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Indoor Playground

So much to do, so little time!

Matt and I did household chores this morning, which meant that I cleaned and folded while he watched Conan 🙂

Then we set out for the gym. Lately my mindset about the gym has changed. Whenever I get the urge to not go, I think of it as an indoor playground of people just enjoying themselves on the machines and reading magazines and watching TV and suddenly it seems much more fun. Instead of a place where I am tortured by sweat and lactic acid, I’m thinking of it more as a place to relax and enjoy a good magazine, while moving at the same time of course. The new mindset has really helped, and I had a lot of FUN today! We biked there (which takes 18 minutes or so) and then I did 30 minutes on the elliptical with Real Simple and then Matt wanted to lift weights together at the end. I told him to just tell me what to do (we are so indecisive – we can debate decisions as small as what type of weight lifting we want to do for hours) so we did a few machines and free weights in tandem.

We arrived home around 1:30 and I was ready for some lunch! I showered and did girly things while he made a batch of tuna salad. This is my tiny little Cali bowl – so cute!

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The tuna salad was made with carrot, pickles, capers, mustard, dill, mayo, salt, pepper. The pickles were the highlight!!

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I enjoyed dipping these Old London Melba toasts that I got as a sample a while back.

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The rest of my lunch was filled with my favorite veggies: kale chips + squash! I am very much enjoying having leftover squash to reheat, an idea I stole from Jenna 🙂

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Last night when I was going to bed I think all the fiber of the squash (which I’ve pretty much eaten all of in 24 hours!) caught up with me. My stomach was sticking out so far!

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Crunch!

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***

Knuckle Sandwich

I received a few of Guy fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich Ergo Chef knives to review. The 8" chef knife and the 5.5" utility Dragon Dagger!

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I gave them a nice chop chop and liked them a lot! I like how heavy they are and they do feel very ergonomic. Kind of like walking in wedge shoes – you get a natural lift.

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I am no knife expert though, so I gave them to Matt, who is, and ask him to write up his thoughts. I said "it can be quick – just a list of what you like or dislike" and here’s what he had to say:

I’m always wary of celebrity lines of cookware.  I just don’t believe a celebrity when they say they’ve had a company make this pot or pan specifically for them.  And then I see them in Costco or Sam’s, which does not inspire confidence in my inner chef.  So when we got these knives by Guy Fieri, I was very skeptical.  But we decided to give them an objective trial run and I’ve found some things I really like about them, and some I don’t like.

First, I can’t help but to hate their appearance.  When it comes to cookware, I want everything to be clean and sleek.  These knives just plain look hokey.  Flames on the blade, stars and curves on the handle, and a big fat "Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich" stamped on the side – it doesn’t feel professional.  But I suppose performance is more important, so on with the real reviews.

The first knife is the 8" chef’s knife.  What I really like about this knife is how thinly the blade comes to an edge.  Most of my knives have a very thick blade that suddenly thins at the blade.  The problem with this is that the angle is so steep that its sharpness is difficult to maintain with a honing steel.  Furthermore, when it comes to actually sharpening a blade, you have to grind away a lot of metal to get the edge where you want it.  Because this knife is so thin all over, it feel like it cuts very sharply.  The blade also has a nice curvature, which makes it easy to get a nice rocking motion going while chopping (and this is why I hate santoku knives)

As for its feel, it has great balance.  It’s sturdy, but feels very light and controllable.  I’m not crazy about the handle, though.  The surface itself has a decent grip, but the whole handle is just too small.  I like a knife to really fill my hand because it feels less likely to slip (and I’d say I have average sized hands).  For those of you with pretty small hands, you might like the size.

The second knife is the "Dragon Dagger," which makes me want to barf with corniness.  When I first saw this knife, I thought "what can I possibly use this for?"  But I’ve come to see its value as a vegetable knife.  I like that the blade is offset, meaning you can cut all the way to the cutting board without your knuckles hitting.  It has the type of serrations I like – wavy ridges, rather than saw-teeth.  This is a great knife for cutting tomatoes and other small items.  Still, because the blade is very short (5.5"), it’s limited in its uses.  I hate the double points on the end – nearly useless, but they make the knife soooo much more dangerous.  Honestly I think they’re there to look cool.

Overall, I really like the chef’s knife and I can see using it a lot.  Not so much about the utility knife.  If you’re just now building your cutlery, get a chef’s knife (and this one will definitely suffice) and a paring knife.  Happy cuttin’!

If y’all would like the chance to win a set of these knives, leave a comment telling me what your favorite thing to CHOP is and I’ll randomly pick a winner 🙂

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***

My stomach was growling – ever so slightly – after breakfast. And I feel a bit hungry right now just an hour after lunch! I think I’m in my hypermetabolic time of the month 😉 Just chugged some water and if I’m still hungry I’m going to dive into a yogurt.

Afternoon: we’re going to see The Road and then having friends over for soup + salad!

Hope you guys are safe and sound in your snowy (or sunshining!) cities!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  11. Allison says

    Cabbage for cole slaw! It’s very soothing to me, and there is a big bowl of creamy, crunchy deliciousness at the end!

    Reply

  12. emptynutjar says

    Sounds like a fun day Kath. Very cute bowl.
    Question: do YOU ever have time to read any blogs ? 🙂 You are so busy and have such a big following, so just curious about it.

    Reply

    • Kath says

      YES! I follow probably 25-30. They are always changing too. I’ll unsubscribe to some and add others as the times change.

      Reply

  18. JessicaE says

    I just love chopping up peppers! Red, green, yellow: they are just so crisp and fragrant when sliced into… yum!

    Thanks for the giveaway, Kath. I liked Matt’s honest review of the product and would love to have a couple extra knives in my *very* small selection 🙂

    Reply

  21. Nicole says

    Speaking of squash… 😉

    Kath, I’m still working on getting through all of your blog. I’m somewhere in January of 2008 now. But I wanted to tell you that you’ve inspired me to eat things that I would never touch before! In the past week I’ve eaten oatmeal with almond butter and bananas, butternut squash soup, and I just baked a butternut squash with just a little bit of butter and brown sugar for Hubs and me. We’re eating it as I type, and we’re both raving over how amazing it is. I have never eaten a butternut squash in my life prior to this week! Next week is a spaghetti squash. 🙂 Oh, and today I had a salmon, avocado, red onion, and spinach sandwich on Ezekiel bread. My mother didn’t believe me when I told her.

    I’ll shamelessly self-promote as well and say that I’m discussing diet-related things over on my blog. LOL It’s a completely different blog from yours – yours is a million times better! – and really focuses on my weight loss efforts more than anything else.

    I love what you do here, Kath. You’ve inspired me and taught me, and I feel motivated when I read about your journey. Thank you so much for spending countless hours blogging for your readers!

    Best,
    Nicole

    Reply

  24. Erin says

    I saw these knives the other day on the Food Network and thought they were so cool looking. Favorite thing to chop is veggies–carrots, celery, cucs, squash, ect. Why you ask? Because veggies are a grreat way to practice my chopping range of motion I learned from watching Rachael Ray 🙂

    Reply

  27. Lauren says

    I love chopping apples. I’ll eat them unsliced when I’m in a rush, but I think it’s so much easier (and less messy) to enjoy them when they’re sliced up.

    Reply

  28. Emmalinda says

    I love to chop herbs (I guess this is technically mincing). I love starting with a big pile of green and using a sharp knife to chop it down to very small bits for a recipe.

    Reply

  29. Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says

    I love to chop onions and garlic! I hope this doesn’t disqualify me since you don’t like them Kath!

    Reply

  32. Emily G says

    I like to chop apples …I would say carrots BUT they always go all over the place when I do that (especially baby carrots)

    Reply

  38. Erin says

    Veggies and apples are about the only things I chop, so I love chopping those! However, my knives are cheap and cut poorly, so I would LOVE to win this prize 😀

    Reply

  43. Audrey says

    I love love love to chop onions, because it’s easy and not very messy. Tomato’s are a close second 😀

    I love Guy Fieri!

    Reply

  44. Cassie says

    Chopping fresh fruit for my oatmeal in the morning is probably my fav…even though it wakes my roommate up every time.

    Reply

  55. Erin says

    I’ll be curious to hear how you like The Road. The book was powerful and so graphic that I felt sick to my stomach just reading it; not sure I could sit through the movie.

    I like chopping apples. 🙂

    Reply

  56. susan says

    OH MY GOSH… i need knives so bad!

    wait, i’m not sure i’ve commented on your blog before, so i feel like before i try to get something free i should say HI, and… i love your blog =)

    as for chopping… red/green/yellow/orange peppers, cucumbers, squash… anything that’s crispy and makes the fun chopping sounds =)

    Reply

  57. Sharon says

    I love to chop carrots…probably because they are easy :). These knives would be great for cutting any fruits and veggies.

    Reply

  67. Nicole says

    Kath,

    I’m so sorry for the second comment (especially because you’re getting tons on this post!), but I wanted to ask you something. You might go over this somewhere in your blog but I wouldn’t know where to look for it! I’ve been doing the almond butter-on-spoon trick in my oatmeal… 😉 The problem I’m having is that the almond butter is kind of melting into the oatmeal during transport of the bowl to the table! Is it maybe that my almond butter just sucks? (It’s Nature’s Promise organic.)

    Sorry. I’m done being annoying now!

    Nicole

    Reply

  71. Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen says

    Best thing in the world to chop is garlic….you get to smash it AND chop it! Plus my husband’s been asking for new knives since July!

    Reply

  72. Maria (realfitmama) says

    Oddly enough my favorite thing to chop is a giant red onion! I get a weird, sick satisfaction out of getting the slices paper thin and even. My husband (who is a chef) makes fun of me as I slice and chop through my tears, but who cares – red onion slices go so well on my hummus and avocado sandwiches!!! YUM

    Reply

  74. Kay says

    I don’t know why(since they make me cry 🙁 but I LOVE chopping pearly white onions! They’re so pretty when they are all chopped up in neat little cubes and they smell so divine while you’re chopping and while they’re cooking. Oh no! Hope that just because you HATE onions that this won’t disqualify me from winning those beautiful knives! 😉 Love the blog!

    Reply

  75. Laura says

    My favorite thing to chop is cabbage! I LOVE carmelized cabbage made in a skillet on the stove. So I take a huge head of cabbage and chop chop chop it up to cook! Yummm-o!

    Reply

  77. Jackie W. says

    I always find it hard to cook cause my knives are so dull. I’d love to be able to more easily chop butternut squash!

    Reply

  78. Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says

    What a great review Kath! I totally appreciate your honest opinions! 🙂

    I have to say my favorite thing to chop is apples. I just love a good apple and nut butter!

    Reply

  79. Annalee says

    Carrots and parsnips are my favorite thing to chop because of their consistent shape! I can do it really fast!

    All the Best,
    Annalee

    Reply

  80. sarah (shep) says

    first of all, i LOVE guy fieri, and this would be awesome to win! 🙂 my favorite thing to chop is cabbage… i eat it wayyyy to often (i’m talking 3-4 nights a week!) with my dinner and these knives would help me very much in my new apartment come january 1st!

    Reply

  82. Tuesday says

    They do look corny — but I <3 chopping onions — I know, they make me cry, but I always feel so organized chopping them 🙂

    Reply

  84. Nicole K says

    I love to chop pears and onions….not together, though. Kath, I know you don’t like onions, but you asked! 🙂

    Reply

  86. Erica says

    Hey Kath! How are you? I love your new view of the gym. I try to think of my group fitness classes like that too- like we’re having a really intense dance party together 🙂 I think its wonderful that you’re having friends over for soup and salad tonight- how fun. I’d LOVE these knives (I need some good knives so bad). I would use them to chop up impossible squash 🙂

    Reply

  87. Hillary @ Nutrition Nut on the Run says

    I love to chop zucchini & bell peppers for stir-fry!

    Nicely put: “hypermetabolic time of the month”. Hope you didn’t copyright it ; ) I know exactly what you mean…

    Reply

  88. Naomi(onefitfoodie) says

    LOVE your lunch, melba toasts are perfect and so tasty esp with tuna salad!
    MY favorite thing to chop would have to be apples!! 🙂

    Reply

  89. Tasha says

    I hate chopping squashes because my knives stink and make it so difficult. But I love slicing thin slices of potatoes

    Reply

  92. Lexi says

    I absolutely love melbas! They are perfect for tipping + scooping! What a fab lunch! I love your idea of the gym being a playground! Makes me want to exercise / read mags and watch tv!

    Reply

  104. Anne says

    Mirepoix! I chop up onions, carrots, and celery and freeze them in smallish batches to have on hand for quick soups and stews during the week.

    Reply

  105. homecookedem says

    My favorite thing to chop up is a butternut squash because all of that chopping is soooooo worth it when that buttery squash comes out of the oven!! 🙂

    Reply

  106. Ryan V says

    I like to chop small cheese cubes for homemade mac & cheese. Well, it’s more slicing when it comes to cheese. But, a knife is used either way.

    Reply

  113. Michelle says

    ahhh my favorite thing to chop ever is Broccoli!!! I love watching the broccoli florets fall in small pieces elegantly onto the cutting board! 🙂

    Reply

  114. Carol says

    I love to let my husband chop ingredients for a salad! He chops things SUPER FINE and it makes a killer chopped salad.

    Reply

  116. Kathy says

    Anything but onions! (I seriously wore my goggles that i swim in to chop onions earlier today) I guess my favorite would be celery or cucumbers.

    Reply

  117. Kate in Japan says

    I like to chop garlic. Mostly because I love garlic. (I usually put in way more than the recipe calls for. Yum!) I hate chopping onions, but the fiance doesn’t mind so that’s always his job. A perfect partnership.

    Reply

  119. Mrs. Smith says

    I love to chop nuts! I don’t know why, but I love it.

    My husband is the knife guy though as well – and he loves Guy Fieri. His fave chopping item is peppers. 🙂

    Reply

  120. RhodeyGirl says

    I love chopping red peppers because it reminds me of preparing for parties with my family! We always have lots of fresh pepper slices for dipping into hummus. YUM.

    Reply

  122. Kate says

    I love to chop cucumbers and apples, but since none of my knives are actually sharp, it isn’t as much fun as it could be. In addition to enhancing my chopping enjoyment, these knives would be awesome for cutting raw squash and sweet potato (so difficult)!

    Reply

  123. Linda says

    I like to chop cucumbers, red and yellow bell peppers, and hearts of palm. This makes a delicious salad with just a squeeze of fresh lemon and lime juice for dressing.

    Reply

  126. Alison says

    thank goodness someone else has been super hungry lately. i have been the exact same way! love your gym philosophy–it is just like a playground, you’re right!

    Reply

  127. runRedrun says

    I’m usually chopping carrots, celery and onions. Having a good knife makes a huge difference when cutting squash! No more sliced fingers for me, thanks.

    Reply

  131. Cara says

    I like to chop cabbage, and those knives look great! Although, they’re pretty cheesy, I must admit. Red handle and flames? Please…

    Reply

  135. Tammy @ Defining Wellness says

    I like to chop onions, peel the layers, inhale the scent, get the watery eyes . . . the whole experience is just fun. 🙂

    Reply

  141. FoodCents says

    Herbs, cucumber, cabbage & celery. I will also share with you the fact that I DESPISE chop onions…

    I enjoyed Matt’s review, btw!!!

    Reply

  144. Cellabella says

    Those knives look cool 🙂 I’d love to win! I like chopping green onions, ’cause I can line them up and cut them really fast so I feel like a pro even though I’m not.

    Reply

  145. Christy says

    Dang, those knives look like they could do some damage… in the kitchen, that is 😀 And I’d use them to cut up raw veggies, that are usually difficult to chop without a good knife!

    Reply

  147. courtney says

    I need a new knife to CHOP onions… but I hope that doesn’t disqualify me since you hate them so much! 😉 I also love to CHOP tons of fruit and make a delicious fruit salad!

    Reply

  150. Alison says

    Cath I love your gym mindset! And I totally am hungry the week before my special time of the month. I never even realized it until I started counting points on Weight Watchers! LOL

    I would love to try the knives so I will tell you what I cook the most (and think the chef’s knife would be splendid). Onions – I make a lot of curries and the onion is the base of the curry.

    Reply

  153. monicaonthego.com says

    Oh fun giveaway! I like to chop open any kind of big squash, especially spaghetti squash. I have shitty knives, I could totally use these!

    Reply

  158. Erika says

    I’m not a huge fan of chopping, especially onions. However, I love eating so chopping is usually inevitable. Lately my favorite thing to eat (chop) is kabocha squash. Can’t get enough of that stuff 🙂

    Reply

  162. Tay says

    Um chop chop onions!! Sorry! 😉 And I”m feelin’ you on the fibrous squash. At least I hope that’s why my stomach is sticking out!! hehe

    Reply

  173. Cynthia (It All Changes) says

    The gym really is my playground because I love to workout. I like watching TV or reading while doing lower impact and just zoning while running.

    I think I like chopping apples the most. I make microwave apple crisp almost every day so I go through a lot of apples.

    Reply

  179. monica says

    Veggies man, veggies:) I need a good sharp knife though-I’m such a klutz it’s a miracle I haven’t lost a finger with my dull knives!:)

    Reply

  182. grace says

    ever since going veg this past summer, i pretty much chop and prep about 10 different types a produce a week when i make my trip back from trader joe’s 🙂

    Reply

  184. Meagan says

    I love your mentality about the gym… sometimes its such a drag to not be able to get outside to workout! But the gym… is like Jimboree!
    My favorite thing to chop is fruit. I absolutely love standing in front of a cutting board when summer parties roll around and putting together 5 fruit baskets at a time… I can cube a pinapple in 3 minutes flat! 😛

    Reply

  186. Allison says

    I like stars and such on knives… but that is just me.

    I like chopping zuccinni. It’s easy to chop so I feel like I look like a pro. And peppers!

    Reply

  187. Melissa says

    I’ll tell ya what I DON’T like to chop – onions! I can’t chop anything well because I have horrible knives and I’m afraid I’ll chop off my finger! I do like to chop meat and things like that because I don’t have to feel like I need to chop them quickly and look cool like a professional! I don’t feel too awful though because after watching Julie & Julia I learned that Julia couldn’t chop onions either until she went to cooking school! I hope that my comment about what I DON’T like to chop qualifies!

    Reply

  193. Annie says

    It’s so cool that you get to try out new stuff…I love sampling things out so that I can know exactly what I want in a product. Thanks for the honest review!

    I like chopping carrots and bell peppers to take for lunch 🙂

    Reply

  195. Dana says

    I just started reading your blog and I love it! My favorite thing to chop is onions. Although they do make me cry, I love the smell (and taste!) of them!

    Reply

  198. Christine says

    Gotta love Matt’s thoroughness. That’s great!

    I love chopping celery, which I’ll be doing for our stuffing for Christmas Eve dinner.

    Reply

  202. josephinetomato says

    Tomatoes, my favorite food. Enjoyed the review Matt, agree on the added for drama esthetic details – not necessary, it is all about performance in my opinion.

    Reply

  205. Kathleen says

    I love chopping apples for snacks…something about individual slices is so much fun and makes me feel like I get more instead of gnawing around the core 🙂

    Reply

  211. Jillian says

    I LOVE to chop zucchini! It’s so soft that knives fly right through it! It’s a very satisfying experience. 🙂

    Reply

  217. Mary Z says

    I feel the same way about celebrity cook ware. I don’t necessarily think cookware with a celebrity name makes it any better (or worse) than the generic versions.

    My favorite thing to chop is cucumbers. It always makes the house smell so fresh.

    Reply

  219. Casey says

    I love Guy!!!

    I like things I can chop quickly such as celery or green onions (yes, Kath, onions!) 🙂

    However I’m not a fan of chopping tomatoes!!!

    Reply

  223. Lindsay says

    Honestly, I hate chopping food because my knives are terrible! I hope that I will become a great chopper of all foods with some good knives!

    Reply

  227. marzipan says

    god there is nothing like a good sharp chopping utensil. love it for slicing cleanly through garlic and onions. promise not to use it for cutting through PVC whilst making hula hoops…
    that was the kiss of death for the other knives at my disposal 😉

    Reply

  238. Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says

    My favorite thing to chop is celery…it’s small and easy enough to chop so I can look like a Food Network Star 🙂 I would love these knives because I tried cutting squash tonight and almost de-handed myself!! Your acorn squash looks like little flower petals…purrrrty!

    Reply

  242. Laura says

    I love to chop onions! It’s so satisfying to see a whole onion transform into fine little pieces. And, you definitely need a sharp knife to do it!

    Reply

  245. Organic Ashley says

    I have handy me down knifes that are horrible!! I have been wanting to buy new ones but they are so expensive and I am a broke college student 🙂

    Reply

  248. Kara says

    Mushrooms, because my dull knives suck at chopping anything else! I really HATE doing onions, though we know you don’t have to deal with that :).

    Reply

  252. Eileen says

    Currently I don’t like chopping anything because my knives are so dull. Would love to get some sharp knives, even if they do have flames on them! =)

    Reply

  256. Pamela says

    I love to chop a lot of different things; I often have the cutting board in front of the TV so I can multi-task (and try not to chop off my fingers!). I especially love chopping basil (it’s easy) and bell peppers in odd shapes. Thanks guys!

    Reply

  262. Mo @ Mommy RD says

    Good knives can make almost anything fun to chop, but I’d have to say that brussel sprouts are my favorite thing to chop currently.

    Reply

  263. Diana says

    My fave thing to chop is…dare I say it…ONIONS! Sorry, but it’s true! 🙂 Don’t worry, I won’t cut them when you’re around. 😉

    Reply

  270. Anais says

    I love to cut cucumber for some reason… but what I’d LOVE to have a great knife for would be for all types of squash. I’m always surprised I make it out alive because my knifes are horrible!

    Reply

  279. Marian F. Ray says

    I put an end to my swimming lessons because it was getting boring, after 3 years, and I’ll go swimming once in a while. What’s left? Gym with friends.

    Reply

  281. Katherine says

    My kids will love these so much. I will try the best. Now I can change my menu regularly for my family, esp. for my kids. Thank you 🙂

    Reply

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