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Enter Our Get Fit For 2010 Giveaway: Challenge 3, Food Journal

FitSugar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:21:58 -0800

Last week your Get Fit For 2010 challenge was assess your fitness level with three tests then write a blog post of the results, and you received an extra entry if you also wrote a blog post of your body measurements. Now it's time to talk food.

This week's challenge: keep a food journal by writing a blog post in the Get Fit For 2010 community group of all you eat in an entire day. Don't forget to add photos of your food. To help you, we've created an easy to use printable food journal. Just download the PDF, print it out, and start tracking your food intake. Not only is this a good way to keep track of the calories you're consuming when trying to lose or maintain your weight, it is great to track your fruit and veggie intake too (one of my goals is to eat five to seven servings of produce daily). By meeting this challenge, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win our weekly prize - a $100 Nike gift card.

At the end of three months, we will pick a grand prize winner at random from all of the entries in all of the weekly challenges. The more you participate, the more chances you have to win the grand prize: a $1,000 gift card from Nike; a year of personalized nutrition plans by nutritionist Alexa Fishback, plus a copy of her book; a year membership to 24 Hour Fitness for you and a friend; and two Bodybuggs.

If you're not already a member of the PopSugar Community, register here now. Click here for the official rules.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, Jan. 31, to complete your third challenge. Ready. Set. Start journaling!

Enter Our Get Fit For 2010 Giveaway: Challenge 3, Food Journal

FitSugar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:21:58 -0800

If you're not already a member of the PopSugar Community, register here now. Click here for the official rules.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, Jan. 31, to complete your third challenge. Ready. Set. Start journaling!

Get Fit For 2010: Challenge 10, Share Your Healthy Snack

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:46:56 -0700

Healthy snacks are important for gals on the go, no matter if your healthy goal for 2010 is to lose weight or run a marathon.

This week's challenge: write a blog post in the Get Fit group sharing the details of your fave healthy snack. Be sure to add a photo of your food to your post too. By meeting this challenge, not only will you be planning ahead, which is essential for healthy snacking, but you will be entered to win our weekly prize - a $100 Nike gift card.

Sharing your snack in the community group also enters you to win our fabulous grand prize: a $1,000 gift card from Nike; a year of personalized nutrition plans by nutritionist Alexa Fishback, plus a copy of her book; a year membership to 24 Hour Fitness for you and a friend; and two Bodybuggs. At the end of three months, we will pick a grand prize winner at random from all of the entries in all of the weekly challenges. The more you participate, the more chances you have to win the grand prize! A little extra motivation to help you meet your healthy goals for 2010.

If you're not already a member of the PopSugar Community, register here now. Click here for the official rules.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, March 21, to complete the 10th challenge. I need new snack ideas, so bring it!

Get Fit For 2010 Giveaway: Challenge 5, Share a Healthy Recipe

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:12:43 -0800

We've all been journaling about our food and fitness, but now it's time to take to the kitchen. This week's challenge: post a recipe in the Get Fit For 2010 community group using the recipe template and be sure to add your original photo. Cooking your own meals is a great way to watch not only your calories but portion sizes as well. And since we are all in this together, swapping recipes is a great way to refresh your home cooked meals. Here's the 411 on how to create a recipe in the Get Fit group. When you post your recipe in the community group, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win our weekly prize - a $100 Nike gift card.

Meeting this challenge also enters you to win our fabulous grand prize: a $1,000 gift card from Nike; a year of personalized nutrition plans by nutritionist Alexa Fishback, plus a copy of her book; a year membership to 24 Hour Fitness for you and a friend; and two Bodybuggs. At the end of three months, we will pick a grand prize winner at random from all of the entries in all of the weekly challenges. The more you participate, the more chances you have to win the grand prize! A little extra motivation to help you meet your healthy goals for 2010.

If you're not already a member of the PopSugar Community, register here now. Click here for the official rules.

You have until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, Feb. 14, to complete this fifth challenge. Let's get cooking!

A Meal Plan For Building Muscle

FitSugar — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:00:13 -0800

For this week's Get Fit For 2010 challenge, I'm asking you to keep a food journal. Tracking what you eat is a great way to lose or maintain weight, as well as make sure you're getting enough of all the good stuff you need to function through the day. I've decided to combine this week's challenge with my New Year's resolution to increase my strength and endurance by eating this meal plan of muscle-building foods.

Muscle mass keeps blood sugar levels even and since maintaining muscle protein requires more energy than fat, having more muscle means you burn more calories. When it comes down to feeding your muscles think protein, protein, and more protein.

View Slideshow ›

Chile troops, police attack post-quake looting

stephley — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:38:11 -0800

CONCEPCION, Chile – Rescuers found signs of life in the wreckage of a 15-story building Monday as the world offered aid to victims of an earthquake that killed more than 700 people. Troops and police arrested dozens of people for violating a curfew designed to prevent looting.

The toll of dead rose to 723, with 19 others missing, the National Emergency Office announced, in a magnitude-8.8 quake that President Michelle Bachelet called "an emergency without parallel in Chile's history."

Some coastal towns were almost obliterated - first shaken by the quake, then slammed by a tsunami that carried whole houses inland and crushed others into piles of sticks. Shocked survivors were left without power, water or food.

In Concepcion, the biggest city near the epicenter, rescuers heard the knock of trapped victims inside a toppled 70-unit apartment building and began to drill through thick walls to reach them, said fire department Commander Juan Carlos Subercaseux.

Only the chop of military helicopters flying overhead broke the silence demanded by rescuers straining to hear signs of life inside the building.

Firefighters had already pulled 25 survivors and eight bodies from the structure.

Mayor Jacqueline van Rysselberghe told Radio Cooperativa that some food aid was arriving in the city of 200,000 Monday for distribution to the hungry. Electricity was still out, however, and water was scarce.

Concepcion police chief Eliecer Soler said officers arrested 55 people for violating a curfew imposed after looters sacked nearly every market in town. Troops ordered into the city by Bachelet patrolled to enforce security. A few looters re-emerged to rob a market on Monday.

Spanish professor Eduardo Aundez watched with disgust as a soldier patiently waited for looters to rummage through a downtown store, then lobbed two tear gas canisters into the rubble to get them out.

"I feel abandoned" by authorities, he said. "We believe the government didn't take the necessary measures in time, and now supplies of food and water are going to be much more complicated."

The U.N. said Monday that it would rush aid deliveries to Chile after Bachelet appealed for international aid. U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said Chile was seeking temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, damage assessment teams, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers.

"We are prepared to provide assistance," Byrs told The Associated Press in Geneva. "It could be quite fast, given that our experts are on standby and were alerted in the region."

The World Health Organization said it expected the death toll to rise in the coming days as communications improve. For survivors, it said access to health services will be a major challenge and noted that indigenous people living in adobe homes were most at risk from heavily damaged infrastructure.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also offered to provide disaster aid. Traveling in Uruguay, Clinton said she would bring some communications equipment when she visits Chile on Tuesday.

Argentina said it was sending six aircraft loaded with a field hospital, 55 doctors and water treatment plants.

Bachelet ordered troops to help deliver food, water and blankets and clear rubble from roads, and she urged power companies to restore service first to hospitals, health clinics and shelters. Field hospitals were planned for hard-hit Concepcion, Talca and Curico.

Bachelet also ordered authorities to quickly identify the dead and return them to their families to ensure "the dignified burials that they deserve."

Defense Minister Francisco Vidal acknowledged the navy made a mistake by not immediately activating a tsunami warning after the quake hit before dawn Saturday. Port captains in several coastal towns did, saving what Vidal called hundreds of lives.

Thirty minutes passed between the quake and a wave that inundated coastal towns, leaving behind sticks, scraps of metal and masonry houses ripped in two. A beachside carnival in the village of Lloca was swamped in the tsunami. A carousel was twisted on its side and a Ferris wheel rose above the muddy wreckage.

Officials said at least eight people died and eight were missing on Robinson Crusoe Island, where it the tsunami drove the sea almost 2 miles (3 kilometers) into the town of San Juan Bautista.

Efforts to determine the full scope of destruction were undermined by an endless string of terrifying aftershocks that turned more buildings into rubble - and forced thousands to set up tents in parks and grassy highway medians.

"If you're inside your house, the furniture moves," said Monica Aviles, pulling a shawl around her shoulders to ward off the cold as she sat next to a fire across the street from her apartment building.

As if to punctuate her fear, an aftershock set off shuddering and groaning sounds for blocks around.

"That's why we're here," she said.

Dinner Challenge #7 : P.W.’s Spicy Macaroni & Cheese / P.W.’s Homemade Ranch Dressing

FinnLover — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:44:11 -0700

OK girls! After a two week well deserved break, here's the next dinner challenge on Iron Chef SugarLand! This week's secret recipes are both from The Pioneer Woman (seriously, who doesn't love her?). We have two easy yet super yummy options: a spiced-up macaroni and cheese dish or a creamy homemade ranch dressing. If you were to choose to make the ranch dressing, it could be nice if you showed us how you used it or what you had it with. Just an idea. So here are the recipes - Iron Chefs, let the battle begin! À la cuisine! (Now imagine me biting into a green bell pepper! Get it? OK I'm just having fun with this whole Iron Chef thing.) Good luck, girls!
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Option #1:

Not Your Granny’s Mac & Cheese - P.W.’s Spicy Macaroni & Cheese (http://thepioneerwoman.com)

Look at all that cheesy goodness!

4 cups cooked macaroni or cavatappi
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 finely diced red onion
Equal amount diced red bell pepper
1 finely diced jalapeno
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies
1 cup frozen corn
2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cream
1 generous cup grated Pepper Jack cheese
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Pepper

Boil pasta until al dente. In a large skillet, add olive oil and saute garlic and vegetables over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add in canned chilies and stir around, then turn off heat. Drain pasta and add it to skillet. Pour on cream, add cheese, then add salt and pepper to taste and stir gently. At the end, add 2 tablespoons butter and stir again. Check seasonings and serve.

Serve with juicy steak, with grilled shrimp, chicken, or on its own. It’ll change your life for the better.
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Option #2:

Pioneer Woman’s Homemade Ranch Dressing (http://thepioneerwoman.com)

Ranch dressing makes everything taste better!

1 to 2 cloves garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (use less table salt)

1 cup mayonnaise (Hellman’s or Best Foods preferred)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk, to taste
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, more if desired

Optional ingredients:
white vinegar
worcestershire sauce
cayenne pepper
paprika
fresh oregano
black pepper
tabasco

Directions: With a fork, make a paste with garlic and salt. Mix all other ingredients, adding optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.

(Don’t overdo the garlic or you’ll be up all night, emailing me about your heartburn - The Pioneer Woman)

For The Love Of Ice Cream: Team Mango

beamer1 — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:01:10 -0700

So crispet1 and I were very psyched to step up to this month's challenge. We again teamed up and created two recipes--but what's unique is that both recipes started out with the same base ingredients: fresh Asian mangos, fat-free yogurt and vanilla ice cream.

And from these three basic ingredients, we came up with two great ice cream recipes: a mango frappe and a scoop of mango ice cream with sticky rice! Both were oh so refreshing after cooking in the smoldering heat!

For this beautiful mango frappe, we simply peeled and chopped one to two fresh mangos, depending on size, added fat-free yogurt (about two to three tablespoons depending on serving) and put it in the food processor. After it was pureed, we added some vanilla ice cream (warmed a little bit so that it wasn't too hard to handle) to get the mango puree to the thickness of our liking and used a whisk to whip it into shape and voila--we were enjoying a refreshing, fruity and healthy ice cream treat!

For the second half of our Team Mango ice cream fun, we created a twist on an old Thai favorite. Instead of just plain mango slices, we followed the recipe above and had a ball using our ice cream ball ( like this one filled with ice cubes and rock salt). We took our puree and shook until our concoction turned into a nice, firm ice cream. While we were shaking, we made sticky rice, made from one part sweet rice, one part water and half a part coconut milk and let it cook in a rice cooker. Once it was done cooking (which took a while because we wanted to let the sticky rice absorb all that coconutty goodness), we let the rice cool down. The combo of the warm sticky rice and the cold mango ice cream complimented each other really well.

Mango ice cream can be oh so sweet, especially when you can mix it up and enjoy it different ways! Hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as we did!

Wednesday Food!

lauren — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:26:40 -0800

Here is what I ate on Wednesday! I also ate 2 oranges, an apple and grapefruit.

View Slideshow ›

Kettle Balls take #01

hickje01 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:59:11 -0800

Staying fit and eating healthy have to be two of life's biggest challenges. Recently (even in lieu of the new year fit challenge) I've had a hard time finding new ways to challenge myself.... new healthy foods and new work outs. I'm a runner and even through the winter I've been running 9-10 miles three days a week (in snowy Boston!). Regardless... I've definitely become bored with my fitness routine. I add in spinning a few days a week and attend a weight training class called "body defined" where the teacher mixes things up for you. Still, its been a while since I've been sore BUT I'm pleased to say that I signed up for a boot camp 2 days a week at my gym and my has that all changed. For an hour we did various full body exercises with kettleballs and 2 days later I'm still feeling it. Everything from burpees, to one and two arm swings and clean & presses. I'm pleased to say that post mid challenge... I've found new motivation!