Repeat after me, "Sugar is not the devil. Fat is not the devil. Milk is not the devil."

Have I said sugar is not the devil, yet? Okay then, sugar is not the devil! Nor is fat. Yes, I'll say that again dancers- fat is not the devil. Really and truly. I eat several avocadoes a week, and if I have dairy products (I try not to eat cheese- it killed my turtle when I was nine, also it's high in cholesterol) they are full fat, never low-fat, and organic whenever possible. I have a dancer friend whose family runs a dairy farm, and she was always telling me not only to make sure I buy whole milk- but WHY, same thing with any dairy product that's labeled low fat. Who're you gonna believe? The FDA or someone who doesn't have an agenda? Yeah, I'll take the dairy farmer's word for it, thanks.

With that in mind, here's a list of what I've been eating this week. Recipes to follow, I promise. I eat, and like most dancers, I eat well.

Crustless Quiche (without cheese)
Soupe aux legumes
Soupe de carrot
Browned Beef (bite sized, I just ate them, but they also go into beef stew)
Beef vegetable soup (vegetable stock from soupe aux legumes, and browned beef)
Celery Root Remoulade (Unbelieveable how good this stuff is!)
Baked Apples
Poached Pears
Mousse au chocolat

You'll notice that a lot of these are French. Now let me say, French food is not the devil. It is definitely NOT all food laden with cream and cheese. It's good food that's good for you, just like dancer food.

What to say, what to say....

I should put some sort of disclaimer on here that says what I feel are some of the reasons that dancers stay so trim and fit. Naturally one of the reasons is if you're "up there" at a pre-professional or professional level, you're dancing your butt off, literally. If you're using your muscles properly, especially in ballet you will get chiseled. Case in point? This photo of Alina Cojocaru on the cover of this month's Pointe magazine.

The other reason dancers look so smokin' all the time is that we eat food. Real food. And by real food I mean food with very few ingredients, and ingredients that are pronounceable. Usually dancers make their own food, if time allows. That's the only way to really know what you're fueling your body with. Also, sugar is not the devil, I eat sugar, but I eat Sugar in the Raw, which is genuine unbleached sugar. I avoid anything white or bleached, which means no white bread, no white flour, and no white sugar. And- I know I'm going to catch hell for this, BUT I don't drink coffee or soda myself. Empty calories that don't actually quench your thirst. Two bad habits I'm happy to say I never started. But if you think I didn't hear it about being the only kid that didn't drink soda, you'd be mistaken.