Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Feelin Sexy...

On the IPOD "Nice & Slow" by: Usher

What makes you feel sexy????
Tonight I took my fourth class of the Zensual Bootcamp series. All I can say is that every class is like a journey into some other part of myself. And tonight I made a huge discovery about who I am as a dancer... In everyday life I am a perfectionist, I truly strive to be the best chef out there and I don't really deal well with personal mistakes, but as a dancer I'm different...

The class way broken up into two sections today the first part was more instructional and the last part was a free flow dance where we were directly in front of the mirror (No instructor to watch.) I was much more critical about the way I looked when I was learning the moves than I was when I was actually dancing. I don't try to be the best one in the room and I don't really care if I mess up. But during the instructional part, I was worried about how much my legs don't like crossing, I could barely stand to look in the mirror at certain angles and I even caught myself freaking out over the 1/2 inch of tummy that was showing when I bent over during certain moves. During the free flow I just danced. I didn't think once about what the other girls were doing and I was oddly proud of the way I looked.

After class when I was talking to the other girls I got the impression that I was in the minority. I guess most of the girls were more uncomfortable during the free flow... When I brought up the idea of taking just a free flow class some of the girls responded by saying that they just didn't feel ready yet, but maybe when they had a chance to perfect the moves.

I have to tell you that as I drove away I was questioning why the biggest girl (me) in the class is more comfortable dancing while looking directly at myself in the mirror than I am when I am actually learning the moves???

Then it hit me... the music makes me feel sexy...and when I'm learning the moves I'm not listening to the music, instead I'm judging myself... This realization totally makes sense to me... I took classical piano lessons for 12 years and my teacher would get so annoyed with me that I would learn the song first and fix my finger placement after I "felt" it. I learned how to play the guitar not by taking lessons but by buying a guitar and writing songs. Obviously when it comes to music I do things backwards... I don't care about being perfect I care about feeling something!

A couple of girls in class were interested in a sexy music playlist. Here is a list of some songs that make me feel sexy...

Nice & Slow- Usher
My Love- Joe
What's my Name- Brian Mcknight
Feelin Love - Paula Cole - maybe my all time favorite
Sex Therapy- Robin Thicke
Glory Box- Portishead
Pour Some Sugar on Me- Def Leppard
Any Time, Any Place- Janet Jackson
Weak- SWV
Lost Without U- Robin Thicke

Wow, I am totally excited for the next Zensual free flow class. Who knew I would ever be so thrilled to stare at myself in the mirror!! Here's to feeling sexy for a change...

I meant to post this a couple of days ago...

Low Carb Mushroom, Onion, and Blackened Jalapeno Quesadillas

2 small Jalapenos
1 medium Onion, chopped small
2 8 oz containers Crimini Mushrooms, Sliced
12 oz Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
10 Low Carb Flour Tortillas, soft taco sized (I used low carb Mission)
salt and pepper
cooking spray

Broil Jalapeno in a foil pan under 500* broiler until the skin is black and it looks burnt (can do this over a gas flame as well)

Move to the side to cool...

Brown mushrooms and onions in a nonstick pan over medium high heat until they are browned and there is little to no juice left. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.

Peel off the skin of the jalapenos, remove the stem and the seeds and mince
Add the minced jalapeno to the mushroom onion mixture

Heat oven to 425*. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place folded in half tortillas spread out on the cookie sheets about 5 per pan. Fill each in this order: a little bit of cheese, a sprinkling of the veggies mixture and then a little bit more cheese (a total of about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese per tortilla). Spray the tops of the tortillas with cooking spray and bake for about 7 - 10 minutes or until the tortilla starts to get a little crunchy and slightly browned.

These are so frickin good!! Serve with really good guacamole!

I'm going to go ahead and post this right now even though it is 3 am. I hope it makes sense in the morning!

xoxo chef a

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