ABB 5k 2015 + consistency is your BFF

 go time!  i do believe this is the longest start line i've ever been in.

it took about 9 minutes just to get to the very front and start running! all that body heat kept us warm though.

 i left my house late (unsurprisingly) and with the street closures and all ended up parking pretty far.  i pretty much ran a dang 5k through downtown before the race started!  i don't ever pay for parking downtown if i can avoid it; i'd rather walk and just save a few bucks.  i was tempted this time though cause i didn't want to be late, but i made it, whew.

#atomicphotobomb & #selfiewhilerunning. the reason for that face is because i was contemplating that 24 min PR i set the night before!!!!

so i didn't find the white rabbit to follow but i DID find a black gorrilla. or whatever that was. i had to speed up to get this pic cause he was BOOKIN' IT.

stats were posted tonight and my official time was 26:41!  i did set a PR of 24, but i'm thinking if i actually take the time to train correctly then maybe i'd actually hit it or come close smh! i love the challenge and i'm up for it.

done!  grateful to cross yet another finish line. i just can't get enough of that feeling.

so Sonny has been in Nigeria all week long for work and was supposed to touch down in Houston at 5am this morning. however, his flight was canceled and he had to hop on the next available one.  i sure would have loved to see him at the finish line, but i did find two of my gorgeous Sorors there, Ayesha and Crystal.  they are both doing the full marathon tomorrow; run hard ladies and good luck!!.

last shot before heading to catch the tail end of the boot camp class i teach with Brian every saturday.

adding to my medal and t-shirt collection!

after boot camp? a leg workout with my trainer, @showtimefitness of course!

 'what seems impossible today will one day become your warmup.' yes. i remember running my very first 5k a few years ago and not moving or lifting a finger afterwards for like 3 days straight! i was crazy tired & super sore and could have easily said 'screw running'and never did another race again. one of the hardest decisions we face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder. well, i chose the latter! how do you get better at something? DO IT MORE! no earthly idea how many 5 and 10ks (1 half mar) i've done since then but because i refused to quit, consistency had me up in the gym post-5k yesterday beasting through an intense full body workout with my trainer @showtimefitness. and you better believe there's a full marathon on my to-do list! just keep going. don't quit. consistency is key.

i actually love being trained as much as i love to instruct the trainings with my own clients!  Brian is awesome at what he does and i always learn more than a handful of things from him.

then... i headed to Luby's for dinner to celebrate. i can ALWAYS count on a great, tasty, healthy meal from there.  i don't care that the population is 80% senior-citizen per my husband!  i have so many childhood memories from Luby's. it was a sunday, after church staple for my family growing up.  anyway i got the salmon, steamed cabbage, seasoned carrots, pickled beets & cucumbers, and...... yes. THE BEST EVER. if you don't like mac n cheese we cannot be friends!!!!!!!! i earned it and i enjoyed every single bite.

WHAT big fitness goal have you set for yourself this year?

le

HEB meal deals + banana french toast

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:

1. combine all ingredients into a bowl big enough for your sandwich to fit in.
2. mix them well, then dip your sandwich in on one side for 2 seconds, then flip it to the other side for 2 seconds.
3. immediately transfer it to a medium heated no stick pan and 'fry' it until brown on one side.
4. 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.
5. 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...

le

@ my desk

no more start/stop- catching up NOW.

good monday that is almost over to you!!

this will be crazy random but just stay with me.

i hope you guys are using and being creative the IG food pics- that's definitely some of my motivation for posting.

this was lunch @ my desk last Friday:

100 calorie multi-grain english muffin, grilled chicken breast, avocado, spicy mustard, and a crispy red bell pepper.  since my job is waaaaaaaaay closer to Trader Joe's than my house, i stopped by there to get a few specialty items on my lunch break that day.

more eggplant humus wish it came in a big TUB.

i can pronounce everything. that's the kind of ingredient list i like to see and the kind you should look for as often as possible.  also, natural, no additives or preservatives means eat it sooner than later! won't last but a few days.

also got some sweet sugar snap peas for dipping! in the car.

 i walked into TJ's with intent to restock my fig butter, but as soon as those double entrance doors parted, i walked straight up to a tower of pumpkin butter.  clever is that seasonal marketing. they also had honey apple butter and i couldn't leave without it.  i did leave the mango butter for next time though.

i hit up HEB, Whole Foods, and Sams this weekend to do my real shopping.  i got my sample on of course,

  *high five*, HEB.  but zero points for presentation.  steak pizzaiola, italian chicken sausage soup, and creamy potato casserole was served at one of their live sample stations. oh God, those potatoes though :shock: . i always grab a recipe card to see just what they put in those samples and they never fail to freak me out.  full-fat heavy cream and cream cheese is what made those potatoes so darn good!  but they were sample size sooooo i proceeded to enjoy.

i got outta there with my usual stuff plus a few specialty items.

my kitchen island stays just like this for the most part.  i like to keep my produce out where i can see it cause i'll forget about it in the fridge and it's more likely to spoil.  gonna go ahead and add 'personal grocery shopper' to my resume, seriously!!! i could do this every day.

i've been using the sesame Ezekiel bread for the past few weeks, so i picked up the cinnamon raisin loaf this time.

i have sweet and savory dishes in mind for this puppy.

fat-free feta and goat cheese are still two dairy cheeses i won't be giving up (will expand on that shortly), but i was inspired to try almond cheese from a fellow health and fitness IGer.  i figure i love almond milk, so i'd prolly like the cheese too. uh, yeah! it melts, grates, and tastes just like dairy cheese and nutritional stats are awesome.  i'm impressed and sold.  gonna try some rice cheese too.

i've been a fan of Blue Diamond brand almond milk since Hungry-Girl introduced me to it a few years ago, but decided to try the Silk brand because of the lower calorie count.

it is so much more creamier than i was expecting! i may have been converted indefinitely...

I picked up some of Sonny's fav granola from Whole Foods - pumpkin flax.  it's the best granola (nutrtion-wise) in the bulk aisle line up.  140 cals and 5g of sugar per serving. read your labels- granola is more like a treat/dessert as the sugar content can be super high for some of them.  a few spoonfuls over some cottage cheese or yogurt or a small serving of it is just enough.

 granola + almond milk = one great bed time snack.  if only i could stop eating bowl after bowl.

lunch today @ my desk:

seeing red today for meal 2-  grilled chicken breast, avocado, red bell pepper, tomato, spicy mustard and honey apple butter.  wrapped all up in a La Tortilla Factory white-wheat soft wrap with some strawberries on the side.

i snuck in some sugar snap peas and eggplant humus too.

we had some GORGEOUS weather in Houston today!! Sonny hates the cold and is already griping about having to stop his outside runs.  he still has time to take advantage though cause it will be hot again like tomorrow.

cajun crusted tilapia recipe coming up next.

le