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 

Zumba Convention 2013

The one training I look forward to every year is the Zumba Convention. The awesome trainings, amazing concerts, parties and people from all over the world make for a life time experience. I'm always amazed at how Zumba brings total strangers together. You don't even have to speak the same language, the connection is there. For example, I have a Zumba Instructor friend who I only know via Facebook, while I was ordering coffee she turns to ask me a question when at the same time we both yell.. Me: "Omg! Zumba Annette" Her: "Omg! Zumba Marisol"..... We were both happy to finally meet in person 

(Annette and I meeting for the first time)

And that's how new friendships are developed... All because of Zumba. Then of course you also bump into instructors you may have met at a training and then you get to talking and you end up hanging out with them for the entire 4 days. Yep! That's exactly what happened in my case. A fellow instructor recognized me from our Basic 2 training and the rest is history... Good times, great convos and amazing classes together. Glad she remembered me :) 

(Mykle,pronounced Michael-yes, like the male name..lol) and I before the Sean Paul concert.)

Our "bump-in" happened while waiting in the crazy Zumba outlet line. It's not your normal line. People start to form a line at 5am and the store opens at noon. Go figure! Are the sales that great you ask? For us Instructors it is! The prices are worth it. Now I'm not sure if others think waiting in line 2 hours is worth it but evidently I did since I stood in it .... See pics below

(Ppl waiting yet the doors haven't opened)

(The line circled the entire lobby area of the Hilton hotel)

(As if standing in the line outside wasn't enough, this was the line inside to get into the actual store)

(Making memories while standing in line)

According to my friend Mykle, we burned 971 calories by standing in line and shopping. The pic below shows the madness ....

Yep, that's the outlet. People trying on clothes everywhere. Some folks are going through piles on the floor in hopes of finding their size. It wasn't easy but we made it! Then came checking out. If you thought getting in was crazy, you should see what it was like checking out....

This was another 2 hour wait. All for some discounted Zumba wear...lol

I hate to admit it but I missed my first class standing in this line. But I made it to many other great classes. The one most special to me was the masterclass with Marcie Gil. She's one of my favorite ZES(Zumba Education Specialist). Why was it so special? Well.... I was able to get on stage and JAM OUT with her! 

That was the highlight of my day until Beto (Zumba creator) came into my Zumba Core masterclass and I was able to take a pic with him... We took a selfie

I've managed to get a pic with him each time I've attended a Zumba conference or a convention. Hoping to keep my little tradition going.... 

There were tons of evening activities. It's not all exercising. Zumba Convention is worth every dime, EXPENSIVE, but worth it! This year our theme party was Soirée.... Elves, Fairies and anything fantasy related. Our celebrity guest was Sean Paul(my husband but he doesn't know we're married..lol) I was trying my best to get a pic with him but it didn't happen. This is as good as it got (see below)

Don't laugh, it was all I could get!..lol The concert was amazing and of course his performance was OUT OF THIS WORLD! I'm so glad Zumba brought him out this year. Our theme party was great as well. People go all out and get super creative. I can't say I go all out, I leave space in my suitcase for Zumba wear..lol

Two fairies and a Unicorn :) posing in the photo booth.....

Four days of pure fun and great memories! I can't wait until January for the conference! Not as long and not as intense but still FUN! Here are some more pics of me with Zumba Celebrities. I was acting like a groupie...lol

Beto's dancer, presenter and Zumba wear model

My fav Zumba gal, Marcie Gil! (Check out her abs...RIPPED)

Gina Grant... Beto's #1 girl for Zumba

Dahrio Wonder-Zumba singer and song writer

J Perry- Zumba singer and song writer

Stay tuned for next week's post for a slide show of pics!

Zumba love,

Marisol

Failed Audition

I impatiently wait for that email from Zumba home office. I log in and out of the Zumba forums to check on others who also wait to hear if they made the audition or not. Many talk about dreaming of being a jammer and others speak of how anxious they are to hear the news. Noon passes and still no word.... I continue to check the forums when I see someone post, "CHECK YOUR EMAILS"! I click refresh on my email icon and the pop up on my phone says "Zumba Fitness" by this time it's almost 6pm and I'm on my way to teach the group of women who helped me through the process.... I finally get to a stop light and I open the email. The minute I read, " We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you the role of Zumba Jammer at this time."  I close my email and drive in silence. I anxiously wait until the next stop light to log back into the Zumba forum to see who made the audition. As I read each post, I see.. "I didn't make it" pictures of sad faces and posts of frustration. One instructor posted this was her 4th time auditioning. She felt she nailed it this time and had assistance from jammer friend of hers. I didn't see any posts of instructors who made it but perhaps they are just being polite ....

I continue to drive and I know my students are wondering if I made it. They too were nervous for me. I show up and they all give me that look like, " did u make it?" What they didn't know was that I had already posted the news in our private Facebook group. I disappointedly let them know I didn't make it. Of course their first reaction was to comfort me and that they did! They gave me tons of energy that day and smiled big as they did their hard Sentao workout. 

Wondering what I could have done better/different; Zumba home office isn't able to give feed back because of the overwhelming amount of auditions. I will continue to attend Zin jam sessions, work on improving my skills and audition again the next time around. I'm not sure I have the will power of the instructor who auditioned 4 times but I will try again. 

"If at first you don't succeed, pick yourself up and try again".... That's all I can do :)  

Did someone say Gina Grant?

Three hours in the car with some of the best women I know and having every conversation you can think of. At one point we suggested we start thinking of topics to talk about on the way back because it seemed we covered everything in sight! Where to you ask?....a road trip to Austin, Tx to see Zumba celebrity Gina Grant! To most this seems silly but to a Zumba enthusiast like myself, the drive was all worth it. Three instructors bringing their students to a Masterclass they will never forget. Two hours of Gina Grant... who knows when that will happen again?! It was a class to remember and that we did! We laughed, we screamed and we danced our A$$es off!! No one went home unsatisfied. And here are the pics to prove it.... 

Two hours before the masterclass and the line already circled around the wall... The girls were super early!

VIP style for the Masterclass (still not sure what the VIP was for..lol)

 My Curves & Impact ladies posing before the big event...

A little surprise from Gina... Two Zumba celebrities in one class!

Gina Grant 2013!! 

If you didn't make it out, you have to the next time! Stay tuned for more masterclasses!

XOXO

MARISOL ❤👯