Keep calm and......

....embrace your curves!

More and more of my (male) friends keep on telling me that they prefer a woman with curves then a skinny woman.
For what they said, curves make a body looking more warm, soft and reassuring.
It may be something ancient related to health and well being.

Whatever.

Just do not stress yourself over those extra kilos. Focus more on being healthy!

Slow-Braised Green Beans

This is a healthy, easy and so delish recipe, perfect for this crisp season. Thanks mummy for teaching me so much about cooking!


Ingredients

makes 4
• 500 gr green beans, trimmed
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large, ripe tomatoes (or canned)
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• olive oil
• salt + pepper


Preparation

Place a large, wide pot over medium/high heat. Coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil and add the onion. Cook for about a minute until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook for another minute until soft.

Add the green beans and the stock. Using your hands, crush the tomatoes into the pot and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and turn heat down to a medium-low heat. Cook for about 2 hours, until beans are very tender and beginning to fall apart. Serve warm or room temperature.


I use this recipe as side dish with meat or with some French cheese such as brie.

Let's jump!

I cannot wait to go back to my fitness routine!
My Zumba classes are starting today and I am ready to rock!!!!

What kind of sport are you enjoying as much as I am enjoying Zumba?

Zumba fun!

Have you never tried Zumba?
you should! it's a great way to exercise, it's fun and so rewarding.

I gave it a try back in September and since then, I am attending classes 3x week. With a more sensitive approach to what I eat, I started to loose weight. Not that I was looking to become thinner, I am just looking forward to a healthy me.

Dancing have always been an important part in my life, starting as a kid with ballet, developing into a night club dancer, to take on dancing courses. I am taking for granted that all of you, my lovely readers, knows what Zumba is (in fact is one of the most popular way of keeping fit mixing aerobics with any dance step such as salsa, belly dancing, reggaeton, samba, etc.).

So this was just the perfect choice for me to something that would not get boring and either I would not drop after a few lessons. These pictures are actually from a Zumba MasterClass I have attended recently: 3 hours no-stop.

What a challenge I gave to my body! Not to mention the self-esteem as I wouldn't guess I would survive!!
Instead I did it and felt so great!!!

Avete mai provato Zumba?
beh, dovreste! è un ottimo modo per restare in forma, è divertente e molto gratificante.

Ho fatto la mia prima lezione a Settembre e da allora sto frequentando ben 3 volte alla settimana. Stando attenta a quello che mangio, ho iniziato anche a perdere peso. Non che avessi l'intenzione di mettermi a dieta, ma di avere un approccio diverso col cibo ai fini di migliorare la mia salute e il mio benessere.

Il ballo è sempre stato una parte importante della mia vita; da bambina con il balletto, i seguito come ballerina in discoteca, ma sempre seguendo corsi di ballo. Sto dando per scontato che tutti voi, miei adorati lettori, sappiate cosa sia la Zumba (é una disciplina del fitness che coniuga l'aerobica con molti passi di danza come la salsa, la danza del ventre, il reggaeton, la samba, ecc.).

Quindi questa è risultata la scelta perfetta per me per praticare uno sport che non sarebbe diventato noioso e non avrei abbandonato dopo poche lezioni. Queste immagini si riferiscno ad una MasterClass di Zumba a cui ho partecipato di recente: 3 ore no-stop.

Che sfida per il mio corpo e l'autostima! Non credevo sarei sopravvissuta!
Invece ce l'ho fatta e mi sono sentita alla grande!

trying the new Zumba Sentao - spot me in the group!!