Friday Food Fact: Obesity and Your BMI

The Texas Department of State Health Services found in 2007 that as many as 11.4 million adult Texans were overweight or obese. In 2008 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 26 percent of the adults living in Texas were obese. Texas has ranked as high as ten among U.S. states in obesity rankings. We must be aware of this problem surrounding us and make a concerted effort to try and change this. The first step is knowing if you're in this category... To clarify what it means to be overweight or obese...according to the National Institute of Health. Overweight: "Overweight is a BMI of 27.3 % or more for women and 27.8 % or more for men..." Obese: "Obesity is a BMI of 30 and above..." To calculate your BMI click here. My calculated BMI is 23.8% Remember that people who are very muscular may have skewed results...

Dinner with Chef David Bull

Not everyday you get the privilege of having dinner with a great chef (he has battled on Iron Chef America) like David Bull. Tuesday night I did. Last month I met David at a chef's potluck I go to called Meaty Monday Madness. We really hit it off and have been going back and forth via email ever since. My excitement to learn more about food and cooking constantly grows and I'm very lucky to know people like David who can help nurture this. The dinner was great. We went to a new Argentinian restaurant called El Arbol. The chef and manager at El Arbol knew who David was and we got some pretty sweet treatment. I can't tell you how cool it is to eat with someone like this because he basically knows exactly what's in every dish and how they made it. Wow was it ridiculous. Meaty Monday Madness is coming up on May 3rd and David and I have plans to make a couple dishes for it together. It truly is an honor to know David. He's in the process of opening a new restaurant here in Austin called "Congress" which I'm sure will be phenomenal. I gotta run to practice now...so until next time y'all keep working towards your dreams:)

An Awesome Sprint Set

I strive to be my best every day. I consistentlyA

Sunday Crawfish Boil at Mulberry

This past year I've made a concerted effort to get more and more involved in the food world and culture in Austin. Essentially, I have been trying very hard toA

Tuesday Tweet of the Week: Optimizing Retweets…

Word has it that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert. So it would seem that naturally the more time you spend on something the more knowledgeable and proficient you become at it. Wouldn't you think? There must be exceptions to this rule. An exception I am aware of in my own life is my knowledge of Twitter. Seemingly the more time I spend on Twitter the less I feel I know about it. For instance, why do some things get ReTweeted so often when they seem to be about nothing? Or how come I get so many @ replies on tweets that seem so stupid or pointless? Recently I came across a blog which broke down the question of the ReTweets... Pretty interesting stuff. The blog it came from is called the "Social Media Scientist". Check out the article..."20 Words and Phrases that Will Get You the Most ReTweets".

Friday Food Fact: Dang!…some food is HARD to make

I've been lucky enough to have a group of Austin chefs include me in an event they call "Meaty Monday Madness!" On the first Monday of the month, one chef picks a type of meat--anything from brisket to hearts--and everyone makes a dish with that main ingredient. Some of the creations are amazing. This month's meat, rabbit. I decided to go all-out by making Braised Rabbit Ravioli with a CreamyVegetable Reduction. Between weight lifting, dry-land training and swim practice, IT TOOK ME TWO DAYS! Fact: Making rabbit raviolis all from scratch is hard work. Fact: When making a reduction sauce season carefullyA

Friday Food Fact: Rabbit Anyone?

Rabbit anyone? Easter is right around the corner and my guess is that y'all are preparing to cook up some wild rabbits...no? Well since this is the season for bunnies I though it would be appropriate to feature them on the Friday Food Fact. Let me first apologize if any of you are offended and/or grossed out about the thought of eating a rabbit. To lighten the spirits you should know rabbit has been regarded as a fertility symbol and has long been included in Easter menus. So for those of you looking to reproduce yourselves, definitely go out and get a rabbit for the Easter table;) Rabbit has been domesticated and included on the table in France for centuries. If by chance you're not planning on cooking rabbit for Easter have no worries, I'll cook one in honor of you. You might recall that I attend a potluck here in Austin called Meaty Monday Madness. The host is my friend Zack who is the chef and owner of the wine bar and restaurant 'Mulberry' in Austin. The first Monday of each month Zack invites a bunch of his friends, which many happen to be local chefs, to his house for a grand eating festival. This month's featured item is, of course, rabbit. There will definitely be a future post on the Meaty Monday Madness extravaganza! So is rabbit healthy for us? The answer is yes and no. The Facts:

• A great source of protein which helps our muscles grow and stay strong.
• High in Iron which promotes red blood cell growth and health.
• Packed with Vitamin B-6 and B-12 which helps in the building and stability of red blood cells as well as helps keep our immune system strong.
• Good source of magnesium which helps keep our bones strong, regulate blood sugar and supports our immune system.
• Be careful rabbit is high in cholesterol.

Much like most things we eat there are positives and negatives in it's nutritient content, rabbit is no exception. If you'll be cooking rabbit this Easter I hope it turns out great! If rabbit is not your cup of tea then I respect that too. Enjoy!