Are you a baby boomer wanting to get more fit, age well, and stay active as long as possible? Ok, you don’t have to be a boomer to lust after Hugh Jackman great health and a mentally vital life.  You don’t even have to be a Chicka. Cheeky Chicos are also welcome to bask in the solutions we find for you. Can you use support, worthwhile resources, and 4 cups of coffee per day motivation now and then?

We culled from hither and yon to offer you two-stop resource shopping as follows:

• the ultimate list of  Fitness and Health Blogs that cater to the over 45 crowd. And isn’t being catered to part of your good life ahead?
• targeted Special Collections of DVDs, streaming video, and audio interviews we curated for you courtesy of GaiamTV.  Go to the good stuff in a related post coming soon. Or get a sneak preview (Spoiler Alert) if you click on the GaiamTV link now.

Scroll through the sites of blogs for Boom Chicka Boomers listed below. Bookmark them, subscribe, check them out. Get answers to your questions. Join conversations with others who share your interests. Add to our listl.ly.com list if you know of a valuable site that speaks to health for boomers. Let’s make this the most comprehensive, helpful list of its kind!

Just as Kymberly returns from a week at Rancho la Puerta spa in Mexico (please sing, “Welcome Back Kymberly” to the tune of “Welcome Back Kotter”), I’ll be leaving for Cologne and Amsterdam as part of an event known as BlogTour.

We are going to see a lot of beautiful, trend-setting, functional products there. I am not a designer. The other 13 bloggers are. I probably don’t even wear the right shade of lipstick for my coloring, and my house is decorated in Post-Modern Dust Kitty! What I am is a baker, a cook, a person who gets sweaty, and I live in a home. More importantly, all of you like to eat, bathe and live in comfort, and all of us care about leading healthy lives. This includes buying products that reflect our values and take the earth into consideration.

While I’m in Germany and Nederland (I cannot bring myself to use the English “Holland” or “the Netherlands,” due to my Dutch ties), I will take a lot of pictures so I can share all the cool stuff I see with you. For now (I depart on Saturday), I’ll just mention one product that I’m really curious about. Judging from the comments I’ve gotten from many of you, we are mutually curious about the steam oven from Miele that I mentioned in our post BlogTour: Cologne, Amsterdam and Gifts for Your Home.

I wrote to Miele to get more info, with a particular request to know if I could do baguettes in the steam oven. Rather than reword her answer, I’ll quote directly from Julie McCrary, Miele’s local PR rep.

Food, Glorious Steamed Food

I too am a baker and have enjoyed trying out lots of new recipes in the steam oven. This year I’ve made Banana Bread and Molten Chocolate Cake in the steam oven, as well as fajitas, steamed meatballs and a fabulous seafood stew. Oh, did I mention that one of the great things about cooking with steam is that you can cook multiple things at the same time without the fear of flavor transfer? As for the nutritional value, vegetables cooked in the Miele Steam Oven retain about 20% more nutrients than vegetables that are boiled on a cooktop.

The steam oven is also great for reheating leftovers. Because it uses steam instead of direct heat, moisture is reintroduced to the food and unlike when you reheat food in a microwave, the food is moist and doesn’t dry out.

You are correct about the baguettes, you can proof dough in the steam oven. There’s even a specialized program within the Miele MasterChef settings which help set the right time and temperature.

I am now trying to figure out if I can sell my sister in exchange for one of these! Oh, wait, it’s under $1000, so I could maybe just sell her hair. Short red hair is valuable, right?

Always Better – Does that Refer to Me or Miele?

There is a recipe link on the Miele site, with over 100 recipes for the steam oven. I’ve linked it for you, but a few of the recipe titles are making me really hungry: Vanilla Bean Custard with Blackberry Coulis, Smoked Paprika Roasted Scallops with Asparagus and Dill Sauce, and Steamed Lobster and Corn Dumplings with Mushroom Puree. You see where I’m going with this? – Straight to the kitchen!!!

Lobster & Corn Dumplings with Mushroom Puree sounds good to meeeee

Sooooo, um, yeah, I want to break out in the song “Food, Glorious Food,” from “Oliver,” skipping the gruel!

I’ll be doing further posts about some of the other cool stuff, but in the meantime, did I mention we’ll be taking a tour of the Köelner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)? My undergrad degree was in European Medieval History, so I’m pretty dang excited about this special event too. If you want to follow along, we’ll be on Twitter using the #BlogTourCGN hashtag. And the BlogTour itinerary is right here.

Cologne Cathedral (I want to sound erudite, so I’ll call it Kölner Dom)

If you’re curious about Cologne (Köln for the German speakers), Amsterdam, kitchens, baths, design, furniture (especially Scandinavian) or want to meet the sponsors, my fellow bloggers, and perhaps even a few of the European bloggers, join our Twitter chat today, January 10, 4:00 pm EST/ 1:00 pm PST, using the hashtag above. Bring your questions. I’ll be bringing my fork, wit and curiosity!

You can mock our sense of  fashion by subscribing to our YouTube channel and blog. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share, subscribe and have fun leading a healthy life!

P.S. While I do have more dust kitties than I might like, I actually am a snob (according to my sis), and have some truly fab furnishings. All the products made by the sponsors of BlogTour would match them perfectly!

Photo credits: All photos are from the Miele site, except the Dom. 

I received no compensation or products for this post, although I will happily mention that Miele is one of the sponsors of BlogTour.

Have a Ball Getting Fit at Anytime Fitness

Start 2013 with a really amazing prize! Do you want to win a one-year membership to Anytime Fitness? Yeah, it’s that big a deal!

We won a photo contest that Anytime Fitness held, and our prize is really YOUR prize, as it’s a full year’s membership to give away to one of you.

The requirements are simple:

* You must live within 30 miles of an Anytime Fitness, in any of the 12 countries where they’re located.  Anytime Fitness has over 2,035 locations, so click on the link to see which one is near you.

* You must complete the one mandatory requirement we have in our Rafflecopter giveaway below (you’ll want to play along as our videos are fabulous). Also take advantage of the optional entry actions to increase your odds. If you are already an Anytime Fitness member, you will get a year’s extension on your current membership.

That kind of sums it up. The picture you see here is the one that we used to get you this fabulous prize. You are free to comment below at the total supremeness and creativity of our picture. Or suggest video topics you’d like us to add to our sterling collection. Or submit fitness questions to us that we’ll answer right here on the blog. Wow, this giveaway is so cool, just like Anytime Fitness and Fun and Fit. You spend a few minutes of your time entering (you can come back every day for extra entries) and in return you might win a prize worth thousands of dollars. As Monty Hall said, “Such a deal!” Okay, he actually said, “Let’s make a deal,” but we updated it.

We’ll pick the winner Thursday, January 17th, 2013, who will be notified by email and/or tweet. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or we’ll pick another winner.

All the links you need to enter this SuperCaliFragiListicExpiAliDocious entry are conveniently located right here:

Start 2013 as a winner by subscribing to our YouTube channel and blog. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share, subscribe and win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Merry Christmas to me! I am headed to Cologne and Amsterdam in January as part of BlogTour by Modenus. 

I’m one of 14 international designers (not me) and lifestyle (me) bloggers invited to attend the giant IMM (International Furniture Fair) and Living Kitchen as well as other design destinations in Cologne before moving on to spend a day in Amsterdam for a guided tour of the City’s design hotspots in collaboration with home design magazine Eigen Huis and Interieur.

What? You are wondering how I managed to wangle this amazing invitation when I can’t even tell you the 2013 color of the year (it’s emerald)! Let me put it like this – You love good food, right? And you spend a lot of time in your kitchen? And in your bathroom? And you appreciate good design, whether it’s your sculpted body or a beautiful sculpture, right? How about well-made products that make your life more enjoyable? Exactly!

A few of the items I’ll be checking out on your behalf:

We moved away from Oregon just as my dream kitchen was finished. So I didn’t get to spend much time with MY sink. So for sure I’ll be sidling up to this  BLANCO CERANA™ fireclay, as it’s just like the one I left behind.

This magical espresso machine is by Miele. Need I say more?

I’ve read the research about the health benefits of cooking with steam (think of vitamins, minerals and nutrients). But I didn’t know about these steam ovens until just now. On the wish list!!

 If you read our November Holiday Fitness Gift List, then you already know about the standing towel warmer by Mr. Steam. I figured out pretty quickly that it warms my fitness clothes in the morning too! And I’m sure it would warm up this snuggly robe from The Turkish Towel Company.

These cabinet pulls by Du Verre are shaped like pomegranates. I think it would be so cool to have the drawers match one of my favorite smoothie ingredients! Since they’re manufactured entirely from recycled aluminum, they satisfy my environmental values too!

My compost currently goes into an old milk container. It’s disgusting. Dear BLANCO SOLON™ Compost System, come to Mama.

These are but a fraction of the many amazing items and brands I’ll be checking out during the trip! I’m pretty excited. And I’l be keeping an eye out for the items I think Kymberly would like in her new home. She needs appliances for an entire house! Hmmm, there must be a way to make her into a Shrinky-Dink so she can fit in my luggage and come along….

If you want to know more of our gift suggestions for the season (or any time, really)  listen to our Healthy Holiday Gift Ideas radio interview with Southern Fried Fitness.

And if you want to learn more about Cologne or Amsterdam, GaiamTV has a few videos you might like. FengShui at the Dorint, and Insights: Amsterdam.

Now I’m off to brush up on my basic Dutch skills. Tot ziens!

Photo credits: Miele, BLANCO, The Turkish Towel Company, Modenus, DuVerre, Zachi Evenor (Cologne Cathedral), and Go Orbit (Shrinky Dink poster).

For true beauty, form and function, subscribe to our YouTube channel and blog. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share and subscribe!

Today is DoubleMint “Double Your Pleasure; Double Your Fun” Twin Time as you get two double fresh, double good topics in one! First up, some quick and timely facts about Baby Boomers. Then a possible trip around the fitness world (with 7 seconds of your help).

Fun Fit Facts For and About Baby Boomers

• What do you think is the life expectancy of baby boomers? Prepare to be surprised!  A death defying 87 years! Our goal here at Fun and Fit is to rouse you to make those 87 years active, engaged ones!
• When you exercise hard enough to sweat you grow new cells — cells that are better and functionally younger.
• People who burn off the most energy have healthier, younger brains compared with adults who do less.
• Physical activity leads to 5% more gray matter.
• Specific aspects of cognitive function such as task switching, selective attention, and working memory, all appear to benefit from aerobic exercise.
• Mental test scores improve for those who take part in an aerobic exercise regimen compared to those who do just stretch and tone classes.
• Even doing moderate leisure activities for 2.5 hours per week can extend your life by up to 4.5 years
• Walking and physical activity may help prevent hip replacement especially for women.
• Employees who exercise are an average of 15% more efficient than non-active workers.
• Percentage of boomers who exercise frequently? 27%
• Infrequently? 21% What about the remaining half?
• Boomers who do not exercise at all??!!  52%!!! Aaaarrgghh!
• 62 percent of baby boomers have at least 1 chronic condition as a result of obesity.
• 87% of all baby boomers seek health info online. Such as the info you get from our blog!

 Anywhere There’s An Anytime

Winning Would Make us Gaga Too!

The Anytime Fitness photo contest is only a couple of days from ending, and we want to Win the grand prize of a trip to anywhere Anytime has a club (that includes Poland and Australia)! Kind of like Charlie Sheen and his famous tweet: “Born Ready. Winning.” Except he’s the bad boy of television, and we’re the good twins of fitness! And we aren’t warlocks like Charlie either, so the only way we can win the trip to the Anytime Fitness location of our choice (they are found in 12 countries) is if you vote for us. Creativity helps too, so we sure do hope our photo is Cre.A.Tive!

Get on the Ball and Vote For Us!

The voting deadline ends on 21 December, so please head over to Anytime Fitness and click on the link to give us your vote. We are the Running Twins on the Ball. We appreciate every vote! Did we mention that we want to win the trip?

Has the DoubleMint jingle been haunting you since the beginning of the post? We then dedicate this YouTube video to you:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fun Fit Fact: Those who subscribe to our YouTube channel and blog get more fun fit facts. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share and subscribe!

Photo credits: Us and Flickr