Come Join La Luna!!

We are now looking for new members to join La Luna Folkloric Dance Team! Dancing not your thing? that's OK we are always looking for volunteers to help!

 

Must be in elementary, middle, or high school. If you are graduated from high school you will have to fill out a background check form.

 

 

La Luna

For a while now our Folkloric Dance Team has had many names and none of them really were "us", but we finally chose a name that we believe fits us perfectly! We are now La Luna Folkloric Dance Team! Our mission statement is "sharing the cultures of Latin America through dance".

We also now have business cards with our new name and mission statement! So exciting!

The Proper Squat...

Why is it important to do squats correctly?

While squatting with proper form is completely safe, squatting with poor form is extremely dangerous. Incorrect squat technique puts a lot of strain on the lower back and knees and can quickly lead to serious injury.

 

Here is the correct way to do squats as recommended by the American Council of Exercise:

1. Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width and your toes turned out slightly. Your hands are by your sides with your palms facing inward. Pull the shoulders down your back toward your hips
2. Engage your core muscles to stabilize your spine. Keep your chest lifted and your chin parallel to the floor. Shift your weight back into your heels as your hips begin to push toward the wall behind you.
3. Downward Phase: begin this phase by hinging at the hips, shifting them back and down. Your hips and knees bend simultaneously. As you lower your hips the knees bend and will start to shift forward slowly. Try to prevent your knees from traveling too far forward past the toes. Keep the core muscles engaged and try to keep your back flat, DO NOT TUCK THE TAIL OR ARCH THE LOWER BACK.
4. Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel or almost parallel to the floor. If your heels begin to lift off the floor or your torso begins to round, return to start position. Be aware of any movement that may occur at your feet, ankles and knees. Work to ensure that the feet do not move, the ankles do not collapse in or out and the knees remain lined up with the second toe.
5. From the Lowered Position: keep the knees aligned with the second toe and body weight evenly distributed between the balls and heels of both feet. If you can view this from the side, your shinbone should be parallel with your torso and the low back should appear flat or may be showing the begining of some rounding.
6. Upward Phase: while mainting the position of your back, chest and head and with the abdominals engaged, exhale and return to start position by pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. The hips and torso should rise together. Keep the heels flat on the floor and knees aligned with the second toe.
7. Think about inhaling on the way down and exhaling while exerting on the way back to the initial standing position.

 

Zumba Flash Sale Going on NOW!!

Use my affliate code zlove541 and save an additional 10%!!!

 

Veggie & Cheese Casserole

 

OK, so I have leaped off the deep end (or so my husband says), I have decided to try out the whole vegan thang. No, I'm not one of those vegans, you know the ones that hate you for eating animals. I mean I was already not eating any form of dairy and egg so I thought "hey, I might as well try out cutting out meat". So for the past week and a half I've been vegan! and so I have been trying out some recipes and I like this one! It's pretty quick and full of flavor! And I had everything on hand. My husband's garden is busting out of the seems with a hole bunch of veggies so this recipe was perfect to use up some of those that have been sitting on the counter for a while.

 

Here's the recipe (adapted from This recipe):

 

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 cup baby carrots, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/5 cup shredded cheese (I used Daiya mozzarella style "cheese")
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• salt and pepper to taste
• cheese for sprinkling on top

Directions:

 

Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat.

 

Microwave baby carrots for about 2 minutes, to soften slightly. This way they will take less time to saute.

 

Add zucchini and carrots to the pan, add the onion and garlic, until softened.

 

Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix in well. Remove pan from the heat and place contents into a medium oven safe bowl. Preheat oven to 375F

 

Stir in cheese (save some to sprinkle on top) and mix in the bread crumbs (save some to sprinkle on top too) until well combined.

 

Sprinkle with the cheese and bread crumbs on top that you set aside.

 

Bake for about 15 minutes.

 

Turn on the broiler and broil (watching carefully) an additional 3-4 minutes until slightly browned on top.

 

Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

 

Garnish with the tomatoes! 

 

Serves about 2.

It took about 45 minutes from start to finish.

 

Variations:

Next time I am going to add some broccoli and maybe even some bell peppers! The possibilities are nearly endless with this dish, just replace the veggies with whatever veggies you have on hand or are in season! And of course you can always switch out the vegan cheese for the real stuff. You could even add some chicken or turkey!

 

This is definitely a quick and easy dish that could be dressed up in a billion different ways.

 



 

 

Current Obsession: Sliced Peaches & Toast!

 My current obsession right now is definitely a sliced peach on some whole wheat toast! YUM!

What is your current obsession??

 

 

Laura's 15

For this past month I have been working with a group of teenagers who had asked me to choreograph and instruct two dances for a quinceanera (sweet 15).  And this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the quinceanera's party and watching everyone love thier mad dance moves. I of course took some pictures!

New Songs: September Zumba Toning

Here is a sneak peak at what you can expect to hear on Thursday's Zumba Toning class! Just look these songs up on iTunes!

Asalto*
Esto Tiene Algo - KLC Clave Cubana
Merehop*
Dil Nai Lagda - Aman Hayer, Feroz Khan & Vinni
Nobody - Ne-Yo

*Previously done in class