Fun and Fearless Fitness: 10,000 Steps

Although I will never be a healthy food/lifestyle blogger, I am very conscious of my struggles to find a healthy balance of food and exercise in my life.  I still try to go to the gym after work, but during months like December, it is hard when there are holiday parties, activities, and happy hours almost every weeknight and weekend!  On the days that I don't go to the gym, I've been pretty good about getting on the stationary bike for an hour in the morning.  We purchased the bike in October and for the most part, I've been fairly consistent about riding it.  In November, I was out of work for a week with the flu and it sort of threw me off track but I'm slowly getting back into it.

I've been trying to find other ways to stay active in addition to my gym and bike sessions.  One of the ways that I do this is by trying to add more steps into my day.  Living in the city without a car, I already walk quite a bit.  I already walk to and from work and walk to run most of my errands but I've been trying to find little ways to add even more steps where I can.  For instance, I ride the elevator in my building since I work on the 36th floor.  However, since October, our bathroom has been under renovations and I've been walking up and down three flights of stairs to the alternative bathroom just to add some more exercise to my day.

As one of my Hanukkah gifts, Bret got me a walking pedometer.  

I was pretty excited because I've wanted one of these for awhile to help me measure how many steps I'm taking.  On Sunday night, Bret helped me set the pedometer up.  I used it on Monday by clipping it to my skirt and going about my day.  The pedometer resets at midnight so that I can measure my steps every twenty-four hours.  On Monday, I clocked in at 9,315 steps.

I've done some research and a lot of studies suggest taking 10,000 steps a day.  There is a feature on the pedometer for aerobic steps for the steps that you take while working out at the gym.  But I think my goal is to take 10,000 steps a day without including exercise.  I'm not quite sure how well this little experiment will go but I'm willing to give it a try!

Have you ever measured how many steps you take a day?  Do you have any tips on how to add more steps to my day?

A Food Blogger's Healthy Investment

One of the biggest struggles that any food blogger has is finding time to do it all.  Between demanding work hours, food blogger events, cooking in the kitchen and hanging out with family and friends, I'm finding it harder and harder to find time to do it all.  Unfortunately, as a result, there is one area of my life that seems to be suffering the most because of it - my health and fitness.  I'm finding less and less time to head to the gym, especially since it doesn't open super early or stay open really late.  I've been remedying this recently by walking and running in the morning when I know that I won't be able to head to the gym after work.  But as the weather gets colder and the mornings grow darker, I know that this is not a permanent option.

I must say that although I am not a "healthy lifestyle" blogger, my health and my fitness are definitely important to me.  A few years ago, I was at the gym six days a week and probably at my healthiest.  I'm not talking about the number on the scale or the size of my clothing (although both numbers were significantly smaller than they are these days).  I just felt like I had more energy and pep on a daily basis. 

Of course, I have been venting my frustrations to Bret  about this for some time and after many discussions, we decided to do something to really change the situation.

We ordered an upright exercise bike! While our place is decent-sized, there was no way that we could fit a treadmill or an eliptical machine...so we decided to order this bike instead.  My plan is to get at least 45 minutes of cardio in the morning on the days when I know I won't have time to go to the gym after work.  It was a bit of an investment, but there really is no price on your health.  I went to the gym today but I'm excited to jump on it tomorrow morning to give it a spin!

Do any of you share the frustration of not having time to work out?  How do you manage to make fitness a priority when your schedule gets busy? 

Cold Korean Kimchi Noodles

On Monday night, I was excited to head to the gym after work.  After a week's worth of indulgences on vacation, I wanted to get in a long workout to help get myself back on track.  On my walk to the gym from my office, I pass by the Government Center Farmers Market and there was no way that I couldn't stop to peruse.  I picked up my first cherries of the season from Keown Farm.  Aren't they gorgeous?

After a long workout, I wasn't feeling up to cooking anything too difficult so I decided to make one of my favorite Korean dishes - cold kimchi noodles.  My mom used to make this dish every once in awhile and I always looked forward to when she made this for us.  Looking back, I think she also made this when she had lots of extra kimchi around and didn't feel much like cooking but it tasted so good to me that I always saw it as a special treat instead!

To start, I put some water on boil and added some whole grain spaghetti to the mix.  Traditionally you would use thin Korean rice noodles but I figured that spaghetti would be just fine.

While the water was boiling, I got to work on cutting up some kimchi.

I wish I could say that I make my own kimchi but I simply don't have the refrigerator space to store the kimchi so I just take a bottle (or two) from my mom.

When the water had boiled and after the spaghetti was done cooking, I rinsed the pasta under cold water to get the noodles to a cold temperature.  I placed the noodles in a bowl with the sliced kimchi and kimchi juice, along with a few spoonfuls of sugar, a heavy dash of sesame seeds and a gentle drizzle of roasted sesame seed oil.  I know this sounds vague in measurement but I learned to make this dish from my mother, which means I rely less on measurements and more on taste, color and flavor.

I tossed the ingredients together and put the bowl in the refrigerator to let the noodles really soak in the flavor.  Since we didn't want to just eat noodles alone, we made a quick side of Trader Joe's frozen pork dumplings.  I love having these dumplings in my freezer because they are so tasty and a quick go-to when I'm feeling lazy.

When we served the noodles, they were absolutely perfect and could rival my mother's.  The noodles were cold and you got flavors of spiciness from the kimchi, sweetness from the sugar and a tad bit of saltiness from the roasted sesame seed oil.  I also loved the crunch from the sliced kimchi.

And doesn't this dish look absolutely colorful? I love quick and easy dishes, especially ones that I learned from my mom.

What is your favorite easy recipe passed down from a family member?