reason or another they were replaced by Mochicream (which are delicious in their own right, but fall into the dismal category of not-cake). So, I had to take advantage of my little jaunt and pick up some cakes for taste-testing.

I ended up getting (from left to right):

Berry Rouge
Red Velvet
Earl Grey
Cafe Noix
Green Tea Hua Hua (fuwafuwa?)

I had the Berry Rouge first, since it's made with macaron which tends to get soggy and chewy the longer it sits. It's a raspberry shell with cream cheese filling, fresh berries, and raspberry jam. The fresh berry and dairy flavors melded together perfectly, and it was neither too sweet nor too tart. I was also worried that it would be hard to eat since it had a top shell, but the macaron was just soft enough and the filling just substantial enough that I was able to get all the layers in one forkful. Definitely recommended for berry lovers! And, now that the Bay Area is FINALLY hot, this is a great, light pastry for those hot summer days.

Next, I tried the Red Velvet paired with the Organic Fancy Darjeeling from Peets. The red velvet flavor is VERY subtle in this cake, and the tart sour cream/cream cheese frosting contains bits of fresh raspberry. As with the Berry Rouge and pretty much all of the Satura cakes, this red velvet was not very sweet, rich, or cloying. The crumb was dense but fine, which lent itself to a light and smooth mouthfeel. The flavor was so subtle, in fact, that the darjeeling was a little overpowering. I would recommend pairing this with a green or herbal or perhaps even rooibos. Red velvet fans may be disappointed with Satura's version, but people looking for a lighter chocolate or a richer Japanese-style short cake should be very happy with this one.

Cafe Noix

If this cake were any nuttier, it'd be a bowl of nuts. Wow, is this cake nutty. Praline on the top, nuts in the cake, and coffee everywhere in between. I paired this with the Royal English Breakfast from Teavana (shh... it was a gift) and was not disappointed. The walnuts and coffee cream held up really well to the black tea, which brought out more nut flavor from the cake. This one is a little sweeter and richer than the other two due to the praline and dacquoise nature of the cake, but not overpoweringly so, and would taste even better with an iced black tea or iced coffee on a hot day.

No Japanese bakery would be complete without a green tea confection. This green tea roll cake is about what you'd expect: fluffy, light, with a subtle tea flavor and some fresh strawberries in the middle. Pretty standard in those respects and not much less or more.

Lastly, my favorite cake ever from Satura: the Earl Grey. It has a very airy and creamy layer with a denser tea-flavored layer, and it also looks super pretty with the sparkly glaze. The taste is heavenly: smooth bergamot tea with a hint of milk and sugar with a bit of a crunch. It's a unique cake flavor, too, despite the popularity of Earl Grey in recent years. Highly recommended for both cake and tea aficionados and a safe choice. Now I have to get over my sugar and caffeine rush and go to bed...

Hope you enjoyed my Satura review! For those of you who have been there, which one's your favorite? Do you usually get the pastries or the cakes? Has anyone tried their coffee? Comment below!

Satura Cakes
200 Main St.
Los Altos, CA 94022

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Pumpkintopia Day 1: Muffins, Yogurt and Macarons, oh my!

Kicking off Pumpkinpalooza (I really need a better name for this), I had a very pumpkin day yesterday: pumpkin cream cheese muffin for breakfast, pumpkin spice latte for lunch, pumpkin macarons for dessert and pumpkin yogurt for an evening snack. Surprisingly, I haven't found myself hating pumpkin or pumpkin spice yet.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin: Despite what they looked like from the container, these weren't pumped as full of cream cheese as I thought. Interestingly, they're sprinkled with pumpkin seeds on top, which don't seem to be a very popular food item here in America. The seeds didn't really add anything to the muffin, although they did partially cut through most of the "sameness" of the muffin. The spices in the muffin were pretty strong, especially the cloves, and it tasted exactly like a bready pumpkin pie. The cream cheese was actually a welcome addition and softened the spice quite a bit.

Pumpkin-ness: 3/5 could taste some
Spice: 3/5 proportions could use adjusting
Value: $3.99 for 4, cheap breakfast option
Overall: 3/5

Pumpkin Macarons: Found in the freezer aisle next to the non-seasonal macaron assortment, these littler than little macarons were a surprise. I didn't expect them to be of the same quality or freshness as a bakery-bought macaron, but they actually tasted pretty good. The spice is much more subtle and the squash flavor is more pronounced, and while they didn't retain the crunch of the outer shell, they were just as chewy and flavorful as their more expensive counterparts. I wanted to eat them all but ended up eating "just" three.

Pumpkin-ness: 5/5 just the right amount
Spice: 4/5 subtle but still there
Value: $4.99 for a box of "about 6" servings
Overall: 4.5/5

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt: I was expecting this yogurt to be bright orange and really thick like pumpkin spice latte syrup, but it was actually naturally colored and about as thick as greek yogurt mixed with pumpkin puree. I'm not gonna lie; this yogurt is very, very good. It's as close to pie as yogurt can get. The spices are perfectly balanced, it's not terribly sweet, and the pumpkin flavor is actually there. I would eat this for dessert and not feel cheated or like I'm trying to be healthy. I'm pretty sure you can even put this on your skin and it would make you look 10 years younger. It's just that good.

Pumpkin-ness: 6/5 tastes like pumpkin
Spice: 5/5 perfect
Value: $1.29 for an 8 oz container
Overall: 5/5

Looks like I'm on a roll! Who knows what tomorrow will bring? (Hopefully not food poisoning.)

Pumpkinpocalypse, pumpkinpalooza, pumpkin 2: Electric Boogaloo, etc

After more than a month of hiatus I'm back with some pumpkin-flavored vengeance. After seeing this month's Trader Joes' Fearless Flyer and nearly 4 whole pages of nothing but pumpkin, I decided I would take Pumpkin Spice season to the next level and try out everything I could find at my local TJs. Turns out I actually had to take two trips to get all of this:

...and I'm sure I missed something. What're obviously missing are any alcoholic beverages that might be pumpkin spiced or pumpkin-flavored; I'm leaving that to the experts (see: Exhibit A).

I tried to organize everything by "type":

Breakfast:
Pecan Pumpkin Oatmeal
Pumpkin Granola Cereal
Pumpkin Waffles
Pumpkin Cereal Bar
Pumpkin Rolls (frozen)
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (RTE)
Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

Breads:
Pumpkin Bread Pudding (frozen)
Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix
Pumpkin Cornbread Mix
Pumpkin Cranberry Scone Mix
Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix
Pumpkin Bar Mix
Pumpkin Croissants (frozen)

Beverages:
Instant Pumpkin Chai Latte
Ground Pumpkin Spice Coffee
Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea
Pumpkin Soup (RTE)

Snacks, Cookies, Etc:
Pita Crisps with Pumpkin Seeds and Cranberry
Pumpkin Cornbread Croutons
Pumpkin Joe-Joes
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Caramel Sauce
Pumpkin Biscotti
Iced Pumpkin Scone
Pumpkin Pie Mochi
Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Pumpkin Macarons

(For those who are curious, all of this came out to be less than $100. So if you really wanted to live on pumpkin-flavored food for a month, you could AND you would save money, because you wouldn't want to eat any pumpkin thing ever again.)

For obvious reasons I'll be trying the perishable items first. They'll be rated on pumpkin-ness, yum-ability, ease of pairing, and overall value.

See anything I missed? Let me know! I live to please eat!

Fitness review -- FitStar app

Hot on the heels of the Superhero Workout review, here's a review of FitStar!

I've been using FitStar for more than half a year now, on and off. I put it on the back burner when I started running more as I needed the energy to spare, but it's really one of my favorite fitness apps of all time.

FitStar is almost like having your own personal trainer in your house, apart from the yelling and the slight embarrassment as you try to eke out your last pushup. As with Superhero Workout, all exercises are bodyweight-based circuits and the only equipment you may need is a chair and a pull-up bar at higher levels.

First of all, the cost. The app itself is free, and comes with 2 sessions a week as well as unlimited free Freestyle sessions a week. Only some Freestyle sessions are free, though they're enough to get you started and give you a taste of the full app. It's up to you how you spread out the 2 sessions, as the app will lock you out when you complete the second one in a week. You unlock the entire app by paying a subscription fee of $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, which gets you all of the Freestyle sessions as well as unlimited workouts a week.

Just some of the Freestyle sessions available

There are a total of 4 programs for you to choose from as a paid subscriber. The free app comes with Get Moving (easy 2 sessions a week), and the rest are Get Strong, Daily Dose (conditioning), and Get Lean. Each are of varying lengths and have a different ratio of cardio to strength moves.

As you work out in your chosen program, the app will begin tailoring itself to you. You'll begin with a Fitness Test, which includes a couple of basic, easy to do moves. Although each separate move isn't customizable, when you finish a move, the app will ask you how many you completed and how hard it was for you to complete. Too easy, and the app will give you more time/reps for the move or bump you up to a harder move; too hard, and the app will ease off on that move. Unfortunately, you can't get rid of or substitute a move if it's impossible to do (no equipment, no space, bad joints, can't figure out how to do it); all you can do is skip it or do something else while the timer counts down.

Tap on a move for a video showing you correct form

Post-move rating screen

Note: Freestyle sessions do not progress/regress with you; they are there to provide some variety/targeted training. I believe the ratings you give during Freestyle sessions will carry over to your normal sessions, though.

The app works out with you by showing you a video of someone doing the move, with Tony Gonzales as your coach. The videos are great for teaching form and pace -- strength exercises are not meant to be done in a flash! You can opt to turn voice coaching off, but I like to be reminded of my form sometimes, as well as how to modify the exercise to be harder or easier. In the latest version, they've added audio ticks to help you count the reps in case you're not able to see the screen during certain moves. You can also play music during your session and can choose either the tracks included with the app, your own playlist, or silence.

Tony showing you noobs how to "Air Jump Rope"

They have also added a challenge mode so that you can challenge yourself or your friends to burn more calories, do more sessions, or complete more minutes in a month. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten it to work for me, so I can't really say anything about it. It's already a challenge for me to keep my "progress bar" full!

My sorry progress bar... (that red thing around my picture)

Challenge modes

In a nutshell:
This is probably THE best app for beginners wanting to work out at home or for people who don't have time or money to go to a gym. While $5 a month seems hefty for an app, it's really nothing compared to a gym membership. Form, rate, and coaching are all included even in the free version, which includes plenty for a beginner. One thing I do wish they would include is pre/post-workout stretches, but those are easy enough to find online. The paid membership also comes with email coaching regarding nutrition, which I don't personally follow, given that I'm on a ketogenic diet, but has some decent advice about sports nutrition.

PS. They're also coming out with a FitStar Yoga soon. For those of us who hate sticking our butts out during Downward Dog at the gym, rejoice!

If you'd like to try out FitStar Premium at no cost, just download the app and use my referral code Q3HCUE. You'll get a free week to try out all the sessions you like! When I started they didn't have a referral program, so I just took the plunge and subscribed, and I haven't looked back.

FitStar homepage

Questions? Comments? Hit me up below!

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After a long hiatus... the Superhero Workout!

Hello my lovelies,

After a long hiatus when life caught up to me (and it is still catching up with me), I bring you all a new post -- a review of the Superhero Workout! It's a brand spanking new (out this afternoon in the US) app from the UK company Six to Start, who brought us such lovely games such as Zombies, Run! (see previous post) and The Walk (review coming soon!).

Summary:

Superhero Workout is an innovative iPhone/iPad/iPod fitness game/app (fitgapp?) that works by tracking your movements with the iP camera. It costs $4.99 in the iTunes store.

When you first start the game, you'll see a couple of introductory screens such as the ones seen above. Once you scroll through them you are taken to the main screen:

There are three modes available: Story, Pre-made Workouts, and Battle (Endless) Workout. The Story mode plays story clips while you work out and are tailored to each move, which will be familiar to the players of Zombies, Run! In the story, you're the pilot of a suit called Aegis-One, and you're on a mission to save the galaxy and humanity with your killer planks and squats. I mean, missiles and mental fortitude, of course. Fans of ZR! and The Walk will also recognize some familiar voices from those preview Six to Start games.

The pre-made workouts are designed for when you don't have enough time for a story mode, or want to target certain areas of the body. There is no story or talking during these workouts.

I didn't try the endless workout, but it's basically a "build your own" in case you have a certain type of workout you already do, or just want to have some fun/don't want to do burpees.

Workouts generally last anywhere from 7 minutes to about half an hour. Each move is around 30 seconds or 10-12 reps, depending on the move. I'm guessing that moves that are harder to track with the camera are done by time (as many as you can). All exercises are bodyweight only, so no weights are required -- at most it requires things you can find around the house, like a chair or a wall ;)

Review:
First of all, I would actually not recommend this app to absolute beginners. Since this is the very first day and nearly the first hour of release, I'm sure more features will be added later that may bring this closer to a "newbie" app. To get to the Why:

-1. The workouts are INTENSE. You're given about 10 seconds of rest between each move, and the moves can range from an easy shadowbox session to pushups to burpees. I'm in slightly below average physical shape and I could barely get through the first story episode (and only with a lot of cheating...)

1. There are no pointers to how you should be doing these exercises, neither in the tutorial nor in the pre-made workouts. Since a lot of these moves require perfect form, it's crucial that beginners know how to do them correctly so that they don't hurt themselves.

2. A lot of the moves are not suited for beginners, especially those who are overweight, have joint problems, or are physically challenged. The app does not have a mode to modify these exercises, such as knee push-ups instead of regular push-ups or "cheater" burpees (only a squat jump, or plank instead of push up) instead of regular burpees.

3. Some of the wireframes are a little deceiving, especially for the uppercuts. Sometimes the wireframe will only show one arm doing the motion instead of both.

Motion tracking:
The motion tracking in this game is actually not that bad. It's no Kinect, for sure, but for a $5 app you could do much worse. It will accidentally count nearly any sort of motion instead of the full move, but then, someone just waving their arm in front of the camera is only cheating themselves. I wouldn't 100% count on the motion tracking for an accurate rep count, but it can act as a good meter for how well you're doing.

Tips:
1. You'll notice that the game never directly asks you for your weight. This can be done on the Settings screen, to adjust for calories.

2. Beginners who want to use this app anyway should look up how to do some of the moves on YouTube. It's essential for them to learn perfect form before starting bodyweight/strength programs, and not doing moves correctly can cause injury.

3. The app requires about 2 meters of space from you to the screen, and then the moves require about a yoga mat's length of space. Some routines require a chair/box and a wall. I would suggest finding a surface about coffee table height and just leaving the device there, as it can be really annoying having to move the iPad around.

4. The app does require for your device to be mostly upright, so an iPad would work better than an iPhone, unless if you have one of those cute iPhone stands lying around.

What I'm hoping to see in future iterations:
1. A built-in music player for the pre-made workout and endless workout sessions. I personally don't really care about music when I do bodyweight routines, but I know a lot of people would appreciate it.

2. A moves list that teaches you how to do each move. Almost every other fitness app worth using has this, so I'm sure it's in the works.

3. Graphics that look a little more interactive during story mode couldn't hurt.

4. An "easy" mode/modified move mode for people who are just starting out.

In essence:
It's a fun, gamified way to get more exercise into your day, if you've fallen out of the habit or want to get into the habit. Right now, it's pretty bare-bones, but knowing Six to Start they'll find a way to improve it above and beyond other fitness apps out there. The voice acting is excellent, the modes are great, and it's a really intense workout. Couple of tweaks needed for newbies, but other than that, it's an amazing start.

Superhero Workout is available for Apple users to download now on the iTunes store, and is coming soon for Android.

Superhero Workout homepage
Six to Start homepage

Have something to share? Questions about the app? Feel free to comment on this post!

Fitness Tuesday: Zombies, Run! review

I want to feature one of my all-time favorite fitness apps ever in the history of apps and history, "Zombies, Run!" It's basically a game, a trainer, a workout buddy, and a story rolled all into one, and even people who aren't into zombies or running can enjoy the immersive story and game"play".

Playing is super simple. If you do any sort of cardio, whether it's running, cycling, walking, or streaking, you can put it on and play through a mission. It's mainly geared towards runners but really, any level of cardio is fine. Each mission is like a radio episode; there's a couple story clips interspersed between your chosen music.

The basic premise of the story is also simple: the zombie apocalypse has happened, and you're in a settlement called Abel Township helping them gather information and supplies and even chasing down bad guys.

What makes it different than running to just music or just a radio show or podcast? For starters, the story is REALLY well written. It'll get you going and your heart pumping if it's not already. There's also a Zombie Chase mode, which will randomly send a zombie after you during a song -- if you don't speed up, you lose supplies!

Speaking of supplies, you pick them up during your run. You can use them to build a base, Sim-City-style, and keep your fellow Abel Township citizens safe and warm.

My puny base. Clearly I don't run enough for Abel.

As of now there have been 2 major updates to the app, such that it's now called Zombies, Run 3. Every update is a Season in the game, therefore there are 3 seasons and around 60+ missions total so far, with many more to come. There are length missions to help with your races (5k, 10k, and 20k) and a new interval training mode for those looking to do sprintwork.

Not shown: Races (5k, 10k, and 20k)

Lastly, a shoutout to the Zombies, Run 5k app, which is separate from the main game and usually around $1.99 USD. ZR5K is Zombies, Run!'s answer to Couch To 5k, except so much more fun and encouraging. This is the app that got me from no running at all to running 5ks every day. It worked because I wanted to know more about the story, and it was just really exhilarating to play.

Apart from a few minor bugs usually relating to social sharing and ZombieLink (the online database), Zombies, Run! is pretty much the perfect cardio workout app. I really, really highly recommend it.

Score: 4.9/5
Six to Start website
Zombies, Run! website