nom dot com

What's your motivation?

2012-04-17T20:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had a wonderful conversation with a coworker who had lost 70 pounds in her two year long journey with running. She is almost 50 years old and didn't use her age as an excuse to be unhealthy. She took charge of her life and made a change. She even competes in races around St. Louis often winning awards for her age division. As if this wasn't inspiring enough, we discussed how she wants to make a real impact in the St. Louis community by encouraging people to lead healthier lives.

Achieving an amazing goal.

What really struck me about this conversation was her outlook on motivation. She told me that it is important to be motivated by love and not fear because love replenishes while fear will ultimately limit you. This got me thinking about my own journey to lose weight and live a healthier life. When I got to college I struggled with nutrition. I had no one telling me to eat healthy and I didn't have sports which forced me to exercise daily. I remember the exact moment that I realized what I had done to my body: I was looking through pictures someone had posted of me and didn't recognize who I saw. The crazy thing about gaining weight is that you often don't even realize it's happening until you take a step back and take a critical look at yourself.

My first reaction and motivation to lose weight was indeed fear. I felt unhappy with myself and embarrassed to be in my skin. However, after several attempts to get "quick results" I found myself disappointed when the results didn't stick. When I was about to give up I realized that losing weight shouldn't be my primary motivating factor. I should work out to move towards a healthier me. With this shift in attitude, I began a progressive journey towards getting healthier and had a ton of fun doing it. I started eating better, exercising regularly and I felt awesome. I learned that you have to love what you are doing for it to last, and guess what? It worked.

This is a lot of babbling for a post, but my point is that there are too many people being motivated by fear when they exercise. People look in the mirror and stand there criticizing themselves.. hating themselves. People are hungry all day convincing themselves that pain is beauty. Getting healthy shouldn't be torturous, and it definitely shouldn't be done in an unhealthy way. Isn't that against the whole point?

I'm writing this post to challenge you to really think about why you exercise. Why do you do the things you do? If your answer isn't love, then find something new. You will not believe the impact it will have on you physically and mentally.

Noms,
Alyx

Conquering the Half-Marathon

2012-04-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

Lauren, Colleen and me before the race!

Today was the day! I finished my half-marathon in 1:58:28. It was officially my fastest time ever. Considering that I have never run in any type of race before, I'm pretty darn proud of myself right now. At around mile 6, I started really feeling pain in my legs. However, I pushed through it and kept running. I remembered how in my training that if I stopped my legs would lock up, so I pushed forward. At around mile 10 I knew I had overcome my struggle. The last 3 miles of the race were smooth sailing. Tears streamed down my face when I saw the finish line. It was one of my proudest physical achievements.

My medal!

Although I am sore and tired now, I cannot believe how far I have come. Less than a year ago I could barely run a mile, and now I can run 13.1. I want to thank everyone who believed in me and cheered me on throughout my training and during the race. I couldn't have done this without your love and support. A special shout out to Colleen who was my lovely running buddy throughout the half-marathon. I absolutely couldn't have finished the race without her. She motivated me when I struggled and gave me encouraging words that carried me past the finish line. The crazy thing is we both went into the race insisting that we didn't like running with people, but we know now that we could not have run that race as fast as we did without one another.

It is truly baffling to me that my body has come such a long way. I can't wait to continue with my running and delve into barefoot running with my lovely new toe shoes. However, for now, I will sit back, relax and enjoy my accomplishments. :)

Noms,

Alyx

Barefoot Running

2012-03-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

Patrick and I traveled to this wonderful running shop called Missouri Running Co. to learn more about what types of shoes we should be running in. I have never met such knowledgeable people who are so passionate about their sport. I tried on about 12 pairs of running shoes and learned all about barefoot running. The guys even taught me how to strike with the ball of my foot since I'm a pretty heavy heel runner. Here are some of the gems that I learned today:

Running and striking with your heels strains your shins and knees. Striking with the ball of your foot will utilize your calf muscles properly and allow your legs to take the impact of shocks.
If you are a heel striker, you need to retrain your legs to strike the ground properly. There are drills that you can do right before a run such as running on your toes and progressively getting lower and lower to the ground to train your legs to strike with the ball of your foot.
Shoes with a higher heel wear out quicker. You should never wear your shoes out in the heel first if you are running properly.

My new shoes!

Going to the Missouri Running Co. was the absolute best experience I have had as a runner trying to buy good shoes. I ended up getting the famous "toe shoes" because after running outside the store in them I couldn't not buy them. The running experience was like nothing I had ever experienced before. You don't realize how much mobility you are restricting when your toes are all linked together. It was like an entirely new sport running with these and I'm excited to start training with them after my half-marathon.

Nom-tip: Don't rush into switching shoe types. Retraining your legs is a gradual process and your calves will hurt when you switch to no heel shoes because you are working them out a lot more. :)

Noms,

Alyx

St. Louis Sandwiches

2012-03-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Patrick and I have been exploring different lunch places this past week because we had some down time in St. Louis. We tried two different sandwich places that had rave reviews in the St. Louis community.

1. Adrianna's on the Hill

We went to this Italian lunch place on the Hill which was supposed to have killer Italian subs with a mom and pop feel. We ended up ordering a Ben's special and a Mary's special. The Ben's special had a bunch of different deli meats and their special sauce which gave it a good flavor. The sub tasted a lot like a homemade sub that your mom would pack in your lunch or you would take with you camping. Therefore, it won nostalgia points, but I still wasn't convinced that it was worth $8 per sub. Yes, you get a lot of food, but it wasn't really that large of a step above something from subway. The bread was mediocre and the portions inside the bread were minimal which really disappointed me. I went into this experience hoping to really love this place and came out knowing that I will not be coming back. If the place had subs that were more unique or if the prices were lower I would reconsider.

2. Blues City Deli

We went to this lunch place and had two of their "finger lickin' drippin" special sandwiches. If you're going to order anything from here, order from that menu - you won't regret it. We ordered The Black and Blue which had blue cheese and roast beef (and much more) and the Chicken Shack Ranch. Both were incredibly unique subs that left us wanting more. My favorite was the Black and Blue. I guess that blue cheese is growing on me since I used to detest it. The owner of the place was incredibly nice to us and this place was absolutely worth the wait. The atmosphere inside and out was wonderful and enhanced our entire experience. Be prepared to wait if you go because the line is always out the door. However, they keep things moving quickly so you won't be waiting long.

Overall, I recognize that subs and sandwiches are a tough market to create something unique. Essentially you are working with bread, meat, cheeses and sauces and attempting to create something memorable out of a lunchtime staple from your childhood. However, there are places that have mastered this art and I absolutely recommend giving Blues City Deli a shot if you live in St. Louis.

Noms,

Alyx

Love the Outdoors

2012-03-15T08:51:00.001-07:00

One of the things that I noticed since I started running outside was that I took the outdoors for granted. I forgot how nice it is to just lay out in the sun or to explore the world around you. This spring break, St. Louis has been blessed with incredibly beautiful weather. Yesterday, Patrick and I decided that we absolutely had to spend our day outdoors and we went on an adventure through Forest Park. We even rented a little paddle boat and got to navigate through the fountains! It was an amazing time. Also, when we were in Kansas City we went on a mini-adventure through Loose Park which is absolutely gorgeous.

I just wanted to write this short post to encourage you all to get outside and enjoy the world around you. :)

To get you more motivated about being outside, here are some incredible pictures of my new favorite type of tree:

Noms,

Alyx

Spring Break: Kansas City

2012-03-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Patrick and I spent some time in Kansas City visiting his mommy, and we went on a series of fun-ventures exploring the various things that KC has to offer. Saturday was a particularly eventful day where we spent our morning visiting the Roasterie and our afternoon in Weston.

The Roasterie:
We went on the tour of this coffee roaster where we got to learn about how they make their air roasted coffee beans, walk through their venue and then try a cupping of their various coffee flavors. It was really interesting seeing the actual fruits that coffee seeds come from and understanding how the geographic location can effect the flavors of coffee.

Overall, I loved the tour that we went on, but the coffee wasn't my favorite. After having Philz coffee in Northern California, my taste buds have been spoiled. Most coffees now taste too bitter and their flavor notes are slightly too subtle for me to enjoy.

Weston:
Weston is an adorable little town that features a winery called Pirtle Winery and lots of little mom and pop shops that we visited. We got this absolutely delicious red blend called Mellow Red that I'm excited to pair with a dinner in the near future.

Modeling the delicious Mellow Red blend.

The trip to Weston also included a tasting at McCormick's which was really fun. I sampled a double chocolate vodka which was surprisingly delicious considering that I'm not a huge vodka fan.

The trip to KC was definitely a fabulous start to our Spring break. We got to spend time with family and explore parts of a new city which is always fun! I absolutely cannot wait to continue on our spring break adventure with our trip to Chicago for St. Patty's. :)

Noms,

Alyx

Zucchini Lasagna: A Healthy Alternative

2012-03-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

Hi fellow nommers!

This weekend Patrick and I tried out a new recipe called Zucchini Lasagna which is exactly what it sounds like: zucchini replacing the noodles in lasagna to make the dish less carb-filled. The lasagna turned out pretty good. I think that my main problem with it was that I went into it thinking it would taste like lasagna instead of just letting it have its own flavor. Overall it was a great dish and a much healthier option that allowed me to have my dairy, veggies and meat all in one scrumptious dish. I highly recommend that you try it if you are looking for another pasta alternative.

Here is the recipe we used in case you want it for your own food adventure:
http://www.food.com/recipe/zucchini-lasagna-lasagne-low-carb-749

The modifications that we made to this recipe were that we didn't make our own tomato sauce and instead used our usual meat sauce (prego three cheese, ground beef, and onions). We also added bread crumbs to the recipe because the first time we made it it was a little watery so this helped to make it taste more like lasagna. :)

Happy nomming,
Alyx

Hey shorty, it's MY BIRTHDAY.

2012-03-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

TODAY IS THE BIG 22. I have been so well loved today by friends and family. It's kind of amazing seeing people come together to celebrate you coming into this world. I want to give a quick shoutout to everyone who made my day special. From start 'til end I have been feeling the endless birthday love.

MY BIRTHDAY ADVENTURE:

Prologue: This happened yesterday, but it has to be included. Patrick (a.k.a. the most WONDERFUL fiance I could ever ask for) made me my absolute favorite breakfast treat from Zazie: eggs benedict with avocado, gruyere cheese, bacon. Om nom nom.

1. Open the door to find birthday surprises!

Beautiful art from my best friend and roomie.

Ace ventura from Patrick. Best movies ever.

A wonderful card and cake from my little!

2. Travel to World's Fair Donuts to get delicious birthday morning treats:

Already took a bite.. couldn't resist!

3. Put on my wonderful birthday tiara so I can truly be a birthday princess:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

4. Go out to a fun lunch with coworkers at Bailey's Range:

The Bermuda: Hard Lemonade :)

The PB & J Bison Burger

Even though nothing particularly crazy happened today, it was still one of the best birthdays yet. Just having the love of friends and family all day was wonderful and made me smile. Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday so special.

Noms,

Alyx

Challah and Birthday Weekend Fun

2012-03-04T17:14:00.001-08:00

This weekend was pretty spectacular, and I got to spend a whole lot of time with my wonderful AOII sisters. It all started on Thursday when we had a "Challah and Zumba" night where we learned how to make challah bread and then... danced zumba. A logical combination of course.

I found my domestic calling with challah. I must have honed in on my inner jew. For those of you who do not know what challah is, it is bread but made with eggs and it can taste sweet. I added in chocolate chips which is a little unconventional.. but delicious. I had to leave before we did some zumba dancing because Thursday was also the night that I picked to go out for my 22nd birthday (which actually is tomorrow by the way! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!).

As an adventurous food/St. Louis explorer, where did I make my 22nd birthday adventure? The Library Annex. This is a SLU bar that I had been dying to try since my friends claimed it was really fun over the summer. Most importantly, the Library is home of the famous "billy bucket" which is essentially a blue alcohol bucket. Death by buckets. Nom. It also has such a PG name that you can tell your parents your going to "the library" and they will commend you for your hard work. :)

So we went to The Library and it was everything that I could have hoped for. The dancing was great, the music was awesome and the billy bucket was exactly what it claimed to be. My only complaint is that the bucket was SO sugary that I felt sick for a while after, but it was nothing that a little dancing couldn't work off.

Overall, it was an incredibly successful weekend. I can't wait for my birthday tomorrow and I have many more posts to come about other foodtastic adventures that happened this weekend as well!

Noms,

Alyx

Motivational Monday

2012-02-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend was incredibly fun which coincided with it being incredibly bad for my half-marathon training schedule. Motivation is so hard to come across when the choice is between running a bunch of miles or going to hang out with friends. However, I made a commitment that Monday would be my "Motivational Monday" where I would stick to my training and run as far as I could go.

One of the incredible views in Forest Park where I run.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today (thank you St. Louis for making my senior year's weather spectacular) so I had to run outside. I went into my run with the mindset that I was going to do 6 miles, but once I hit my 6th I actually wasn't tired. I decided to up my goal to 8 and went on a little adventure through Forest Park. Oh the magic of having an ipod is that tells me how long I've been running and my speed...

So let's back track a little bit and talk about the motivation that got me to over 8 miles outside. For the past week as I explored the world of outdoor running I realized two things:

I am terrible at running outdoors.
My incredible endurance that I accumulated during treadmill running seemed to have vanished.

Naturally, these two things discouraged me considering that I had been working so hard to make a half-marathon distance seem even feasible only to discover that outdoor running was a whole new beast. I thought long and hard about where this drastic change was coming from and I realized that I might be running faster than usual and that the terrain difference might have an impact.

To correct this, on my "Motivational Monday" I paid close attention to my pace relative to the music I was listening to and realized that I had been running way too fast before. Running outside is fun but tricky because you don't have a machine correcting your pace for you. However, when I paid attention to my pace, I was able to run 8.83 miles. That's right, the furthest I've ever run AND it was outside. The half-marathon is once again a feasible goal. Rejoice.

The conclusion to all of this rambling is that you shouldn't feel down when you're trying to reach your goals. You need to reassess the situation and then work on a concrete plan for improvement. My plan is to better pace myself and keep to my schedule better to experience progressive strength building.

Noms,

Alyx

Dessert for Lunch and Schlafly

2012-02-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

This Friday's fun-venture included trips to two venues on my bucket list: Crown Candy Kitchen and Schlafly Bottleworks Tour. In the end, both were really unique and fun! I absolutely recommend checking them both out.

PART ONE - Crown Candy Kitchen:
This is a restaurant that I have been dying to try. It is a place hidden in a random neighborhood downtown that features two famous options: their BLT and milkshakes. The milkshake that Patrick and I settled on splitting was a banana chocolate milkshake. This simple sounding selection was out of this world good. I have never had a better milkshake. To put it all over the top was the BLT which is appropriately named a heart stopper on their menu because it has stacks of bacon. The saltiness of the BLT in combo with the sweetness of the milkshake made my taste buds feel like heaven. I want to go back and sample some more shakes and sundaes!

Yes, that is a stack of bacon.

Banana Chocolate DELICIOUSNESS.

PART TWO - Schlafly Bottleworks Tour:
This tour was definitely very different compared to the Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour, but definitely not in a bad way. The Schlafly brewery is much smaller which gives it that local feel that made us feel really welcome. The tour was fairly informal and we got to walk through the area where they are actually brewing the beer. The sampling was also really great because the tour guide walked us through how to pick a beer that we like and had us try a bunch of different beers from the very hoppy APA to a chocolate stout they had specially brewed for Valentine's Day. I of course loved the chocolate stout. It literally tasted like a bar of dark chocolate was in my mouth. Nom.

Cheers & Noms,

Alyx

Recap: My Crazy Week

2012-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

This past week went by in a blur. Between Valentine's day and Mardi Gras I hardly had a moment to catch my breath. So here is a recap of my fun week of adventures.

Tuesday: Valentine's Day
Patrick and I decided to do something simple and personal this year for Valentine's day and settled on making a special home cooked meal of pasta caprese followed by opening the bottle of wine that we got from Sonoma Valley over the summer. Both the pasta and wine were delicious and it was a truly romantic evening that made me happy because it was very us. :)

Delicious caprese pasta!

Wine and chocolate. Nom.

Thursday: AOII Set-Up Party

My sorority had it's set up party and Patrick and I dressed up as Cosmo and Wanda from the Fairly Odd Parents. It was an absolutely adorable night of fun and dancing.

Wanda and Cosmo costumes handmade by me.

Saturday: MARDI GRAS
I finally got to go to Mardi Gras and I spent my morning watching the parade and then exploring the Soulard neighborhood. It was definitely an interesting morning filled with mimosas and hurricanes, but we all made it home safely and left before the shenanigans of the evening began which in retrospect, was probably a wise decision. Another item knocked off the bucket list! I also got to visit Bogarts for BBQ again which was deliciously awesome.

My new little in AOII!

I am fun sized. It's a fact.

Sunday: Catching up on Life
After every crazy week of adventures you need a day to catch up on life. Today was that day for me. I did laundry, homework and even fit in an 8 mile run. I love fitting in a productive day after many unproductive ones. It makes me feel like I'm not a completely checked out senior.. :)

Noms,
Alyx

Pre-Mardi Gras Adventure

2012-02-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

Today Patrick and I went to the Beggin' Barkus Pet Parade at Soulard and watched hundreds of adorable dogs dressed up in Mardi Gras themed costumes march down a street with their owners. It was such a fun event and I think I experienced a cuteness overload. Before the parade, we went to "Taste of Soulard" and tried some delicious samples of food from the Soulard neighborhood. This pre-Mardi Gras weekend activity was on my bucket list so of course I have to post about it (not to mention that I wish I had more than a couple of months to enjoy them in St. Louis).

The awesome hurricane.

The Taste Bud Champions (in no particular order):

1. Bogarts: This place has AMAZING ribs. I know that I said my favorite place to have BBQ is Pappy's, but this place beat Pappy's by a long shot in the ribs category. I am absolutely coming back here. The coolest part: they use a blow torch on their ribs at the end to give the BBQ glaze that extra crispy crunch. Nom.

2. Chava's Mexican Restaurant: We had their Fried Beef Tacos which were really different and delicious. I overheard locals raving about the place, so I decided it was worth one of our food tickets. I think that this place puts a good, midwestern twist on Mexican food.

3. Molly's Bar & Restaurant: Here we had an alligator rangoon and the famous Southern Comfort Hurricane that is typical for Mardi Gras. The alligator rangoon had an incredibly unique flavor with just the right amount of spice. The hurricane was also awesome. It didn't taste too syrupy or like the color red. I also loved the atmosphere of this place. Their outdoor bar seems like it would be a really fun evening venue and they had great drink specials.

CHOCOLATE GOOEY BUTTER BARS. omg.

4. Soulard Coffee Garden: Chocolate Gooey Butter Bar. Need I say more? This little breakfast joint is a hidden gem. It has received quite a few local awards and definitely deserves a second round of nomming.

Noms,
Alyx

P.S. My half-marathon training is going really well! Today I ran 6 miles and I officially have wrote up my schedule. I think this is the most excited I've been about exercise since high school... :)

8 mile: Not the movie, my running.

2012-02-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

My last post talked about not underestimating your body, and I started thinking a lot about my own words. Many of my friends are signed up to run a half-marathon (some a full marathon - crazy intense, I know), and those running the half urged me to sign up and give it a shot. I adamantly insisted that there was NO way that I could run that far since I am "not a long distance runner" and then proved myself wrong by running 6 miles just last week. Yesterday I decided that a half-marathon is the exact motivation I need for my running. It is the "end point" that I can strive towards to push my body to a new level. As you can guess, I officially registered. I will be running the half-marathon on April 15th.

It still feels a little crazy writing that I'm going to run 13.1 miles in a couple of months, but I'm really excited. The main reason that I'm excited is my progress. I started with the 6 miles last week and then today I decided to give myself no time limit and see how far my body could go. I made it to 8. Even I couldn't believe it when I saw the number. That's when I knew that this half-marathon was the right choice. It is something that I can truly put my heart and soul into.

I was so excited that I took a picture of my treadmill. I'm such a dork.

Today I was so excited about it that I spent a good hour writing out my training plan. I feel stronger already, and it is amazing to watch my body transform. Leg muscles are awesome. Just sayin'. Anyway, I just wanted to share my enthusiasm with a quick post. I will be tracking my progress in this blog and talking about tips and tricks for building up your running abilities (whether you want to do a 5K or a full on marathon).

Noms,
Alyx

Setting your goals: 6 mile run

2012-01-30T17:34:00.000-08:00

This semester I'm taking personal finance which has done two things to my mindset:

Make me think that retirement/saving money is a lot harder than I previously assumed.
Make me think about how goals are essential to making progress.

I'm going to focus on the latter of these two realizations and talk about setting goals. I think it is pretty obvious to say that goals help you accomplish more by having set targets in mind. However, a lot of people neglect discussion HOW you actually set the goals that will propel you towards your accomplishments.

Let's take an example that I've recently encountered. So I have a goal that I want to run longer and faster. Typically, I spent my gym time running 2-3 miles and feeling as though I had hit a wall with my maximum potential. However, I proved myself severely wrong today when I ran 6 miles. What did I do differently that doubled my distance? That's what I've been thinking about.

For starters, before I began running today I identified that I'm still unclear about how far/how fast I want to run. Therefore, I decided that I wanted to find my true maximum by extending my running time past the typical 20-30 minutes that I would run. Therefore, I put my time limit at 60 min.

Then, I thought about what my "weak" areas are when I'm running on a treadmill. For starters, numbers overwhelm me. Whenever I'm looking at the "time elapsed" or "distance" I feel like it is taking hours for a second to pass. Therefore, this time I decided to leave up my screen where I could flip through my music and not focus so much on the numbers while I'm running. I found myself incredibly surprised when I switched screens and BAM - 3.7 miles were done and I wasn't even tired. I continued this method and before I knew it the 60 minutes were up and my legs were actually feeling my workout.

In retrospect, I think that I probably could have run farther, but I also felt really comfortable at 6 miles. This means that I now have a base point for my maximum potential - 6 miles in 60 minutes. By tracking my progress from there, I can slowly work up to higher distances and faster paces.

Plus, I felt like a badass because I realized that I had just run 6 miles... a.k.a. the farthest that I have ever run in my life. :)

The crucial factor in goal setting: Make sure you don't underestimate yourself. Your body can surprise you, and you want your base level to be accurate so you can challenge yourself and grow from there.

Noms,

Alyx

End of College Bucket List

2012-01-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

I'M ENGAGED!

My last semester of senior year has officially started and things are already hectic which is good since I've been busy experiencing everything before I officially leave St. Louis. An important announcement before I begin discussing my bucket list plans... I'M ENGAGED. Yes, you read that right. January 11 was the big day and it was wonderful. :) So, 2012 is clearly going to be a big year for me. Graduation, getting engaged, starting my full-time job at Google. Best year ever? I think so.

So back to my second semester adventures. This is officially my final semester as an undergraduate meaning that I want to make it count. Therefore, I've made a bucket list of some things that I want to do before I leave St. Louis. Here are some of my ideas (feel free to comment and add some suggestions).

The Bucket List:

Anheuser-busch brewery tour
Cicero's beer school
Visit Branson Missouri
Go to the Art & History Museums in Forest Park
Gamble at a Casino
Sled down Art Hill (if it ever snows..)
Visit the Basilica
Go to Cherokee Street
Go to the Big Bang dueling piano bar

Me enjoying my Raspberry Shock Top!

And these are just the places that I want to visit... the food list is even longer, but I will keep you guessing with those as I post about them on my blog. This Friday I actually knocked one thing off of my bucket list: The Anheuser-busch brewery tour. I learned a lot about beer, got to see how it is made and got two free beers at the end of the tour. In my mind, it was a successful visit. I tried Raspberry Shock Top at the end of the tour, and I can proudly say that I finally found a beer that I like. Yes, it is kind of a loophole in beer world since it hardly tastes like beer, but I think it is fantastically refreshing.

Anyway, I can't wait to continue working on my bucket list. If you have any ideas as to what else I should do, let me know. :)

Noms,

Alyx

New Year's Resolutions... that work.

2012-01-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season of resolutions for the New Year. Everyone is trying to lose weight or find something to be passionate about, but these "resolutions" often fizzle after the first 3 weeks. So how do you make a resolution for yourself that actually works? Well, it's actually not so much about the resolution itself - it's about how you phrase it. Goals need to be S.M.A.R.T. This is a clever acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. A lot of people fail at their resolutions because one or more of these five traits aren't fully thought about when people set their goals.

A great example is the resolution "I want to lose weight." That statement could be S.M.A.R.T. but a lot of people go in with the vague idea that if they go to the gym every day without any sense of a plan, that they will achieve their goal. Sure, you might lose a couple of pounds, but when you hit a wall and stop losing weight suddenly, it's hard not to get unmotivated. A developed goal is something like "I want to reduce my caloric intake by 'X' amount per week" or "I want to be able to run 3 miles by the end of the month." These are goals where you can actually measure your progress. When you see your waist dropping inches or your endurance increasing it is incredibly satisfying.

When I started working out and set my goal to lose weight I initially went into it with the wrong mentality. I thought that I would just remember my progress without recording it. Eventually though, I started using tools like myfitnesspal.com to track my calories and workouts. It's not so much about keeping a diary of everything you eat. It's about training your mind to start thinking about what you're eating. Sometimes you forget that bag of oreos that you ate, and I hate to break it to you but those calories do count.

It's not impossible to lose weight. More important than the numbers on the scale is how you feel. When I started almost 5 months ago I remember barely being able to run a mile. Now I can easily do 3 miles and I feel healthier in general. If you feel good, you will get a confidence that no scale could ever give you. So make sure your resolutions this upcoming year are S.M.A.R.T. and I assure you that you will have a resolution that works.

My resolutions? To keep finding things that I'm passionate about and pursuing a happy and healthy lifestyle through S.M.A.R.T. exercise and adventures. :)

Noms,
Alyx

Christmas Noms and Cheer!

2011-12-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone! I've been having a wonderful time here in Richmond, Virginia and as I recover from a lamb dinner food coma, I decided that now would be a good time to blog about some of the food adventures I've had over the past couple of days.

Last night we went to my absolute favorite restaurant in Richmond called Bottoms Up Pizza. This pizza place is truly unique and has many different pizza options to choose from. However, my absolute favorite is called the JoJo which is a white sauce pizza with lots of cheese, tomato slices and shrimp on it. There is something magical about cheese that stretches as far as your arm can pull it away from the plate.

A funny story about the first time that I went to Bottoms Up Pizza was that Patrick and I intended to split two different pizza slices. The slices are huge by the way. Mine arrived first and Patrick got distracted with a text message or something and as soon as he looked up, I had devoured the whole thing. At times, it appears that my stomach turns into a black hole... but only when things are absolutely delicious. :)

Speaking of delicious, Patrick's family makes the most delightful fudge in the world. The fudge comes in three flavors: chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch. My favorite is the chocolate of course. What girl doesn't love chocolate? However, the thing that makes this fudge a little different is adding nuts into it which adds some texture. This is a new touch from previous years, and I really like it.

In addition to lots of nomming, Patrick and I have been enjoying our fair share of Christmas cheer. Today we decorated our Christmas tree, wrapped up all of the presents we bought, baked some delicious banana bread and even did some arts and crafts. We figure that since next year we are going to be out in California that we should make ourselves some stockings for future small gifts. We made everything out of felt. Yes, we are oh so crafty.

I hope that you all are enjoying the holiday season as much as we are. Between the food and family, we couldn't be happier! Plus, tomorrow is Christmas! Yay presents!

Noms,

Alyx

Feed your muscles: Steak Dinner

2011-12-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

Today I went for a run for the first time in a while. With finals and the other stresses of life, sometimes it gets difficult to motivate myself to go to the gym. It's good to remember how energized I feel after workouts - especially runs. Anyway, in line with workouts comes feeding your muscles. Eating protein is a great way to help build your muscles after workouts. Lean proteins are ideal, but sometimes you crave something more. I personally am a fan of steak, but for the longest time I thought it would be out of my price range. However, Patrick ensured me that we could pull off a full steak dinner, sides and all, for under $4 a plate. Appealing, no?

We bought a delicious cut of meat called a london broil and I will explain to anyone at home who is interested how to cook it and turn a tough meat into a savory cut:

Directions:

Put salt and pepper on it, poke holes into it with a fork and then put it in a bag with enough italian dressing to cover it. Then let it soak for 4-5 hours to make sure that the meat has soaked in the flavor and is marinated.
Take it out and drain the remaining dressing out and pat it dry. Then turn your broiler on high and set your tray 6-8 inches underneath and put the meat in.
Cook the meat for 5-8 minutes on one side and then flip it and give it another 5-8 minutes. Pull out the meat, let it rest for 10 minutes.
When you are ready to serve, cut against the grain in very thin slices to keep it tender. This is crucial because otherwise london broil can be a very tough piece of meat.

As sides, we decided to go with sweet potato which you can easily microwave and then my favorite veggie, green beans. Together you get a lot of protein and healthy veggies that are packed full of vitamins. I hope that you will try this deliciously affordable meal at home to treat yourself after a workout. Tomorrow we are off to Virginia! So excited!

Noms,
Alyx

Winter = New Workouts

2011-12-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

Winter break means that it is getting colder which tends to equal a lack of motivation + lots of holiday food to eat. Deadly combination. A couple of months ago I bought a workout DVD by Jillian Michaels called Six Week 6 Pack. As cheesy as the title sounds, today I decided to finally give the DVD a try... and my muscles are still feeling the burn of the workout.

The largest lesson that I learned with this DVD is that ab workouts don't mean just doing crunches. Also, strength training can happen outside of the weight room. There are a lot more ways to engage your core. The main things that you need to focus on are 1) Getting your heart rate up and 2) Engaging all of your muscles. The DVD had me doing combos that really activated my arms, legs, back and core in a comprehensive workout. Also, by incorporating HIT training (High Intensity Training) through brief cardio sets, I kept my heart rate up which helps burn calories.

I'm going to try this workout in combination with some running over break and I will report my results at the end of winter break. Hopefully I will be able to fight off any holiday pounds... or just give myself the ability to truly enjoy each holiday meal. There are a bunch of workouts by Jillian Michael's online. I've found a lot of great workouts on self.com such as the one in the picture: the lateral burpee. I'm beginning to learn the intricacies of strength training and I think that over break I will develop a better and more comprehensive training plan to help me get stronger and fitter.

Noms,
Alyx

This calls for a celebration!

2011-12-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce that Patrick has officially received an offer to work at Google! :) Due to the 3 month delay between our job offers, we never really got a chance to celebrate. Therefore, last night it seemed proper to go to one of our favorite finer dining locations to get some delicious cheese and chocolate at Bailey's Chocolate Bar. This place is incredibly romantic with each table having freshly cut roses in a little glass vase on it. More appealing than the romantic atmosphere is the delicious cheese from around the world. They also specialize in chocolate martinis, but Patrick and I are much bigger fans of their cheese selection. Another nice touch of this place is that instead of bread for the table, you get two little chocolate chip cookies for free. Delicious.

If you're going to order two cheeses, I absolutely recommend the Gjetost and the Drunken Goat. Gjetost is a cheese from Norway (it kind of looks like play doh) that has a sweet and nutty taste that makes it so incredibly unique. The cheeses come paired with nuts and cranberries, and I definitely recommend mixing some of the cranberries in with this cheese to have a really delicious variation for your taste buds. Drunken goat is a Spanish cheese that is very milky and creamy. If you've never had goat cheese, this is definitely the way to try it. It is my absolute favorite.

I hope that you take your someone special into Bailey's Chocolate Bar to experience the delicious cheeses and chocolates that it has to offer. Happy Holidays! I can't wait to head out to Richmond, Virginia for Christmas and New Years. Many fun food adventures will be had.

Noms,

Alyx

Stress Food for Finals

2011-12-11T14:57:00.001-08:00

This week marks the beginning of finals (a.k.a. the last stretch right before we can return to our families and enjoy the holidays). Finals can equal a significant amount of stress which can often lead to stress eating. This is an incredibly important time to remember plates and portion control, but if you do need a special treat to get you through that last chapter of econ notes, go for it.

My stress food for finals is donuts. Today before I went to work I went to World's Fair Donuts. This place is famous and traditional in St. Louis, and they do not disappoint with their high quality pastries. My personal favorite is their simple buttermilk donut. It is by far the best buttermilk donut I have had to date. Even better than donuts is the atmosphere of World's Fair Donuts. You walk in and feel like you have been transported 31 years into the past when they first opened shop in St. Louis. The couple who owns the place is adorable and the woman still sports a beehive hairdo. Can't beat that.

Good luck to everyone with finals and I hope you all survive the next few weeks before a well deserved vacation! :)

Noms,
Alyx

Best hot chocolate... ever.

2011-12-04T17:41:00.001-08:00

In this week's forecast, St. Louis has promised some lovely rain and snow. This means of course that the weather outside is getting cold... and we all know what cold means: HOT CHOCOLATE. :) In the central west end there is this little crepe place called Crepes, Etc. which boasts having the best hot chocolate in St. Louis. Patrick and I stumbled upon this place last year when we noticed the sign outside and took the responsibility upon ourselves to taste their hot chocolate. Such a difficult task, I know.

The best part of this hot chocolate is actually not the hot chocolate itself. Don't get me wrong, the hot chocolate is the perfect combination of sweet and rich. However, the amazing part of this hot chocolate is the handmade gigantic marshmallow that is perched atop the liquidy goodness.

The first time that I visited Crepes, Etc. I asked them what made their hot chocolate special and became quickly intrigued by the fact that they used handmade marshmallows. I don't really like marshmallows in general, so I was a bit skeptical that this was the highlight of the hot chocolate. However, this marshmallow is 1) gigantic and 2) it melts into the hot chocolate. Overall, it leaves you with the perfect amount of sweetness and texture that makes this hot chocolate better than any other hot chocolate I have ever tasted.

If you're in the central west end as the weather starts getting colder, I absolutely suggest giving this place a try. The crepes are also delicious so it makes a great place to eat brunch or lunch.

Noms,
Alyx

Thanksgiving Across the Country, Part Two

2011-12-01T13:27:00.001-08:00

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my food adventure in New York. However, my food adventures didn't stop in New York because I quickly migrated over to the west coast as I finished my Thanksgiving week in Los Angeles and Oakland.

Returning to LA meant two necessary trips: Ramen and Sushi. If you read my page called 3 cities, 3 favorites I talk in detail about my favorites. At Ramen I got my favorite salad dish called Yasai Itame. It's a warm bean sprout and cabbage salad that is deceptively delicious. I took my aunt in LA to go get ramen for the first time and she was incredibly skeptical when this dish came out. I have to admit that it looks like it is going to be flavorless, but once you take a bite I promise you will be hooked. Every skeptic that I've brought to ramen has chosen this dish as their favorite in the end. It is healthy and delicious which is often a rarity when it comes to noodle places. I of course also had sushi, but I've learned a lot about portion control when it comes to this delicacy. I've also started eating ginger between sushi pieces to slow down a bit as well as to cleanse my palette between bites. Not to mention, ginger is great for digestion. :)

After my short day in LA, I flew out to Oakland to spend Thanksgiving at my aunts house. This was by far the craziest Thanksgiving that I have ever attended - but let me reassure you that it is crazy in a good way, not a "my family went crazy" that is typical of the holidays. For starters, my aunt invited 29 people over for the feast she prepared. She is really big on family and friends and it was so special being able to be a part of such a wonderful community of people she brought together for the holidays. Also, it's good that I went this year considering it may be a part of my new tradition when I move out to work for Google! However, this wasn't the craziest part. Before we had our Thanksgiving meal we all congregated around for a special announcement. To my surprise (and everyone else's) my aunt got married, right in her living room. It was an absolutely beautiful and moving ceremony and I am beyond thankful that I got to be a part of it. My aunt also had a beautiful cake designed with each person's name who was at the ceremony on it. This was just another plus to an already incredible Thanksgiving.

After all of my travelling and adventures, I made my way back to St. Louis and started all of the homework I had avoided. :) I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and for all of those college students out there... only 2 1/2 more weeks until winter break!

Noms,
Alyx

Thanksgiving Across the Country, Part One

2011-11-30T10:17:00.001-08:00

Hello lovely readers!

Last week was beyond busy because I spent time in New York, Los Angeles, Oakland and then made my eventual return to St. Louis to finish up my last couple of weeks this semester. I literally spent my time across the entire country for Thanksgiving, and this blog post will be broken up into two parts to rehash my favorite food adventures from Thanksgiving Week.

Part One: New York

This was my first time in New York since high school when I toured colleges. I didn't really like New York when I first visited, but I also didn't have much time there so I went into my experience with an open mind. I absolutely love New York now. It completely won me over.

To start, why was I even in New York? I attended an international business conference hosted by Business Today where I got to meet some incredible CEO's and even tour the headquarters of Godiva! The CEO was incredibly laid back and he gave us a presentation about the marketing strategies behind Godiva. I had never really tried Godiva chocolate prior to this visit. However, this was quickly remedied because in our goody bags we got dessert themed truffles and mine were Chocolate Lava Cake Truffles. Let me preface this by saying that these things are dangerous... dangerously delicious. However, at 80 calories a truffle I was happy to see that for such a decadent treat that it wasn't as calorically horrifying as I anticipated. More importantly, I've learned an important dessert lesson: nicer chocolate means less of it to feel satisfied. I treated myself to one truffle per day and this way I satisfied my chocolate/dessert craving while not packing on the pounds.

After the Godiva headquarters visit, Patrick and I had the opportunity to go explore New York for a couple of hours. Instead of going to a nice restaurant, we decided to instead truly get a feel for New York by walking around Times Square and Bryant Park. We ate a New York hot dog from one of the many hot dog stands and then we went to this 99 cent pizza place nearby our hotel when we got exhausted from walking. To our surprise, this pizza place was actually delicious. We each ate 2 slices of pizza and in total our nomming around New York only cost us $8 between the hot dog and pizza. Unheard of, I know. Well... this doesn't include the cider and chocolate covered churros that Patrick bought at Bryant Park, but that was a special treat (and only $6!).

The last food adventure in New York was at a cupcake place called Baked by Melissa. They bake mini cupcakes in a bunch of really delicious flavors and they are only $1 per cupcake. Even though they weren't the best cupcakes I had ever tasted, I still enjoyed them. What I absolutely loved about this place is that it truly catered to my desire to have tastes of things. I don't know about you, but the first bite I take of ice cream or any other dessert is always way better than the following bites. Diminishing marginal returns... thank you economics minor. Therefore, by getting just a taste I got the best of every flavor. :)

Overall, New York was incredible and even though I probably won't end up living there, I can definitely see myself coming back to continue my food adventures. The city is so alive and if you haven't been, I absolutely recommend paying it a visit.

Noms,

Alyx