"May the best of your yesterday's be the worst of your tomorrow's."
Welcome to my blog. I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog to share my passion for food and fitness, just like everyone else. I'm a native of Richmond, Virginia. Made it a stone's throw away to Charlottesville to attend college at UVA. Pursued my odd obsession with Russia by studying abroad in St. Petersburg the summer after college, and landed back in Richmond for good, settling down in the Fan, where every 20-something belongs.
Ah, the good life. That's been a major theme for me as every year passes. I look back and realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing family, wonderful friends, and fulfilling experiences. I hope to share some of "the good life" in this blog, focusing on my most passionate hobbies of food and fitness. Yes, I will also throw in a plug or two about foreign policy and other interests of mine.
So, where to begin... I feel that I should start at the beginning so you can understand the foundations of why I am so passionate about food and fitness. I grew up in a large Italian family. My Dad is Sicilian, second generation and full of knowledge and insight. My Mom is a product of West Virginia and pure motivation. I am 1 of 5 girls, and most importantly, I am a twin. My twin sister is my best friend, my confidant, my soul mate, my life saver and everything in between. You will hear me talk a lot about her, that's for sure.
Let's fast forward to my my not so distant past. If you can imagine, growing up in a large Italian family lead to large meals, large clothes, large everything. I was overweight from since I can remember and it was tough. But in February 2007, I decided it was time to change my unhealthy habits and turn over a new leaf. I had always been athletic growing up, but I certainly didn't eat well. When I decided to join Weight Watchers, I never thought it would truly change my life. The program taught me to eat right. It provided me with the education and tools to make healthy decisions and understand my boundries. The added bonus was that it allowed me to launch my creativity with what I cooked and the things I could eat. I love to cook, and Weight Watchers was the key to reinventing that hobby.
And so, here I am, 3 years and 45 pounds later. During that journey, I also started running. Running was my new routine to add to the new foods I was eating. I wouldn't say I'm an addict, or even that good of a runner, but I love it. I've had the pleasure getting a "runner's high" on a couple of my runs and the feeling is incredible. I sign up for various races year-round and that helps motivate and feed my habit. I completed my first half marathon last year in under 2 hours and I'm damn proud of it! Once running sunk in, I picked up other activities such as kickboxing, swimming, biking, and bikram yoga. I love to try new things and love to learn. I look forward to sharing many adventures with you all as well. Hope you're hungry... You are in for a real treat!
The sandwiches were delightful. Cafe Gutenberg's pork banh mi was very traditional, full of flavor, and tasted great. Even the tofu banh mi was awesome. However, I am loyal to Boka Truck and anything with heat. Patrick's banh mi packed a lot of spice, which always gets my attention. I loved the toasted sesame seads and sriracha on absolutely anything is always good. The judges all agreed that Patrick used too much mayo (3 different aoli sauces were drizzled all over), and that was probably the weakest link, but otherwise Boka Truck's banh mi provided more flavor than Cafe Gutenberg's version. Boka Truck orders their baguettes fresh from Catina (Vietnamese bakery behind Horsepen) and have a light buttery crispiness to them that melts in your mouth (....or mouf!). Take a look at the photos below, and tell me if you don't drool just a little...
