I'm going to write about something else besides food, fitness, or fashion, right now, because I am about to experience my first ever hurricane. Granted I've evacuated for two others, but I'm about to deal with Isaac, and it's a pretty eerie feeling. Maybe it's the extra gallons of water I have lined up in my dining room or the extra Styrofoam coolers that are also in the house, but this is strange.I just walked out of my front door onto our front porch, and the wind is blowing, houses are calm, it's Monday night, and even though I know that there are some people still home, I realize that the ones who are home are either preparing to leave soon or preparing to hunker down into their houses until this thing hits and passes. I know that there are houses which are empty, yet have a porch light on,  and their residents will only return when things are safe and calm. Their porch light may or may not be on to greet them when they return. I have food in the house, don't have to work, and am weirdly waiting for something unexpected. I look to the sky to see something, but it seems like a normal night; clouds in the sky, some stars, etc. I'm a Mid-Westerner, not a Southerner, yet I am starting to understand this whole hurricane thing. Some people call it a hurrication since we get off from work/school and can go wherever or stay curled up in or beds. I call it an anxiehurrication, because I am not just partly enjoying some time off, but am super nervous at the unknown. I do have my elliptical and my weights, which I plan to use tomorrow morning before things get worse. So, okay, I'm still incorporating some fitness in this blog. Because in order to keep my sanity, I have to move somewhat, feel physically fit, so I can mentally take on the day of not knowing if we will have power, if my pets will freak out at the change in barometric pressure, and if I will have clean water. As for our dinner tonight, we grilled some flounder. Who knows what tomorrow night or Wednesday's night's meal will bring. I'm hoping we will have electricity and will be able to sleep soundly.

Alright, it's been a while, but I haven't forgotten about healthy eating and fitness. Oh, and I recently bought a new pair of shoes, so I haven't forgotten the fashion part either. ;-) 

Today, I tried a new work-out, which I thought would be pretty easy. Ha! I laugh at myself, because some of these moves had me out of breath. I did a work-out created by Self Magazine which uses plyometrics. For those who do not know what plyometrics is, it's a type of exercise that incorporates explosive moves to help increase speed and make your muscles powerful. The great thing about the workout in Self, is that it uses different moves and you pick 12 out of 16 exercise to do three times a week. It's kind of like a little game where you can pick randomly which exercises you'll do.  All you need are some good work-out shoes and some hand weights. I, also, found that a timer helps to have, because you're supposed to do each move for 1 minute and then rest for 90 seconds.

You're probably thinking, "Only 12 exercises? That's not bad." Haha! I forgot to tell you that you do each exercise twice, so it ends up working all of your muscles in a pretty short amount of time. You will have your heart pumping in no time.  Don't forget to have water nearby, so that you can replenish in between moves.  If you feel tired before the minute is over, don't quit. Just lower the weight or shorten the movement, and keep going! You can do it! 
Here's the link and enjoy!
Strength-Plyometrics

Tuna recipe from Self Magazine

http://www.self.com/fooddiet/recipes/2005/06/sesame-seared-tuna

I just made this recipe this last week and it turned out really well. I couldn't find black sesame seeds, so I just used more white sesame seeds. I, also, don't have a large food processor, so I cut the vegetables all by hand. I would suggest using a food processor to save on time.  If you don't want to spend a lot of money on this recipe, you can use a tiny dash of vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean. I, also, cut back on the sugar and used 2 tbsp. instead of 3. Enjoy!

 

Vegetable slaw

• 2 carrots, peeled
• 2 parsnips, peeled
• 2 each green and red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 1 small sweet onion
• 1 jalapeño pepper, cored (and seeded if less heat is desired)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
• Sea salt and white pepper

 

Tuna

• 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon wasabi powder (found at Asian grocery stores)
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 pieces tuna loin (about 8 oz each), cut in half

1. For the dressing and slaw
   Attach grating blade to food processor. Julienne each vegetable and set aside. In another bowl, mix all dressing ingredients and add vegetables. Add cilantro and combine gently. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
2.  For the tuna
   
   Place a large nonstick pan over high heat until hot. Combine sesame seeds and wasabi in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray; drizzle oil in pan. Lightly salt tuna; dredge in sesame-wasabi mixture. Reduce heat to medium and place tuna in pan. Sear until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip; cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes. Divide slaw among 4 plates and top with tuna.
3. Source: The Lincoln, Santa Monica, CA

458 calories per serving, 14.8 g fat (2.3 g saturated), 50.6 g carbs, 7.7 g fiber, 33.5 g protein