Esprit de She Katy 5/10K - Fit Foodie Finishers

snapping pics at the stop light and headed to meet the ladies who signed up to brave the Esprit de She 5 & 10K races with me last night! great times.  it did NOT rain on our parade either, thank God.

no sunshine, but it wasn't unbearably humid either as this SOLD OUT crowd of  gorgeous, fit, ladies gathered in anticipation and excitement. just look at that turn out! there was plenty to do, too. Zumba, healthy snack samples, Yoga, and chair massages & manicures were provided by Lifetime Fitness Lifespa.  this event totally catered to the She.

i arrived early, headed to packet pickup, and ran smack into my friend Alexia and her hubby (he came for support, how sweet!). she is 1 week ahead of me @ 36 weeks preggo and was down to pound the pavement regardless. LOVES IT!  the shirts were a gorgeous purple color this year; it's definitely one of my fave race tanks (racerback always rules in my world) that i will be hitting the gym in for sure.  also, because i registered early (big surprise there :o ), i was able to personalize my bib. coolness.

the Esprit de She ambassadors got a group email going a few days before the race and decided to meet up for a pre-race photo under the Athleta tent.  did it happen? i couldn't tell ya lol, but i was there and looking around for the other ladies. Landi found me, and then we somehow found Jennifer.  nice meeting you gals <3

my friend Eshé (top L) has been taking my gym classes since i started teaching at 24 HF eons ago! she is now a Lifetime member and is training for another triathlon later this year.  she showed the 10k who was boss last night!!! so proud of her and she looks fantastic.   Alexia and i (top R) received SO MUCH bump love!! i was truly proud to represent for the fit preggo moms out there with her, you already know.  way to GO, Alexia.  we ran into my crazy-sock wearing fitness buddies Ros (Zumba instructor extraordinaire)and Karen on the way to the start line (bottom L pic) :) lastly, i finally got a pic with my Soror, Ayesha!  she's a fellow Coog, blogger, and Esprit de She Ambassador as well.

before and after!

as Alexia and i wrapped up our final mile, a woman who was driving by in her truck slowed down (and shouted over a/her child in the passenger seat) 'you're pregnant? and running? why??' and sped off! my response? why NOT!? :?: i should have shouted to her to follow me on Instagram. lol. if she only knew :P

i know a lot of mommies-to-be that aren't able to run at this stage of the game as the weight and pressure of the fetus is pretty high.  however, we used common sense, checked on each other constantly, and alternated between jogging (when we felt like it) and power-walking to get through the 5k.  mission accomplished!

post-race, you KNOW what i was lookin' for and where i can always be found- by the fuel!  believe it or not, the line on the right was for the free bubbly LOL!  i was so happy to just walk right up and get my southwest chicken wrap(S) and salad that were provided by the always healthy and delicious Lifetime Cafe.

i had a rockin' time and hope to return next year. with or without a baby bump ;)

HAPPY EARLY MOTHERS' DAY <3

le

thanks & giving & food & family 2013

 i hope Thanksgiving 2013 was one to remember for you and your family.  here's what we did:

who eats like this on Thanksgiving Eve? sammiches and sushi @ Central Market.  it wasn't as crowded as i expected AT ALL. is it weird that i wanted it to be?

lemon ricotta pancakes for the boy.

on TG day i sped downtown to run in the traditional Turkey Trot 10k and left Sonny and Chi in our nice, warm, comfy bed :(

  this is THE coldest weather i have ever run in. ever. 32 dang degrees. the Chevron Houston Marathon in January isn't even this cold!!!!

so because of the dip in temp earlier that week, i switched from the 10k to the 5k y'all. keepin' it real. i believe i have become one of those people who like cold weather but hate being cold.

 i met up with some bodybuilder and UH alum friends afterwards.

FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS RUN ALONE!!!! thanks for that, Charlene ;) 

plate # who even knows from later that evening! each one was sampler style so i could get a little bit of everything of course.

always good to see and hang with my beautiful cousins!

Q: how many places did you visit on TG day? 2 for us- my MIL and then Grandma's house.

le

green 6.2

after a restful friday night, i woke up Saturday ready to take on the Green 6.2 with a few Fit Foodie Finisher friends:

Ijeoma Ikechi

Ijeoma Okoli

  Ijeoma Ugoezi

YES, 3 Ijeomas ;)

they did their thing!!! so happy they were able to come out and run for the cause!  i enjoyed hanging out and learning more about them, and i look forward to growing our team.  i love the way fitness brings people together!!! the Houston humidity was present as always, but there was no rain and the temperature was perfect.

obviously i missed the thumbs-up memo, whoops.  there were a ton of vendors at the post-race party held in the City Centre courtyard.  we refueled with bagels, bananas, muffins, and water.

there was also a kids 1k as well- look at little Superman!

i cannot WAIT to do that with Chiso!!! it was the cutest thing EVER.  the kids were all so happy to just run!

'

after getting home a little later, i finally got to make my REAL breakfast, even if it was late afternoon!  i had fun fetti birthday cake pancakes (minus the fun fetti) and topped them with regular PB2 and fresh sliced strawberries. (recipe derived from GoSuperSisters)

light and fluffy pancakes

the stuff:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbs nonfat greek yogurt
• 2 packets stevia
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

do this:

mix the dry with the dry, and wet with the wet.  slowly add the dry into the wet until combined.  batter will be THICK! cook them up on a medium heated griddle until golden brown on both sides.

i put all entries (Facebook fan page, blog post commenters, IG (Instagram) reposts) into my random name picker app and it spit out these guys:

@raceylee109 - Tracey Spicuzza

@cboutarfa92 - Courtney Boutarfa

@gorgeouswifey - Brandy McGhee

@karoniepooh - Karone Roger

@cecelisimon - Cecelia Simon

i'll be sending out their precious Fit Popcorn bags today, whoop!  i thank each of you ladies for participating and spreading the word about this giveaway.  i am so honored to be able put smiles on their faces, especially via free, healthy, FOOD!

le

peanut butter chocolate chick cookies

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happy belated Easter :lol:

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we got up early and had a big platter of whole wheat french toast with fresh strawberries, blueberries, sliced almonds, cinnamon, and Walden Farms pancake syrup to go with our egg white scramble that morning! my class was canceled cause of the holiday, so we went to my parent's church on the other side of town.

my granny was also hosting an easter egg hunt for our family at her house, so late saturday night i whipped up the easiest thing i could find for the kiddos!  sugar-free Pillsbury brownies.

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i split the batter up into two round pans and morphed it into a bunny 'cake'.  remember those!? i made them a few times when i was living at home with my 'rents. i used cake then, though.

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i used the rest of a tub of white icing and some  sprinkles; luckily they were  Easter colors!   when i got to my granny's house sunday, my cousin found me some jelly beans so i could give Bugs a face.  i hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend, however you celebrated:)

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yesterday's IG collage just after teaching my early class....

so when the rain comes, not if.... get in the habit of going straight to God, every time. He has every single answer to every single problem we will ever have.  just a reminder ;)

speaking of IG, my girl @jazzythings posted her own pic of these cookies i made below after she found the recipe via Pinterest. she made them look SO darn good!! good enough to make me  finally crack open the garbanzo beans that have been sitting in my pantry for weeks! the verdict?

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 are you kidding me? these are what's hot in the streets!!! i don't like being fooled into eating/making something that looks insanely delicious only to make it myself and be highly disappointed. that has happened more times than not on IG!!!! which is why i am taking my time with these ebook recipes to ensure that they not only look good, but taste FANTASTIC.  ok, back to these cookies that i was super skeptical about.   well, i'm driving the bandwagon now! see for yourself:

peanut butter chocolate chick cookies

the stuff:

2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and patted dry

1/2 cup chocolate PB2 (can sub full-fat peanut butter )

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp butter extract

1/4 cup honey (or your fave sweetener)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or more..it's up to you!)

do this:

1. rinse and dry the chickpeas, then put them in to your food processor

2. add the honey, vanilla and butter extracts, and PB2 (mixed with water or unsweetened vanilla almond milk into a pb-like paste first)

3. blend until SMOOTH.  dump it all out into a mixing bowl, then fold in the dark chocolate chips.

4. spray your pan with no-stick cooking spray and form/roll into balls by hand. i made about 24 small ones!  bake them for 10-12 minutes in a 350 deg oven.

chickstats

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me: 'hey, Chiso....cookie?'

Chiso: NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

moving on, i am UUUUBER excited about these ebooks, seriously! i'm cooking and eating, eating and cooking all day every day to make sure the recipes turn out PERFECT.  just a teaser!

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here are the sweet balsamic baked chicken breasts from monday's night's meal prep:

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they were for Sonny's lunches for the next few days. during his lunch yesterday though, he felt the need to call and tell me how tasty this new flavor combo is, whoop whoop!

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just one of his:  raw carrots, creamy, ripe avocado, roasted brussels sprouts, and cherry tomatoes went alongside the chicken breast.

and fyi, he is now back on the competition trail for a few summer shows and i'm excited for him!!!!!!

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yesterday, i went ahead and tried my hand at another favorite of mine that i don't have often- 

healthy, clean, Cajun shrimp n grits bay-beee!!!!!

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ok, that's enough teasers for one post.

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i'm glad i have this little taste tester around to help me :)

last thing- two more Fit Foodies have signed up to run in the Green 6.2 at the end of this month!!!!   do you see it over there in the side bar?  again, if you'd like to run with us, email me, like right now!  the price goes up the closer the race date gets.  le@fitfoodiele.com!

Q: have you ever used chickpeas to make dessert?

le

compound movements + let's RUN!!!

how it went down eeeeearly this morning...

i double (tea) bagged it (+ water, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and stevia). i had to.  didn't get much sleep cause i've been grinding on these cook books and they WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!!!! :twisted:  i'm not yelling at you. i'm yelling at the cook books.  a little sleep deprived but the sacrifice will be worth it. it better beeeeee :lol:

let's talk about something i incorporate into pretty much all my classes at the gym:

can't get enough of compound movements and there are TONS of them. what are they?

'multi-joint movements that rely on the coordinated actions of several muscle groups to move two or more joints through a range of motion'

the featured move of this post (up ^ there) combines squats (which is honestly a compound movement by itself since it works multiple parts of the body) and over-head presses.

Squats + overhead press

• start with feet shoulder width apart, weights on either side of your body.
• perform a low squat, pushing your glutes back, weight in your heels, knees behind your toes, back flat, head up, chest up.  have a seat in that imaginary chair!
• bear all your weight on your left heel and while driving it into the floor, lift your right knee straight up towards your chest and perform your over head press simultaneously. keep your core tight, and squeeze the glute of the heel that's on the floor. hard.
• repeat on the right and make it a continuous, fluid movement by alternating your knees from left to right.

the heavier your dumbbells, the harder you work, and the more you burn!

 *tip: working upper and lower body together is one of the best ways to burn fat.*

class went well this morning, can't you tell from those disgusting sweat stains!?!?  i didn't even notice them until after i posted the pic to IG. but that's just how it goes down in my class :lol:.  if i could bottle the feeling exercise gives me....i'd sell it and retire at 30. good music gives me so much energy- i got a new cd and i know my members can tell i love it cause i keep playing it! good, loud music gives me energy through the roof!  i need all the energy i can get at 5:30am.

then i came home to these babies. NOM. i threw the recipe together, but the base of it stemmed from the banana blueberry pancakes, if you're wondering.

i subbed the banana for 1 packet of stevia, then topped them with sliced almonds, raw, unsweetened, shredded coconut, and that big vat of walden farms pancake syrup back there.

WELL, i am so excited about the response concerning the Houston Color Run THIS Sunday, March 24th!  Thank you for your emails!  if you'd still like to run, you haven't missed a thing- email me @ le@fitfoodiele.com and i'll send ya the link to join team Fit Foodies.  however...my sincere apologies for not giving enough notice.  there were several people who wanted to run with Fit Foodies but the timing was just not right.  even for a 5k, training is very important, and some of the 1st timers need more of it.  i understand completely.  also, the race rates are cheapest when you register super early, and 6 days pre-race day is pushing it, i know!  so i'm super grateful, and thankful to all who have committed to running with Fit Foodies.

WITH THAT SAID,

let's do it right this time!  remember my Conn's Green 10k post from last year??  if you'd like to get your run on with Fit Foodies for this event that is near and dear to my heart, come on then!  it's special because it starts and ends in City Centre, one of my fave Houston hangouts, and also home to the best Lifetime Fitness in the entire universe!  #ithoughtyouknew.  if you're interested, hit me up at the same email addy, and check out their site for details!

 race date is Saturday, April 27th, 2013, and as always, same rules apply: walk, run, skip- however you gotta cross that line, just FINISH!

le