Line Dance a-la Gaga

All things Lady Gaga are a bit odd, and the recent Gaga inspired dance workshop at Ninth Street Dance lived up to that reputation. Not sure what to expect but excited about the adventure, GWG and friends met up on a Saturday afternoon to exercise, try something new, and check out this local dance studio. What we found was met with mixed opinions…

The class instructor introduced herself and briefed us on a resume that sounded encouraging, but didn’t mean much to us as beginners. Prepared with index cards for reference, she began to teach the dance steps piece by piece—a routine we believe she choreographed herself. The first several steps came fairly easily but after a short while there was a bit of confusion as she moved to different sides of the room, and at one point it seemed that she was relying on some of the seasoned dancers to remember the moves.

The dance class turned out to be two hours dedicated to one line dance to the song Poker Face by Lady Gaga. Expecting more of a “jump in and go” type class, the GWG and many others seemed frustrated by the combination of varying skill levels and unorganized teaching style. While the 64 count dance was a challenge to memorize, the slow pace of the first hour did not get our heart rates up and would barely count as exercise. The second hour was spent “perfecting” the dance and working up to full speed—several standout dancers were noticeably sweating and out of breath, but for the rest of us it never got very high intensity.

We saw several people leaving throughout the class and given the $20 price tag, we were also a little disappointed in the end result. One of us decided to sit out and observe halfway through—partly to take pictures but mostly out of frustration. The other of us liked the concept but not the execution. Being big fans of most everything Durham we hate to give a bad review, but in this case we have to say this dance class did not convert us into Little Monsters or have us signing up for the next workshop.

Big Game Menu Recap

Planning and executing a menu during the Super Bowl is time consuming. Although the recipes were simple to do, serving them hot required lots of time in the kitchen—thank goodness for open floor plans and big screen TVs.

Party-goers were polled following the game and no recipe was a clear favorite but everyone agreed overall that the menu was tasty and filling, but it didn’t leave anyone feeling as though they’d over eaten. Mission accomplished, now for some notes.

The sweet ‘n’ spicy snack mix wasn’t terribly popular the night of the game (guests opted for chips and salsa), but the leftovers were a nice snack at work.

The blooming onion had great flavor but lacked the crunchy coating that makes the fried ones so mouth-watering good. The onion was voted as a favorite by one guest and this recipe will make more appearances in the future.

The healthy cheese dip was the most disappointing recipe of the night. This is no surprise though, how do you top good, fatty, cheese dip. Mixed with the salsa, the cheese dip added a nice creaminess but alone it was bland.

Easy to make, the potluck sloppy joes were a crowd pleaser. Making enough to feed the guys, this recipe was easy, used typical household items, and had a surprisingly sweet flavor. Great for kids and big groups.

Finally, the baked bananas were a warm, gooey, delicious way to end the evening. Eaten fresh from the oven in the fourth quarter, this recipe is recommend to anyone looking for a guilt-free dessert.

Enjoy Big Game without Big Gain

The big game is two days away and the GWG have planned a healthy menu to compliment what’s sure to be a great game. So, no matter which team you’re pulling full, try out one, or all, of these recipes and let us know what you thought. Check back next week and see our thoughts on these dishes.

Another healthy tip, do these exercises while watching the commercials to burn calories.

Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Snack Mix

4 cups miniature pretzels
2-1/3 cups reduced-fat cheese-flavored baked snack crackers
2 cups Wheat Chex
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon barbecue seasoning
3 cups Corn Pops

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the pretzels, crackers and cereal. In a small bowl, combine the butter, soy sauce, chili powder and barbecue seasoning; pour over cereal mixture and toss to coat.

Transfer to a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in Corn Pops. Store in airtight containers. Yield: 10 cups.

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Blooming Onion

2 large sweet onions
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Sauce:
¼ cup fat-free sour cream
¼ cup fat-free mayonnaise
1-1/2 teaspoons dried minced onion
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dill weed

Directions:

With a sharp knife, slice ½ inch off the top of the onions; peel onions. Cut each into 16 wedges to within ½ inch of root end.

Place each onion on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 12 inch square). Fold foil around onions and seal tightly. Place in an ungreased 11-inch x 7-inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine butter and mustard. Open foil; fold foil around onions. Brush butter mixture over onions; sprinkle with bread crumbs, salt and pepper.

Bake 18-22 minutes longer or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Serve with onions. Yield: 8 servings.

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Homemade Fries

For simple fries: Cut 2 large potatoes into strips and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.

For a spicy mayo dip, combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon curry powder.

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Healthy Cheese Dip

4 oz. 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soy milk
3 oz. fat free block cheddar cheese
2 oz. Velveeta Light
2 Tbsp. fat free cream cheese
Melt in saucepan with milk.

Or

1/2 cup light soymilk
3 ounces fat-free block cheddar cheese
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese
Melt in saucepan with milk.

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Potluck sloppy joes

3 pounds lean ground turkey
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1-3/4 cups ketchup
1 can (8 ounces) no-salt-added tomato sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
12 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the turkey, celery, onions and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the ketchup, tomato sauce, flour, sugar, vinegar and mustard. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Spoon 2/3 cup turkey mixture onto each bun. Yield: 12 servings.

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Baked Bananas

1 medium ripe banana, cut in half lengthwise
2 tsp honey or agave
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut bananas in half. Arrange banana in an oven safe dish or on tinfoil. Sprinkle with cinnamon and honey. Cover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how soft you like them.

Get Fit - Outdoor Ice Skating

Inspired by the recent wintery weather, the GWG decided to try ice skating as a fun and festive physical activity. We’d heard about Winterfest in Raleigh—an outdoor natural ice rink located in City Plaza—and made the trip to check it out.

The location in the middle of downtown Raleigh provides a nice backdrop and is convenient to local shops and restaurants—however, the rink is surrounded by construction on two sides. Let us also warn you, this is no Rockefeller Center—we were both surprised by the small size of the skating area.

We arrived around lunchtime and joined a small crowd of families enjoying a leisurely ride around the rink—a couple of people challenged each other to races while others were still working on their balance. Pop music playing over speakers added to the enjoyment as we circled the rink for about an hour.

Because of the small size of the rink and its patchy condition, it was a little hard to get our speed up but we did start to warm up after several laps. Using an online calorie calculator, we estimate that based on our size we each burned about 250-300 calories.

Once we’d had our fill of going around in circles, we decided to warm up and headed across the street to Starbucks. Keeping with our new healthy theme, we each selected lighter beverages—one a tall Skinny Vanilla Latte (90 calories) and the other a grande Chai Tea Latte (240 calories). It may have cancelled out our exercise, but it was a nice way to wrap up our chilly afternoon activity.

If you’d like to try out Raleigh’s own outdoor ice skating rink, this season’s schedule ends after this weekend. The cost is $8.00 per person and includes skate rental.

The Lighter Side of Tyler's

Going forward with our blog and its new emphasis on good habits, we weren’t quite sure where to go for our first healthy post. We decided to revisit a place we enjoyed last year but with a goal to find the lower calorie options on the menu—and with the hopes that we could still come away with a good taste in our mouths. So we found ourselves at Tyler’s Restaurant & Taproom in American Tobacco— our previous visit left us satisfied after sharing a plate of Carolina Nachos, soft pretzels and a couple rounds of beer. Could we enjoy a guilt-free beer and appetizer?

This time we had to look a little harder on the menu to find what we were looking for—most people probably don’t go to Tyler’s to count calories and there aren’t tons of options for people that do. We were hoping to get a beer so we started by asking for the light options—unfortunately the only choices were the standard US big box varieties, --Miller, Bud, Amstel or Corona. We can enjoy those beverages on any occasion, so decided we could pass this time around (we’d hoped some of the local microbrews would include lighter options, but our waitress and the menu did not make it seem that way).

For an appetizer we opted for the hummus & pimento cheese plate. We had a feeling the pimento cheese took this semi-healthy appetizer to the unhealthy side but it didn’t occur to us until it was on the table that maybe we could have ordered hummus only. With warm pitas, carrots and celery for dipping, this dish was a great way to kick our taste buds into gear—the hummus had great flavor and was more tasty than expected. Surprisingly, we did not finish the dish before our meals came allowing us to pack up calories for a later time.

For the first time in GWG history, one of us ordered a salad—the Blackened Salmon Salad with chilled salmon, field greens, grated Parmesan and a side of spicy mustard vinaigrette. This dish has a lot of flavor—the fish is coated in spices and was quite peppery in certain bites. The hot spices worked well with the sweet and tangy dressing, but at times there was a bit of flavor overload and a few pieces of the salmon were chewy. Overall, it was a decent dish and came in a heaping quantity (ordered with the dressing on the side to limit calories).

Enticed by brie cheese, the other GWG ordered the grilled chicken wrap lunch special complete with candied walnuts and a pomegranate dressing. The best part of the wrap was the wrap itself--perfectly moist and able to hold all the food in while being eaten. However, if not a brie lover, it’s probably best to steer clear as that was the standout flavor. Although satisfying for the GWG, the chicken was barely noticeable, there was only an occasional crunch from the candied walnuts, and the pomegranate dressing was practically non-existent. This GWG (a brie lover) isn’t complaining and finished the full wrap but is hesitant to recommend to all.

At the end of the meal, we were both very pleased with the lighter options and enjoyed not feeling tired and overly full. That being said, Tyler’s is probably best enjoyed when you go for the grease and swallow it down with beer.

We must also admit that we don’t specifically know the calorie content in the dishes we chose, but we at least know they are healthier choices than we’ve made before. We attempted to use online calculators to estimate the calories and nutritional content, but even those seem inconsistent. Without asking the restaurant for details about the way food is prepared and all the ingredients, it becomes almost impossible to be certain what you have consumed. Unfortunately restaurants don’t make it that easy and we hate to become those people that overanalyze every detail of their food—that might be something we have to get over to find the truth.

Exercise activities for the week: swimming, running, zumba

Healthy Habits 2011

It’s hard to believe Girls with Guts celebrates its first birthday this month--we had a great year stuffing ourselves to maximum capacity, meeting fellow foodies and exploring Durham (and the surrounding area) via many of its great restaurants.

With one year under our tightening belts, we thought it might be time to loosen them a bit and decided on a new challenge for the new year. In other words, a healthier (gasp!) approach to the blog.

2011 will bring more restaurant write-ups--however, instead of eating the largest or most calorie-laden item on the menu, we’d like to find something satisfying AND healthy. We still want to enjoy the restaurants we’ve come to love and crave, but in a way that won’t require a marathon to burn off. We also hope to find substitutes or modifications for some of those food temptations that we all fight.

In addition, GWG will seek out new physical challenges to mix up the workout routines we’ve already established. We plan to share highlights from our exercise exploits to encourage others to earn their calories, an aspect of our lives we haven’t touched on before.

We are both food-lovers to the highest degree and have always embraced that proudly. This is not an attempt to suppress our inner foodie, but to move forward with more control and moderation. Some people may not consider this to be a challenge in the same sense, but we believe it will prove much harder than our first year of open ended gluttony.

We hope that our readers will follow along for this next chapter of Girls with Guts.

German Food Meets Durham Art

Guglhupf’s German Holiday Market was another in a recent string of combination art-food-music events that display Durham’s unique personality and boost holiday spirits. The restaurant’s unique outdoor patio played host to this seasonal event complete with local artists, live Christmas music, authentic German snacks, and a bonfire to keep things toasty.

Artists squeezed into the cozy space to showcase their goods to holiday shoppers, while a line of people waited to order authentic pastries, bratwursts, and winter drinks. Our favorite art pieces included a cute kitchen chalkboard and 2D figurines made from roofing paper. We also browsed displays of colorful paintings, jewelry and sculptures, but saved our money for the food and drink table.

To fight off the especially cold weather, the drink menu offered warm cider (with and without rum), hot toddies, and mulled wine. We each opted for cider with rum and were comforted by the sweet and toasty beverage—a nice compliment to the fresh doughnuts filled with berry jelly. The smoky smell of bratwursts on the grill floated through the air, tempting one of us to give it a try. Served to order on a signature pretzel roll, the bratwurst was topped with signature sauerkraut and mustard making for a perfect lunch.

If you’ve not been to Guglhupf, you should know it is special for many reasons. It has a fabulous restaurant perfect for a causal brunch/lunch/dinner with a friend or as a quiet study place. It has a bakery full of fresh breads, savory snacks, and decadent desserts. It is housed in a unique building full of charm and individuality. It also knows how to host a great event complete with local artists, good foods, and stellar winter drinks.