Low Calorie Dessert For Young Nutcracker Ballet Kids

I'm planning this gluten free low calorie dessert for an upcoming holiday dinner and thought I'd share for the seasonal young Nutcracker ballet kids.

Most young dancers aren't worrying about weight gain - but for those who are, or for their teachers or dance parents, here is a tasty treat.

Any lower calorie fruit could do but you know what they say about apples!

Choose organic so you can keep the skin on - for all those vitamins! Slice and bake or boil a 2-5 lb bag of apples, depending on the size of your dinner party and family.

Serve with whipped organic heavy whipping cream.

Don't underestimate how yummy this is! It's basically Apple Pie without the grainy crust. Gluten free!

This can be served hot or cold, and drizzled with maple syrup, or a pinch of dark brown sugar.

Zero calorie organic Sweet Leaf liquid stevia can be used too -- it comes in plain, Vanilla Cream, English Butterscotch and other flavors.

For Dancers - White Chocolate Made With Stevia

Yes, I was just searching on line for a recipe for white chocolate made with Stevia.

And that would be the organic stevia -- because the non-organic is made with solvents and we don't really want to eat those chemicals.

One of my best friends has asked me to bring this to Thanksgiving dinner. (US).

White chocolate, to avoid the high oxalate content of dark chocolate.

Stevia sweetened, to avoid the carbs and stay in Ketosis, or fat burning mode.

So here's the skinny (all dancers want to be skinny right?).

You need coco butter. Don't worry, it is a mid chain fat and won't store on your body.

You need sugar or stevia.

You need powdered milk, not a lot.

And vanilla extract. The real thing. Why? Because artificial 'vanillin' is made from petroleum. Euew!

This may be the only dessert on the table! But the guests may consider it a desert. You know, dry and empty! (Of calories).

So I will try to make it good! As in yummy, super Vanilla and zero calorie sweet!

If you're a dancer, I know you're with me on this!

Here is a good recipe page.

Here is a sugar to Stevia conversion chart. For whatever you may want to make.

Here is a video to help -- and be forewarned, this cook is a real character!

The Best Ballet Wear in Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes

The tradition of traditional, sleek ballet attire is the best ballet wear seen in professional dance studios. It has a purpose.

Traditional ballet teachers can seem fussy about the dress code in their studios. There is a reason for this.

When a teacher is looking over a class in motion, visual clutter needs to be at a minimum. Dark leotards, white T shirts and pink, black or gray tights are a good uniform landscape for the teacher.

The black/dark of the leotard emphasizes the line of the posture, the upper back and neck suppleness/tension, the hip/leg break and alignment correctness, and makes it easiest to respond to what is seen with ongoing and detailed corrections.

Ballet Class Corrections

For instance, it is easy to see, even across a large studio, if the back of the thigh is not pulled up as needed, if the dancer is wearing pink or gray tights. It is also easy to see bulky tension in thigh muscles that should be more elongated.

Distractions such as multi-colored clothing, and sloppy leg warmers prevent the teacher from being at their top efficiency,

The artistry of ballet depends on the ultra-perfectionist and over-idealized form being sought, and then being surrendered to an allowing energy flow, that releases expression and drama.

I wish I could say that better, but all I'm really talking about is that the norm for strict ballet wear that any ballet store provides, ultimately supports the best results,as it allows the teacher to see what's going on in a large dance class full of diverse talent.

Get the best ballet wear and look like a pro in dance class.

The video below shows some younger boys in ballet who now wear the gray tights in class instead of the traditional black.

Keto Diet Freezer Meals

Are you a busy dancer, mom of a dancing daughter/son - or just crazy busy?

Here's a Kindle book with recipes you can make ahead of time and freeze.

What a handy book! This is not the only Kindle edition of handy meals to grab from the freezer but it is written by a registered and licensed dietician, Skye Howard.

There are incredible advantages to making ketogenic meals this way:

• avoid unhealthy fats from frozen processed foods

• avoid artificial flavors and colors in frozen meals

• avoid the lack of nutrition in frozen packaged meals and snacks

If you still have reservations about eating fats, check out my Kindle book Facts About Saturated Fats.

Don't be hungry!

Lose weight safely! Enjoy your own choices of:

• healthy foods 

• flavors and seasonings

• grass fed beef

• organically fed chicken and pork

• wild caught cold water fish providing omega 3 oils

• grass fed dairy products, possibly raw

• organic vegetables

Grass fed products, organic products and wild caught fish contribute greatly to your hormone balance and how that affects weight gain. You can read more about that in my post  about teen weight gain and hormone imbalance. 

And here is your book about keto diet freezer meals! 

Keto Diet Meals

A  keto diet is a diet where the goal is to get into a fat-burning mode.

A  keto diet is not a deprivation or low calorie diet.

A  keto or ketogenic meal plan is like a low-carb high fat diet. Like the Dr. Atkins diet.

Although some people may find it difficult or sometimes anti-social it is a diet on which you will not go hungry.

So what is a keto diet meal? A meal excluding:

• bread

• crackers

• sugar

• grains (all)

• potatoes

• pastas (grains)

So a keto diet breakfast may be:

1 or 2 boiled, poached, scrambled eggs/omelet

with sour cream, butter, cooked in coconut oil

with bacon or sausage and cheese

Buying bacon smoked with no sugar is a challenge. Sour cream from grass fed cows or cows not fed the Rbgh (recombinant beef growth hormone) is recommended. Sausage from small farm raised pork is preferred too. Why?

All those GMO fed meat foods and hormone fed animals aren't good for you. And you will gain weight if you eat them, most of you.

A keto diet lunch could be:

• a lettuce wrap with meat, cheese or peanut butter

• a piece of chicken, turkey, beef (no cold cuts)

• chopped veggies with a sour cream/avocado/cheese dip (home made)

• lettuce wrapped peanut/almond butter "sandwiches", a few

• a drive-through burger/cheese burger/'fishwich' wrapped in lettuce -

• a tub of egg or tuna or salmon salad

A keto diet dinner could be:

• meat/chicken/fish/eggs

• as many green veggies as you like with butter, olive oil or sour cream

• salad - greens including avocado

You won't be hungry with these meals.

Keto snacks can include walnuts, peanuts, and chopped veggies with tahini or nut butters.

Learn more about keto diet meals.

Here are some tips for low carb breakfasts:

D. Buxton is a writing partner with Vone Deporter, of The Sedona Series, about a surfer girl in pointe shoes.

Follow us on Pinterest! 

Ketosis Diet Plan - Women

This page contains amazon affiliate marketing links. We may get paid a commission on the sale of a product or service recommended here. This does not change your price, you pay what Amazon advertises.

Is a ketosis diet plan good for women - or anyone?

Ketosis, or keto diets remain popular right now and a few supplements are on the market.

Very expensive, these mostly MLM marketed formulas are not necessary to maintain ketosis and lose weight.

Yes, the state of fat-burning, or ketosis is attainable by a specific diet plan. And this plan has been around for decades.

The medical doctors Eades and Eades published The Protein Power Life Plan in 2001.

Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution: The High Calorie Way to Stay Thin Forever was published in 1972.

Now the buzz word is ketosis, a weight loss diet plan. 

It is also good for reducing inflammation and has been noted to reduced the progress of cancer. Could that be? Cancer is a condition brought on by inflammation so that makes sense to me.

A low carb high fat menu plan which includes plenty of green foods both raw and cooked, is an anti-inflammatory diet (for most, if you don't have vegetable allergies or a high response to lectins).

Carbohydrates from foods made with grains, or starchy vegetables promote inflammation, leading to pain. ...Sore joints, aching muscles - either mild, or for some, crippling.

A keto diet for weight loss meal plan simply excludes the starchy foods like bread, buns, crackers, grains, including pastas, and potatoes. Other root vegetables like carrots, beets,  and parsnips are  sugary too, and can be kept to a minimum.

For best results, fruit too, is excluded.

Keto Diet For Weight Loss Beginners

If you're curious about ketosis and how it can keep you thin and healthy, I suggest that you gain information with this book, Keto Clarity by by Eric Westman MD and Jimmy Moore. It is the leading best seller book on amazon on the subject, as I write today.

There are other books to choose from as well. The customer reviews on Keto Clarity reflect its usefulness and...clarity.

I first wrote about fat-burning ketosis on the topic of Intermittent Fasting in Effortless Healing by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

(Kaiser Permanente, an HMO insurance company, is now promoting Intermittent Fasting as a healthy eating plan.)

How Long Do You Need To Do Keto To Lose Weight?

This varies from person to person, and here is why.

When you eat carbohydrates in their many forms, they are changed to sugar in your gut and pass into your blood to be burned off as energy.

What you don't burn off is stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen.

When you begin to consume between 20-50 mg. of carbs a day (a Keto diet) you won't get into ketosis until all that glycogen is used up. 

Therefore, folks who have been eating any form of sugars and storing glycogen, will take longer to get into the state of fat burning ketosis.

Another factor is people who have drifted into metabolic syndrome over the years(difficulty in burning fuels, also referred to as slow metabolism) will take longer.

Metabolic syndrome is a pre-diabetic state. There are multiple benefits to back-peddling out of this:

• Weight loss
• Decrease inflammation in joints, muscles, gut, brain and all soft tissues
• In turn, decrease joint pain, IBS pain and muscle pain
• Gradually speeding up your metabolism
• Generate more energy making daily life and exercising more enjoyable
• In turn, building muscle mass, strength and mobility

See my article Are Ballet Workouts More Effective? for more about strength and mobility.

Are Keto Diet Weight Loss Results Healthy?

The keto diet does not restrict fats.

Fats support your brain, skin, joints and muscles. Fats are anti-inflammatory.

That's only if you choose the right fats to eat:

• Grass fed meats like pasture fed beef
• Butter from grass fed cows
• Healthy seed oils like flax seed oil, avocado seed oil, true olive oil, walnut oil - seeds

Depending on your age and overall health, you have a better chance of maintaining skin quality (avoiding wrinkles), mental clarity, and exercise enjoyment (less pain) if you forego the low fat diet.

There is much more about this topic in the guide book Facts About Saturated Fats.

Keto Diet For Weight Loss Recipes 

I write more about this in my article Keto Diet Meals.

For the busy person get meals made for you   - see Keto Diet Freezer Meals, to help you with your weight loss goals.

I want to be clear that I may get a small advertising fee from purchases you make on Amazon, if you link from any of the links this article. (usually around 2-3%). This helps with the costs of publishing on line. It does not affect your price.

Have you tried a keto diet for weight loss? Or for your health in general? Please do share how you liked it and how it made you feel better. We can all learn from each other.

Best Barre Workout DVD

Best Barre Workout DVD

"Barre Nouvelle's owner and creator, Deborah Thompson is a former National Ballet of Canada dancer and veteran fitness instructor. Deborah is also an international trainer of the original Lotte Berk Technique trained under Lotte Berk's daughter, Esther Fairfax."

(Above from the website Barre Nouvelle.) I haven't experienced it myself but I'm quite sure it's something I need. 

It is owned and has been created by Deborah Thompson, whom I knew as Debbie Todd back in her National Ballet School of Canada/Company days. The studio is located in Etobicoke, Ontario.

When I went on Face Book a few days ago I was very happy to see a message from her with a link to what she is now teaching. 

I found a great youtube ballet barre workout to recommend after finding the following:

And I think I could do this! And that means almost any retired ballet dancer can! 

I'll never recover the strength I used to have in my hamstrings, gluts and Quadratus Lumborum back muscles. But I do what I can. 

Being retired from ballet isn't the easiest lifestyle. Coordinating work time and workout time can be difficult. 

If you can't visit Barre Nouvelle here's a complete set of Lotte Burk DVD's to learn your workouts with. 

There are single Lotte Burk DVD's to choose from as well.