outside — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

what a blessed day. but every day is a blessed day, right? right. i did not wake up this morning expecting to reach 4k followers on Instagram, i'll tell you that much! super humbling moment. i love fitness as much as i love eating and gosh darn it i just want to do both all day every day and inspire tons of people along the way.

so THANK YOU again x's infinity to my followers and my readers! IG is a true health and fitness motivational powerhouse, man!!!! one of the best sources to date in my book. get some Instagram in ya life!

my goal was to actually sleep in this morning, but i popped right on up at 7am as usual. so i got on up and made half of my breakfast for some energy (2 egg whites, 1/2 cup of oatmeal), left my boys sleeping, and hit the gym. just the usual up there- oatmeal pancakes with bananas and cinnamon with some egg whites and low sugar ketchup. i ate the rest when i got back home- 2 more egg whites and another half a cup of oatmeal. hey, i'm 5'10 :shock:

how did you spend your MLK holiday? Chiso's uncle Matt finished putting his new car together this weekend, so we took it for a spin today.

great weather for a walk, and physical activity is always a plus.

in addition to 'no!' Chi's fave word is now 'mine! mine! mine!'

while we were out in the park, i seized the opp to take a few pics of one of my fave leg exercises for an Instagram challenge i'm participating in. if you have a set of dumbbells at home, try them:

curtsy lunges!

they work the outside of your glutes and hams nicely.

a. swing your left foot around and down to the outside of your right leg while dropping your left knee straight down at a 90 degree angle. make sure all your weight is bearing down in your right heel- you can even lift your toes in your shoe to ensure that weight is where it's supposed to be.

**keep your back, neck, and head all in alignment! which translates into: back flat, chest up, head up. **

b. push up strong into your right heel and bring your left foot back to the starting position while flexing and pointing your left foot/toe. you can even add an upright row holding your dumbbells as show in the pic for a full body exercise.

repeat on the other side until it burrrrrrrrrrrrns!

for lunch back home, i made some tri-pepper tuna sliders for us. i still have a couple bell peppers left from that sale and i've been putting them in everything.

i didn't measure on this one at all yall- here's what i used though: 3 cans wild tuna packed in water, handful of chopped red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and orange bell pepper, big dollop of 0% greek yogurt, couple tablespoons of brown or dijon mustard, fresh cilantro, parsley, 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos, and some low-sodium lemon pepper seasoning.

i put all that on a toasted, light, multigrain Thomas english muffin, and topped them with some creamy, ripe avocado and some sweet, smoky chipotle seasoning.

Q: what are coconut aminos?

A: another ~~expensive~~ GREAT super low sodium, healthy, all natural soy sauce alternative!

Bragg's Liquid Aminos are AWESOME too, and i'll continue to use them to flavor my lean proteins, but i like these cause they have a sweetness to them that is simply wonderful for any type of sauce. and nope, it doesn't taste like coconut at all. you can find it at the fabulous HEB in the natural foods section, and definitely Whole Foods. Kroger's natural foods section has expanded like crazy recently (well the one by my house anyway) so i wouldn't be surprised if they carried it too. look around!

those stats are FFL approved! that price tag isn't though :lol:

fantastic soy sauce alternative, and great for making delicious, flavorful dressings, marinades, and sauces! found at Whole Foods for sure.

(1 tsp serving)

5 cals
0g fat
113 mg sodium
1g carb
0g sugar

it's:

100% organic
raw
gluten-free
soy-free
contains 17 amino acids
vegan!

i only post quotes that speak to me...and this one did just that. we've only got one body! no extra men in this game. start doing better and living healthier right now.

do you sleep in on holidays or get up and hit the gym early anyway?

we got back from Vegas monday morning at 6am and went straight to work from the plane. didn't sleep a wink on the flight or the night before. however, Chiso did get some good sleep and snoozed the entire way home, WHEW. you bet it was a long day that day.

while i attempted to catch up on rest, i neglected our empty fridge for two days! i hadn't grocery shopped on Thanksgiving eve in a really, really long time. HEB's parking lot was filled to capacity as expected, but as you see, they had every single lane open to accommodate the crowd. take note, Walmart!!!!!!!! AND, *big cheese* i happened to meet one of my readers in the store that night! i didn't want to scare her off, so i screamed on the inside :lol: shout out to Nneka from Austin! *waving*

i had just hauled my cart up to the belt when she quietly stepped behind me with her hand basket. of course i told her to go ahead of me since she only had a few things (don't you appreciate when someone does that!?) which is when she introduced herself. just goes to show how you never know who knows you or who's watching- treat others how you want to be treated at ALL times.

soooo, how was your TG 2K12?!

mine started bright and early at the crack of dark. i left Chiso and Sonny slobbering and snoring to run the annual Houston Turkey Trot 10K. i love that the free t-shirt this year is long sleeve; that's rare. i have not run long distance in forever, smh, but my cardio @ the gym definitely helps keep my endurance up.

before i hit the road, i made and devoured these babies:

coconut caramel pistachio pancakes.

i used the base recipe for my banana pancakes and added the toppings- raw unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped bananas, Walden Farms caramel sauce, and crushed pistachios.

racing fuel!

might as well call these dessert pancakes- they were off the chain.

over 12k people laced up their running shoes and showed out on Thanksgiving morning.

i was standing around and counting down to start time and noticed the people around me had on such cool colorful running shoes!

i don't like the front or the very back, but the middle serves me just fine! i was about two minutes or so from the starting line. and yes, i ran with my phone in my hand the whole time. i need a fanny pack.

finished around 50 minutes or so.

just wanted to support the cause and get some exercise... didn't care about breaking or making any PR's.

forgot to stop my watch immediately afterwards as usual, but i burned somewhere in the high 600's. which was only like half of one of my Thanksgiving plates :lol:

my heart rate really got up there! normally when i do HIIT, i top out around 176 before my HR starts to decline. when i heard a lady shout 'last mile!!!' i turned my burners on and sustained my HR above 180 until i crossed the finish line. my legs and chest were on FIRE.

post race, you can find me by the food.

they gave out some flavored vitamin water, bananas,

and chewy granola bars. chocolate chip, peanut butter, and a smores flavor.

i met up with my friend Nichola post race- she competed in Vegas for Fitness America Weekend as well! always posing;) and sorry Nichola, no donuts at the post race party LOL

by now i am almost sick to my stomach of seeing plates of Thanksgiving food on Instagram so i'm gonna chill on sharing mine. i will, however, share my 5 ingredient dump cake recipe! indulgent, um yes. so you should prolly stick to making this on holidays only.

1. canned cherries. i was über happy to see this 'no sugar added' variety of cherry pie filling, but was bummed that it was still sweetened with Splenda. womp, womp. however i got it anyway cause the original stats were just way too high. i couldn't do it. i'm a changed woman.

2. pineapple chunks. the 'skinny fruits' caught my eye like the manufacturers intended, but that big Splenda stamp ruined it again.

so, i grabbed what i always use- dole. a little higher in the calories and sugar vs. the Libby's, but it's still all natural and no sugar added.

dump the can of cherries into a pan

followed by the pineapple chunks, juice and all.

3. box of yellow cake mix. it's not pictured, and any brand will do. pour it on top of the cherries and pineapple.

4. stick of butter :shock: yeah, those are pads of butter. they melt into the yellow cake mix when baking and form something so incredibly delectable and Paula Deen approved. i mean you don't have to use the entire stick though, and you could very well substitute it with a lighter whipped butter, Earth Balance, or Smart Balance spread instead.

5. pecans. sprinkle them on top before popping the whole thing in the oven for 1 hr on 375-400 deg. no stirring required! hence the name, dump cake.

so............how many times have you admired your Thanksgiving food baby in the mirror today?

do NOT let that or food guilt completely ruin the happy, positive memories of Thanksgiving 2k12. you ate those delicious foods cause you wanted to and you've been waiting all year for them. you may have woken up with a tummy ache and the need to make a mad dash to the rr like i did this morning lol, but that's OK. like most people, i ate a lot of carbs and white sugar: pie, cake, dressing, rolls, etc, so i did cut some of my carbs today to balance my intake, but i did not cut them out. do this:

get back on track with your clean diet - do NOT starve yourself.
physical activity...asap. hit the gym for your routine as normal, or go outside for a walk, jog, or run. you'll feel a lot better, instantly.
drink plenty of water and green tea with each meal as it speeds up digestion.
let the food guilt GO.
chunk the leftovers or give them away. if the temptation is too much, stop torturing yourself and get rid of them. liquid soap to the rescuuuuuuuue :shock:

i slept in this morning but i made my way to the gym eventually for some cardio and light leg work.

20 minutes of HIIT on the stairmaster (60 rest rate / 90 work rate), legs, then 40 minutes of steady state cardio . yep, put in a little extra work to combat yesterday's feasts.

i bought some chicken drumsticks a few weeks ago cause i could not pass up the sale price, so i went ahead and made them for dinner for the weekend. we have been eating only chicken breast for........a really long dang time!!!