Facebook and the Cookie (GIVEAWAY)

I bet you didn’t believe me when I said I’d post here once a month or so. Well, here it is, one month later, practically to the day. I think this calls for some vigorous cabbage-patching.

I bet you also don’t believe that I teach the cabbage patch in my group exercise classes.

Actually, that’s correct.

But I’m doing a little happy dance on the inside nonetheless, as this upcoming week marks the start of my full teaching schedule for M Dance & Fitness, and I’m really excited to be teaching Hip Hop and circuit training more often, in addition to Zumba.

To commemorate the occasion, I’ve created a Facebook page for myself as an instructor/coach, which I have given the disgustingly clever moniker, “LafFIToff with Diana”. I can’t even type that with a straight face, so I guess it works. I post all kinds of fun stuff there, from the next song I’m using in class to workout tips and funny videos.

I’d also like to celebrate with a giveaway for you!

See, back in early 2010, I came up with one of my favorite cookie recipes to date: Raw Almond Cookies. After a fateful encounter with Whole Foods’ macaroons this week, however, I decided to revisit this recipe and rework it slightly to create its cooked counterpart. After an exhausting, grueling, whopping total of TWO trials [mops sweat off brow], it is done. And it is good.

(Please look past the abundance of beige and the absence of good photography.)

Almond Macaroons

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond meal/flour (I like to use the leftovers from making homemade almond milk)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 4 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 30 drops NuNaturals liquid stevia (or more maple syrup to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Stir together all ingredients in a mixing bowl until evenly combined.
3. Scoop by the tablespoonful (I use a mini ice cream scoop) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly browned on top and bottom.
5. Allow to cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes ~20 cookies

“Wow Diana, those sound like the best cookies in the known universe, but I don’t have any of those ingredients and actually I don’t really want to have any of those ingredients so thanks but I’m not making them.” ~ You

I hear that. So I’ll make ‘em for you! You can’t tell me you wouldn’t like to have a batch delivered to your doorstep like so:

And maybejustmaybe there will be other goodies in the package too.

To win a batch of Almond Macaroons, etc. please do one or more of the following:

1. Leave a comment below.
2. For an additional entry, “Like” LafFIToff with Diana on Facebook and leave an additional comment below to let me know you have done so (since your fb name may not match your commenting-below name).
3. And for a 3rd entry, leave a comment on LafFIToff with Diana’s wall to tell me your favorite way to, ahem, laugh it off. Is it a certain workout? A great TV show or movie? Whatever makes you smile and keeps you healthy. Again, comment below to let me know you did this.
4. Finally, you can tweet the following (and comment below yet again) for an additional entry: @soapnchocolate is giving away homemade Almond Macaroons! http://bit.ly/n5hSZu

I’ll choose a winner on July 17 and get your care package out as soon as possible! (US and Canadian residents only, please!)

I’m off to cabbage-patch into the sunset.

We need to talk...

Hi.

I’m having tons of fun teaching group fitness. I’ve been at it since early February, and it couldn’t suit me better. I’ve even had the chance to create my own classes from scratch, so I now teach Hip Hop and Boot Camp in addition to Zumba.

My good friend Kara Fox is a really talented photographer and came to my last Hip Hop class to take some shots of us in action, so I thought I’d share a few here.

Needless to say, fitness has somewhat taken the place of food in terms of what occupies my mind and therefore what I have to blog about. Don’t get me wrong—I think about food a LOT and consume astounding quantities on a daily basis. However, whereas this time last year I was always thinking about creative cooking and enjoying the whole culinary process, I now simply feed myself. Cooking time is limited now that I both work full-time and teach during the remainder, so for the most part, I turn to quick, reliable dishes that come together easily and with ingredients I always have around. Translation: I eat a hell of a lot of zucchini stuff.

I have a lot of guilt where this blog is concerned. I desperately want to avoid it looking like dead air, so to speak, but my eats are not likely to inspire anyone these days, so the likelihood of this remaining a food blog is low. I wish I could go back to the days of posting 5 times a week, but the reality is that this blog was serving a different purpose for me back then, and I no longer have that need to satisfy. So it is that the blog will have to evolve along with me.

It makes me cringe, but I’m thinking a more realistic goal will be posting once a month. I don’t think I’m breaking any hearts here except my own, though, so a lower expectation on my part is best for now, as far as the blog is concerned.

Indeed, the best way for me to share what I’ve been up to is to show you! I would love to see any New Yorkers in class sometime. You can attend any of my 3 formats at M Dance & Fitness. In fact, we are running a special discount right now: 3 classes for $25! This deal is only available through June 15, so if you’d like to take advantage, click here to sign up. Plus, starting in July, I’ll be teaching 7 times a week for MDF (as opposed to the current 2; I teach Zumba elsewhere at other times).

…And that’s all I’ve got for now. Until next time!

CSN Giveaway Winner! And an update…

And the winner of $60 to CSN stores is MELISSA! Apparently being the first entry is NOT bad luck because random.org picked you, I sh!t you not. Gift code coming your way!

In other news, I’m creating a hip hop workout right now and I think it’s going to be ridiculously fun. Here’s a preview of a few of the tunes I’m using:

Lupe Fiasco, “Kick Push”

Pussycat Dolls, “When I Grow Up”

Far East Movement, “Like a G6”

This stuff is my jam. I’m so excited to get to create this class and share the fun with other people because not a day goes by that I don’t miss dancing with Synergy back in college. Example:

Sadly, we didn’t know what the “Youtube” was back in 2005 so the above video features a later generation, but you get the idea.

If any New Yorkers are interested in trying out my class, you can sign up for the teaser I’m teaching on April 14.

Back next week with a totally trippindicular recipe (sorry, I just watched Valley Girl)!

Work it Out: Shiva Rea Daily Energy

 

It has been a bajillion years since I did a workout DVD review up in here, which is pretty shameful since I use them every day. I’ve just been in a workout rut until recently, so now that I have a couple new DVDs, I should share them with you because they’re pretty great.

I haven’t been miserable in my workout rut because much of it has consisted of Physique 57 and Jillian Michaels, both of which I like and am comfortable with. Still, I’ve always thought I could stand to pay more attention to yoga, since I like it when I do it and always feel like a million bucks afterward.

Enter Shiva Rea’s Daily Energy DVD. I first read about it in one of my many health/fitness magazine subscriptions…something of the SelfShapeFitness variety. Then I read Gina’s review of it on her blog. That pretty much sealed my decision to go ahead and buy it. The fact that it’s fully customizable was a huge selling point for me—I like yoga, but not always for 60+ minutes! Not ever for 60+ minutes, actually. I am just not quite that kind of pretzel yet.

The “yoga matrix” allows you to mix and match different portions of your practice. There are a couple of brief meditations, a selection of 20ish-minute flows, a couple short segments for core or forward bends, and, of course, a nice 5-minute savasana. You can also select one of the preset practices, which are balanced combinations of the aforementioned segments and range from about 40 to 60 minutes each. See Gina’s review for an image of the yoga matrix and the names of each flow.

I’ve used the DVD a handful of times by now and have had a very different experience each time. I did a preset practice the first time, which included the 20-minute “Fire” flow, and thought my arms would fall off by the end! I don’t think I’ve ever done so many pushups in one workout. But that’s a point worth mentioning—each time I’ve used this DVD, I do feel as though I’ve gotten a workout, or rather, my muscles quiver from exertion and I can tell that I’ve made a positive effort towards strengthening and toning. In my previous experiences with yoga, I’ve found it more to be just a really good, long stretch more so than what I’d consider a workout. With Shiva, on the other hand, I break a sweat without fail.

That said, there are the water/lunar portions of the DVD that balance out the fire/solar bits, so if you do want a more meditative, flowing practice, you’ll get that too. This yoga matrix is a wonderful thing! I’d much rather choose between fire and water flows than between red pills and blue pills. ;)

If you’re interested in a long and lean physique, yoga is clearly one of the best things you can do for yourself. Using only your own body weight is a great way to get toned without adding bulk.

Shiva Rea Daily Energy: Highly recommended!

Physique 57 Challenge: The Results

I did it! I made it through four full weeks of nothing but Physique 57 workout DVDs. If you missed the original post that described the workout method and the challenge details, you can find it here.

In a nutshell: A month ago, I challenged myself to replace all my usual workout DVDs with only Physique 57 workout DVDs for four full weeks. I performed the P57 routines four times a week and did light cardio and/or yoga on the fifth day, giving myself the weekend to recover. I changed nothing about my diet.

I may live to regret this, but before I lose my nerve…drum roll please: the “before and after” photos.

View Full Album

And the results: one pound and four inches lost.

That’s really not enough difference to be visible—any difference you see between the photos is visual trickery/smoke-and-mirrors on my part, as far as I’m concerned. The lighting is different from one picture to the other and I’m posed differently in the after photo (differently meaning at a more flattering angle!).

This is not meant to neglect the fact that I kind of feel like a rockstar for getting through this, however. The P57 DVDs are really excellent and probably a few of the most challenging routines on the market right now. I mean, I have to give this challenge a little credit for bestowing these pythons upon me:

…If you’ll forgive the bad pictures, that is—it is really hard to take good-quality self-portraits in the mirror while trying to avoid using flash like the plague.

It’s not like I was horribly out of shape before doing this challenge, but I do notice some difference in my strength after following the P57 method for four weeks. I perform all push-ups with straight legs now; I’m able to eke out all the reps of all the moves required in each routine and occasionally do the advanced version of whatever-it-is; my core feels so rock-solid that I feel like I could probably poop out a kidney if I tried hard enough.

But it never got easy. No ma’am.

All the ab work is especially odious, given that much of it is performed lying down with legs straight up in the air. And this after you’ve more or less lit your quads on fire with all the leg and butt work. You’ll see results from this method whether you want to or not, though. I did a short yoga routine yesterday to stretch out all this work I’ve been doing and was delighted to find that I no longer shook when holding boat pose (see photo below). Rock-solid core, I’m telling you.

(Image source)

In terms of these workouts aiding in weight loss, I already stated that I wasn’t out to lose weight when I started the challenge, and would in fact not change my diet so as to isolate any results as due to the DVDs themselves. In that regard, I guess it’s pretty impressive that I got positive results with no effort outside of the workout routine. In fact, thinking back on the generous quantities of food I ate during these four weeks, both healthy and otherwise, I’m even more impressed!

For what it’s worth, however, if you’d have asked me last week whether or not I’d lost weight, I would have said yes—3 pounds (as opposed to the 1 pound I reported above). I checked in with the scale each Saturday during the challenge. The difference between last week’s weigh-in and this week’s just goes to show that a few pounds of fluctuation is par for the course, whether or not you’re engaged in battle with a new set of workout DVDs!

The battle was nonetheless well worth “fighting,” if you want to call it that. I really fell in love with the Physique 57 DVDs this month and can’t recommend them highly enough. Despite all the repetition, I was never bored and even looked forward to popping in those DVDs each morning. The moves are challenging and the burn is intense, but there’s nothing like the feeling of completing the routines and coming out on top. I’ll be doing these workouts for years to come, knowing they’ve made me stronger in every sense of the word.

Homeroom Meeting

I shall lure you in with some quality food porn…

While I have your attention, let me lay out the agenda for today’s meeting.

• Physique 57 Challenge update
• Wellsphere blog awards
• Food-purchased-on-Internet bargain of the month
• New Springpad partnership (you can save and print my recipes!)
• The Free Cookie Guy!

Stay with me…

Banana-maple syrup oats with chocolate chips in a dying almond butter jar

1) The Physique 57 Challenge is going well. Week One is in the books and I’m no worse for wear; perhaps just a little bit tighter (?). It’s really too soon to tell. What I’m loving, however, is the challenge itself! I didn’t anticipate this, but just the fact that I have a sense of needing to see this through for the full four weeks has kept me motivated so far. It also compensates for any boredom I might feel from having to repeat the videos quite often. It’s sort of a bad-ass feeling, actually, knowing I’m going to push through all these difficult moves for a whole four weeks, no matter what.

For anyone unfamiliar with Physique 57, it might be interesting for you to know what equipment is required to perform the workouts at home, other than the DVDs, of course. The videos tell you to have a set of light and medium weights on hand, as well as a playground ball (think dodgeball) and a sturdy chair/sofa back at hip height to serve as a “ballet barre.”

I have the weights but strangely enough I keep neither a ballet barre nor recess equipment in my apartment, so I’ve had to be creative. Believe it or not, my foam roller works quite well in place of a playground ball, as it has about the same diameter as the ball and spends most of its time squeezed between my thighs anyway. Heh.

As for the ballet barre, I actually rest my hands on a drawer from my bureau pulled out all the way for balance. There are some segments where you need to lean on your “barre” a bit, but it’s not intended to be a full support anyway, so I find that just pulling my drawer out provides all the balance I need.

I will just leave to you the task of making a that’s-what-she-said joke about squeezing thighs and pulling drawers out.

2) The Wellsphere people’s HealthBlogger awards. Not much to tell here, but hey, you could vote for me if you really wanted to. [Insert your full vocabulary of happy emoticons here.]

for Diana D. http://www.soapandchocolate.com

3) Best internet bargain of LIFE! In my humble opinion, at least. I am fully aware that many people could care less (more?) about coconut oil, but I love it and find it quite expensive, especially when looking for the organic, extra-virgin, cold-pressed, basically-performs-alchemy variety. A 14oz jar will generally set you back about $15.

This is a lot more than 14oz:

This head-sized (54oz) jar downed me a mere $21.39, so I’m still coming down off my shopping high. Score for yourself here.

4) SPRINGPAD! This is really exciting.

is a free online personal organizer that helps people get things done. From food and entertainment to parenting and managing the day-to-day, springpad makes it easy for you to collect, use and share content from bloggers, brands and trusted friends to help organize your life. To date, the springpad community of hundreds of food bloggers and thousands of members have already collected and shared more than 50,000 recipes and created more than 15,000 weekly meal plans.

I really encourage you to check this website out—it makes all my nerdiest list-obsessed bits tingle. But more importantly, this service will allow you to save my recipes to a centralized database that you keep within your springpad account. From there, you can print them out (not the ghetto way!), generate shopping lists, make a meal plan, etc. And yes, there is an app for that!

So going forward, I will include a “save it!” springpad button with each recipe that I publish here. It looks like this:

When you click that button, a window will pop up, linking you to your springpad account (or prompting you to create a new one, as the case may be). From there, it’s up to you how you’d like to organize your recipes (which will be mostly mine, no doubt)! Tres cool, no? You can even sign in using your Google account, if you like to link such things.

Here is a screenshot of what my recipes will look like in springpad:

I have added the “save it!” button retroactively to the following recipes:

• Cabbage Cookies
• Pumpkin Lentil Stew
• Pulp Crackers
• Pumpkin Pie Crockpot Oats
• Raw Tohini Soup
• Raw Fudge Brownies
• Turkish Delight Blondies
• Stoopid Easy Vegan Coconut Ice Cream
• Tibetan Ratatouille
• Slow Cooker Winter Mole
• Saag-y Squash

I really encourage you to take advantage of this website! I mean, how many food blogs do you read? More than you care to admit, right? And bookmarking all those recipes can get out of control—I should know. Well, gone are the days of cut-and-paste, kids. Save anything from any website (and this goes for more than just recipes) into one centralized account on springpad and you’ll make your life a whole lot simpler, trust me.

5) Last but not least, the Free Cookie guy! By following him on Twitter, I found Scott handing out vegan orange chocolate chip cookies on the south side of Union Square Thursday night. Just look out for the inflatable green couch!

He just hangs out and makes friends. The Power of the Cookie is strong, as we all know, so methinks Scott has a veritable goldmine in this free cookie gig, though without any particular agenda as far as I can tell. Novel concept!

And with that, meeting adjourned! Happy November, and I hope the time change didn’t throw anyone for a loop (or a hangover…wink).

As if the pop-up homeroom wasn’t bad enough, I shall shamelessly assign you homework as well: Cast your Top Health Blogger vote on Wellsphere and hook yourself up on springpad! You’ll be rewarded with a hall pass to use the potty.

Work it Out: The Physique 57 Challenge

GASP! Could it be that I am switching gears to write about fitness for once? Indeed, contrary to the impression I may give off on the blog, I do work out quite regularly. No less than five times a week, in fact.

Because it has been so long since I talked about my own approach to working out, I will briefly share my current routine for the benefit of any newcomers out there. In a nutshell, I have come to rely on workout DVDs, being neither a runner nor the receiving end of sufficient funds to join a gym. And this is quite fine with me—I find that DVDs suit both my schedule and my personality. My workout time (first thing in the morning) is at its most efficient, being that there is no transportation involved, and the repetition of the recordings doesn’t especially bother me (not to mention the fact that my collection is fairly large).

My favorite workout DVDs are those by Jillian Michaels (circuit training) and The FIRM (aerobics, step and strength training). I have enough discs of each to create a four-week rotation before I repeat a workout, so my muscles never really adapt to one workout style or another. I’ve never in my life felt as strong or been as toned as I am right now, so I have to figure my little homegrown method works, at least for the average desk-sitting worker bee like me.

That said, I’m only human and am certainly not immune to boredom! I do feel the need to add to my workout collection every so often, if only to stimulate my motivation. I was recently fortunate enough to sample a couple complimentary classes at Physique 57 (see “57 Ways to Feel Pain”), and the same thought occurred to me both times: If I could do this workout all the time, I would be RIPPED! So imagine my delight when I learned that Physique 57 had released a series of DVDs—I was more than happy to pony up the $50-odd bucks it cost for the three discs.

I tried each workout over the course of last week (the original 57-minute workout, the express 30-minute workout and the arm & ab booster). They didn’t hold anything back, I can say that for sure! All three workouts were just as difficult (if not more so) than the live classes, to the point where I experienced both almost-tears and uncontrollable giggling, though believe me: there was nothing funny about it. This only confirms that I’ve made a good investment, however. If I’ve learned anything from my years of trying dozens of workout DVDs, it’s that the routines and choreography are often conservative, if anything. I haven’t tried P90x yet (despite the boyf’s best efforts), but barring what I know of that, I have found Jillian Michaels to be the toughest recorded trainer available on DVD. This is about to change.

I’m not much for blog challenges. Kind of like I don’t want to officially call myself vegetarian or vegan or whatever, the idea of eating a certain way for 30 days, for example,  has never appealed to me. It’s probably because I’m not interested in “falling off the wagon”. I’d simply rather the “wagon” be something I can deal with in a lifelong kind of way in the first place, you dig?

Fitness feels like a whole different animal where challenges are concerned, though, and with my own voice echoing in my head (“If I could do this workout all the time, I’d be ripped!”), I’ve decided to embark on a wee challenge after all.

For four weeks I will be working out per the Physique 57 recommended schedule, which means each week I will perform the full 57-minute workout twice, the 30-minute express workout once and the arm & ab booster once. On off days I will either rest or perform some light, active recovery such as walking or yoga (and I will need it, if this past week’s soreness is any indicator!). I’m even going to record before-and-after measurements to see whether or not I lose any inches.

No, I’m not trying to lose weight. Like I said earlier, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been in my adult life right now and am happy with my weight. This is not to say I look like Jillian Michaels just because I do her workouts! It’s just a relative statement based on my own fitness experience. The Physique 57 challenge is exclusively for my own amusement (and torture). Just thought I’d bring you along for the ride to keep me accountable and congratulate me on what I hope will be favorable results. ;)

And so, in theory, I shall be toight like a toiger by Thanksgiving! (There’s an irony in there somewhere…) The challenge ends just before the holiday and my trip to Tokyo, and I will report back with the verdict at that time. There will be updates along the way as well, because…well, misery loves company.

Here goes nothin’!

What do you think of “temporary” challenges, blog-based or otherwise? Worthwhile for broadening horizons or a set-up for a fall?

Bean Me Up

I'm noticing a theme lately. A bean theme. It has lasted about 48 hours so far, and was not especially intentional in the first place. However, I have not, ahem, exploded yet, so...you know, that's a good sign and stuff.

Sunday night, I made a "frugal" lentil recipe. Curried Lentil Risotto, to be exact.

My friend and onetime roommate, Natalia, just returned from Cambodia and brought me pretty much every foodie's dream: spices from the faraway land itself! And chopsticks too! I now have authentic samples of lemongrass, curry, ginger, saffron (!) and amok. I've never encountered amok in my cooking adventures thus far, but Nat tells me it's a fairly ubiquitous seasoning in Cambodian cooking, so I intend to do some Googling and make something deliciously Southeast Asian soon! You know how I like to run amok with recipes anyway, har har... Ok, that was cheap.

Naturally, I needed to cook with my new acquisitions as soon as possible, so two spice-heavy recipes became Sunday night's dinner. The first was the aforementioned Curried Lentil Risotto and the accompaniment was Natalia Rose's raw Curry Canteloupe Soup. The recipe is published in The Raw Detox Diet, so I won't repeat it here, but it's basically just a whole canteloupe and spices in a blender.

This dinner was quite the party in my mouth! For the lentils, I followed the recipe fairly exactly, though I omitted the broth and added 1 tsp sea salt instead. I also threw in a 10 oz package of organic frozen spinach because spinach goes well with Indian flavors (translation: I was too lazy to make a separate vegetable dish). It worked quite well! I just ended up cooking the whole thing down for quite a while longer than prescribed due to the excess water the spinach contributed. I wanted it to be more lentils, less soup.

I just got done having the leftovers for dinner tonight, and the flavors really intensified for the second time around! Highly recommendable for spice fiends.

I have a soft (boiled) spot in my heart for lentils--they are a wallet's savior, and yet so very nutritious. They are also the lazy chef's dream: dry to delicious in a half hour flat, no soaking/rinsing required.

For further proof of my love for lentils, I direct you to last night's dinner with the boyf at Angelica Kitchen, one of my very favorite vegan restaurants in the City. I had a "Picnic Plate," where you get to select small portions of various menu items. I'm always one for maximizing the taste opportunities when dining out, so I did a "pick 3" and chose the daily norimaki (tempeh, brown rice, carrots, green beans & asparagus, I think), sweet potatoes and the daily special salad, which was lentils with roasted veggies over fresh salad greens. Swoon!

I all but drank the soy sauce too. Perfect little plate!

The boyf ordered one of the special entrees: corn croquettes. They were served over a smokey black bean sauce and topped with a garlic-lemon-tofu sauce, I believe. There was also a tomatillo salsa. And sweet potatoes. And beans. And the chef's first-born child. I dunno...it was quite the plate, though.

I think he hated it.

Looks like we can consider this the boyf's second blog-documented vegetarian success! It's truly hard to go wrong at Angelica, though, I must say.

Likewise, it is very hard to go wrong at Stogo, where all the ice cream is vegan, organic, naturally sweetened, otherhealthymumbojumbo and DEE-LEE-SHUSS.

We were pretty satisfied from dinner and content to go dessert-less for the moment. That is, until I realized we were mere steps from Stogo, at which point I insisted we stop in. I planted my face nose-deep into a dish of hemp maple walnut...

...and then only one of us remained contentedly dessert-less. 'Twas not I!

The hemp-based ice cream was a new one for me. The taste was delicious, but next time I'll stick to coconut-based flavors, which are far creamier. The hemp ice cream just tends to be a bit on the icy side compared with its coconut and soy counterparts.

Believe it or not, the bean theme carried on into today's eats too! I must be craving some stick-to-your-ribbishness, because I zoned in on JivamukTea's Montana Salad pretty quick after looking over their menu during lunch today.

I did manage to chat just a little between (twee-bean?) bites, though. I mean, look who I had for company! Major catching up ensued.

My greens were loaded with avocado, quinoa and black beans. I dressed the bowl with their tahini dressing. The staff told me I chose the most popular salad + dressing combo! I knew I had good taste. ;)

I'm also a card-carrying member of the Clean Plate Club (that applies to what was on said plate before it was clean as well, a'thankyou!). No bean left behind.

This picture is currently cracking me up because it looks like Gena and I have a case of the Siamese hair. Can't tell where one mop begins and the other ends!

Just goes to show, great minds think alike...and then sprout similar colored hairs out the top.

In other news, I got to try a free Zumba class tonight! Melissa gave the heads-up to Open Center's free trial classes this week, so after work and a pit stop at Bonobo's...

[Guilty coconut face]

...I shook what my mama gave me for 60 minutes straight and loved every bit of it! The dancer in me craves that kind of movement, and the class definitely accomplished the stated mission of Zumba: to make you forget you're working out. The sweat dripping down my face tended to remind me that I was kinda exerting myself, but it was no torture, that's for sure!

Now, if someone would like to sponsor my potential booty-shaking habit, I will gladly consider any donations that do not arrive tucked into my waistband.

Food Inc. Blot

I cashed in my free pass to Equinox and took my first-ever spin class this morning. 12 hours later, I feel fine, but I'm just going to come out and say it: I think I bruised my bones where the sun don't shine.

There were definitely things I liked about my spin experience. The pumping music was awesome (an all-Michael Jackson playlist, a'thankyou), and the instructor was fun. He got up and danced through the aisles every few minutes. Some of the ladies were whooping it up too, so it's hard not to feed off other people's enthusiasm. HowEVER, I do not welcome an extremely hard bike seat against my hoo-hah.

It's entirely possible that something was wrong, whether it was my form or the bike being improperly adjusted, despite getting help from the instructor. I just couldn't seem to get past how awkward I felt leaning forward from the bike seat; I was infinitely more comfortable when we would stand up in the pedals. The ballerina in me kept wanting to maintain a flat back and shoulder blades tucked together, even when the seated cycling position made that impossible.

I'm sure that with experience, I'd get used to the whole thing, but the fact remains that I'm not joining a gym any time soon, and I feel like I get just as good (or better) a workout from methods that do not abuse my cha-cha-cha. I kind of want to sit on those little inner tubes they let new mommies put under their butts. Sheesh.

Now that I've officially shredded any remaining shreds of dignity I might have had before, let's move on to breakfast.

With some freezer excavation, I turned up the last of my Kashi waffles, toasted up and topped them with some crunchy peanut butter and mediocre pumpkin butter from TJ's.

Along with a side shake, por supuesto. I used my last Amazing Meal packet (chocolate) from Amazing Grass to whip up a shake using unsweetened almond milk and ice.

That straw is going NOWHERE, thanks to the Disney cup. Ha.

This afternoon, the roomie and I ventured across the river to the West Village and saw Food Inc.

The documentary made me think many thoughts, though I was actually surprised by how little I was surprised by the information it presented. That's sad in a way, but on the other hand, you go to see this movie prepared not to be happy about what you learn from it. And I learned a lot. But was I shocked by images of animals being treated cruelly? Of course not. These are the things that we all know on some level, but it takes a film like this to "pull back the curtain" that is drawn between consumers and the origin of their food. I think that was the phrase Michael Pollan used when he was being interviewed in the film...feel free to correct me if I got it wrong.

The point is that there's a huge disconnect between what we (think we) eat and how it arrived on our plate in the first place. I could take this opportunity to rant about the corruption in government as relates to food production, and vice versa, but as I said, I was not surprised to learn about that by watching Food Inc. What struck me most was the power of education. The roomie and I were talking about it on the way home, and we agreed that what's so powerful about a documentary like this is that it's accessible to anyone. Many people can and will go see a movie, but far fewer people will get a degree in nutrition or visit a farm used by Perdue for chicken production or even just shop at a farmer's market.

This film asks us to be educated consumers and use every grocery purchase as a vote. For every item we buy organic and locally produced, the corporate conglomerates that control so much of what's on the shelves become a little less powerful. The tobacco industry declined in this manner, and the same can happen to the huge companies that are pumping corn and soy into virtually everything that comes in a package, including conventionally raised meat.

(...she writes as she listens to Michael Jackson's Heal the World... Hey, I'll take inspiration where I can get it.)

The good news is that with every passing year, all the stuff I just wrote about becomes more and more common knowledge, and I'm hopeful that this kind of information trickles down to people who can't afford to eat well, or think they can't afford it and don't know how to begin. How great would it be if farmer's markets accepted food stamps?! I thought the film was right on with that. Definitely successful in delivering a powerful message to the general public.

Now, if you want failure, you need look no further than my second (second!) failed attempt at a modified version of Tina's Peanut Buttery Bars.

It didn't work last week, and it didn't work this week.

Last week, I tried one thing and the bars came out tasty but crumbly...yet rubbery too. This week, I manage to get a great texture, but the flavor was nowhere. Lesson learned: don't try to bake with Better'n'PB when the recipe calls for real peanut butter!

I would be more disgruntled if I wasn't so glad that I used up the last of the Better'n'PB. It is not better (for you) than real peanut butter, and I'd really just rather have real almond butter anyway! I was hoping to pawn these treats off on the coworkers, but I don't have the heart to subject them to this.

Alright, I'm actually ready for Monday to be here, because that means there's just one week left until I get to go on vacation! Time to git 'er done.

Rad-ventures in Eating

It's no secret by now that I've been giving a lot of thought to different dietary lifestyles lately, raw foodism in particular. After scouring Choosing Raw, the idea really made sense to me. At the same time, I couldn't fathom how to reconcile that with my current lifestyle and preferences. Above all, I hate the thought of poisoning my body with what I choose to eat, or even the skin products I use. I only get one body and I'd better treat it right so that it doesn't crap out early!

In order to be well informed regarding my dietary choices, I feel the need to explore all sides of the topic. I enjoyed this post on Oh She Glows today, which posed the very question, "Is raw food really better for you?" Angela cited various sources of research, the common factor being that certain foods are indeed better for you when consumed raw, while others are more beneficial after cooking. This is a great way to get confused, but what I take from it is that a mixture of raw and cooked foods is likely a solid and healthy compromise, and most importantly, the option that would keep me from feeling overwhelmed, at least to start with. In fact, I think it's safe to start with this notable quotable from Michael Pollan, which I'm sure you have come across before: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

That said, no one's diet is perfect, and yes, food is nutrition and fuel, but it is also a cultural source of enjoyment. Ultimately, my way of eating has to keep me both healthy and happy, so in the spirit of adventure, I've decided to embark on what I'll call Radventures. The R stands for raw, because that is the eating style that is currently most foreign to me and therefore peaking my interest, but whatever it is I try doesn't have to be raw to qualify as a Radventure. Anything I can do to clean up my eating habits, no matter how miniscule, is rad, after all. 

Last week, I documented my first two Radventures here and here. Today, I bring you my latest Radventure: juice!

An unexpectedly fantastic mixture of spinach, carrots, beets and ginger ("Blood Tonic #40," in case you're interested). I bought this fresh juice from the stand that is attached to Coffee Shop in Union Square, nearby my office. 

I could definitely get used to drinking that every day! However, at $4 a pop, it ain't happenin'. I will contemplate the idea of buying a juicer, but in the meantime, fresh juices like this will remain a special treat.

From what little I know about raw foodists who are successful with that lifestyle, juice is a fairly major daily component. From today's Radventure (and building upon last week's), I learned that eating/drinking this way doesn't feel especially alien to me, despite it being drastically different from my current habits. So far, cravings for these kinds of foods/drinks have come naturally. This is something good to know about myself, should I decide to incorporate more all-raw meals into my diet.

On the flip side of this quasi-project, if I find that I'm using the Radventures to a control-freaky or restrictive end, a rethink is in order, because this isn't what raw eating is about. If it's going to make me depressed to think of life without pizza and ice cream, heretofore some of my favorite things, then pizza and ice cream I shall have. Ideally, the more Radventures I embark upon, the less I will want that pizza and ice cream. For now, however, it's baby steps. Toes in the water, not cannonballs. 

I want to use my newfound interest as the the motivation and momentum towards fine tuning my already-decent eating and healthy habits to be that much purer, as opposed to a full-blown overhaul. I think that would end up overwhelming me and would lead to a spectacular crash-and-burn off the wagon, out of frustration from the drastic change if nothing else. Best case scenario, I'll enjoy the changes I feel in my body so much that I want to build upon them and I will cast nary a glance backward at my old ways. 

In the meantime, my eats as they appear here on the blog may not appear to change much, unless I point it out. You'll still see me eating a mainstream diet. For example, even though I think I'm convinced that soy and tofu are no good for me, I will eat up what I still have in the fridge and/or cupboard in favor of economics. However, food items like that won't be replaced once I've eaten them up. I'm phasing out as much of the junk as I can live without, including skin care products such as those containing parabens. A sudden and dramatic purge of all no-no items doesn't interest me, though. That's not how I roll. My practical nature collides with idealism here, so I have to compromise on that front.

Case in point: this afternoon, I chased that beautiful juice with a Luna Cookie.

It was the Berry Pomegranate flavor, and it was tasty, but this is a good example of something I neither want nor crave very often anymore. I won't refill my desk's bar stash with things like this, as no argument could be made for eating this over a whole food or juice instead. However, I was hungry, and it was in my desk, so I ate it.

No eating guilt involved here - I was on my way to Physique 57 for my second free class and needed something in my tummy to ensure I didn't pass out halfway through. Missy and I did the Beginner level together again, and it is a killer! Here we are afterward, looking especially glamorous:

Speaking of Missy, she is hosting a giveaway for CLick Espresso drinks, which is exciting to me since I don't plan on phasing out coffee just yet. :)

I did manage to hobble home afterward and rustle up what I would consider a pretty clean dinner, especially relative to the time it took to prepare. This is what I called "Goddess Fried Rice" in a post many moons ago...

The recipe in the original post linked above is better, but since I needed an express version, into the skillet went:

• Plain, cooked Kashi pilaf
• Lots of frozen veggies: tri-color bell peppers, carrots, green beans
• A scrambled egg
• Annie's Goddess dressing

This was all stir-fried together in some cooking spray heated with a little minced garlic and ginger.

Quite a virtuous meal, in light of all I've learned lately! No, it wasn't raw, but it contained whole grains, tons of vegetables, good fats and lean protein. These are the things we all know to be healthy by now. I also incorporated some organic ingredients, such as the green beans and dressing. Furthermore, frozen vegetables are said to often retain more nutrients than their fresh counterparts because they are flash-frozen shortly after harvesting. Score one for me! I eat frozen veggies all the time. Still, to preserve those nutrients as much as possible, I chose to steam them in the microwave briefly before dumping them in the skillet, at which point I was able to stir everything together just long enough to be heated through with no raw egg remaining. And of course, none of the above contains artificial colors or flavoring; no preservatives, no gobbledy-gook. This borders on Radventure status. :)

As if this post wasn't long enough already, I feel compelled to answer the unspoken question: "So why the sudden interest in raw and/or clean eating?" 

Here are just the first few reasons that come to mind:

1. DIGESTION. There's nothing like a good vom to make you consider the intricacies of how your food choices affect your digestion (or lack thereof). This weekend was a bit of a wakeup call, and all of a sudden I can't stand the thought of meat or movie popcorn and candy. We'll see if that feeling lasts, but I had to state the obvious.
2. SKIN & HAIR. I've always had fair, sensitive, oily, acne-prone skin. Raw foodism in particular is known to improve the skin's condition, so I would be a fool not to at least try a way of eating that could potentially end a lifelong battle with something that affects my self-esteem as well as my appearance. This goes for skin products, too - as I run out of various items such as mainstream lotions, cleansers, etc. I will be replacing them with their natural, paraben/ick-containing alternatives.
3. HAPPINESS. Raw foodism is said to promote "vibrant health." For me, this conjures up a goofy yet admirable image of someone literally vibrating with health and good mojo. Whatever I can do to create that from the inside out will make me better off at the end of the day, as I will be less prone to whatever external stressors may come my way.
   

This has been quite the opus on healthy eating, but now you have an idea of what has been swimming around in my head for the past week or so. I'm sure you will forgive me this post's length in favor of immortalizing these ideals, for my own benefit more than anything else. And yet, we can all use a little extra inspiration to live out the best version of ourselves, whatever that means to you.