September 25, 2012

Trader Joe's H-O-U-S-T-O-N!!!

September 25, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

the cardio horse is back in her saddle! after a week off from teaching my Lifetime classes, it's great to be BACK. burnout is a lose-lose for the instructor and the members... breaks always re-energize and re-fuel me to teach the best class i possibly can. especially at 530am.

after 1 hr of Total Conditioning, i jumped on my fav elliptical machine and did 45 minutes of fat-burning cardio and called it a day. no more gym for me until tomorrow...maybe even thursday!! no more two a days. for now! until i decide to compete again (i'm sure i will) i'm focusing on maintaining my current weight, give or take a few pounds.

all i could think about was breakfast on my way home as usual.

so i'm back on the clean eating train. as of yesterday. for the most part. i've been adding extra things (for example, the tomatoes and asparagus ) to my meals that i normally couldn't when i was preparing for my show. usually what i add doesn't really affect the total calorie count of the meal anyway. extra veggies is nothing compared to an extra egg or some meat or something, you know?!

second shot of meal 1,

and here's meal 2 so far. i'm sticking with 5-6 small meals a day. my body responds so well to this routine so i'm keeping it going. try it out and see how your body responds!

so, Houston has just become that much cooler.

Sonny and i made it back in time from Jamaica to attend the grand opening extravaganza of Trader Joe's this past Friday, Sept. 21st.

If you are familiar with H-town, then you know that this historic building was once a theater, then a book store for 25 years, and finally the home of our very 1st TJ's! we didn't even go home first- it was that important. to me.

taking pics to pass the time while Sonny finished his phone call.

8 days later and my 'show' hair is already in a pony tail.

walking up- i love that they kept and used the old school marquee.

getting started. the store is not as big as i anticipated, but it was still jam-packed with a ton of cool items. it was lunch time AND the grand opening so space got a little tight. i didn't mind.

Joe's O's for Chiso.

saying a prayer and thanking God for these low sodium rice cakes!!! i used to get the popular Lundberg brown rice cakes, but why have one of those when i can have TWO of Joe's for a 10 cal difference?!

sampling some kinda fresh squeezed juice. and yep, that's my tummy. i left my abs in Jamaica.

i definitely grabbed something off of every isle.

ok people are going absolutely nuts over this stuff and i completely understand. i passed a tower of it on the way to checkout and thought to myself 'man i wonder what that tastes like!!'. i literally looked up and walked right into a store associate shoving a sampling spoon of it right in my face!! of course i'll take some! our cashier told us it's their top-selling item right now and that they will be coming out with a crunchy version for the Christmas holidays. Lord have mercy.

turkey jerky!!!!!!! haven't had this stuff since my Cali trip back in 2010. great high protein, low-fat snack.

what i ended up with- roasted seaweed snacks, popping corn, unsalted pb filled pretzels, unsalted rice cakes, turkey jerky, lite coconut milk, unsweetened apple sauce, Joe's O's (whole grain cereal), lobster rolls, black mission figs, organic pizza sauce, lactose-free milk, fresh sugar snap peas, coconut oil, goat cheese, fat-free feta, egg-plant humus, egg whites, spicy mustard, fig butter, and some fresh fruit. no cookie butter yet!!!

i was expecting to go well over 100, maybe even 150. but i did NOT break the bank. gotta love those reasonable prices for organic, natural, fresh foods. i'm THRILLED that TJ's is finally here and will gladly make the drive to visit.

after buying all that delicious food, what does Sonny want for lunch? Mission Tortilla. because he was a great sport and even came grocery shopping with me i shut my trap right up :shock:

i waited til we got home to fix my lunch. here are some of the items up close for you to look for on your TJ's trip.

the fig butter is AWESOME- and no, there isn't a drop of butter in it. it even says that on the package. "To be a butter, a spread must contain more fruit than sugar.."

whole wheat pita pockets and eggplant humus - only 35 cals per 2 tbsp. serving!

there was no cooked meat (ok fresh cooked meat) in our house since we had been gone for a week, so i made some fig and feta tuna and grilled a whole wheat pita to go with it.

my seasonings for the tuna. i almost ALWAYS add boiled eggs to my tuna, but i was too hungry to wait!

i also spread some of the fig butter and eggplant humus on the pita bread-

DELICIOUS.

what else can you put fig butter on? it's great in wraps too- i made a grilled chicken, kale, tomato, avocado wrap on a whole wheat tortilla for my next meal. the spicy salty mustard and the sweet fig go great together. try it.

what are your favorite must have Trader Joe's items?? and have you tried the cookie butter :lol:

April 30, 2012

tropical tilapia

April 30, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

have i told you how much i love coconut oil? i've used it to pop popcorn, in desserts, pancakes, pan frying plantains... and most recently, tilapia. coconut oil is good for us on the outside and inside! in addition to hair and skin care benefits, weight loss, digestion, and immunity, it tastes AWESOME. the flavor does amazing things to your dishes- both sweet and savory.

i blinked at the 7 dollar price tag (@ Whole Foods) but it's worth it for sure.

on tonight's dinner menu:

not just any ol' tilapia... coconut-coated tilapia 'pan fried' in coconut oil. YUM. i put 'pan-fried' in quotes cause i definitely don't submerge the fish in oil; i only use about 1/2 a TEASPOON. really, that's it. long as the bottom of your pan is coated, that's totally enough.

my raw coconut flakes from the bulk bins of HEB <3i coated both sides of the fillet, sprinkled it with a little tony c's, and threw it in a low-med heated pan.

7 min on each side.

whala. i paired it with some steamed cauliflower (always have a side of veggies with EVERY meal!) and some kidney beans. the fish is nice and lean, and the coconut oil/flakes balances out the meal with some good, healthy fat. Sonny doesn't even like coconut like that but ate it UP. *whew*

recipe update!

tropical tilapia

the stuff:

2 oz tilapia fillet
2 tbs coconut flakes
2 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried parsely
1/2 tsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (optional)

do this:

**did you notice there's no egg/egg white up there? i didn't need or use a binder this time. the coating sticks firmly to the wet fish, and it stays in place while cooking. i mean if you just want the added protein though, go for it! also, if ya need more, just double, triple, or quadruple the recipe of course.**

1. combine all dry ingredients (coconut flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, paprika) in a shallow pan big enough for your fillet to lay flat in.

2. add coconut oil to your medium heated no-stick pan.

3. coat the fish in your liquid aminos- use your hands! (remember, a little goes a long way- you don't need much at all..it's more for flavoring and 'salting' the fish)

4. dip one side of the fish in your dry coating, then flip.

5. drop it in your pan and fry it up! fish cooks super quick..keep your eye on it. 5-7 min on each side, tops.

6. stuff your face.

per 2 oz fillet:

smile and go to bed knowing that when you wake up tomorrow it will be FRIDAAAAAAAY!!!! nite!

March 16, 2012

banana oat protein YUMmuffins

March 16, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

thanks a TON, Ogechi!!! a girl after my own heart. she knew i would be geeked over this recipe and she was exactly right. these muffins are great for breakfast or a snack. Ogechi also makes a FANTASTIC black bean/sweet potato soup i can't wait to share with you guys- she brought me buckets of it right after i got home from delivering my son. she is just awesome like that and no you can't have her cause she's all MINE!

Banana Oat Protein YumMufffins (or bread!)

the stuff:

(Dry)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vanilla whey protein
3/4 cup quick oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted walnuts (toasting always makes a difference)

(Wet)

1/4 cup coconut oil (in solid form)
1 whole egg 2 egg whites
2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4 large bananas)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup chia gel (mix together 9 tbsp water & 1 tbsp chia seeds then wait 10-15mins to turn into gel....it's quite interesting to watch )
1 tsp pure vanilla

do this:

preheat oven to 350 right now. also, go ahead and activate those chia seeds. the chia seeds replace the oil & the butter- neither are used or needed in this recipe!

put them in a small separate bowl and add the water.

measure out all dry ingredients in a bowl MINUS the walnuts. *tip* swirl it around a few times with a whisk to combine & break apart all the ingredients. set aside.

in another bowl, mix coconut oil, eggs, bananas, applesauce, chia gel & vanilla till well combined. here's another *tip*- make sure your wet ingredients are room temperature so your coconut oil doesn't harden on you when you mix them together.

Ogechi told me this stuff made a world of difference in the flavor department for these muffins. i found it in WF and prayed it was worth all 7 dollars. it was.

be sure you buy it in solid form. looks just like hair grease.

keep adding..

my bananas weren't super ripe, but if yours are, mash them all up.

i left my batter a little chunky, of course.

gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients till everything is combined. do not over mix!

fold in walnuts aaaaaaaaaand (optional): 1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips! will do that next time..don't have any right now:(

pour in a greased loaf pan or do muffins. this recipe makes 12 large muffins or 18 medium ones. top with any leftover nuts and bake.

i pulled the muffins out after about 20 minutes- look at those fresh banana chunks.

it was SUCH a beautiful Houston day! we were invited to my friend Joanna's potluck party in the park and the muffins were perfect timing. SO, because we were going to a party, i added some buttercream frosting on top and more toasted walnuts!! otherwise, no party, no frosting. keep them clean.