Tag Archives: ragu

‘you must be on a diet huh’

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exclaimed the cashier after ringing up my groceries. #truestory.   no boo!  this is how we LIVE.

this is pretty much what my cart looks like after a quick visit to the grocery store.  not the big ‘we-are-out-of -EVERYTHING’ trip, but i can stretch this for two weeks, max. what i have here:

  • 2% cottage cheese – protein snack
  • brown rice (microwaved kind- forget that pot)
  • fresh fruit- buy whatever is on sale. it’s almost summer so you have a lot to choose from. this week, i got us strawberries and blueberries.  and you know bananas are always cheap!
  • fresh, frozen veggies (sweet potatoes, spinach)
  • whole eggs
  • egg whites
  • ‘i can’t believe it’s not butter’ spray butter – for popcorn, our omelettes, and cooking in general. sometimes the butter flavor satisfies your craving. sometimes.
  • La Tortilla Factory whole wheat/white low-cal high fiber tortillas- for breakfast tacos, quesadillas, w/ pb2 for a snack, homemade tortilla chips.. only 50 cals for 1!
  • dry ranch dressing mix for seasoning my chicken, fish, pork, potatoes, etc.  i seriously need to check Sams so i can buy this in bulk.

   i normally don’t cook on friday night (a rule i stole from my mom) so i don’t know what got into me.  for dinner i made a colorful ragu with lean ground turkey and paired it with some quinoa.

then i instagramed it up.  are you following me on Instagram????

@fitfoodiele

now fast forward to sunday- i made this FANTASTIC smoothie tonight!!  do NOT let the color fool you. although i’m sure by now you’ve seen a green smoothie somewhere.

half a banana

3/4th cup frozen chopped spinach

1 tsp sugar-free vanilla pudding mix

1 scoop protein powder

1 cup almond milk (add more if needed, but not too much!)

BLEND.

SWEET, creamy, and dreamy!  and most important, GOOD for you.  and stop making that face cause if i hadn’t told you there was spinach in there you wouldn’t have known.

oooo it was JUST what i needed after my quick two mile run.  i usually drink my smoothies from my fav mug, but i needed to show off that beautiful color. now,  what can i call this thing?? suggestions??

*** help me name this smoothie!! all comments must be posted below to qualify.  some lucky reader will win a little something courtesy of fitfoodiele by this FRIDAY, June 8th!!  ***

s/n: school’s OUT for all you educators!!!  let the summer vacations ensue:)

le

happy days

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happy mothers’ day!  this one was my very first.

what’s better than Nike Free Run 2s?

 well, Nike Free Run 3s!!

 in loud obnoxious colors at that!  one of my MD gifts from Sonny.  i went to bed before him around 1130 saturday night. i cut the light off, got in the bed, and went to sleep.  at midnight, Sonny burst into the room and turned the light on- he knows this is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves, omg.  i looked at him crazy and followed him with my eyes as he walked to his side of the bed and pulled the covers back to reveal the shoes.  i could do nothing but laugh hysterically.  lucky for him.

sunday we hit up Fogo De Chao for  an early dinner after church (which we will never, ever do again on a ‘holiday’…ever. in life.) to celebrate with my parents.  it was also my brother Matt’s birthday!

 double whammy!

  who got a 5 mile run in preparation for this dinner? *raises hand*. if you’ve never been to fogo, it’s a reeeeeally nice all you can eat Brazilian MEAThouse.  there is only one in Houston hence why we won’t be visiting on a nationally recognized special day again!!  had reservations for 3, but didn’t get seated until about 3:45. but what can ya do… anyway,  their gourmet salad bar is out of this world- the best one i’ve ever took a spin around.  is it worth the almost 50 bucks per plate? prolly!  i must say that i have done fogo a HUGE disservice with these cell phone pics though- i’m so ashamed.  we left the cam in the car and nobody wanted to go get it lol.  anyway, go experience fogo for yourself. please.

this is my plate after hitting the salad bar- i tried my best to keep it as healthy as possible. asparagus spears, sliced tomatoes, grilled mushroom caps, fresh mozzarella balls, beets, red and yellow bell peppers, and some parmigiano reggiano.  at the top of my plate is polenta and fried plantains- my little guy loved those since he eats bananas all day every day.  anyway the gaucho chefs walk around with skewers of all types of different cuts and kinds of meat and offer you CONTINUOUS tableside service.  very dangerous, i know.  i think that’s a lamb chop on my plate, but my fave is the bacon wrapped chicken breasts. i think i ate like 17.

this was my dad’s dessert:

classic brownie and ice cream.  He and Sonny always play it safe in that area.

so when we got home, (after a fro-yo stop) instead of napping i got our lunches/dinner ready for the next few days.  hey, if you don’t do it, it won’t get done now will it?

yall know i love my throw-everything-in meals… they are just so easy.

this time i used 99% lean ground turkey, fibergourmet rigatoni pasta, onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes, oven-roasted squash, mushrooms, and cilantro.  i seasoned it with a little tony c’s and my ranch dressing mix.  this always lasts us 2-3 days.  this time, i went sauce-less.

oh and i roasted some yellow onions and butternut squash (seasoned with tony c’s) in the oven for about 30 min on 400 deg.

while the veggies were hot, i threw them in the blender and added some no-fat half and half, chicken broth, pepper, and that’s it!  my little one liked it too. score.  roasting the veggies first gives your soup sooo much flavor- don’t skip that step.

anyway, speaking of my little one, i’ve been preparing for his 1st birthday party and it’s almost that time. i ordered a crap load of stuff online that is en route as i type.  heading to check the mailbox again NOW!

le

 p.s. questions? comments? just saying hey? EMAIL MEEEEEEEEE!!!! ————> le@fitfoodiele.com

back to it

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yesterday everything FOOD repulsed me!! although i certainly wouldn’t mind, no, it’s not what you think.  i’m guessing it was some crazy 24 hour bug because Sonny ate the same things i did the night before.  here’s what we had:

groud turkey, carrots, corn, kidney beans, tomatoes, spinach, asparagus

sometimes i’ll have a log of ground turkey that i have no idea what to do with.  so, i’ll brown it up with some onions and shallots and throw in as many vegetables i can find.  i never had a name for it, but i recently read that what i’ve been making all this time is referred to as ragu. threw it over some pasta, sprinkled it with some cheese and avocado, and called it dinner.

the only thing i had to eat all day friday was the 6in. turkey subway sandwich my hubby brought home for me.  it stayed down, and i’m back to normal today. i took friday off from exercise as well, so i was anxious to get up and get moving this morning.  to the track!

i did one of my two fav running workouts.

‘sprint the straights, walk the curves’.  i’m sure you’ve heard that track jargon before.  this is definitely a workout that a beginner can start with.  no track available?  you can also do this running through your neighborhood and use either a light pole or any  other landmark as your start and end points.  or, you could just could use a stop watch or count the 10, 15, or 20 seconds in your head as you sprint.  3 miles of that (12 laps) and i was toast. beginners, start with 1 mile and add on from there.  with anything, you get out what you put in. so SPRINT!!!  after all, it will be over in a couple of seconds.

Q: which is better, sprinting or long distance running?

totally depends on what your goal is, but for weight loss and/or maintenance, both.  fast or slow, your body will get use to whatever type of exercise you do no matter what. it’s important to do a combination of speeds just to shock your body and keep your workouts different and exciting.

le