Today we had a workshop to talk about and discover the Nia Five Sensations. Just like a lot of things we do and use in Nia, the five sensations are not unique to Nia, but they are tools we use to enhance our dance exercise. In a Nia class we strive to be in sensation. Being aware of the sensations allows us to choose and dance what we need at the time of the class. We had a small turn out, but the number of attendants is never the measure of success. One of my Nia Students and fellow Nia Blue Belt’s helped me present the workshop. This workshop was held at the request of the Camden Community Center. Our participants shared that they felt they had a better understanding of the sensations and would be able to apply awareness to them either in a Nia class or just in everyday life.
First we started off moving right away. The participants walked in, we said hello then started dancing. We danced to two songs. Then we did a brief introduction of Nia then we shared the five sensations and how we experience them everyday. We shared how they could be helpful to know and be aware of in a Nia class. The 5 sensations are: Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Strength, and Stability (FAMSS).
Then we moved to each sensation. As we talked we guided the students into the sensations. We shared that flexibility is sensed as energy moving outward. It is the opening your body, the lengthening and yawning. So we stretched and yawned our bodies open. We reached out to lengthen our limbs. We imagined our bones moving away from our center. We practiced sensing the sensation even as our bodies showed no outward movement.
We talked about how agility can be sensed in the quick start and stop of a movement. It is the physical feeling of pulling and pushing. We hopped and jumped. We chopped and slapped. We “played” soccer and tennis. We danced in a “strobe like” fashion. We even stood still and let our gaze bounce around as our eyes moved with agility.
When talking about mobility we said it is sensed as energy in constant motion. It is youthful freedom. (A description from the Nia Technique that I really like.) It is flowing movement, graceful, and easy. We twirled and whirled around the room. We let our bodies ebb and flow. We rolled like the ocean. We moved our arms. We moved our legs. We mobilized our spine. We allowed the energy of constant motion to energize us.
We used the ballet bar and wall to start us off understanding that strength is sensed as energy moving inward. With that first example it gives way to us sensing strength as a resisting, or a quality of weighted energy being moved in ways that allow you to sustain a movement or posture. It is the contraction of muscle. It is the muscle squeezing bone. We contracted and pushed. We squeezed and resisted. Allowing the effort to tire us a bit.
Then we experienced the calm of stability. Stability is sensed as balance and comfort. It is the physical feeling of harmony and peace combined with readiness for action.
After having practiced the sensations we then added them to the stances that are part of the 52 Moves of Nia. We moved through the stances in the 5 sensations. Then we put on the music and danced the stances in sensation. After two songs we reviewed the kicks that are part of the 52 Moves of Nia. We moved through the sensations doing the kicks. Then onto dancing again. We danced doing our kicks in sensation.
We finished off the workshop with two songs focusing on the sensations, but primarily using the Nia choreography and not so much sticking with the kicks and stances. This allowed us to practice dancing in the sensations to whatever moves that come as part of a Nia routine.
It was a great little taste of the Nia 5 Sensations. I can say that because no matter what I am teaching it is ALWAYS the students that make the class GREAT!
Are you aware of any of these sensations in your everyday life?
Nia has been a cardio-dance workout since 1983. It is not as well known as some other cardio dance exercises. So when we have events, such as Nia Jams, Playshops, Plearns, Workshops, Intensives, Master Classes in addition to attending and enjoying these events I ALWAYS think of those things as opportunities to take pictures and videos. I always think that the pictures and videos can be posted on social media so that we can “get Nia out there” so it becomes more well known. The videos and pictures are meant to show people how fun it is. The pictures and videos are to show that it is a workout. The videos and pictures are meant to show people how anyone can do Nia. I was so caught up in getting people signed in and getting things ready to go for the Nia Class that I recently produced, I neglected to ask permission to take and post pictures and videos. But . . . I also had it in my head that it is well known that while we do our Nia events we want to have pictures of them to promote our Nia events. Well . . . . this is the result of me not doing due diligence and gaining permission BEFORE taking the pictures and the videos. These are some of the pictures and videos from the Nia Class on Friday, March 27, 2015. I have posted other pictures where I had to block someone out, but never videos. It takes a long time, so this is the end result of a non-professional video editor (me).
As I stated in my post, What Did Frankie Say?, on Saturday after the Nia Class, Jason Alan Griffin, a First Degree Nia Black Belt is travel the United States presenting his Nia routine he calls Frankie Say Nia. I didn’t do well, at all, with the dressing in the 80’s style, but I did think the animal print would work. My little head top pony-tail was supposed to be a tribute to the “BIG HAIR” of the 80’s. I didn’t bother actually doing my hair up in that BIG way because after the first song it would have just been flat.
Nia IS a cardio-dance WORKOUT and the routine followed the classic Nia style with all seven cycles of a Nia workout. And in keeping with the seven cycles this routine has a focus and an intent. The focus being the Creative Hand and Arm Expressions. The intent is to allow us to relax into personal power.
The routine is full of fun and familiar songs, except the last three. There were three songs in the Floorplay section and the first one just struck me as odd. I don’t mind dancing to odd music. Dancing to odd music is fun. And, in fact, part of the Nia White Belt Training gets us to dance to music that might be considered undanceable by many. I have yet to come across music that is undanceable, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think some of it is odd. And it wasn’t so much that it was odd, it was that I couldn’t remember ever hearing it before. Jason, kindly reminded me again (because I asked him at least three times and couldn’t remember still) that it was Ghost Town by the Specials. I was also trying to follow the moves and allow myself to dance, so I didn’t even listen to all the words. It is a very varied song. I am listening to it now as I type and it is making me laugh!
Regardless of my error in not getting permission beforehand and regardless of the less-than-professional job of “editing”, I believe it is still obvious that fun was had by all. It was a great time. I still have the Playshop to post about. I will get to that eventually. So stay tuned! We can’t wait to have Jason back for more Nia. I will keep you posted so next time you can join us!
As you may know if you have perused my blog or website, Nia has moves called the 52 Moves of Nia or Nia’s 52 Moves. Moves concentrated and focused on. Generally moves included in all of the routines. Not all the moves are included in all of the routines, but the routines are jam-packed with most of the moves. The moves on the list have physical benefits. Some are fun or silly so they can have mental or spiritual benefits. And in this case I am talking about your spirit or inner child, the part of you that likes to have fun, the part of you that you might not get to display in your regular everyday work life. So not the religious type of spirit but the kind of spirit that you think of when you say or hear “school spirit” or inner child. The fun playful side of you. To me, one of those moves is Claw Hand.
Claw Hand is a great move. It is super easy. It can be done all on its own. You can just stand or sit and do claw hand. You can add it to some foot work. You can add it to some complicated choreography. You can make it soft or hard. You can do it fast or slow. It is very versatile.
You can even make noises when you do it. You can growl like a big cat or a bear. You can meow like a kitty-cat. You can make any noise you want. It is fun stuff.
As I said you can do it standing or sitting and this moves gets done in to all the stances and steps in the Nia Routines. The Nia Technique Book (by Debbie and Carlos Rosas) recommends it be practiced in all the stances and steps. And that is a great idea since we use it with all of them. The routine I am doing now even add it to blocks. We block in with claw hand and we block out with claw hand. Why not?
You can probably figure out what this move is from the description but I tell you what the book says:
“Mimic a claw with your finger and claw the air, as if you were in a cat fight. Keep your wrists relaxed, and sound a cat’s hisses as you do the move. Use both hands.”
The benefits can include strengthening your fingers and hands.
In addition to keeping a relaxed wrist I like to use the claw shape to bring tension into my entire arm. I imagine I am really clawing something. I figure I would need strength to do that so I put my entire arm into it. You can use one had to “claw” and the other hand to feel the muscles in your arm (forearm and upper arm) contract.
The book states that this move can increase your sense of power. When I am doing it with muscles contracted as if I am REALLY clawing something I do have a sense of power. I imagine that is how an animal feels when they wield their claw.
This move allows you to practice bending your fingers too. That helps with the mobility of the joints. I like this move. I like to add sounding to it.
Ok, so stop and try it? What sound do you like to do best with your Claw Hand?
I have said it many, many times, but I am going to say it again. Nia has 52 Moves which we incorporate into the Nia routines. These moves have a specific way to be done. But the way they are done is adjusted, like many things, when you are doing them in a routine. There is or was a debate about one of the moves called the bow stance. The debate is or was about how the weight of the body should be distributed. The reason I am saying “is or was” is because I don’t know if the debate was ever settled. The discussion regarding it — at least one that I had seen — was on Facebook and it was a long discussion. I don’t know what the end result was or what the “official” decree is because to me, I want to teach balance, so if I am JUST doing a bow stance then I would instruct people to have their weight evenly distributed. Usually I am not doing JUST a bow stance. If I am showing people the bow stance it is because it is in the routine and there are other steps prior to or after it and with other moves on either side the weight gets distributed according to the need. So, in other words, we adjust the move to fit the dance and choreography. So that is what my class and I are experiencing right now with the Nia 52 Move called Rock Around the Clock.
If you read my original post about it, the one that explains what it is, the instructions state to start the rock on the heels. But in the routine I am leading my class through currently we start the rock on the toes. Then we roll (or rock) to either the left or the right. We actually go both ways and like many things, the different “sides” or directions are very different in regards to sensation and difficulty level. One side is easier than the other . . . at least that is the consensus with my students. So it is very beneficial to practice “rocking” both ways.
With this post I am doing two things; 1) I am reminding you to practice moves going both directions. Just like we do both sides. If we are doing a move with the left side we do it with the right. We – trainers – often say to keep the body even and it really is to work both sides of the body AND the brain! 2) Share with you a different or additional WAY to practice Rocking Around the Clock.
My original post says something about this being an example of an easy move. It is not necessarily “easy”, what I probably should have said was the Rock Around the Clock was not a high intensity move. So for those that are really starting out learning this move you might even want to sit down and do it. Since feet are in shoes for a large part of the day and those shoes might not allow for a lot of ankle mobility, it could be that your ankles just don’t want to move in the way that is required with this move. So it is a great idea to sit down and allow the ankles to loosen up.
For me, my feet want move opposite of each other. So each foot wants to be on the opposite edge, so training my feet and my brain to be on the same edge it interesting. Sitting in a chair while doing this move allows my feet and brain to understand that this move is “same edge”. Once you get your feet and brain on the same page, then you can stand up. (FYI: Sitting and practicing this move is very different from trying to take pictures of your feet while sitting and practicing this move. But hopefully you will get the idea from the pictures even though they are not very good.)
When you are standing you can use something to hold onto like a counter, table, chair, wall, something that is sturdy and can assist you in balancing. Having something to steady you while your feet get used to supporting your weight on the edges is nice. The support also allows you to really exaggerate your foot movements to help get the movement into your muscle memory.
This move helps build strength in the ankles and the feet. This is also a very “mental move”. It is one of those moves you might have to really think about in order to do it correctly. Then, with practice, it will become one of those moves you can do without thinking so much about. And your feet and ankles will benefit greatly.
So have you tried it? Can you do it sitting down? Can you do it standing up? Can you see how it is an interesting move?
Nia Technique comes out with four routines a year. I actually do not know if this is how it has always been or if this is how it has been lately. When I first started teaching Nia there were so many routines – to me – that I didn’t bother to keep track of the new ones when they were released because there was a stock of them I could order from. I do vaguely remember reading some teachers saying on the teacher forums that HQ needed to create some new routines as they hadn’t done any for a while. I remember thinking, “Wow! I can’t imagine having the need for new routines, look at all of them!!!” HQ just released four new routines in December. I think they are considering them 2014 routines, but I think of them as new for the New Year.
It is really great to have new routines to start off the New Year. Facebook is all a buzz about the new routines. I think, I don’t know, but I think some deliveries of the new routines were delayed due to the Holidays. Many Nia teachers are talking on Facebook about waiting by their mailboxes. Everyone is very excited about new routines.
There are four new routines. I only had enough credits for three so, I ordered three out of the four. I could buy the fourth one, but I will just wait until I renew my license. Four routines are included in the licensing renewal fee of $520.00. So when I renew in a few months I can just get the fourth one at that time. I am slow to learn routines so I will have not learned and taught the three I just bought by the time I can order the fourth one.
The new routines have great names: Magic, Beautiful, Dream, Reach. Could be that you Reach for your Beautiful, Magic Dreams. Ha. That is not what Nia HQ says, it is just dawned in me while writing this.
Anyway . . . . it really is exciting. Although, as I mentioned, it takes me a long time to learn a new routine. So I am still learning one that was released in 2013. I will admit to not being able to learn anything new for the first half of the year. It was like my brain just couldn’t concentrate and retain a new routine. I have moved past that now. And I am still current with my quota (we are supposed to learn four a year) so I don’t feel bad.
I do love how so many Nia teachers jump right in and on the new routines. Some Nia teachers have been teaching Nia since in the ’80’s so they have done ALL the routines there ever were and more so they really NEED the new stuff. I have only been teaching Nia since 2009 so there were twenty-six years of routines before I even started Nia. Although, as I said, I don’t think they came out with routines every year so there are not 124 routines to choose from. Especially, since a lot of the old routines are no longer available.
Well, I do hope I will see you in a Nia class in 2015. Come sooner than later!
Do you like to do the same routine for a bit before you move onto another one? Do you like to have a new routine to do every time you step into the class?
I have posted about Nia’s 52 Moves. They are moves that Nia has decided to include in the Nia Routines. They are moves that work the entire body. They exercise the brain and the nervous system. As I have explained before they are not moves unique to Nia. Many dance modalities and exercise modalities incorporate them into their practices. It is somewhat like Bikram Yoga in that they have a set number – 26 Postures – that they move through. The moves are yoga moves, but if you were to practice Bikram Yoga (Hot Yoga) you would know which poses you are going to be doing. That is what Nia has done. They have just gathered 52 Moves and we use them in our Routines. Of course, not ALL moves we do in a Nia Routine are part of Nia’s 52 Moves. We do more than just those 52 movements. Sometimes we do other dance moves. Sometimes the movements we do can be likened to actual dance moves. There is one move that we do that I compare to a Pas de Bourrée. Or more accurately what I learned as the Pas de Bourrée.
Today one of my students asked me what I was saying and I said it so fast and learned it so long ago I never really thought about it. So I decided to look it up and give it a little attention. After class I was thinking about when I first learned it and it was so long ago I don’t even know where I learned it from. It could have been my brief foray into tap and ballet. I am going to assume so. It seems like I don’t know where I learned things like Kick Ball Change, grapevine, Cha-Cha, and the Pas de Bourrée. I am also thinking that I learned it when I was young because I don’t remember ever researching it. Where I think I would be more intimately familiar with the name had I learned it as an adult. But then . . . I really remember also learning it as a “drunken sailor” so . . . I don’t know.
Carlos Aya-Rosas (Nia’s co-founder and the choreographer of the Aya Routine) does not call it a Pas de Bourrée in the routine Aya he actually just puts his feet together then out and that is how he describes it. I instruct it as a Pas de Bourrée. But it is not a Ballet Pas de Bourrée which has one lifting up on ones toes. So that could be why I think of it more as a “drunken sailor”. That visual really helps people do it. Although in some venues that might not be the best of descriptions. It is also like trying to walk on a swaying ship.
So as I said, Carlos, brings his feet together then steps out. When I do it I cross my foot behind, shift my weight and come up a little bit on one foot then step out. It is more of a Jazz Pas de Bourrée than a ballet one. So three steps (Jazz) as compare to four to five steps (Ballet), with no pliés or pointes.
pas de bour·rée (pä d b-r, b-)
n. pl. pas de bourrée
“A small stepping movement, often executed on pointe, in which the dancer either skims smoothly across the floor or transfers the weight from foot to foot three times as a transition into another movement.”
I am grateful for my students who remind me to revisit things I know, in order to refresh or learn something new. It is somewhat like the beginners mind when I go back and revisit something. I know how I learned to do the step, but it is nice to take it further and learn more about it.
Are you familiar with the Pas de Bourrée? Have you taken Ballet?
It is Veterans Day today. A day where we stop and thank our Veterans. Many thank our Veterans all year round, but this is the day that the government and some stores are closed, other stores have sales, cities have parades, and Facebook feeds are full of black and white pictures in a proud display. I am grateful for the freedom that has cost so many so much. Thank you, Veterans, for your sacrifices and service. Since it is a city Holiday the community centers where I teach my Nia class and yoga class on Tuesdays were closed. So I decided to take advantage of my morning off and attend a class. I went to Tai Chi at the YMCA. The schedule indicates 30 minutes “Intro to Tai Chi” followed by 45 minutes of “Tai Chi”. My plan was to attend the first one then I would just hang around for the second one to see if I could do it without disturbing the class too much. Well, at one point several people exited the class. But the other woman who was new to the class stayed . . . so I thought, “Ok, I’ll stay too.” We didn’t really follow the clock. The first portion of the class seemed as if it was Tai Chi exercises, then the second portion was the actual Tai Chi moves. I learned that there are different styles of Tai Chi.
The instructor went through the beginning slowly as we all followed along, a couple of times. Then he told us to do it on our own a couple of times. I couldn’t remember the moves so I was following my neighbors. Then the instructor did it again with us, then he said to do it on our own without watching our neighbors. Well, that kind of worked. Then he asked another woman in the class to take the intermediate people and he would take the beginners. I felt bad because if there had been a cut and dry end and start I would have left so as not to disturb the intermediate people. But at the end of class, as I was leaving I thanked the woman who took over the intermediate students and she said that it was ok that is how they do it. So I felt better.
Right before we broke into the two groups the instructor asked us if we had any questions. I was going to ask how many moves he had just shown us, but I let it go thinking it was about five. Then the instructor said to us (me and the other newbie), “So those first two moves are called . . . “. And I laughed, because what I thought was about five moves was actually only two. He also explained that he practiced and taught the Chen style.
Just like yoga there is more than just one type of Tai Chi. In looking for the names of the first two moves (I forgot what he called them. “Pestle Warrior” did not bring up the move.) I came across this explanation on WikiHow:
#5 of part 1 of 4
“Experiment with different styles. Because all Tai Chi is good, it’s more important that you do any rather than worry about which style is right for you. But once you get immersed in the world, you may want to experiment. Here’s a brief rundown:
—-The Chen style mixes up the tempo, going very slow and then being explosive. It can be difficult for beginners. —-The Yang style is the most popular. It has a steady tempo and, as discussed above, uses large frame movements. It’s probably what you think of when you think of tai chi. —-In Wu, the movements are almost microscopic. This makes it easy to do, but difficult to master — there’s a lot of focus on powerful flows of energy and inner, pressured movements. The movements are very slow and deliberate. —-The Hao style isn’t very widely spread. You probably won’t find a teacher that practices it.”
So as this says I DO think of the Yang style when I think of Tai Chi. However, I think the Chen style with mixing up of the tempo is good. It really aligns with the “balance” of it all. Fast – slow. Hard – soft. Steady – explosive. Reminds me of the song in the Nia Routine, Zensation, where the focus of the Kata is Tai Chi and we move fast and slow. We change the tempo. That is the Chen style of Tai Chi.
I was very happy I was able to take Tai Chi class. I even came home and practiced. I don’t know when I will be able to get back to the class, but I want to try to remember the first two moves. I am not certain I am doing them exactly right, but I will practice what he said was the most important part and then if I need to be corrected at least I will have a solid base.
And thank you again to ALL the Veterans!
Did you know there are different styles of Tai Chi? Do you think that you think of the Yang style (as the article states)? Have you ever taken a Tai Chi class?
I often tell my students at the end of class that making them get up is the worst part of my job. I have posted blog posts about savasana. The restful period of time at the end of a yoga class where you take time to relax letting the body and mind absorb the benefits to be had from the asanas that were just practiced. Let the body remember the stability and strength. Give the body time to become accustom the space that was created. Allow the mind to reflect on the stillness. Well, in Nia we often end the routine in Floorplay. Floorplay is either playing with gravity to experience the muscles or stretching or . . . it can be a combination of both. There are a lot of ways to play on the floor. There are a lot of ways to end the class. Our Nia training DVDs have floorplay and ending movements, but they are not choreographed. So there is a lot of freedom in the last songs. Nia teachers can either duplicate what the trainer does on the DVD or they can create their own movements to the songs and end the class in their own way. I know I sometimes do what I sense the class needs so sometimes I lead the class through movements and sometimes I instruct them to do their own free dance. Often times we end by lying on the floor in a restful pose. Just like in my yoga classes I don’t like to have to make my students get up.
In the studio I rent, I think that I should rent an extra 30 minutes so we can just lie there. Sometimes I sense the class could easily just stay there for an extra 30 minutes beyond the one hour Nia class. In the classes I teach for the San Jose Park and Recs Department, I sense they could do that too, but we need to end on time. Sometimes there is a class right after us so our restful period is interrupted. But when it is not, it is a challenge to know when to interrupt the peace.
Recently I taught a class and I really didn’t want to tell them to get up. The clock in the room was not working so I snuck up to check my phone and as I was returning to the circle I saw such peace and relaxation I didn’t want to bother them. I toyed with the idea of just letting them stay an extra 5 or 10 minutes. But without having planned that in advance, I didn’t want someone lying there past the hour and not knowing it. Many people workout on their breaks so they need to get back to work. Or they just need to get on with their day. So as much as I don’t like interrupting their peace and as much as I would like to just let them relax, I need to keep to our schedule. But it really is the worst part of my job when I feel they would love to just stay.
But, on the other hand, it really is a great part of my job when I can be in the presence of those that can just relax and let go. After dancing and getting all sweaty it is so nice that they can just take a deep breath and melt into the earth and relax. I get a huge sense of peace when I am in the presence of their stillness . . . . that is why it is so hard to disturb them.
Do you take moments out of your day to just relax and experience peace?
One of my Facebook friends shared a link to a video. (See below. Watch video.) I LOVE this. The idea is so awesome, to me. I think it would be so cool if dancing on the street while waiting for a crosswalk light to change in your favor was acceptable and actually encouraged. I think this is so fun. I really love this idea. I was so happy to see that little red dancing figure, I was squealing while watching it. Then when I saw that it was NOT a computer program just set to play, I clapped with glee. People dancing while their moves are being reproduced onto the crosswalk signal in real time —- AWESOME.
How fun is that? It would be so much more fun to stand and wait. Also it would give you something to do. I always feel silly standing there waiting, not doing anything. Then I feel silly for feeling silly because I am supposed to wait. I shouldn’t feel silly. I am being courteous (and following the law) by waiting my turn and not darting out into traffic. It is rude when people walk out into the street against the crossing light hoping to can make it across the street before a car comes or worse yet, expecting the car to stop. GRRRRRRR. I get upset when I see people do that. Because if they get hit and die what will they care . . . they will be dead, but they will have ruined someone else’s day and perhaps their lives because they were too rude to just wait a minute or two. So this dancing would give them something to do.
I can see how it just might promote safety. The non-waiting people (that might normally cross against the light — jeopardizing their safety and the safety of others) might not dance, but they might be interested enough to stay and watch. To me it didn’t look as if that many people were dancing. The video said that 81% (THAT IS A LOT) more people actually followed the law (psstt . . . yes it is the law) while at the dancing crosswalk signal light. So, more people stopped from crossing the street when they did not have a signal to go, while at this signal. I did not see on the video a percentage given of how many people actually danced. But with the reported increase in the number of people that stopped it got people’s attention. I wonder how they measured that?
So fun. The title of where I saw the video said something about, “safe and happy!” Oh yeah. It would make me happy. I would be happy dancing while waiting at the light OR dancing to make the signal dance. Fun stuff. We could have a Nia crosswalk where we led people through Nia routines. Ha, that would be funny. The Nia Crosswalk Signal . . . .
The video is on Smart’s Youtube channel. Check out the video.
So what do you think? Would you watch? Would you dance if you were waiting at the crosswalk? Would you dance in the signal (the room they had set up) and be the dancing crosswalk signal? Do you think this is cool?
Another quick post. I often have a vague idea of what I am going to cook for dinner then I forget as the day goes on. Either I am teaching Nia, learning a Nia routine, or at the moment going through my mom’s stuff. So I find myself walking into the kitchen and not knowing what to cook. Yesterday I was on the phone with my husband and it was already past starting-dinner-time and I didn’t even know what to make. I had purchased some ground beef but had no plan as to what to do with it and I had forgotten about it. When I looked in the fridge I saw it and the butternut squash I bought. Ooo! Stuffed squash. Actually it is more like Topped Squash. It is somewhat easy . . . except for making space in squash. I was trying to do it in a manner that saved the squash innards for roasting (perhaps you will notice the cut up pieces of squash in the picture). That was the difficult part. Needing so much concentration I forgot to take pictures. I emptied out the small portion where the seeds are (easy), but I wanted more room for meat (not so easy). So I cooked then cut (I would not recommend that). I would recommend just skipping that part and making room using a spoon before baking it.
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Beef Topped Butternut Squash
1 butternut squash
olive oil
1/4 of an onion, chopped
1 lb of beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
1 cup of shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 450° F. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and enough of the insides to make a “boat” in which to place the beef. Coat both sides of each half in olive oil. Salt both sides of each half. Place each half face down on parchment paper on pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
While the squash is roasting, heat the oil and onion. Once the onion is translucent, add the beef. Add the salt and garlic. Cook the beef until it is almost completely cooked. Add the pepper.
When the first 15 minutes are done, turn the squash over and bake for another 15 minutes, salting again, at this time, if that is your preference. After the second 15 minutes of cooking . . . . check the squash. If it seems cooked all the way through, salt it again and then fill each half with the beef and top with shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted.
This is very rich and very filling.
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I didn’t think about how much this was like the stuffed pumpkin I once cooked. Although the stuffed pumpkin was much more “complicated”, as in it had more ingredients and a bit more complex flavors. This was very good, I thought. And since we usually eat ground turkey and not ground beef that much this was very rich. I feel that beef is more “rich” than turkey. It was very good. And, had I not been trying to save the portion of squash that needs to come out to make room for the meat it would have been easy. So if you are not interested in making nice chunks of squash to roast along side the halves this is an easy recipe. And very yummy and rich. Good dietary fiber!
Do you like stuff/topped squash? What would you top yours with?
First we started off moving right away. The participants walked in, we said hello then started dancing. We danced to two songs. Then we did a brief introduction of Nia then we shared the five sensations and how we experience them everyday. We shared how they could be helpful to know and be aware of in a Nia class. The 5 sensations are: Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Strength, and Stability (FAMSS).
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