THAMFA + Chocolate Giveaway!

Greetings! Sorry for pussing out on you the last couple of weeks, but I took some much-needed time off, including a vacation to California to visit the parental units. I spent my birthday there as well and was treated to some truly legendary eats, which I will share with you next week.

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying some warmer weather by now, wherever you are (unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case…sorry). New York City is slowly but surely pulling itself out of the pits of winter despair. We have had some truly fabulous days with blue skies, fluffy clouds and that special smell that can only mean that spring and hay fever are here to both delight and torture us.

Gazing out the window at the gloriousness one day a couple weeks ago, I wrote a clandestine email to a coworker out of frustration that I wasn’t outside frolicking, as one does. “The hills are mother-f*cking ALIVE and I can’t be outside to enjoy it!” was the general gist of the message, I believe. Said coworker was so amused by my expression that she immediately created the acronym THAMFA for it, and we have used it ever since to describe days that create such a sense of joy and wellbeing that you are compelled to go out and frolic.

The end.

I reference this story not only in hopes that you are experiencing your own feeling of THAMFA, but to share a particular treat that is THAMFA-inducing, yet not dependent on the weather at all! Guylian recently sent me a rather generous sampler…

…yeah.

And I’ve been ooh-la-la-ing ever since. Included in my samples were their classic seashell Belgian Chocolate Truffles,

No Sugar Added chocolate bars and Extra Dark truffles,

and individually wrapped pralines.

You know, for my lunch box.

Since I had one foot out the door for California at the time, I brought the two biggest assortments to share with my parents, both in classic milk/white marble and extra dark.

I think they were a hit.

(Picture taken mere seconds after my arrival.)

I also later brought a few to my chocoholic coworker-friend (of “THAMFA” fame), who had this to say:

“Um, THANK YOU they are like explosions of awesomeness in my mouth...........and they are cute.”

Direct quote.

Suffice it to say they’re good.

Now, Guylian’s goodness is nothing new to me—I’ve been enjoying these chocolates as long as I can remember—back in the days of the mermaid commercials, even (I would sing their little siren “Gheeeeeliaaaaaaaan” call for you if I could). But for those of you for whom it’s unfamiliar, a little information:

Guy Foubert was a passionate Belgian Chocolatier making handmade chocolate truffles in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. In 1958, Guy and Liliane joined their names, both in marriage and in their company name creating Chocolaterie Guylian; a small, artisanal chocolate maker. Today, Guylian crafts the finest authentic Belgian chocolate truffles, selling them to chocolate lovers in Belgium and in more than 100 countries across the world.

Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates provide the ultimate experience for chocolate lovers. Each luxurious chocolate seashell is marbled with 100% pure, silky smooth milk, dark and white Belgian chocolate. Our irresistible seashell chocolates are filled with a rich, decadent, and luxuriously creamy chocolate truffle; the original handmade recipe of Guy & Liliane. Our signature truffle recipe is still made in small-batch copper kettles exclusively by Guylian's Master
Chocolatiers in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium.

I figure it’s safe to assume you might like to try some chocolate for yourself, so I’m happy to give you that opportunity. Guylian has agreed to present one winner with a prize package of both the original seashell chocolates and their Praline Original Temptations.

Simply drop a comment below to be entered! I will randomly choose a winner in next week’s post.

For an additional entry, tweet this giveaway and leave an additional comment to let me know you have done so—your entry will not be counted unless you leave the extra comment! You can use the following message: @soapnchocolate is giving away Guylian chocolate!

Good luck! Are you feeling like THAMFA yet?

Excuses, Excuses

Soap & Chocolate is officially on vacation for the next two weeks for the following excuses reasons:

1. I am sick.
2. I am tired.
3. I have nothing to write about. (<— LIE; see below)
4. I am going out of town for a week soon.
5. My pizza is about to arrive just arrived.

Point #5 is especially important. See last post.

EDITED TO ADD: Almost forgot: I cut my hair off. That's what I have to write about.

Aaaaand I'm spent.

I’ll be back in late April with a delicious giveaway!

Cheers,

Diana

Homemade DQ Blizzard

This weekend I had an encounter with the holiest of marriages in my personal food Bible: pizza and ice cream.

Such encounters are not necessarily infrequent…but they are to be celebrated nonetheless—something I do too little of on the blog.

The pizza of choice this time was a small Bel Paese on whole wheat crust from Monty Q’s. Toppings include fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, fresh plum tomato sauce and pesto.

I know, it’s like it couldn’t possibly exist outside of your wildest dreams, right? Trust me, in New York City, it can.

Sorry for the hole in the picture—a bite flew into my mouth before I could even reach for the camera. New York pizza, like New Yorkers themselves, can get a little pushy at times.

For dessert, however, I thought I’d try a semi-homemade recreation of one of my favorite ice cream treats: Dairy Queen’s Blizzard. Sadly, there appear to be no Dairy Queens in the five boroughs (or at least the two that I travel between daily…), so I decided to put some faith in my own blender and give it a whirl myself. (<— Sad pun.)

I found some new-to-me ice cream, which seemed too good to be true at 150 calories per pint (my “FRANKENFOOD!” alarm instantly went off upon spotting it), but after a scan of the ingredients,

I found nothing I didn’t recognize, so I figured why not? The flavor appealed to me very much.

And at first taste, I was quite pleasantly surprised! I mean, no, this is no substitute for real ice cream, but in a Tasti D-Lite kind of way, Arctic Zero is totally acceptable.

Still, at only 150 calories for the WHOLE PINT, I felt like it was challenging me to make it more decadent.

So I did.

Homemade Blizzard

Ingredients:

• 1 pint ice cream, softened at room temperature for
  10-15 minutes (I used Arctic Zero Vanilla Maple)
• 4 oz milk (more or less, depending on how thick you like your Blizzard. I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk)
• 1/2 cup mix-ins (or more! I used TJ’s Maple Pecan granola)
• Additional toppings, if desired (I added a Sutter’s Formula Soft Molasses cookie from TJ’s [unreal!])

Directions:

1. Combine ice cream and milk in a blender and blend smooth.
2. Add mix-ins and pulse once or twice to incorporate.
3. Serve and add any additional toppings.

Serves 1 Diana or up to 4 normal people

My Blizzard itch has most definitely been scratched. [Contented sigh]

What two foods go together like pizza and ice cream for you?

Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole (+ Stevia Winners!)

First, the winners of the NuNaturals stevia giveaway:

thefirstkitchen.com
Tess
Gabriela
Katie

Congratulations! Email your shipping addresses to [diana at soapandchocolate dot com] and your prize will be on its way!

In other news:

The rather unappetizing nameless blob pictured above has been occupying my thoughts (and my belly space) every Saturday morning for about a month now. Perhaps it would be more enticing if I gave it a descriptive name, such as “Scrumptious Baked Oatmeal Casserole with Pumpkin, Oats, Banana and Spices Oh and Don’t Forget the Topping of Brown Sugar and Pecans.”

Somehow that doesn’t roll off the tongue so well.

The story behind it is this: I teach a 9am Zumba class on Saturday mornings. As explained last week, I’m not so much in the mood to munch a substantial breakfast when I’m about to jump around for an hour, so I typically down a smoothie on my way to class and leave the serious feasting for afterward.

Several weeks ago, I spied Angela’s Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole and knew I wanted to try it ASAP. But when would I have the kind of time in the morning to make it? And then I realized I wasn’t using my kitchen devices to their full potential: turns out my oven has a delay timer, so I was able to assemble the casserole the night before, pop it in the oven before I left to teach, and it was cooked and ready when I got home. Cool, no? There is just everything right with having a hot, home-cooked meal ready as soon as I walk in the door. This is why I love my crockpot and rice cooker so much, in addition to the newly-discovered delay timer on my oven.

Trouble was, there was still a fair amount of time involved in prepping said casserole, what with cooking the potato AND the oatmeal mixture before it ever sees the oven. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful recipe as is, but given my particular circumstances and time management needs, it began to…morph.

Until finally, three-ish trials later, I’d arrived at a no-pre-cook, make-ahead casserole that requires less than 10 minutes to prep the night before and then bakes itself while I teach. No complaints here, yo.

Make-Ahead Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin
• 1 large banana
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

Topping:

• 2 tbsp chopped pecans
• 1 tbsp butter/Earth Balance
• 1 tbsp flour (I use whole wheat [pastry] flour)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. The night before you intend to eat this for breakfast, assemble the casserole. Mash together the banana and pumpkin in a medium-sized bowl, then whisk in the rest of the ingredients until everything is well-incorporated. Pour into a small casserole dish prepped with nonstick spray, cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Separately, prepare the topping by cutting the butter into the other topping ingredients (I usually use a fork to do this, mixing until a crumble forms). Store this in its own container in the fridge overnight as well.
3. In the morning, about 45 minutes before you want to eat, preheat the oven to 350*, uncover the casserole, sprinkle on the topping and bake for about 40 minutes, raising the temperature to 425* for the last 10 minutes so that the topping browns. (I set the delay timer so that it begins baking while I’m away and time it so that I arrive home when there’s 10 minutes left on the cook time, at which point I crank the heat up.) It is done baking when it is bubbling at the edges and no longer runny/jiggly in the middle.
4. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes or so to set.

Serves 1 hungry Zumba teacher who probably won’t get to eat again until 7pm because she’s teaching again after breakfast.

Or 2 normal people.

This is more spoonable than sliceable, but a glorious casserole nonetheless. And I challenge you to combine so many food groups in one dish so deliciously as with this one. With nutrition as with time, efficiency is the name of the game for those of us with crazy schedules.

What’s your favorite healthy meal to make at home when you’re short on cooking time? I need dinner ideas too!

If You Like Pina Coladas… (Giveaway Post!)

…then surely you will like a green-a colada!

(I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smoothie/beverage called a green-a colada before, but I can’t be the first one to think of that name—it was begging to be used!—so advance apologies to whoever I “stole” it from!)

I now spend much of my Saturdays teaching Zumba and boot camp, and it all begins with an early (for a weekend!) wake-up call. Not only am I barely hungry at 7am, but I prefer not to teach on a full stomach. It is less than advisable to teach a vigorous workout such as Zumba running on fumes alone, though, so smoothies have become the ideal vehicle for pre-teaching energy.

I often turn to long-time favorites Choosing Raw and Oh She Glows for reliably delicious and nutrient-dense smoothie ideas, but this weekend I threw together a smoothie that tasted so nice I made it twice!

Green-a Colada

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut milk (such as So Delicious)
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2-3/4 cup pineapple chunks
• 3 large romaine leaves (or a handful of spinach)
• hefty spoonful coconut butter (~ 1 tbsp; shredded coconut might also work if you blend thoroughly)
• 7 drops NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia (or sweetener to taste)
• 1 tbsp hemp protein powder, optional (or other protein powder of choice)
• 2-3 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender, starting with milk, and process until smooth.

I’ve always been a big fan of NuNaturals stevia and use it every day, so I’d like to give you a chance to try it yourself. FOUR (4!) lucky winners will receive a box of NuStevia packets and a bottle of Vanilla Stevia Liquid (my favorite!). Just leave a comment below to enter.

Extra entries will be awarded to those who tell me their favorite smoothie recipe/combination (bwahaha) and/or those who tweet about this giveaway. You can use the following text: @soapnchocolate is giving away NuNaturals stevia! http://bit.ly/i0G05G

Be sure to leave separate comments for each of your extra entries or they will not be counted!

I’ll choose a winner next Sunday, March 27. Good luck!

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)!

Giveaway: $60 to CSN Stores!

Greetings! Now’s your chance to win a $60 gift code to any of CSN’s 200+ online stores! This is an epic opportunity. CSN has bestowed upon me such treasures as

a Tribest personal blender,

a Cuisinart ice cream maker,

and an Aroma rice cooker (aka love of my life). But you need not feel limited to kitchen appliances! Have a browse and allow yourself to get sucked into the shopping vortex that is CSN.

So drop a comment below and I’ll choose a winner next Sunday. For an extra entry, tweet this giveaway and leave a SEPARATE COMMENT to let me know you did so (extra entry will not be counted unless you comment separately about it). You can use the following message to paste into Twitter:

@soapnchocolate is giving away $60 to CSN stores! http://bit.ly/dEJscz

Good luck!

Love Means Chocolate and Giveaways

Before your eyes glaze over at the sight of the sexy chocolate I’m about to throw down up in here, I want to alert you to the giveaway I’m hosting next week! Adjusting to my teaching schedule has taken a toll on my body, most noticeably in my lower back. It aches all day long, while I’m sitting at a desk doing my day job, so I for one am eyeballing some new office furniture, considering how much time I spend in my rolling chair. If you are similarly afflicted, you’ll be glad to learn that CSN has offered up another giveaway opportunity! Check back next weekend to enter for a chance to win a nice chunk of dinero to spend in any of their online stores.

So.

Hi. That’s chocolate. Chocolate that blows my mind. Intemperantia sent me these samples recently, and they are completely divine. Made from “fine imported Swiss chocolate specialties flown in fresh from Switzerland,” these chocolates are certified 100% organic.

And what’s more:

• 100% cocoa butter – no oils.
• No artificial colors, preservatives or flavoring.
• Only the top quality cocoa, liquors, nuts and creams are used.
• Chocolate is maintained at ideal temperatures for optimum freshness.

Indeed—my chocolates arrived with a cold pack enclosed! Oh my gosh, they were so good. It was a struggle not to eat them all at once, but when you know you have such precious chocolate in your hands, you also can’t help but want to stretch it out. Oh, the humanity!

But that’s not the only treat that’s arrived lately.

I received these free samples of Pure Dark chocolate as part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, and they were mighty delicious as well, but in a down and dirty, break ‘em apart with your hands kind of way. I loved gnawing on the plain 70% chocolate slab, but the bark caught my attention as something special.

Topped with cherries, roasted almonds and caramelized cacao nibs, it was seriously addictive. I’m not always one for combining fruit with my chocolate (fruit is healthy!), but I couldn’t deny the genius of this combination.

Are you drooling yet? I will leave you to Q-tipping the drool out of your keyboard and simply ask you this: What’s your favorite way to enjoy chocolate? (…or not, if you are so weird inclined.)

Pumpkin Apple Butter

You don’t have to tell me I’m low on blogging mojo. I feel its absence acutely. It should bother me, but to be honest, the only thing bothering me right now is the overabundance of Peanut Butter Puffins in my belly. If you thought it wasn’t possible to OD on Puffins, I am here to tell you that you are WRONG.

Mostly, I’m content to lurk read your blog, but it does feel like it’s been a while since I made an actual food contribution to my own food blog.

As a little holiday giftie for my coworkers, I made pumpkin apple butter and gave it to them in tiny jars. Earlier this week, one of said coworkers returned her tiny jar to me, empty and clean.

Me: “Oh, you don’t have to give the jar back to me—it was a gift!”

Her: “I’m not returning it to you. I want a refill.”

I will go ahead and assume she liked it.

I will also take that as a sign that I’m about two months late in posting the recipe, but then again, some would say it’s never too early to get a jump on holiday gifts! If you are so industrious, you could probably go ahead and make this now and freeze it in its gift jars. If you do that, email me your address so that I can come high-five you.

Pumpkin Apple Butter
(adapted from Brittney’s Healthy Homemade Apple Butter)

Ingredients:

• 10 medium apples (such as gala), cored and chopped
• 2 cups apple juice (I juiced mine fresh, but store-bought is fine)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch salt
• 1 14.5 oz can pumpkin
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Prepare slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and place chopped apples inside.
2. Add juice through salt, cover and cook 15 hours on low.
3. At the end of the cooking time, the mixture will have darkened and become very fragrant. Get used to this fragrance—it’ll be around a while! Turn off the crockpot and let everything cool for 30 minutes or so.
4. Add pumpkin and maple syrup and use an immersion blender to blend everything smooth. Alternatively, transfer to a blender or food processor to blend smooth.
5. Once cool, store in glass jars, size of your choice, and give it away! Or hoard it for yourself—I wouldn’t blame you.

I found tiny holiday-themed gift bags to fit the tiny apple butter jars, and that was as much gift wrapping as I did. It doesn’t get much simpler than that! I’m not big on effort elaborate gift wrapping, and we don’t really exchange gifts in my office, for that matter, so a small, low-cost gesture was as much as I felt the need to share this last year.

I’ll now walk away from this blog post with my tail between my legs for it being so un-seasonal and late. I could have shared my reviews of a couple new brands of chocolate I happened to try at Valentine’s Day, but in keeping with my general malaise where blogging is concerned, I’ll put it off for a while.

I am nothing if not consistent.

Do you like to give edible gifts? What kind of food do you think makes the best gift?

I won’t quit my day job

I can take a hint.

The entirety of last week’s post consisted of the following:

I shall forego blogging this week in favor of devoting my full attention to the Black Eyed Peas concert tonight.

Superbowl, Black Eyed Peas…tomato, tomahto.

The “Black Eyed Peas concert” in question was, in fact, the Superbowl Halftime Show, in which they performed. Given my disinterest in the football game itself, the above was my attempt at a joke about what hundreds of millions were tuning in to watch that night. Apparently, said hundreds of millions do not include the readers of this blog. #FAIL

I would go back to clown college if only I weren’t having so much fun teaching group fitness! (See this post for my teaching schedule.) The job is a great fit for me PUN INTENDED and I’m so glad I picked up the phone when my calling called.

My back and muscles doth protest the increase in activity, but I’m patient, as my body and teaching skills alike are works in progress. All I can do is take care of me and enjoy the progress progressing.

And with that, I’m off to dine on dinner with family.

Cheers to you and your calling! Have you answered yet?

Playback Paused

I shall forego blogging this week in favor of devoting my full attention to the Black Eyed Peas concert tonight.

Superbowl, Black Eyed Peas…tomato, tomahto.

Teaching Schedule, French Fries

If this post’s title sounds odd, it’s because I feel odd. Somefluthing has hit me like a ton of bricks and I’ve been out of commission for about 3 days now. And it has not, NOT been pretty.

That said, I think I’ve got it under control (yes, I control the flu) and I do intend to start teaching this week as planned, so for any interested New York City locals, here it is:

Tuesdays:

• Zumba @ 6:45pm
• Cardio Sculpt @ 8:00pm

Wednesdays:

• Zumba @ 6:40pm

Saturdays:

• Zumba @ 3:15pm
• Boot Camp @ 4:15pm

Location: Devi in Park Slope, Brooklyn (looks like the website is not yet updated with the above schedule)

Starting February 12 I will also be teaching the Saturday morning Zumba class (9:00am) for M Dance & Fitness at the Upper West Side location.

As far as food goes, I can’t say eating has been my friend this weekend. In fact, it has turned me completely inside out and ripped me apart, not to get into any gory details or anything…

Early last week I did pick up a free bag of frozen fries, courtesy of Alexia Foods and the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, so by the time I did actually get hungry last night, I was glad I had them on hand.

If you aren’t allowed to have an entire dinner of french fries and ketchup when you’re sick, I don’t know when you are. Totally hit the spot.

They weren’t as salty & peppery as their name suggested, so I had to supplement a bit myself, but otherwise tasty, non-greasy and delightfully basic. Just what the doctor ordered.

Or not. I was then up half the night in crippling pain (for the 3rd night in a row), but it’s pretty safe to say it was not the fries’ fault! Just to be safe, though, I’ve eaten strictly BRAT ever since, and it is definitely working.

What are your go-to sick day foods?

Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

I know. This post’s title basically gets better with every word. That’s why I’m not going to mess around with lots of flowery lead-in today, except to say THANK YOU for your support of my “big reveal.” I start teaching next week and will post my schedule next weekend for any interested NYC locals.

And now, let’s get to the down and the dirty of these here cupcakes, because that’s the only way to treat ‘em: fast forward to the O-face.

Mocha Brownie Cupcakes (with gluten-free option)

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp butter
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup flour (or 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose GF baking mix + 3/4 tsp xanthan gum)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 4 tsp instant coffee
• nonstick cooking spray
• white chocolate chips for topping, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners, spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add instant coffee granules and stir again til smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Add flour (and xanthan gum if making gluten-free), cocoa and baking soda. Stir in melted chocolate mixture until combined.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter and top with white chocolate chips, if using. Bake until a firm crust forms on the cupcakes, 20-25 minutes (23 for me). Remove to a wire rack to cool, about 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and continue to cool on wire rack.

Makes 12 cupcakes

The inspiration for these cupcakes was an office birthday. Several of my coworkers have Celiac disease, so the treat criteria included gluten-free, chocolate, resembles birthday cake and is easily portioned into single servings. Oh and also, doesn’t require Diana to buy any new ingredients.

Ta-da.

They turned out way better than I deserved, but then again, Martha doesn’t often do us wrong, does she? They really did have the taste and texture of brownies that you’d bake in a flat pan. Thank you, Ms. Stewart, for providing me with an idea for a seriously easy birthday treat (I didn’t even have to bust out the mixer!). And I hope your face feels better.

And for you, brownie or cupcake? Or both? Neither? Hybrid?

The Big Reveal

There are a few things (ok, a lot of things) I’ve kept under my hat where this blog is concerned. Nothing sketchy, I assure you, nor anything that would prove compromising to my life, or anyone else’s, for that matter. In fact, there are a great many things I’ve let fly via Twitter and Facebook that I’ve never alluded to here, so what I’m about to tell you might not even be a surprise. I guess it’s just that whatever I write on the blog tends to feel very official and recorded for all time, so I like to be good and sure about its content before I publish it.

While I’m not yet at the point where I envisioned writing a post such as this one, I think its time has come nonetheless, seeing as I was hired as a group fitness instructor this week.

I grew up a dancer. Not so much in an artistic sense as there being something that compelled me to move to music. Indeed, I wouldn’t call myself a great performer or anything. For this reason, I didn’t pursue dance beyond the point where it was easy to participate in dance-related activities, such as it was in college, where I shook pom-poms with the Dance Team at football games and shook my hiney with Synergy Hip Hop Dance Company.

I always assumed I’d have a “normal job” after graduating and that exercising on my own would be enough to fulfill my craving for dance. I did get a normal job. I still have it. The crave, however, remains unsatisfied.

Until now, that is. In the past few months I’ve been seeking to fill the void. I’m now an AFAA certified personal trainer and a Zumba instructor. Next month I will test for certification as a group exercise instructor.

I actually have no immediate plans to train private clients (unless you, er, wanna call me). I went through the personal training certification process in order to educate myself in depth on anatomy and kinesiology. It worked! But what really changed everything was Zumba.

(Me with Tanya Beardsley, Zumba guru and star of the Zumba DVDs)

To be openly cheesy about it, no other exercise format has spoken to my own musical and dansical (made up word—I’m keeping it) inclinations like Zumba. It comes naturally to me and makes me happy and I’m pretty sure I’m meant to be sharing it with other people, so perhaps it is fitting that I was hired within 48 hours of completing my certification. The universe has wasted no time in showing me the path to putting all this in action, so I’m happy to “ease on down the road!” [Insert funkadelic soundtrack.]

I’m so excited to add group fitness teaching to my life! For any interested New Yorkers, I’m happy to share my teaching schedule (which begins February 1). I’m teaching Zumba, cardio sculpt and a boot camp. I’m also happy to kick your ass. With love, of course. With love.

In the meantime, I’ve got lots of groovy tunes to choreograph into my Zumba routine, so between that and some judgmental Golden Globe-watching, I’ve got this evening’s work cut out for me.

Before I go, allow me to direct you back to my last post, in which I published a rice cooker recipe and on which every single comment (except for one! Edited to add: TWO! Excellent!) referred to the commenter’s love for slow cookers rather than rice cookers. It is entirely understandable that not everyone knows that the two are different appliances, in which case some may be in for a surprise when they try the recipe in a slow cooker, but I don’t think that was the case here. My point is that I have been cracking up all week at the consistent comment references to slow cookers, despite my frantic interjections. If you’re in the mood for a laugh, I suggest you read through the comments—don’t worry, there aren’t many.

Cheers!