Aspire, Perspire, Nourish Yourself

http://www.spam.com/varieties/spam-classic

Have you heard of Spam? No, not the unwanted emails you get in your inbox from those companies selling ways to increase the size of body parts! We’re talking about the pre-cooked meat sold in cans that was introduced during World War II. At the time, the U.S. military needed a way to feed its troops on the front lines with food that would not spoil and could easily be transported, so Spam was born.

The Hormel Food Corporation invented Spam in 1937, and continues to innovate by introducing new flavors, and different ways to cook it. There are 16 varieties including flavors with bacon, Portuguese sausage, cheese, jalapeños, hickory smoke, chorizo, teriyaki, and versions with less sodium or single servings. The product has grown substantially since it was first produced and is being sold in over 40 countries.

Hawaii’s Love Affair with Spam

Waikiki Spam Jam 2015

People in Hawaii love their Spam. Every year they hold a Spam Jam Festival in Waikiki. Kalakaua Avenue, the main street in Waikiki, is closed off to hold this party that spans several blocks. This year, there were two bandstands featuring local musicians, tents with vendors from various restaurants selling their best Spam-inspired dishes, and tons of Spam merchandise selling for outrageous prices.

Waikiki Spam Jam 2015

Spam is so big in Hawaii that you can buy it any day of the week at McDonald’s in their local breakfast platters featuring Spam, or at the local convenience stores, including 7-Eleven’s, as Spam Musubi. This popular food looks like a large California-style roll made of sticky rice and Spam wrapped in seaweed. People eat Musubi for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. As you can imagine, the local food bank gets more than their share of Spam!

How did this food get so popular? Not sure it was the ingredient list! The taste? Hmm, not sure about that either but some love it! Marketing? Probably…

What is Spam?

http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/04/snapshots-from-hawaii-spam-musubi.html

If you’re in your 50’s, you may remember ham in a can! Like canned tuna, Spam was a staple in many North American households in the 70’s and 80’s. Spam claims to be the ‘premier’ product in the canned ham line because they boast using better ingredients. Made primarily from pork shoulder, the ingredient list for its classic version includes:

“Pork with Ham, Salt, Water, Modified Potato Starch, Sugar, Sodium Nitrite.”

In a 2 ounce serving, they show 6 g of saturated fat, 790 mg of sodium, 40 mg of cholesterol and a total of 180 calories. If you have 2 servings, as a typical person you’ve gone over your 1,500 mg recommended intake of sodium for the day, and just under the 13 g of saturated fat for the day.

If you like Spam, we know we’re bursting your bubble. As the old adage goes, “All in moderation.” You can still enjoy Spam occasionally. Remember, just don’t overdo it.

Beware of Processed Foods

Given this past weekend’s Spam Jam Festival, Spam was a convenient product for us to highlight the point that processed foods contain more preservatives, sodium, and other ingredients you don’t need in your diet.

We recognize that we’re all so busy with work, after school activities, household responsibilities and social schedules. However, there are quick and easy ways to prepare meals without using processed foods.

Here are a few tips:

When shopping for convenience, buy whole, raw foods like vegetables, fruits, and quick-cooking grains like quinoa or whole-grain couscous.
One evening per week, cook extra chicken, fish, or beef, and divide into portions to store into containers for meals throughout the week. Do the same with grains like quinoa and brown rice. These foods easily re-heat.
Buy pre-cut and pre-washed veggies and fruit. Alternatively, cut extra veggies and fruit for meals the next day.
Share the ‘cooking burden’ with friends. Prepare an extra serving or two to share with a friend and have them do the same for you. Swap ready-to-heat meals for the next day.
Freeze your favorite homemade dishes like lasagna or enchiladas by preparing two smaller servings rather than a large one. Eat one serving and freeze the other.

We know you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve on how to make meal time easier. Please share yours with us in the comments so we can all benefit.

References:

Recipe of the Week: Green Tea Morning Smoothie

Step Out on Fitness to Spice Up Your Routine

Tired of the same old fitness routine? Need to find something to spice up your workouts to get excited? The best thing is to try something different. A little change can wake up your senses and intensify your experience of a workout.

For those looking for a group experience, CrossFit, Zumba, or Spinning classes could be fun, high energy workouts to crank up your excitement. Music and camaraderie in these workouts are strong mood boosters, so if you need social encouragement to get your motivation fueled for fitness, then join one of these classes.

If on the other hand, you are looking for a more peaceful workout, with people around you but not necessarily cheering each other on, try Power Yoga or Paddleboard Yoga (for those living close to oceans, rivers, swimming pools). These yoga workouts are intense because they use strength-building movements or because the poses are done on unstable surfaces requiring balance.

Tell me More About…

Want to know more about these workouts? Here’s a brief summary:

CrossFit

CrossFit is a ‘fitness philosophy’ and workout routine that combines elements from Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, powerlifting, plyometrics, high intensity interval training, calisthenics, and other aerobic exercises. The focus is on strength and conditioning to continually improve one’s fitness level and capacity. At most CrossFit gyms, members follow a typical workout routine, including a warm up, skill building exercises, high intensity ‘workout of the day’ (WOD), and a cool down stretch. CrossFit aims to prepare one’s body for any fitness challenge by changing up exercises, WOD’s, and routines frequently.

Founded by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai in 2000, CrossFit, Inc. is the official organization that formalized CrossFit programming, trains individuals and ‘certifies’ gyms to offer the programming. CrossFit is used as a primary fitness training regime in many organizations like the military, law enforcement, fire departments and some high schools in North America.

Be aware, though, that there have been controversial reports about incidents of injury with CrossFit. If you are going to try it, please go to a reputable CrossFit gym or trainer. Don’t try it on your own or via video sessions until you’ve had enough experience with it. Similar to weightlifting and powerlifting, some of the exercises in CrossFit can lead to injury if you don’t do the moves correctly. Although the programming is supposed to be adjusted to one’s fitness level, as an eager beginner you may push way too hard!

Zumba

If you love to dance, this is the workout for you. Zumba is an aerobics class that uses a combination of Latin-inspired music, Rock ‘n Roll, and Reggae music. The moves are adapted from dances like the Merengue, Salsa, Flamenco, and so on. Although the classes are choreographed with a trainer leading the class, participants are encouraged to move any way they want to have fun.

The foundation of the Zumba workout is to vary the intensity levels of activity during the exercise period. This is similar to high intensity interval training, with your heart rate spiking up for short bursts and then coming down for brief rests, and back up. A lot of calories can be burned while having fun. In fact, Zumba prides itself in creating a party-like atmosphere rather than a structured aerobics class.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) commissioned a study to determine whether Zumba was effective as a fitness activity. Although it’s a limited study, it showed positive results. Watch the video to learn more about the study results, and to experience the energy in a Zumba class.

Spinning

No helmet required for this workout! You can pick spinning classes that feature upbeat music and a motivating leader who guides your ride; video screens with virtual rides through mountain, coastal winding roads, or other uphill/downhill courses; movie watching nights; and more. For the casual bike rider to the more dedicated cycle athlete, spinning classes can help you improve fitness level and satisfy your social needs.

Spinning classes are held in cycle studios on special stationary bikes or using your own bicycle mounted on a wind trainer, often linked to a computer. For the competitive person, many classes also provide screens that post the riders’ speeds and other performance statistics. You can track your progress and race your buddies to the virtual finish line!

As with Zumba, many of the spinning workouts employ interval training programming, i.e. bursts of higher intensity by spinning faster or at higher tension, combined with periods of slower, steady paced cycling. Workouts may also call for riding seated or standing, performing one legged drills, and all kinds of moves to improve riding skills. Although spinning is in a group environment, you can work at your own fitness and skill level.

Power Yoga

If you’re looking for a vigorous, intense yoga workout, Power Yoga may be your answer. This type of yoga, grounded in Ashtanga, is a faster paced practice that helps develop strength and tone muscles, because the movements are done using one’s own body weight emphasizing movement rather than holding poses. Given the focus on movement, you’ll also be working on cardio more than in a typical yoga practice.

Want to give it a try before going to a studio? Then follow Bryan Jones along in his half-hour Power Yoga session on YouTube:

Paddleboard Yoga

http://wickedpaddleboards.com/stand-up-paddle-board-yoga/

This yoga practice might be a stretch for some people who live in land-locked areas! However, Paddleboard Yoga is becoming more popular in cities with rivers or even in swimming pools. So, you might want to search for venues close to your area.

This type of yoga is performed on Stand Up Paddleboards (SUPs) in the ocean, river, lake or swimming pool. These surfboards are longer and wider than a standard surfboard to make them steadier for stand up surfing. For beginner SUP riders or yogis, even a calm water environment may be a challenge for holding yoga poses. Doing yoga poses on a board, in the water, adds extra challenge to your core and calls for continuous re-balancing. If you want to push your yoga experience, give Paddleboard Yoga a try and forget about perfect yoga poses on the board. Just enjoy the novel experience. The worst thing that can happen is falling into the water and getting back up on the board to give the pose another try!

What’s Your Spice Up Recipe?

Have you tried a different workout routine that spiced up your fitness? Tell us about it! Do you have an idea you’d love to try? Let us know and maybe we can help you make it happen.

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