Why Exercising with Food Shows Is a Really Great Idea
My husband thinks this is completely crazy, but I wave away and puff through all the sweaty mockery: I refuse to do sit-ups and that sort of nonsense without an inspiring cooking video to crunch along to. This is also, of course, why I really can’t show my face at a gym.
Running? Food podcast on, and then I know for sure I’ll run twice as fast. Home, that is, to put on a nice pot of beans or make brownie ice cream.
Totally logical
It’s very simple: I’m happy to exercise, really, but then I need motivation in my face (or ears) explaining why I’m doing it. (I genuinely eat and drink more than half an hour of walking a day could compensate for.) So I put my mat in front of the smart TV, stream Bon Appétit’s Andy Baraghani making pasta with chickpeas—or, even better, one of those videos where they taste EVERYTHING on the menu in a restaurant—and that’s how I easily get through hundreds of those stupid sit-ups.
Planking? Fine, but then my phone is lying beneath my face while Jamie Oliver gets his ears boxed by an Italian nonna. And when I set off with earbuds in for my run around a meadow in Amsterdam-Noord—you can bet Samin Nosrat is telling me which lentils I should or shouldn’t buy.
Want this too? (Spoiler: you do)
Here’s my list of the best food videos and podcasts to listen to while exercising:
Home Cooking (podcast)
Samin Nosrat and the even more difficult-to-pronounce Hrishikesh Hirway (you’ll learn it all soon enough) make the funniest, most cheerful American food podcast I know. They started it because they immediately realized that, with the start of the coronavirus crisis, a lot of people would now be cooking at home every day, much more than usual. They answer listeners’ questions that are all too recognizable. “I bought so many split peas, but now I’m sick of pea soup coming out of my nose like snot—help?” for example.
Bon Appétit (videos and podcast)
I installed this streaming app from one of America’s biggest food magazines on the smart TV. These really are The Pro’s when it comes to cooking quickly, conveniently and enticingly, and they’re perfectly attuned to the home cook who wants to keep things delicious but simple. Their podcasts are also incredibly informative and hugely entertaining.
Jamie Oliver
I’m a real sucker for some old-fashioned Jamie tossing and banging things around, and on IGTV he also has great videos that last exactly as long as you want to move your leg up and down.
Dutch food/podcasts
If you feel like checking out some homegrown work, take a look here for inspiration. Surely this should make the otherwise rather dreary misery that exercise is for many people manageable, right? You just have to approach it smartly—something like the carrot-on-a-stick trick, only f*@k the carrot and give me carbonara when I’m done…
Also read:
- Dear people, could you please stop being so blatantly healthy?
- How do you prevent a six-pack?
- Workout with wine bottles: bye-bye, gym!
