selfie — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

it's cooooooold. Houston finally got with it and the temps have dropped. enjoy it while it lasts. this morning though... i did NOT wanna get up. you hear me? 4:15am came way too quick and my bed was way too comfy. i admire my members for just showing up to class like they always do. THAT is true commitment and dedication if i ever saw it. cause ummmm, if i didn't have to be there today.... yeah :shock: watching them file into the studio one by one, collect their equipment, and wait in anticipation as the clock winded down to begin class gave me the energy and inspiration i needed to give them nothing short of my absolute best!! and that cup of coffee /green tea combo didn't hurt either. let nothing stop you from remaining consistent and making progress. nothing. especially something as petty as the weather!

after class i did some upper body (shoulders + chest),

took a pic of my polar HR monitor :lol:

zipped up my Lululemon,

and headed home to take more pics and make breakfast! saturday i saw all this french toast on IG and it inspired me to make some of my own. i had some again this morning with my egg white omelette and they hit the spot. carbolicious.

i used sesame ezekiel sprouted grain bread and made a sliced banana sandwich first,

then, i dipped the entire thing in a mixture of:

stuffed banana french toast

the stuff:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp pure vanilla
3-5 drops of vanilla creme stevia
1 tbsp coconut crystals
2 tsp cinnamon
2 egg whites

do this:

combine all ingredients into a bowl big enough for your sandwich to fit in.
mix them well, then dip your sandwich in on one side for 2 seconds, then flip it to the other side for 2 seconds.
immediately transfer it to a medium heated no stick pan and 'fry' it until brown on one side.
flip it and brown the other side! plate it up however you'd like and top it with more cinnamon, walden farms pancake syrup, and fresh banana slices. i even shot it with some 'i can't believe it's not butter' spray a few times.
NOM.

i like mine crispy!

@ HEB this past weekend, i took advantage of one of their popular meal deal specials. i got the two-step gumbo and the BBQ shrimp mix for free. yep, i had some help.

it's not considered clean, but it's all natural, decent nutritional stats, and quite good!

stats (per 1/2 cup): 60 cals, 1.5g fat, 470 mg sodium, 9g carbs, 2g fiber, 3g sugar, 2g protein

to the gumbo mix, i added 1 cup of water, another cup of low sodium chicken broth, a bag of frozen okra, cut up two roma tomatoes, some fresh cilantro,

and even though it didn't really need it, extra seasonings! just a few dashes of my sweet smokey chipotle paprika, black pepper, sriracha, and 2 squirts of liquid aminos. it all came to a rolling boil, then i let it simmer for about 20 min on low so it could thicken up.

i THOUGHT i had some shrimp leftover from last week's kale tacos, but nope...all gone. wish i had realized that before i went to the store!! i ended up using some of the bbq tilapia that you're gonna read about in a sec. so if you have some, you can totally add shellfish, crab, sausage, etc. because gumbo just ain't gumbo without it ;)

i added a scoop of brown rice on top and Sonny mixed it all together before he gobbled it up.

when you buy the gumbo mix, you get this free. i got to sample this stuff on some steel head trout while in the store which is what sold me on it! i believe the cooking demo lady used olive oil to thin it out though:( but it was soooo good. when i got home, i took 2 tablespoons of the shrimp mix and added 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk to make a creamy marinade for my tilapia.

stats: (per tbsp) 25 cals, 1g fat, 1g sat fat, 340 mg sodium, 3 carbs, 2 sugars

loved it!!! yes, almond milk!!

oh yeah, while i was @ the store, i came across these guys. can you read that sign? it says purple sweet potatoes are higher in nutritional value than the traditional sweet potato. who knew? i didn't. a friend of mine advised that i check out an Asian market for these babies though cause that 2.98 a lb is a little too steep for me. can't wait to try them!

now for my last unexpected purchase! i've been drinking almond milk for like the past 3 years now and i have no plans to go back to dairy milk anytime soon, or ever. but when i tell you i almost slurped down this whole box, you better believe it.

it was worth the gas and bloating :lol:

Chiso hasn't been a fan of drinking milk solo, so i've just been using it to make his oatmeal instead of water so he can still get his vitamin D and calcium. after i let him sample a little of this Horizon Organic Vanilla milk @ the store, to my surprise, he asked for more immediately! actually i'm not surprised cause it's a little high in sugar (22g) and it's vanilla flavored. lol. however, it's all natural, and still loaded with nutrients, so it went in the basket.

he tried to tear that box open after it was empty. score! if only he loved his veggies the same way...

happy NOVEMBER & friday :)

let's celebrate. have some pancakes.

i made a big one for Chiso's breakfast yesterday. since he hadn't had them in a while (we switched to Ezekiel's cinnamon raisin bread for a little bit) he killed the whole thing in a few minutes.

it was topped with some cinnamon and a drizzle of walden farms pancake syrup.

SO, what are your fitness and nutrition goals for this month? how often do you make goals anyway? do you even make them? daily? weekly? monthly? making goals has become an incredibly useful tool for me now that i'm in off-season with my competition training. whenever i write ANYTHING down (grocery list, an event, reminder, whatever) Sonny feels the need to remind me what year it is and to document things electronically. well sometimes i don't want to! i mean seriously. i enjoy writing out my grocery list by hand and crossing off items one by one while i'm at the store. i just do. i'm pretty sure it's cause my mom did/does that. i also like to group all my items together (frozen, produce, etc.) as i take them out of my basket and put them on the belt at checkout. Sonny finally understands this and lets me do my thing :lol: anyway, it will take me longer to type my entire list into my phone... and then what if it dies!?

i did a reverse selfie (which is way freakin harder to do than i thought) of my october progress which was to eat as clean as possible and to add more definition all over, especially my abs. i stuck with my clean eating for the most part even though these weekend parties filled with pizza and cake got me a few times! but i stayed inside my 80/20 rule, so it's all good. i also upped my weight training and decreased my cardio. i'd love to stay where i am right right now so that when i compete again, i'll be at an acceptable 'starting' place.

le’s NOVEMBER 2012 fitness and nutrition goals

continue to stay on track with my meal plan and clean eating
ENJOY Thanksgiving to the fullest – no meal plan, scale, nothin’ on that day
Run this 10K on turkey day ----> http://turkeytrot.shelteringarms.org/ and beat my current PR!
Add HIIT back into my current workout routine (sprints 2x’s a week)
Take my ab workouts more serious

ok those are mine! whether you write them or type your goals, just make some. i'm not just running a 10k so i can eat like a crazy woman on TG, but i already planned to workout anyway. i know my gym class will be canceled like it is every year, but i'd totally be there at 5:30am sharp for anyone who wanted to get in a great weight workout that morning.

have you ever worked out on Thanksgiving Day???

my little Ruggles Green lunch date from the weekend inspired me to throw a butternut squash in our grocery basket.

i threw the whole thing in the oven for about 20-25 minutes on 400 degrees. after it cooled, i cut it in half, long ways.

i think i got pretty darn close to their Famous Butternut Squash. in terms of taste, not looks, apparently.

at least Chiso thinks so- he liked it *wipes forehead*. i used:

squash:

walden farms pancake syrup (instead of the maple syrup)
i can't believe it's not butter spray butter
few dashes of cinnamon
dash of salt

topping:

crunchy lite granola (bulk bins at HEB/Whole Foods)
coconut crystals (found at Whole Foods)

that's all that's in there and it was too simple to be that good. i didn't measure a thing though and just threw it together, fyi. i was gonna cut it into chunks and throw it in the blender, but it was soft enough to just whip/mash up in a bowl by hand. also, i didn't have graham crackers like the original recipe, but Sonny's lite crunchy granola worked out fine.

does he look warm? bless his heart. i hadn't been outside since my eeeeearly morning workout, so i assumed it was still pretty cool out. not quite.

i took him out of the jacket and he took the hat off himself lol. Moms, if you don't have a jogging stroller, INVEST in one. no gym membership required. your post baby body journey starts with some good ol' walking. you'll be jogging/running again eventually though, and you'll be able to knock out two birds with one stone! family time and exercise. never let your little one be your excuse...only your reason. we were blessed with this stroller as a baby shower gift and i am SOOOOO grateful for it.

i used the last of that fresh atlantic salmon we bought to make breakfast tacos for meal #4 that night. i put this concoction together in my head while on our evening walk- fresh salmon, avocado, egg whites, shredded almond cheese all on a Ezekiel sprouted grain corn tortilla. yum! the tortillas pretty much broke apart once i picked it up :( , but hey it all went to the same place.

we topped them with cilantro and salsa first.

after that, i went to my freezer for the next best thing since we're outta salmon right now- tilapia! i baked a few pans of garlic and herb tilapia in the oven so i could prep some more meals to get us through the week.

i also made so fresh steamed asparagus for our green vegetable. lots of lemon pepper and Pam.

meal #5 for that evening consisted of spaghetti squash i baked earlier in the week, tilapia, and asparagus. i just rolled up two fork fulls of the squash and made it look like little pasta nests. then i sprinkled them with garlic and herb seasoning and some dried parsley.

Chiso and i are gearing up to support Sonny in his 2nd bodybuilding show this weekend!