wienervention - the cleanest hot dog i've ever eaten

another early gym date accomplished this morning and officially 1 month postpartum! i expect to get a lot done today. 

i had my usual preworkout snack, some hot, magical coffee, and headed out for an hour of treadmill intervals. i alternated btw:

5 incline @ 4 mph - 5 minutes

15 incline @ 3 mph - 5 minutes 

walking IS boring but there are ways you can rev it up.  i always swing my arms vigorously, walk heel-to-toe with a wide stride, and i never hold the side rails either. that's cheatiiiiing ;)

can i do a blog #throwbackthursday? i'm doin' it anyway!

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while we were headed home from the hospital last month with our brand new baby boy, something beat us there- my Wienervention Kit from Applegate!!!

that nostalgic red and white pattern always reminds you of what? a summer picnic, yep.

however, the Houston heat was too much and i just wanted to lay down somewhere and stuff my face in the AC.  i'd like to give a gigantic high-five and thank you to one of my favorite natural and organic brands, Applegate, for the goods. i knew the kit was on the way, but it slipped my mind after giving birth and all.  my mom and aunt were at our house tidying up and waiting to help out with our new family member, so unbeknownst to Sonny & i, they went ahead and cracked the kit open and prepared a welcome home lunch for us! perfect timing, right?

i actually used to avoid hot dog wieners for this very reason...  i've always thought of them as the wack parts of meat that didn't make the cut all blended up together with fat and other UFOs.  i would only have them every blue moon, like july 4th or memorial day at somebody's BBQ. at home? not so much.  also, reading 'mechanically separated turkey, chicken, or beef' in the ingredients list is not very appetizing. thank God we have many healthier options to choose from these days; these Applegate wieners are in a league of their own! a wienerventioW was overdue.

rest assured these top-notch dogs are:

• all natural
• contain no antibiotics
• humanely raised beef fed vegetarian/grain diet
• gluten-free
• casein-free
• contain no fillers
• contain recognizable ingredients! every single one.
• really, really tasty.

nailed that presentation.

they also sent along condiments, cause you can't build a stellar dog without them.

• Annie's Organic All Natural Ketchup (her salad dressings are crazy good, especially the artichoke parmesan, trust)
• Rick's Picks Zesty Dill Relish - (which tasted like a combo of sweet & dill relish! i've always topped my dog with one or the other..not both. i bet it would be amazing in potato salad as well.)
• Annie's Organic Yellow Mustard

 for the buns, we had a choice of Rudi's Organic Bakery Multigrain or White hot dog buns!  i loved them both and you can snag a coupon for a bag of your choice right on their website. from the bun, to the condiments, to the wiener, this is THE cleanest hot dog i've ever eaten.

time to change the meat you eat and give Applegate a try.

in newborn news, 

i think he'll be tall.

more tummy time, aka, push up practice!

le

homemade oatmeal cream pies + pre-workout snacks

  this recipe has been on my IG  forever and it's time for it to hit the fit recipes section too here on tha blog. so here ya go:

homemade oatmeal cream pies

the stuff:

cookies:

1 1/4 cup rolled oats 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp salt 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce 2 tbsp coconut oil 1/2 cup coconut crystals 1/4 cup Stevia for Baking (NOT the packets!) 1/2 tsp baking soda

filling: 4 tbsp light cream cheese (room temperature) 4 tbsp sugar-free cool whip (optional) 2 heaping tbsp greek yogurt 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 packet stevia

do this:

combine wet with wet and dry with dry; mix well. in a large mixing bowl, combine the two mixtures until incorporated. for filling- whip everything together until smooth and chill in a large mixing bowl.  make sure the cookies have cooled completely before you make the sammiches!  bake 16 cookies for 10-12 min on 350 deg.

thank you guys for the IG love concerning these pies!!! @mrs_meka_l tagged me just last night after she whipped up a batch, yum. thanks hun! love the comparison pic ;)

nutritional stats per cookie sammich: 184 calores, 6 g fat, 27 g carbs, 147mg sd, 3g fiber, 8g sugar, 4g protein!

makes 8 (one top cookie, one bottom + 2 heaping tbsp of filling)

super boring lunch today, but this is why i love having prepped food ready to go.  convenience!  i threw this all in my tupperware and hit the streets for a few hours running errands.

 the tilapia was sautéed in about 2 tbsp of Bragg Liquid Aminos + about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water, and sprinkled with Sicilian Mc Cormick Perfect Pinch seasoning on top.    you can use low sodium chicken broth too if ya got it.  i paired it with cilantro-lime brown rice, some avocado and a couple of almonds for good fat.

this is one of my absolute fave pre and/or post workout snacks right here..

it's all over my IG feed, i know.  toasted 100% whole grain whole wheat bread slathered with honey roasted peanut butter and fruit (usually strawberries or bananas).

my goodness that looks so dreamy, right!?!?!?! gaaaaaah.   why do i consume this before (and sometimes after) a workout?

this snack is a winner because it gives a healthy balance of protein (from the peanut butter) and carbs (from the fruit and bread).  this combo ensures your energy levels stay high throughout your workout.  for post-workout, similar deal.  the protein and carbs in this snack helps to replenish and repair glycogen levels after breaking down your muscles from your hardcore workout.  other pre-workout suggestions:

• pear and pistachios
• coffee (especially for my early risers)
• low-fat chocolate milk
• apple, hardboiled egg, string cheese
• raw coconut water
• low-fat cheese on toast
• protein shake with banana

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Sonny and i did a fitness photo shoot last week for Next Generation Athletics and we scored some of their awesome fitness gear in return!  what a perk i appreciate sincerely.  i wore some of the clothes to class this morning and got great feedback from my members on it.  kudos to NXG for the their amazingly comfortable and stylish fitness apparel.

Q: what is your favorite pre/post workout snack or meal?  share away so we can all try some of them!

le

 

chicken PB2 pad thai + TJ's trip

let's pretend today is yesterday, ok? ok.

i made pb chicken pad thai for an Instagram challenge last night for dinner.  IG can be so addictive! i've been seeing a number of 'i need to get away from technology and focus on my life and the plan God has for me....etc.' posts lately from some of the health and fitness peeps i follow.  it's admirable, long as it's not a publicity stunt or anything.  it takes a LOT to step away from technology for a few hours, days, or even weeks nowadays.  anyway, i get it.  what is IG to you though anyway? a 'likes' contest? are you secretly competing with someone? a business opportunity?  marketing tool? searching for who can flex the hardest?  seeing what celebs are up to? seeing who can make their plate of food the prettiest? finding who can wear the least amount of clothes? lmbo (not really).  i said all that to say it's cool to be inspired and build off of what you see in your feed, but stay true to YOURSELF.  after all, it's your account.  it's tough to be original once your mind has been tainted with what everybody else is doing.   on top of all that, IG can be a huuuuge distraction, like facebook.  sometimes you gotta put the phone down,  log off your computer and just live.....  technology-free.

*inhale....exhale*

so i adapted this from my own PB2 Shrimp Pad Thai recipe, but i used chicken breasts and fettucine miracle noodles instead of kelp.

aaaand i added a yellow bell pepper along with the red.  everything else is the same.

ooooh these noodles are simply amazing and went PERFECT with this dish i tell you, perfect.  my relationship with kelp is officially OVER, thanks to my affair with miracle noodles. *chunks deuce*

eye-popping color and freshness goin' on up in that pot!

letting the flavors marry for the last few minutes...

and bam! plated up! no cashews....i used pistachios and it was an even exchange.  ok, the pistachios really was the last thing i altered, whoops.

yummay &  healthay.

i worked the leggies at the gym this morning! how do i get my calves to pop?  4 x 25 of calve raises in between leg press sets.

flexin' in btw squat sets.

afterwards, my Stank Tank and i had lunch in the Life Cafe that started out with some Snikiddy grilled cheese puffs.

we're fans of Snikiddy all natural snacks-  they sell the huuuuge bags in sams and costco, fyi.

i ordered half a cheese pizza with whole wheat crust 2% mozzarella for Chiso (yes more cheeeeese),

and a turkey avocado sammich on Udi's gluten-free whole grain bread for moi.  this was my first time having Udi's bread and i liked it cause it was thick and actually kinda sweet, like challah bread or even a coarse pound cake!  however, like Ezekiel, the slices are kinda small, and the price is kinda big. Natures Own and Sara Lee have the regular size bread and for less cals and price.

nevertheless, both halves were gone in about 2 minutes.

the weather was GORGEOUS, so we took to the courtyard for a little bit to play.  funny, i remember bringing Chi out here and all he could do was crawl and watch the other kids play and jump over him.  yeah, i had a moment.

 our next stop- Trader Joe's Houston numero TWO!!!! i took this pic from the car so i wouldn't seem like an, i don't know...TJ's stan?

 they said it was coming...and it's here.  crunchy cookie butter. *shakes first*

i walked down this aisle for f...o...r...e...v...e..r.  TJ's  literally has chocolate covered everything you can think of.  some of THE oddest combos just go together.

i didn't do too bad- walked away with only a handful of items i don't need, like these. cinnamon sugar (15 cals per tsp) and sugar chocolate coffee bean (calorie-free) 'sprinkles' or dust, or whatever you wanna call it.

first victim - PB2 topped whole wheat toast.

so...how are yours coming along?

  whether short-term or long, sow your seeds NOW and as often as possible, and knock'em out one by one.  happy to be sharing some of mine very soon!

le

turkey day 10k + november goals

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!

we are so ready to cheer him on :)

a trophy would be awesome, but i get to bring the man home with me! whoop whoop!

le

grocery finds

i know variety is important, but my breakfast just ain't right without my oats (either in a bowl with toppings or in my pancakes).  i NEED them. i'm still finding new ways to eat them every single day.

 i made saturday morning's bowl of oats with Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a few drops of vanilla creme stevia, lots of cinnamon, half a banana, some chocolate pb2, and some unsweetened coconut flakes.

and my daily egg omelette of course topped with fresh cilantro and pineapple salsa.

  i did about 30 min of fat burning cardio on the elliptical + an upperbody weight workout and high tailed it outta there. we had a few birthday parties to attend as well as grocery shopping to get done, the usual!

 i'm doing a fitness challenge via IG (Instagram) right now (@fight_for_healthy).  my goal is to add more definition to my body overall, especially in my abs.  also, i plan to eat as clean as possible for the month of october.  but these birthday parties though... :shock:  expecting big changes next month just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. oh boy.

for meal 2, i cracked open some canned salmon (fresh is too high right now @ HEB)  and put some on a 3-seed La Tortilla Factory soft wrap along with some fresh cilantro, rice cheese, avocado, tomato, smokehouse maple seasoning, spicy mustard, and some fig butter. i  microwaved it til the cheese melted and devoured it. two of them.

in the car on the way to the party, i had meal 3 which was a salmon sandwich on raisin Ezekiel bread with the same toppings.

after running around chasing this boy the whole darn time, let's just say i'm so grateful to be in good shape!  trouble finding workout motivation?  keep your babies (or future babies) in mind.  thank me later.  i see why those child leash thingies were invented!!!

i see to it that Chiso eats nutritious, healthy stuff all day long, so of course he (we) can partake in party food every now and then.  didn't i just say i was in the middle of an october fitness challenge lol? come on,  it's not a party without cake.  i split a piece with my boo and we had a blast partying with family.  and it was the non-dairy whipped topping, not the super, duper sweet sugary kind ;)  just go with it.

 after the par-tay, i guilted Sonny into going grocery shopping with us since the HEB i frequent was nearby.

in addition to my normal goodies, i got some other cool items i'm so excited about trying!!

quark. i learned about quark through a few Aussie IGers.  i had been looking for this stuff for weeks- not all HEB's sell it and few people even know what it is.  it's comparable to greek yogurt as far as taste.  nutritional stats? not so much.  not a lotta protein per serving, but very low cal, fat, carbs, and an awesome 0 grams of sugar.  ever notice just how much sugar your greek yogurt contains?  yep, even the plain varieties.

not too shabby.  non-fat ricotta cheese is another alternative to add to your fresh fruit instead of cottage cheese or yogurt.

next,

one of my guilt-free treats.  i make a two scoop sundae with vanilla maple flavored Artic Zero (150 cals per PINT)  with some soy whip. and sprinkles.  recently, Artic Zero underwent some scrutiny for incorrect nutritional stats and ingredients on their labels.  they ended up adding milk to their ingredient list (for some reason it still doesn't bloat me like real ice cream though) which upset a good amount of their consumers.  seriously... even if the stats were off a bit, come on.  can you eat a freakin entire pint of ANY of the other brands for less than 150 cals, total?  it's not that biga deal my goodness. :roll:  i'm still a fan and will continue to be! i also drizzle some healthy chocolate sauce (will share recipe soon) on top and it's an incredible, low cal, carb, guilt-free, bowl of yumminess.

i can dig it!   a little expensive for the size of the bottle though.

i taste tested it solo, and it tastes exactly like reg. ketchup. no funny after taste or any of that.  but it wasn't enough.

so i baked some Ore-ida fast food fries. it passed.

ok...i had to share this as i've been asked a few times what my cheat snacks are...and this is one.  sweet and salty chex mix.  it's even good in a bowl of almond milk!!!!  we passed by a big shelf of it and as i talked myself into not even looking in that direction, Sonny picked up the biggest bag they had and threw it in our buggy.  and i let him.   

ok focus!!! back to the good stuff that's good for you and to you.  we got plenty of fresh fruits and veggies as they are at the top of my list, every time.  strawberries, blackberries, bananas, grapefruit, apples, roma tomatoes, zucchini, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and avocados this trip.

ooooh Ezekiel... i love your bread and now i must try your cereal.  with my silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk of course. match made in heaven.

and the award for the cutest bag of popcorn ever goes to Angie's.  it definitely got my attention! sure i'm a stove popcorn popping advocate, but as healthy and fun as this bag looked, i just had to try this kettlecorn.

even vegan.  impressive.

what else can you do with an old nike box? use it to hold all your snacks. ghetto? prolly. effective. ya.  i like to keep things out where i can see them.

try a new item on your next grocery shopping trip!

le