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DSB Review: Substituting Ingredients

On Sunday night my phone rang at 10:30 pm. I had the sound off since it was past my bedtime, but I wasn’t asleep yet and I saw the phone light up with a call. It was my adorable baby brother Matt Matt. He was at Whole Foods with his wife-to-be Mallories and they were picking up ingredients for a recipe. “Can you go to foodsubs.com and look up piquillo pepper? They don’t have it at Whole Foods, we need to know what we could use instead.”

“This is why you need a smart phone, boy,” I said. Really, I just want him to get a BlackBerry so I can BBM him all day every day.

“I don’t need a smart phone,” the young one said. “I have a smart sister!”

I was about to go to the website they told me about — one I had never heard of because um, I am lazy and just make up what I might need in my head if I am not sure. I never actually thought to be resourceful if I didn’t have an ingredient I needed. But then I remembered that I was sent a book that I was supposed to review in June called Substituting Ingredients: The A to Z Kitchen Reference. Because it was around the same time I implemented Tuesday Blags, I had too much to write about to get a chance to discuss this book. And I kept forgetting about it. And really, I can be pretty irresponsible sometimes. I apologize, Sourcebooks.

Substiuting Ingredients

[Source: Sourcebooks (hehe)]

But now I thought of it!

So I got out the book and there were so many categories of peppers: peppers, chili and peppers, chili, milder and peppers, gold (also known as yellow peppers) and peppers, red sweet and peppers, green or bell. I never knew there were so many types of peppers. I gave Mallory some options and she ended up using a blend of red bell pepper, anaheim pepper and fiesta pepper to make their pressed burgers with prosciutto and piquillo-paprika aioli. Uh, yeah, my brother is marrying well, wouldn’t you say? Especially considering the most I ever made him was eggs.

So the book came in handy! The book is better for more than just peppers though. As someone who doesn’t have many ingredients at home because (1) I share a 320 square foot apartment with no closets with a roommate, and our kitchen is a narrow entryway between our bedrooms and (2) I am not a cook and don’t really want to be (sorry future husbands), I have to say that even I find this book helpful.

Substituting Ingredients would be so handy in the kitchen for anyone who needs a quick substitute! As I open this randomly, I can tell you right now that you can substitute currants, fresh for gooseberries. You can also substitute jaggery, whatever that is, for 1/2 cup white sugar plus 1/2 cup brown sugar. Woo hoo! Or in baking, substitute nuts with bran. Who knew? Not I.

There is a section of cheeses split into groups, and you can substitute any other cheese in each group for another! CHEESE! What I find most helpful in this book is the oil section. I am pretty picky about the oils I cook with and want to make sure I am using the right substitutes. You can find easy substitutions for vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, fish, and baking ingredients as well as measurement equivalents (I NEED THIS. I can barely add let alone figure that stuff out), baking pan sizes, household ingredients that can also be cleaning products, remedies for kitchen disasters and quick substitutions for herbs and spices.

All in all a good book for people who need this kind of thing.

I have some really great product reviews coming in the next few weeks, including a new open patella knee sleeve, an eco friendly yoga mat, a Magic Bullet and the brand new Core Fusion Yoga Energy Flow DVD!

And a BIG thank you to everyone who signed up for the free Core Fusion class for Dori’s Shiny Blog readers. The response was outstanding and the class filled up in less than seven hours. We have a wait list too! I’m excited to meet everyone on August 12!

Free Core Fusion Class in NYC for DSB Readers

Last week, Fred DeVito, co-founder of Core Fusion at exhale spa, tweeted this:

BREATHE – FEEL – MOVE – THRIVE – SHIFT YOUR ENERGY. MAKE TRANSFORMATION YOUR REALITY . . . every time you take a class. This is what separates us from the pack . . . we create Mind Body experiences. It’s not just a class, it’s a lifestyle. Core Fusion is therapy.

He is so right.

Last Thursday I was feeling really down. I’ve been having trouble sleeping and called my doctor in tears after the medications she prescribed weren’t working. I felt so upset and even though I was really tired, I decided to sneak out of the office for a lunchtime Core Fusion class. I know how great I feel after class and thought it could make me feel better.

Turns out I didn’t even need to wait until the end of class for savasana to feel great. I felt better within the first five minutes of class. By the time we got to the thighs section (the most painful section!) I was pushing myself so hard, staying so low in our waterski position, pulsing and working and not letting myself stand up and straighten my legs — and the woman next to me turned to me after we were done with this part and said, “You were so inspiring!“

I couldn’t believe that someone thought I was inspiring, when everyone else there always inspires me. That is part of the magic of taking classes at exhale. I know I sound like a broken record and I know saying I sound like a broken record makes me sound like a broken record because I have said that before (still following?), but I love Core Fusion and here’s why:

  • It is fun
  • The time flies by and is never boring
  • The music is awesome — where do you think I learn many of my running songs??!
  • I like being strong/having muscles/being toned/being able to life heavy things
  • I wore a bikini last weekend without feeling any negative thoughts about myself for the first time in five years
  • When you only have an hour to exercise, it is an extremely effective, all encompassing hour
  • You see results quickly (other people notice, too — I heart validation)
  • You notice improvements during class quickly — ability to hold planks, do pushups, etc
  • Even though it is expensive, one hour costs a lot less than a personal trainer would — and I equate this class to being the same as a personal training session, NOT a group fitness class
  • It made me a much faster runner — my running time improved by an entire minute/mile with no speedwork and not much running practice
  • I always  feel accomplished, strong, amazing, relaxed and at peace after
  • As Fred tweeted, Core Fusion is more than a physical result of higher butt, flatter abs and long lean thighs . . . it shifts your energy and reduces your stress
  • It just works

Now that I have been taking Core Fusion, Core Fusion Yoga and Core Fusion Cardio consistently for six months, I can’t even begin to get into what this has done for my body and my mind. I don’t even think twice when it comes to making sure I get my classes in for the week — I automatically include it into my day the way I include lunch, or sleep. And I want to offer my readers the chance to try this class out for free.

The details:

What?!: FREE Core Fusion – Open level class
Date: Thursday, August 12
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Exhale Spa, 980 Madison Avenue at 77th street

Class Description:
Fusing the disciplines of core conditioning, Pilates, the Lotte Berk Method, interval cardio training, and yoga, this highly-acclaimed and publicized mind body experience incorporates 50 years of collective teacher expertise from co-founders Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp. Allowing you to work from the inside out, this transformational class consistently delivers results, including washboard abs, a tighter and higher backside, long, lean muscles, and an athletic, toned body.

Class size is limited, so please leave a comment on this post or email me or tweet me to RSVP.  This class is first come, first served. Once I have the final list, I will send an email out to everyone to confirm. I will put together a wait list in case anyone lets me know that they can’t make it. So let me know, the sooner the better.

The teacher we will be having is one of the best.  I am so excited to share Core Fusion with you. If this goes well maybe we can do it again with Core Fusion Cardio or Core Fusion Yoga. Hope you can make it!

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