Fit Tip of the Day: How Many Minutes?

Since Mac & Cheese isn't my only love in life, I've decided to start featuring some fitness tips I pick up in my everyday journey of living a more active life.  Most specifically, I've taken up jogging and running races and what not, so most of these tips will probably be geared towards that.

Here's a tip about how much of a given exercise you'd probably have to do to burn off the calories from one serving of mac and cheese.  I'm going to use an estimate from the Homeroom Gilroy Garlic Mac since that seems to be a pretty popular choice and mention on this blog.

The estimated calorie count for the Gilroy Garlic Mac (based on Homeroom's Mac & Cheese cookbook) is 940 calories per serving.  For this entry, I won't be factoring in the fat/carbs/protein break down and how they affect digestion, nutrition, etc., but for anyone who is curious, it's approximately 59g in total fat, 58g in total carbs, and 41g in protein.

If a 150 pound person were to eat a full serving of the Gilroy Garlic Mac, they would need to complete the following times for the following activities to burn off the 940 calories:

Running (8-min mile): 63 minutes
Running (10-min mile): 79 minutes
Running (12-min mile): 94 minutes
Jog/Walk Intervals: 135 minutes
Walking (4mph): 157 minutes
Swimming (vigorous effort): 79 minutes
Swimming (moderate effort): 118 minutes
Stationary Bike (vigorous effort): 73 minutes
Stationary Bike (light effort):  135 minutes
Basketball: 94 minutes
Football: 86 minutes
Jump Rope: 94 minutes
Tennis: 118 minutes
Volleyball: 94 minutes
Golf: 188 minutes
House Cleaning (vigorous effort): 235 minutes


Interesting list, huh?  I love my mac and cheese, but I love it even more when I balance it out with an activity like running or jogging.  I thought I'd share this list with everyone in case there was anyone out there interested in doing the same.

Mac of the Day: White Cheddar with Spinach

A good friend of mine loves Homeroom just as much as I do and we regularly like to take trips for our favorite dish there: the white cheddar mac.  Anyway, I got this awesome photo of her variation on the dish today and thought I'd share it here.

Happy Friday and happy eating!

 

Want to see your mac and cheese meal show up here as a Mac of the Day?  Just email dontknowmac@gmail.com and you might see it show up one day!

Tote Bag Giveaway Winner!

Today is June 9!  It's You Don't Know Mac's first birthday!  Woo!

It's also the day that I announce the Tote Bag Giveaway winner! Drumroll....

Here's the winning Instagram photo:

 

Congrats to Jessica, who has won her very own You Don't Know Mac tote bag!  This photo is too cute not to win!

You can follow You Don't Know Mac on Instagram, too, and who knows... Maybe you'll one day win a tote bag as snazzy as this one, too!  Thanks again to all my awesome readers and contributors over the last year.  It's been really fun to get photos, recommendations, recipes and more from all of you.  I hope you'll continue to share your mac and cheese experiences and let me know what you think of some of my recommendations.  Happy Birthday, You Don't Know Mac, and Cheers to all of you!

Review: Fat Angel Food & Libation

Fat Angel Food & Libation
1740 O'Farrell St, San Francisco
fatangelsf.com

Yummm

This past weekend, I stopped in at Fat Angel before attending a concert at the Fillmore.  I had heard that they had a killer mac and cheese, so when I saw how close they were to the venue, I knew I had to stop in.

The restaurant wasn't nearly as busy as I expected it to be, but I suppose that had a lot to do with there be an NBA Finals game on at the same time and Fat Angel doesn't have a TV.  Note for future reference, if you are hoping to watch a game somewhere, this probably isn't the place.  But!  If you are looking for a great mac and cheese, look no further because we have a new addition to the Top Ten list!  Congrats to Fat Angel!

The cheese sauce is spicy, which I haven't seen offered in too many restaurants.  While I'm not usually a fan of spicy dishes, I could appreciate the flavor and how it made this particular mac and cheese so unique.  They use a blend of Gruyere, Cheddar, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses.  To add the spicy kick, they throw in some cayenne.  The cooked cheese that forms a crust around the edges and top of the dish is delicious and is complimented well by cooked breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

Yep, that's a good helping right there

Surprisingly, even though it was spicier than I normally prefer, I ate practically the whole dish.  The cheese sauce was creamy and held well to the pasta.  There wasn't any kind of watery remains, which can often happen in a skillet due to an excess of fat oils that didn't congeal in the hot serving platter.  That sounds lovely, right?  Haha.  But none of that present here.  Just some good, creamy sauce with a spicy flavor that, if you are like me, will have you drinking many glasses of water.

All that said, I encourage you to give Fat Angel a try!  It has the You Don't Know Mac Top Ten stamp of approval... for now...

Review: Sidecar

Sidecar
1127 Broad St, San Luis Obispo
sidecarslo.com

Large portions!

While in San Luis Obispo for Memorial Day weekend, I stopped into Sidecar, one of my new favorite bars to visit while on the central coast.  Last time I visited Sidecar, I just got a couple drinks (they are pretty well stocked with some good bourbons and whiskeys), and had some popcorn at the bar.  This time, I wanted to sample their restaurant menu.  It also happened to be my birthday so I was pretty excited to celebrate with some mac and cheese.

I ordered the Butternut Mac, which includes roasted butternut squash, vermont cheddar cheese and is topped with breadcrumbs.  It wasn’t very rich, but had some good flavor.  I think that it would have really soared if it had had a creamier sauce.  The cheese and butternut squash had a tendency to just kind of clump together on the noodles.  The topping didn’t add much in the way of flavor and felt more like a slight texture change.  The portion was great, though.  I barely finished half of it.

If I were to return to Sidecar, I probably wouldn’t order the mac and cheese.  I’d probably inquire into their market cut or market fish selections.  My boyfriend ordered their market cut, which was a delicious steak with some really good mashed potatoes and veggies.  Another dish I would look into would be the tator tots side, which I’ve heard is pretty delicious.

If you find yourself in San Luis Obispo, definitely give Sidecar a visit, if not for the mac, but at least for the great bar selection, some really good popcorn and a cool environment.

Happy 1st Birthday & Tote Bag Giveaway!

Just about a year ago, on June 9, 2014, I posted my blog entry here, and so You Don't Know Mac was born!

So... Happy First Birthday, You Don't Know Mac!  It's been super fun exploring new mac and cheese recipes and restaurant offerings and it's been even more fun to share my explorations with all of you readers!

To celebrate, I'm giving away a large You Don't Know Mac tote bag, just like the stylish one pictured here.  It works great for groceries, a random walk to the local mac and cheese restaurant, or even the beach!

How do you win this awesome tote bag you ask?  Well, it's super simple! Between now and through June 8, Instagram a photo of yourself with a mac and cheese dish you enjoy (or just the mac and cheese dish is fine), and tag @dontknowmac in your photo post.  You must tag @dontknowmac to enter, or I might not see it.  On June 9, I'll reveal the winner here in a new blog post and on Instagram.  The more Instagram photo posts you have, the more entries you have into the lottery!

Happy photo taking and Happy Birthday, You Don't Know Mac!

Don't follow You Don't Know Mac on Instagram?  Well, now you should start!