Day 2

Why is my alarm going off already!?? I feel like I just closed my eyes and it's already time for me to get ready for my first class of the day! 

First up, belly dance. I don't include this much in our routines but it's time I do. Too bad it was a lot of basic moves BUT great combos. This will be coming soon with a great song!

I took a quick marketing class... How to attract more students to your class. Well it seems I already do all of what they advise except I lack the blogging. Crazy thing is that I decided to blog my first day here and then I attend the workshop and they suggest to blog at least once a week.. I know! I know!! I suck at it but I promise to get back at it. One more thing to add on my "to do list"! 

Break time!!... FINALLY!! I'm super excited there is no line at the outlet but I notice not much to chose from this year. Oh wait! It could be because someone stole the Zumba trailer full of merchandise!! They found the trailer truck but no merchandise! Awful! Just awful!! So let's just say it sort of was a good thing because I spend too much money when I'm in there!

Now it's time for some MERENGUE & SALSA! Willy Diaz is one of my favorite presenters and he always delivers! Got some amazing new moves. I even learned a little boogaloo! That may or may not get added to my playlist but overall it was great! Lucky for y'all, the moves aren't complicated but FUN for sure! 

My day is finally coming to an end but not before attending the Zumba fitness concert with special guest, Wisin(formally known as Wisin and Yandel). The concert is awesome, a GAZILION people just dancing! Imagine that! People are cheering, dancing and having a good time!  You would think that after all that training people would want to rest but it's the total opposite. A great way to end my night. Here is a little slide show for y'all to enjoy. Miss you guys! 

http://flipagram.com/f/H5QTj5Dj1V

Day 1- Zumba Convention 2014

Every year around this time, over five thousand Zumba Instructors from all over the world get together and enjoy what I like to call... 4 days of PURO PARTY!! Each ZIN signs up for classes of their choice, gets amazing new choreo, by amazing presenters and then we bring it to y'all! My third year here and it never gets old!

It's 9pm(Orlando time) and I just finished my last class. My feet hurt, I'm hungry and I'm ready for a shower! Six hours of non-stop dance. As I sit here waiting for my ride, I'm mentally trying to choreograph a routine from all the steps I learned today!

 My first class was a dancehall mash-up and y'all know how much I love dancehall( incase y'all don't know what dancehall is, it's our last fast song in my routine. U know the REALLY high impact one ... Up! Up! Goooo😳). Get ready!! Got something good coming when I get back.

 Second class... Bachata. Oh bachata! how I love you(I know I say that about all music..lol)!! But really, I love bachata and guess what?? Got some new moves for y'all!! I'm super exited!!

Last session of the night was a Masterclass with  Alena Groopman, a jammer from California, who is totally my style! Day 1 down 3 more to go! 

Tweaking Recipes

I know I said I would blog more often and again I'm failing to do so but I'm making it up by posting an old recipe with a few tweaks. As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Jamie Eason....my recipes come from her website but I add/change things to my liking. However, I give all the credit to this woman for having such creative ideas!

Some of you had the opportunity to taste the Carrot Banana and Walnut Protein Cupcakes(that was a mouthful) I made for Valentine's day. The question you all had was,... "How did you get them so moist?" When I first made this recipe, I think I failed to list that the recipe required water(it says optional and I opt not to add..lol)..Eek! My bad :( This time around in addition to water I added a banana and walnuts. Although the cupcakes weren't too bad without water, I will say this tweak made it 10 times better.

 Another thing I changed was the type of flour I used. The one listed in the recipe calls for oat flour. There is nothing wrong with oat flour but I found that wheat bran had less carbs and calories.

VS

(Wheat bran has less calories,less carbs and more fiber.) I prefer Bob's Red Mill. You can find this brand at Krogers, HEB and some Wal-Marts may carry it as well.

I don't know if it was just me but I found that the wheat bran also made the cupcakes a bit more fluffy. I expiremented with wheat bran and discovered you can make all sorts of stuff, even healthy pancakes(recipe coming soon). 

Here is a pic of my cupcakes

 I hope those who had a chance to taste them, enjoyed them. Now it's your turn to make your own. Don't forget to tag me when you try making the recipe. I want to see your turn out... Happy cooking!

JAMIE EASON'S CARROT CAKE PROTEIN BARS 

Ingredients

  *   1 cup oat flour (wheat bran optional)

• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein or your choice of protein. (I use ViSalus protein. If you're interested in buying a bag,let me know and I can sell you you one) If you're a male or making these for a male, you may want to add more protein.
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 4 egg whites
• 3/4 cup Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal
• 8 oz baby food carrots
• 4 oz water
• 1/2-1 cup of walnuts (depending on the amount of cupcakes your are making-also optional)
• 1/2 -1 banana (depending on the size of your batch)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, whey protein, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
3. Mix egg whites, Splenda, baby food carrots, mashed banana and water (optional) in a bowl. -although it says "optional" for water, I found that it helps with keeping the cupcakes moist. Also, I used raw stevia instead of Splenda (too much garbage in Splenda) or you can also use Xylitol
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Spray glass pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray. -I made cupcakes...better for portion control and less messy
6. Pour ingredients into dish.
7. Bake 20-30 minutes.

Makes 16 cupcakes

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving Size 2 squares

Amount per serving

Calories 94

Total Fat1.25g

Total Carb10g

Protein10g

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Happy New Year

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Now it's time to set our resolutions for 2014. How many of us wrote..."Lose 40 pounds" or "Be more healthy" on the list? I think we have all set these type of resolutions a time or two. But how often do we fail at keeping our weight loss resolutions? For some staying focused is a piece of cake but for others it's a challenge. We aren't all strong and at times we may find ourselves discouraged because the weight is not falling off fast enough. Does this sound like something that has happened to you? Let's make 2014 the year that makes you that strong fit person you want to be; not for vanity reasons but for health reasons. Let's jump start the year with this recipe. 

I love fish and although there are all sorts of pros and cons about eating fish; it's my preferred meat. Fish is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Well, depending on where your fish comes from, you might be getting a side of antibiotics or PCBs that you're unaware of.  So what type of fish should you buy? Farm raised or wild caught? There are all sorts of articles on which is better but here is a little info on the difference. 

Farm Raised- Consists of raising fish commercially in tanks, enclosures and controlled pens across the country usually in lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans.  Due to their compact living situations and feed, they tend to have more diseases, toxins, artificial dyes, antibiotics and contain more fat then compared to their wild caught versions. 

Wild Caught - These fish tend to be higher in Omega 3 fatty acids, protein and contain very low levels of disease as well as being free from antibiotics, pesticides & artificial dyes. Wild caught are obviously free to roam about the ocean and find their own food which results in them containing less fat then the farm raised versions.  While mercury can be an issue with wild caught, it can be just as much of an issue with farm raised fish that are raised in the ocean. The only down side is that wild caught fish tend to cost 3-4 times more than farm raised fish. 

So there you have it.... Wild caught it is. Now let's make our first healthy meal of the year. I don't have a name for this dish. I cook fish with any vegetable so for this blog's sake we'll call it...

Fish & Asparagus w/a side of white rice 

What you will need:

10x12 pan 

Aluminum foil (cut into big enough squares to wrap the fish and asparagus)

1-2 bags of wild caught salmon 

Depending on how many ppl you're cooking for will depend on how many bags you need. I use 2 b/c I make enough for a few days. However, you can also buy fresh wild caught fish but as you read, it will be a bit pricey. These bags come with 4 sealed wild caught salmon

Seasonings of your choice (in the picture you can see the seasonings I used)

Frozen bag of Asparagus (NO CANS- either a frozen bag or make fresh)

Lemon or lime whichever you have available

* I like to add shrimp as well

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Place the bag of asparagus in the microwave for 2 minutes (if frozen, if fresh you can place in the aluminum)

Next squeeze lemon on fish,shrimp and asparagus and season to your liking. I like to use Salsa Herdez (if I have time I will make homemade salsa) on top of my fish for flavor and a little spice. 

See below ⬇️

After you season place in aluminum and close. Continue to do the same until you finish packing all your pieces. You can place as many asparagus spears as you want w/the fish and shrimp. 

Place pan in oven and cook for 25-30 min (each oven is different so if you have one of those super ovens then check on it at 20 min and so forth). 

While your fish is cooking you can start cooking your rice (follow instructions on package). I like to use jasmine rice but you can use whatever white rice you prefer. For an even healthier choice, you can cook Quinoa (following instructions on package for cooking). The choice is yours.

And vualaaahhh your meal is ready! 

We have this thing at home where we like to rate the meals I cook. This one got an overal score of 8.2. If you try this recipe, I ask that you share any changes or add ons you made. We can all work together in cooking our way into a healthier lifestyle.

One the count of 3, healthy lifestyle. Are we ready?? 1,2,3... HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 

Zumba love,

Marisol