the weather has been phenomenal aaaaaall weekend long in h-town! today was no different. our breakfast before church: high-protein, buttermilk pancakes, dairy-free coco whip, zero-calorie pancake syrup, and fresh berries. my almost 5-year-old still asks for pancakes almost every single morning.

{top : H&M} | {jeans : H&M} | {wedges : Forever 21} | {bag : LV}

look ma, no gym clothes! i've been trying to get jazzy on the weekends after being in workout clothes, well, any other day of the week. when i spruce things up on the outside, it does wonders for me on the inside too. however, my toes aren't done and haven't been in months. thanks, blur tool. yes, i did. the wedges were too cute to crop out. lol

"

me: make me laugh

Sonny: sorry, i only know how to make you mad

"

hey, whatever it takes to get the job done, Instagram Husband ;) anyway, this top is the epitome of comfort. i have one in several colors cause it always makes me feel so modelesque when i throw it on!

{top : H&M} | {jeans : H&M} | {wedges : Forever 21} | {bag : LV}

is it spring yet?! LOVE coral anything, especially workout tops. H&M has plenty of affordable, cute fitness fashions that i'll be sharing soon too!

i've been pan-frying our plantain in coconut oil for the past few years, but i wanted to try baking or broiling them instead. so i did! Sonny says i tried this a while back but it really must have been that long ago cause i do not remember attempting this. here goes nothin'!

perfect! when i bring them home from the store and they aren't ready yet, i put them inside a brown paper bag and in solitary confinement under my kitchen sink so they can ripen quicker. browns spots are a very good thing. i sliced them diagonally and threw them into a mixing bowl along with:

few dash of cinnamon
1 tbsp melted coconut
2 tbsp brown sugar (can use coconut sugar)
dash of sea salt

and mixed them all around. then, i coated my pan with foil and coconut cooking oil spray, then placed them evenly across the pan.400 degrees. 12 minutes on one side. 12 minutes on the other. done. Sonny agrees that they still have the same texture as they do when they are deep-fried. i likes that.my food though!!! OMG, y'all, this was crazy good! i threw it in a bowl with some already baked chicken breast chunks, avocado chunks, refried organic black beans, and some sautéed turnip greens. a little bit of everything on your fork at once... heaven. sweet, salty, spicy. (that's sriracha on the chicken but you already knew that)just know i took my sweet, sweet time with this bowl of goodness. these are kind of a big deal! snack smart this week; i tried my best not to go overboard on these bad boys today. yum.

"Make it Last by Making it First" was Pastor Mike's message this morning. i always appreciate this reminder! cause marriage is hard. making it last is even harder.... but completely, 100% worth the fight and the effort. with kids in the mix, you've really gotta be serious and focused about getting in some alone time together often, and try your absolutely hardest not flake on each other. spend not just kid-free time together, but TECHNOLOGY-FREE time at that. it's true, you really can have a crazy awesome time with your spouse and the WWW not know about it. as a new-found snap chat addict (add me, fitfoodiele) i stand by that statement 100% ;)

new week, fit friends, let's goooooo!

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cajun crusted tilapia sandwich on sprouted grain sesame Ezekiel bread for one of my meals last week. or two weeks ago. oh whenever that was, idk. it was good though. i grew up eating deep fried catfish sandwiches on white bread. you remember those fish fry fundraisers at church lol! the best.

i said on IG that i thought this recipe up while i was on the elliptical. i get some of my very best ideas and recipes while i'm working out. it's usually in the middle of cardio when i have a lot of time to just THINK. if that's what i need to do to get my inspiration, so be it!

Cajun Crusted Tilapia

the stuff:

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Corn Meal
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sweet dried basil
1 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
1 egg white

that's supposed to be sweet basil on top of the onion powder, not curry. sorry.

do this:

combine the egg and the liquid aminos in one bowl, everything else in another bowl. with your left wet hand, dip the fillet into the egg white/amino mixture, then drop it into the dry mixture bowl. using your right dry hand, press the fillet into the mixture, flip it over, and ensure it is covered on both sides or to your liking. spray your low/medium heated pan with Pam (or any no-stick spray) if you haven't already, and lay the fish on one side to cook until done, then flip it (about 5-7 minutes on each side.) cooking times and temps vary, so watch it! *s/n: you can add a tsp of coconut oil to your pan as well, but you'll have to adjust the nutritional stats accordingly.*

don't want a sandwich? plate your fillet up and pair it with some sides. i made a sandwich cause i had plenty of Ezek bread to spare and sandwiches are fun to make, eat and take pictures of.

now, about these nutritional stats....i tend to make things way more difficult than they should be so there is prolly an easier way to do this. i know there is. and someone will comment on this post and make me feel really dumb. i'm counting on you. anyway, i didn't figure out how to do this before posting and didn't want to wait. i totaled the ingredient list up, then divided it by 4 (fillets). you never really use ALL the breading when you're dipping stuff, you know? at least i don't. so you can't include that in the total calories. you really only use about 2-3 tbsp of the breading, if that. so the stats below are a little higher than they should be cause it's for 1/8th a cup of breading (dry + wet) + the tilapia fillet. i guess i could figure out what 2 tbsp of breading equals but my head hurts already. so here are the stats for 1/8th a cup (includes both wet and dry ingredients). did that even make sense?

serving: 1 crusted tilapia fillet

i love finding ways to eat more food!!!

i got wind of these corn thins via Facebook last week and picked some up at WF this past weekend as well.

i switched sides on ya. rice cakes on the left, corn thins on the right.

1 serving = 2 cakes

ingredients for both:

corn thins- whole grain popped corn, sea salt. (gluten and fat-free)

rice cakes- whole grain brown rice, sea salt.

verdict: eat 3 corn thins and STILL come out lower in every stat category compared with the rice cakes. awesome!! sure they are a little thinner, but still filling after being topped with some PB2, cottage cheese, or greek yogurt.

look what i found. oh just another item i wasn't even looking for, a yogurt maker!!!

i actually received this as a baby shower gift. i sure do appreciate it! perfect timing.

i was reading the instructions and all that and noticed one of the ingredients required to make yogurt is yogurt :shock: huh? so i have to go buy some yogurt to make yogurt. oh, ok. riiight... SO, after i google a good homemade yogurt recipe, i'll be trying my hand at *drumroll*

almond yogurt!!!! i saw some at Whole Foods while i was there and had no idea almond yogurt even existed yet. the nutritional stats were surprisingly high for one serving though. i'll see what i can come up with.

guess who had banana pancakes this morning? we all did. everybody. duh :lol:

Chiso tackled his three and so did i.

my random lunch sandwich today:

i just wanted to eat my cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread really bad, lol. i threw some grilled chicken, cheddar almond cheese, avocado and spicy mustard on it and it WORKED. it fit my macros perfectly, too! that sweet and salty combo can't be beat. i chilled on any fruit butter this time since the bread was already sweet though.

have you ever made homemade yogurt?