Rants & Raves 9/27/13

Oh, the webbernet! It gets me all riled up with dire news and mainstream idiocy, then blammo! it hits me with something so awesome, it must be shared. Welcome to a new collection of Rants & Raves!

Rants

Twilly is Silly
E! Online asks the ageless question, “Would you eat the Twilly — a hot dog in a Twinkie bun?” Um… ew. I have been known to snarf my way through some serious junk food in my dark past. And yes, I once had a “how many Twinkies can you cram in your mouth at once” contest with my brother and my best friend Renee in the car ride from Denver to Aspen, Colorado (answer: four). But just no to this. Just no.

The World is F*cking Insane
This piece in Medium takes a look at the hypocrisy of the grocery store aisles in the battle between magazine headlines and foodstuffs.”How, in the face of an unprecedented healthcare crisis, can we accept a world where the same place that is trying to force feed you diabetes and obesity is also selling you magazines to help you deal with those things?” Read the whole shebang.

Isn’t it all just H20?
I invested in a totally kickass Zero Water filtering system to make sure we’re drinking the purest water possible, but isn’t this water menu from a restaurant in LA taking it a little too far?! Two words: water sommelier. “Water Sommelier Martin Riese unveils new water menu, representing twenty waters from ten countries….”

Raves

To Brown or Not To Brown… That is the Question
Our go-to meal when I don’t feel like cooking is Hamburger Salad: a big bowl of greens and veggies topped with hot, freshly-browned ground beef, and a dollop of homemade mayo. It’s like a deconstructed hamburger, and it’s glorious. And it’s especially succulent when the ground beef gets lots of nice crispy brown bits. The Food Lab explains how to brown meat so it has a lovely crust every time — and tackles the question of whether browning is necessary for stews and braises. Want to get really food nerdy? Here’s more on the Maillard reaction.

The Freezer is Your Friend
TheKitchn has some handy tips on what can be frozen and how it should be done. From citrus zest to leftover eggs to winter greens, they’ve gotcha covered. (Just avert your eyes from the info on freezing pies.) My favorite freezer tip — not included in the Kitchn list — is to freeze pesto in ice cube trays, then pop them into a plastic freezer bag. When it’s time for dinner, just throw the cube into a covered pan over low heat to thaw and bam! instant pesto.

Take a FitTrip
This new workout idea from FitTrip looks really fun! With the FitTrip app, you can travel the world while you workout in your gym. Cycle through the Pyrenees and vineyards of France, hike the Arches National Monument or paddle Lake Powell in Utah, ride the Rockies, and even do a full Olympic distance triathlon. FitTrip entertains you with images you’d see if you were really in these places — it also plays your music and connects to your heart rate, so you can track your training. I’m usually not so interested in gadgets and such, but this seems like a pretty great way to spice up your training if you workout indoors.  See more details and demos on Kickstarter — just three days left!

It’s in the Jeans
I’ve talked about my “thighs like hams” before — and I’m pretty sure “squatter’s butt” is about to be wildly recognized as a fashion-related sydrome. Luckily, Mother Fitness Revolution has a round-up of the best jeans to hug your well-earned curves, with recommendations from badass fitness ladies, including my pal Jen Sinkler.

The Thrival Guide
Speaking of Jen Sinkler, I 100% recommend that you hit her web site and sign up for her mailing list so you can get your hot little hands on her Thrival Guide. I don’t want to give away the good parts, but trust me: it will get you fired up and feeling good. Do it!

You Just Don’t Know
This post by Carrie Patrick was just… moving and comforting and confounding and inspiring and… well, it just made me feel a little better about everything for a while. This is how it starts, and it just goes on from here in ass-kicking fashion: “I have been into powerlifting for about five years now. Most of the stuff I want to say about strength training has been said better by other people (usually Henry Rollins), but I’m going to say a few things anyway. Most of all, this: The amount of discipline, time, and effort that a person has put into their physical training does not always show.” Read (and revel in) the whole shebang.

Finally… this.

I’ve got it bad for the song “I Love It” by Icona Pop right now — and BuzzFeed delivered this badass workout (and a few others) to make me love it even more. Just hit play on the video, then tackle the moves. I LOVE IT!