It is day 18 of my challenge to be in the best possible shape by the 4th of July. I have 142 days to go. So far so good. I found a new dvd which I love. It is called Red Hot Salsa II. At first, it was way to fast and I was very uncoordinated. But, I discovered a portion of the dvd which slows down the steps and teaches you what they are doing. This was so helpful. Now, I have completed the dvd about five times and I am getting really good. I don’t think I have rhythm quite like the ladies in the movie, but I am getting better every day. It’s really fun and it really makes you sweat.

Also, I found an amazing app for the iphone which is called lose it. It’s a free app. It allows you to input your goals and then it sets up a plan for you to reach the goal based on calories. You punch in what exercises you are doing and what you eat and it keeps you on track on a daily basis. I really love it and believe it is helping me. It also motivates me to complete all three of my exercises daily so I can eat more food and drink more wine.

I taught another cooking class this week. My students learned how to make salmon in foil.

salmon in foil

Click here for the recipe. It was a lot of fun. I also made  a couple of low fat appetizers: bean dip and cheese stuffed cherry tomatoes. Here are those recipes:

Tomato Buttons:

Serves: 5

Time: 15 minutes

2 C. cherry tomatoes, cut in half and remove pulp

1 C. fat free cream cheese

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

¼ C. parmesan cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Set cherry tomato halves aside. Combine all other ingredients in a food processor and mix well. Spoon into the tomatoes. Chill until ready to serve.

Pinto Bean Dip:

4 C. pinto beans

½ C. jalapeño peppers

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp sugar

1/4 C. onion, finely chopped

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp paprika

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients into the food processor and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips.