After-Work Gourmet by Lisa Messinger

Karaoke while cooking? Why not, since the kind of proper breathing that karaoke singing prompts is 70 percent of weight loss, says Billy Blanks Jr., son of the famed Tae Bo master, and the creator on his own of Cardioke, a blend of karaoke and cardio exercise.

If you pay attention to the effervescent Blanks — an exercise trainer, choreographer and Broadway performer who toured public schools with Cardioke — you'll be doing karaoke just about everywhere. As millions of worldwide nightclub goers have proved for years, karaoke is fun, but also surprisingly an easy-to-fit-in exercise for families who have little time and would benefit from combining fitness routines with other activities, like cooking dinner together.

If you have a DVD player or computer in your kitchen, you can easily get the party going. Cardioke, which stemmed from Blanks' popular Los Angeles classes, scrolls the words to songs across the screen. It is a DVD available at Exercise TV (www.exercisetv.tv). Parts also have been placed on YouTube by Blanks, like the full bubbly hit songs of "Dancing in the Street" and "Don't Cha."

Hundreds of other popular karaoke instrumental versions of hits also scroll lyrics across the screen on YouTube — such as teen sensations Taylor Swift's "Love Story" and Miley Cyrus' "The Climb"— which are probably sure to get tykes and teens into the family karaoke cooking act.

The soundtrack from the New York City High School of Performing Arts-based new film "Fame" — or the Oscar-winning music from the classic 1980 movie it's based on — just might turn your kitchen into the famous dance/sing atop cafeteria tables scene from both films. Blanks, who has choreographed for Celine Dion and other stars, emits that vibe in his DVD since he starred in the touring company of the Broadway musical version of "Fame."

His wife Sharon Catherine Blanks, an acclaimed Broadway singer from "RENT," "Jekyll & Hyde" and who performed the signature torch song "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" as Effie in "Dreamgirls," sings "You Are Enough," an original song she wrote about weight loss as a stretch/cool down at the end of the "Cardioke" DVD — also with the words streaming across the screen for a fun kitchen sing-a-long. It stemmed from 72,000 e-mails about diet struggles the couple received after demonstrating "Cardioke" with Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show.

Blanks has chosen songs that are easy to belt out while doing cardio moves or any other activity, and the same kind of funky, yet repetitive tunes are great for singing along while cooking. The other trick is to pick healthful recipes with spurts of simmering time so that you can sing and move in between.

A Mediterranean carrot saffron stew from the new "Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta: Recipes from the World-Famous Spa" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35) and a sweet-and-sour cabbage dish from the new "American Heart Association Healthy Family Meals" (Clarkson Potter, $35) fit the bill since vegetables saute and simmer throughout.

Karaoke also works well during the early chopping and dicing parts; the singing/breathing alone promotes increased weight loss.

KARAOKE CARROTS

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 stalks celery, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large tomato, cored and chopped

1 medium green or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

4 to 5 cups vegetable stock or water

1 cup pureed fresh tomatoes or (preferably organic) tomato sauce

1 teaspoon saffron threads

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon (preferably sea) salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Fresh lemon juice, for serving (optional)

Chopped fresh basil or tarragon, for garnish (optional)

Yields 6 servings.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Gently saute leek for about 3 minutes, until softened.

Add the minced garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add carrots, yams and celery and continue to saute for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add zucchini, tomato and bell pepper. Cover and cook for 3 minutes more.

Add stock and tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, stir in saffron and crushed red pepper, cover, and continue cooking on low for about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Good served with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and garnished with chopped basil or tarragon.

Variation: Add 1 cup of firm tofu, tempeh. Cut into small pieces during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

— "Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta: Recipes from the World-Famous Spa" by Deborah Szekely and Deborah M. Schneider with Jesus Gonzalez (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35).

KARAOKE CABBAGE

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 cups shredded red cabbage (about 12 ounces)

1 medium tart or slightly sweet apple, peeled and diced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

Yields 4 servings.

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom. Cook the cabbage, apple and vinegar for 15 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender-crisp, stirring frequently. Stir in brown sugar. Cook for 1 minute, or until the sugar is dissolved.

— "American Heart Association Healthy Family Meals" (Clarkson Potter, $35).

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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