Balance

Best Vegan Meal Ever

2009-07-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

Best Vegan Meal Ever!

Veggie & Spinach Fettuccini

Serves: 4-6 ish

Time: 15-30 minutes

Preparation

Heat the coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over

medium-high heat, cut tofu into small cubes and cook for a 3-5 minutes, turning on each side, flattening out so they cover the surface of the bot. of the skillet, but REALLY just until they start to turn a light golden color. Add salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and thyme, garlic. (If possible, fresh tastes better, but powder seasoning works fine) Turn skillet up to high. Wash carrots, broc, corn, and cut up carrots small slices, and heads of broc and throw in the skillet. Using organic canned corn I find is easiest toss that in next and continue cooking on med-high heat and toss well! Rinse your greens, Kale, Collard Greens, Chard, and Baby Spinach. Then dice/cut up very thin. Add all greens to the skillet in that order. Don’t add Spinach until the very end

(cooks the quickest) Here, I always toss in a few more garlic cloves☺ While placing greens in, I also boil the water for the pasta. Once water is at a rolling boil I toss in a little more than ¼ of a package of Spinach fettuccini or whatever noodles you choose to use. Next I add about ½ jar of Muir Glen Cabernet

Marinara Pasta Sauce, and 5 drops (aprox) of Arizona Peper’s Organic Harvest Jabenero or Chipotle flavored hot sauce. (Jabenero spicer, Chipotle a step down, but still hot!)

serve.

1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

2/3 block of Extra Firm Tofu

Salt, Peper, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic (fresh if you can)

Aprox 4-8 Large Carrots

2-3 Large bunches of Broc

1 Large Can of organic corn

Kale, Chard, Collard Greens, Baby Spinach leaves- however much you want! I usually use 1 head of Kale, a little less Chard, and Collard greens, and layer a FULL Flat layer of spinach on top of skillet at very end! When the pasta goes

in the water, so it only cooks for less than 6 minutes –ish!

See below for rest of the ingredients:

Nutrition Info I found for the pasta sauce online:

1/2 cup (125g)Amount Per Serving

Calories 60 Calories from Fat 10% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1g 1%

Saturated Fat 0 0%

Trans Fat 0

Cholesterol 0 0%

Sodium 360mg 15%

Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%

Dietary Fiber 2g 9%

Sugars 4g

Protein 2g

Vitamin A 15% Vitamin C 15%

Calcium 2% Iron 8%

Info on Hot Sauce:

Ingredients: Habañero peppers, red ripened Jalapeño peppers, vinegar & salt.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 1 Teaspoon Servings Per Container: 30 Amount Per Serving Calories: 0 Fat Calories: 0 Total Fat: 0g/0% Saturated Fat: 0g/0% Trans

Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg/0% Sodium: 150mg/6% Total Carbohydrate: 0g/0% Dietary Fiber: 0g/0% Sugars: 0g Protein: 0g

BALANCE by Ashley Wynn

2009-07-14T00:39:00.000-07:00

Just got my new site up!
You can click above on the title Balance by Ashley Wynn or type in your browser www.balancebyashleywynn.com
Let me know what you think:)

Love and Light...ALOHA :)

Ashley

Tango, Swing, Cha Cha Cha!

2006-12-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Tango was so much fun. My partner Dan and I went to Shall We Dance and signed up for 4 lessons. We began with the Tango the first time, but before we learned the Tango, our teacher Jessica, taught us the basic steps of dance, the triple step and the rock step. From there, we began with the man's part. For the man, he began by doing a forward step, or 3 long counts, that he drag his following foot, and the woman does the same but backwards, and then you do quicker triple step to the side. The upper part of your body should be held tall, tight, and the woman's left hand under the man's bicep, and right hand below his hand.

That is just the basic pattern of the Tango.

Our next class, taken only two days later we learned the West Coast and East Coast Swing. This dance was a lot different but just as much fun to learn. It can go to anything, hip hop to country music. Most top 40 songs, you could use either style of Swing. The basic is a triple step, and then a rock step.

Last, but not least after only two lessons, I was hooked, and went back by myself, sans Dan and took a group class called, CHA CHA CHA!

Our next class will be after Winter break and I can't wait!

Check out this video from Youtube of Chichoek and Hakiel dancing the TANGO in the Spanish version of Dancing with the Stars!

Taking a little Break...with the TANGO

2006-11-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't been able to attend a bellydancing class the last 2 weeks, because of Thanksgiving break and a personal issue. So, instead I am going to write about a what I have been doing.

Since Dancing with the Stars began I have been infatuated with the Tango. I researched places in Tucson to take Tango and found what I feel to be the best place Shall We Dance Studios. It is located at 4101 East Grant Road and the phone number is (520) 327-7895.

It is $25 for either a single or a couple to have 4, 30 minute private lessons. They offer Tango, Waltz, Swing, and Salsa.

I went with my friend Dan and we had a Tango lesson. It was a blast. The teacher's name was Jennifer and she was really good. A member of the Southern Arizona's Dance Chapter, she gave us great instruction as well as helpful information in case we ever wanted to compete in Arizona or any other state. I am going back tonight at 8 p.m. and can't wait!

I am going to start up Belly dancing again, because I do love it, and am going to try an attend the 5 p.m. class tonight. I will update this post tonight after Tango!

New Instructor, New Moves

2006-11-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

Class on Saturday was really different. It was taught by a woman named Leslie, who used the same warm up that I was used too, but introduced new moves. Moves I have never seen before!

Leslie begun with a "shimmy." Usually, when learning the shimmy we pretty much just kept our knees soft, with a slight bend and our feet about shoulder width apart and just shimmied by moving our hips and core side to side and using our legs.

This time around it was, "Keep your feet a little bit closer than shoulder width distance and shimmy by moving your diaphram in an up/down and side to side motion. It was very different than what I had learned before and difficult. I loved the challenge.

My best friend from home, Vanessa was visiting me this past weekend and attended this class with me. Vanessa's mom is from El Salvador and she has the genetics of being able to move her hips in ridiculous ways. She caught on right away, and eventually I think I improved and at least got the hang of it for a few seconds.

After we spent about 15 minutes shimming, we began practicing drop kicks, a move that was not anything new, but it was the first time I heard it called that. Next, was interesting, because we practiced walking around dancing, as opposed to just staying stationary in one place turning and dancing.

We took long strides, then stepped together and popped our hips out. It looked great when we all did it together and it was a lot of fun.

I am going to go back tonight (Monday) and hopefully learn some fun new moves!

2006-10-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

I finally did it! I posted my first picture! This is the 3 disc DVD called The Goddess Workout by Dolphina.

The difference of doing this DVD v. going to the actual class that I have been attending is that Dolphina uses a fitness approach towards belly dancing instead of a dancer's approach.

The backdrop of the DVD is a little bit distracting, because she is standing on a white circle in the middle of a pool of water.

Something a little different...

2006-10-16T13:01:00.001-07:00

Class on Wednesday was taught by a substitute named Ivan. She was great. The class was more crowded than usual, and there were 9 of us. She began with the same stretches we are used to, but we learned slow motions to change things up a bit.

The first move we did was the figure eight. We did it very slowly, but deliberately. (If that makes any sense) This move could be done with the arms moving up and down your face, snake arms, (which we also worked a lot on) and behind you. The most difficult part was switching directions and getting your hips to move back and to the left first instead of forward and to the right.

We worked on 3/4 turns, where your hips move up and down on a 1-2-3-count and while you walk at the same time. That was interesting!

Ivan even went through arabesque turns with us. She had us all line up by 3's at the end of class and walk to the other end stepping 3 times, and then turning our hips inward and out lifting our toes. This move was beautiful, and could be worked into a number of routines we have been learning recently.

My favorite part of the class came last when she taugh us a drum solo. This was hot. The music was loud, upbeat, and the energy the moves gave off was high! While doing the dance you couldn't help but giggle with excitement as was the entire class.

Overall, this week was great in class, and my friend Ashley and I even did our moves out when we went dancing this weekend! Huge success and a lot of fun!

Hip Scarves, Where to Buy...

2006-10-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

I found after looking through many various sites that this one I preferred to purchase Hip Scarves. I found that after browsing through their site and contacting them by phone, I was able to place my order and receive my product within 48 hours. I ordered it last Monday and had it in time to go to class Wednesday evening. Another great place I found was at the Turkish Corner.

If you do want to stay local I did find a place called The Renaissance Store located at 4620 East Speedway and their phone number is (520) 546-8223. Although, they did not have a very large selection, but they are good quality and you can buy it here and have it immediately! The staff there was very friendly.

As far as music, I realized after talking to my instructor, Kathryn that there are so many different styles of bellydancing, Oriental all the way to Hawaiian, therefore it is important if I want to practice what I am learing in class that I get the right songs. She also told me to be careful, because a lot of the music has religious meaning behind it, and just to be cautious about what I am purchasing.

NEW MUSIC to GROOVE too!

2006-10-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well, last week I took 2 classes and now am obsessed! I love attending a class, and actually getting to have a teacher come up to you face to face and physical guide you in the right direction, if you need it. I definitely did last Wed. I was surprised to see a whole new group of young girls, only 10 years old!

Now, since I have been going I have just been practicing at home to mainstream POP quazzi Egyptian style music, but now my instructor Kathryn, told me where to get the CD we used for our routine in class. It is http://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?n=1&c=2.

Once your there it is the Belly Dance Zone Hot Pick 1 CD. It has a strong drum influence the beginning that is so much fun to dance to, and the energy of the song gradually builds up and is intense to hear as well move to.

I will let you know what I learn this week next time, plus let you know the best places to buy hip scarves in Tucson and online!

Belly dancing: Class v. DVD

2006-09-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to try another DVD instead of attending a class last week. Here is how it went.

I bought Jillina's Instructional Bellydance Volume 1. I was surprised when I put it into my DVD player that I was going to be given an actual breakdown of the various body parts and how to move them. I found this to be very helpful. The first section of the DVD was Stretching. This was a basic stretch that was fairly easy. The next part was broken down into Technique. Here the sub categories were head and neck, shoulders, chest, hips, and arms and hands were the last.

The DVD also allowed you to pick a choreographed full length routine at the end to practice. The DVD was great, because you could watch whatever parts you were having difficulty with more than once and it was nice to feel like you practiced something enough to feel comfortable before moving on.

I liked this DVD more than the previous one I had purchased for these reasons, but not more than attending a real class. I look forward to going back to class and learning new things!

"Hips Don't Lie"

2006-09-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

When I thought of taking dance classes in Tucson it occurred to me that I wanted to try a type of dance that would make me feel sexy, confident, and most of all help me get my body more defined. I had purchased a DVD set called Dolphina's Goddess Workout at BestBuy last semester and really never got into a repetitive routine. I felt if I had a class to attend, and a real person giving me instruction I would have better results. I went on the internet and started researching belly dancing in Tucson. I found that there are tribes or groups of belly dancers that are made up of instructors, performers, and students.

I called 13 instructors and heard back from 4. Some were out of town, some only were available to do private lessons, and others commuted only once a month from various parts of Arizona. The first class I was able to attend was on Thursday, September 14, 2006. I went to Xanadu Studio. The owner is Kathryn Ferguson and she was actually out of town, but called me back and told me that she had a substitute teacher and she would be returning next week. The classes that are available as of 9/15/06 are:
Monday at 7:45 p.m.
Thursday 5:45 p.m.
Saturday at 10 and 11 a.m.

The first time attending is free. Class is $50 per month and includes students coming to 2 classes per week.

My experience at Xanadu Studio began when the teacher, Kate Pitroff welcomed me and my friend and invited us to come in, grab a mat, and find a spot. The room was bright, clean, and had hard wood floors with mirrors everywhere. White lights adorned a beautiful fireplace along the wall closest to the stereo that was playing music that one would imagine would be playing if you were staring at a snakecharmer.

Women of all ages, I would say 10 to 60 were among me and my friend who were told to begin sitting, stretching our necks to each side and then down to our chest. At the beginning, the pace was slow and gradually sped up until we were standing with our knees bent, with our feet solid, firmly planted into the ground, not behind our hips but directly underneath us. Our shoulders were supposed to be drawn down, (this was difficult, because I am always on the computer and have stiff shoulders) and have a relaxed chest.

The rest of class was spent working on twisting and shimmying our hips. Arms, shoulders, and hands were given a devoted amount of time in order for the teacher to come over and work with each woman on an individual basis. My favorite part was that the atmosphere made you feel calm, yet the dance itself was exciting and created a balance that I have never felt in another type of exercise setting so far. I was sore the next day in my quads, abs, and in between my shoulders, but it went away after a couple days. I feel like this is something every woman should try at least once!

This week I plan on attending another class, because I can't wait to practice what I learned on Thursday again and to check out new moves.

For more information about bellydancing in Tucson, check out this site.