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Food-Ex Pairing: Pumpkin Head!
What: Pumpkin
And: Noggin
How: Seeds
And: Headstand or Meditation
Why: Seasonal
And: Cogito Ergo Sum
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Food-Ex Pairing: Oblique Barley
What: External Abdominal Oblique
And: Barley
How: Renegade Rows
And: Boricha
Why: Shimmy
And: Regularity
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Food-Ex Pairing: Latissimus Carrot
What: Lats
And: Carrots
How: Pull Ups
And: Pickled
Why: Only Muscle with connections to your upper and lower body.
And: Fewer Heart Attacks.
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Food-Ex Pairing: Cauliflower Ears
What: Cauliflower
And: Ears
How: Slaw
Why: Cruciferous
And: Orpheus
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Food-Ex Pairing: Artichoke Ankle
What: Ankle
And: Artichoke
How: Bosu Ball
And: Stuffed
Why: Two Million Twists
And: Aphrodisiac
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Food-Ex Pairing: Flax Seed Forearms
What: Forearms
And: Flax Seed
How: Crushing Beer Cans and Hercules Bar
Why: Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Arm Wrestling
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Food-Ex Pairing: Bok Choy Hands
What: Your Hands
And: Bok Choy
How: Steel Bending
And: Stir Fried
Why: Opposable Thumbs
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Food-Ex Pairing: Brown Rice and Hammies
Today's food-ex pairing needs no introduction. One of them supports, in a nutritional sense, well over half the world. The other supports, in a literally sense, you.
Let's talk about your hamstrings. They're not super visible in most people, and they're kind of awkward to exercise. (Yogis, think standing split. Weightlifters, think prone thigh curls.) This makes them easy to ignore, but that would be a mistake. Your hamstrings are responsible for minor things, like allowing you to flex your knee, and also to extend your hip. As in: walking, running, jumping, and lifting things off the floor. And they're also responsible for important things, like Moonwalking, and/or doing that other Michael Jackson move, where he lifts one knee and taps the lifted heel with his hand.) OK, I bet you're wondering where the term hamstring came from. Not to be a shameless Wikipedia quoter, but check this out:
Another commonly accepted origin is that legs of ham used to be hung by a hook through the space between the thighbone and the tendons behind the knee. Ham/pork used to be more common in England than beef and lamb.
Who knew!
If you're curious about how to work your hams in a kind of Western-weight-lifty way, I recommend this page on Project Swole. These people seem smart. Dancers and yogis might can try almost any of the exercises demonstrated in this very jazzy Pilates promo video. These people seem funny. Take your pick, but remember the old Chinese proverb: "Talk does not cook rice."
Oh snap! Let's talk about brown rice. Did you know that in some languages "to eat" translates directly as "to eat rice." This according to the food geeks at WHFoods, who also point out what you already know: Whole grain brown rice is very good for you, while stripped and polished white rice is a lot less so. Eat the brown rice, and you'll be thinner, have lower cholesterol, and be less likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes. How should you do it? TheKitchn.com has your back with its normal Five Ways to Eat... post, one of which would seem particularly appropriate as it includes some delicious hammy: "Fried with onions, ginger, and an egg."
Enjoy you SW-e-AT-ers....
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Food-Ex Pairing: Brussel Triceps
Throw, slash, chop, hit, volley, extend.... These are the verbs of your triceps, arguably sexiest of arm muscles (nevermind what the tabloids say about biceps). Today we pair your Triceps brachii, with that most autumnal and beloved of homely mini-cabbages, the Brussel Sprout. If you need a theme, think baseball: It's the time when sluggers and pitchers pit their triceps against each other for all the marbles, and then gather in the evening in midtown restaurants and gorge themselves on Brussels. It's true.
The triceps is the "antagonist" of the biceps, and you might be inclined to think that the biceps is the bigger of the two. Not so: Your triceps actually account for 60% of the muscle mass in your upper arm, so, at least on mass, they win hands down. Ahem. The "tri" comes from the fact that there are actually three muscles wrapped up in there, connecting your elbow to shoulder. In addition to all things extension, these three stabilize the arm, holding it steady even to do fine motor skill things like, say, painting or writing. There are, of course, many satisifying ways to exercise your triceps. The fatigue-wearing, buff dudes at MuscleandStrength.com have actually documented themselves doing 81 triceps exercises, many with fine names like EZ Bar Incline Skullcrusher. Myself, I've always associated triceps with tennis, and so recommend a few brisk rallies, ideally with Rafa. Given the weather, though, you might make that paddle tennis.
On to the Brussels, which, if you believe Wiki, took off in Belgium in the 1200s. Hence, the name. By the 16th Century, they were booming in the Netherlands. Which is relevant, because 400 years later a bunch of Dutch researchers discovered that a diet of Brussels can actually reduce the wear and tear on your DNA. To be honest, that study is a little sketchy, but yet another group of Dutchies have shown that a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables reduces your risk of colorectral cancer by nearly 50%. Either way, the point is, Brussels are good for you. Plus, if made properly, they taste fantastic. BUT, making them properly is not obvious. Nothing worse than a soggy, lukewarm cafeteria-style Brussel. There are tricks to this trade, friends, and once again I'll turn you over to thekitchn.com which has gathered five ways to eat them, including roasted with golden beets.
Triceps and Brussels and Fall: Yum....