Food and Exercise

It would seem that food and exercise shouldn't go together but in my case they really should. The reason is because I LOVE good food and this year I have had to learn moderation when it comes to food and regular exercise to keep my high cholesterol down.

I just came back from the gym today where I spent about an hour and a half trying out a new workout routine that my trainer gave me last week. It's about 45 minutes of weights and 20-30 mins of cardio. I am feeling very euphoric right now after a great workout, especially since I haven't worked out since this past Monday. I used to think it must be terrible to be in the gym for that long but it really does help to pass the time if you go to the gym well-equipped with distractors such as a headset for the TV and an ipod with plenty of songs. It also helps a lot when the 45 minutes is filled with different machines/routines so that the time goes by more quickly. I really need to go to the gym more often because it feels great to work out. Also, when you get used to working out, missing a couple days seems to take a toll on your body and you notice the difference right away. Plus, I have 5 lbs that I am trying to loose -- 2 of them I had gained recently.

Now my favorite topic - FOOD! I love to try new cuisine and just good food period. I feel very lucky to have a Creole/Soul food restaurant near my house. It's actually a healthy version because the chef used to be overweight and so he is very conscious of making his food more healthy. Thanks goodness for that because we all know Creole/Soul food is not healthy :-) The Asian food in the Bay area is phenomenal. I have wonderful Thai and Japanese food near my house, which is very convenient. Although we do have a couple Vietnamese restaurants where I live, the best Vietnamese food is in San Francisco.

I am so hooked on Japanese food these days. Beef teriyaki when it's made right is the best. A Thai beef salad with warm grilled beef over a bed of lettuce and a light tangy fish sauce is to die for. When I was on the South Beach diet, a Thai beef salad was one of the few no-carb meals that I enjoyed. My most favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the Bay area is Slanted Door. It is one of the most booked restaurants in the Bay area. Bill Clinton had to stop by this restaurant years ago when he was president and visiting the area. The chef of this restaurant recently won the James Beard award for best chef. There are so many good dishes at this restaurant. One of the best has to be the imperial rolls (egg rolls in a chinese restaurant). They use rice wrappers at this restaurant for the imperial rolls. The wrapper is filled with pork, shrimp, mung bean noodles, mushroom, etc and then it's deep fried. Other dishes that are good here are the Shaking Beef and an Oven Roasted Fish. The beef are tender pieces of filet mignon cooked in some red wine sauce and the fish has a ginger fish sauce dipping sauce with it. We are taking my next door neighbors to this restaurant next weekend because they have lived in the Bay area but have never been to this restaurant.

Another thing that I am hooked on recently are Italian fried calamari. Obviously, I can't have this very often because it's deep fried. I am in the hunt for some really good fried calamari and they are the best when they are done right with tender pieces of squid in the inside.

Last but not least, one more thing that I am hooked on are tacos with carne asada. The Bay area is full of taquerias but it is hard to find a really good one. The best tacos have carne asada that are well seasoned and tender but slightly crisp due to grilling. To get the best tacos, one really has to try many hole-in-the-wall places. The best tacos that I had was in the Bernal Heights neighborhood in SF. I can't even find the place anymore because we were being driven around that day by a tour guide and we just stopped and ducked in to a hole-in-the-wall Taqueria that we happened to see. It was the best meat I have tasted and the best salsa. May be I'll try harder and try to find this place again. My next-door neighbor told us of another well-known Taqueria in the city that is on the top 100 restaurants in the Bay area. We'll need to try out this one soon.

Can't you tell that F-O-O-D is my favorite topic? This is probably the longest blog yet. I am now sufficiently famished since I just worked out and this blog is killing me with hunger. May be I'll go for the beef Thai salad today -- hmm...yum!!!