dairy-free cream cheese chocolate chunk cookies + Buffalo Chicken Chunks meal prep

satadaaaaay!

we all got in bed at a reasonable hour last night so Sonny and i popped up extra early.  we decided to take advantage and go get some cardio in together.

breakfast to-go was a slice of whole wheat toast slathered with Dark Chocolate Dreams and Jiffy natural peanut butters and a few banana slices.  and coffee of course!  still chugging 1/2 caff because Dego is still going strong and nursing 3 times a day.

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struggling' together!  pretty sure cardio is included in that 'through thick or thin' marriage vow, haha.  Sonny is actually having issues with his achilles tendon so the elliptical and ice are his BFF's right now.

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fun, sweaty times were had this morning in bootcamp class!  join me every saturday at 9am if you're local or visiting Houston.  Prenatal fitness classes are coming SOON!  i am looking to start them up April, my birthday month (whoop).  if you know a local preggo, fit mama that may be interested, send her my way!  email me: le@fitfoodiele.com.

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once home, it was time to refuel.  i made a huge pan of Buffalo Chicken chunks (garlic powder, onion powder, Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce, parsley, and ground black peppers) with steamed brussels sprouts for us.

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 done in less than 10 minutes!

and for dessert, a gem from Chocolate Covered Katie.  she is so dang talented!  please check her site out and i believe she just released her very first healthy dessert book, which is already #1 on Amazon. i am NOT surprised!  kudos to her. and here goes that recipe:

Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Chocolate Chunk Cookies

the stuff (source):

• 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup oat flour (if making your own oat flour, grind it into a really fine powder 1st)

• 1/4 cup Truvia / Stevia for Baking or granulated sugar

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 2-5 tbsp Enjoy Life Dairy Free Mega Chocolate Chunks

• 3 tbsp full fat cream cheese (i used dairy free Tofutti (found at Sprouts))

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

do this:

1. combine oats, salt, baking soda, chocolate chips, and sugar in a large mixing bowl

2. in another bowl, add (warm) cream cheese, vanilla, and oil in bowl

3. pour wet into dry. per Katie, do NOT add extra liquid! just keep stirring and it will moisten into a batter

4. form a big ball, then roll into cookie dough balls

5. place balls on plate and freeze at least 30 min

6. when ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 and coat your pan with no stick cooking spray

7. place balls on tray and bake 8-10 minutes

8. they will look underdone at first, so don't touch them for at least 10 min... if you can help it!

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yep. be flexible about your methods, but stubborn about those goals.  FINISH.  you'll be so glad you didn't give up.

 i am so excited for church in the morning. night!

Q: what role does fitness play in your life?

A: i shared my thoughts via IG!

le

all pink everything

my sunday started with the usual breakfast (oat bran pancakes and egg whites) but this was my lunch:

Weber Kick 'N Chicken grilled chicken breast and veggie stir fry using every fresh veggie i could find: mushrooms, yellow squash, asparagus, and red bell pepper.

i skipped church (but listened to the podcast later) and stayed home to finish getting things ready for my sister Michelle's  baby shower! this was a #sisterssquared production; something my other sis Kara and i like to refer to ourselves as!  as of may 17th of this year she officially became my sister-in-law as well as my Soror.  i had so much fun hosting with her.

#skeewee

cake batter rice crispy treats were requested so cake batter rice crispy treats were made! Sonny brought me back the super-duper jumbo size marshmallows from the store which didn't exactly melt aaaall the way down in the cooking process but i was totally OK with that. why? the clumps of ooey gooey marshmallow in the bars was an awesome touch in my opinion! recipeeeee: (fyi, this is definitely a treat that should be eaten in moderation, guys.)

Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats

the stuff:

• 5 cups rice crispy cereal (can use brown rice puffed cereal too)
• 10 oz marshmallows
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dry boxed yellow cake batter
• 4 tbsp butter (i haven't tried any dairy-free alternatives in place of regular butter yet)
• 1/4 -1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

do this:

1. coat the sides of  a large pot/saucepan as well as the pan you intend to press the rice crispy batter into
2. melt butter in large pot/saucepan over medium heat
3. add vanilla
4. add marshmallows and cover; let melt for 1-2 minutes
5. add cake batter & sprinkles and stir a few times to incorporate then immediately add cereal and KEEP STIRRING
6. remove from heat and stir until all combined. be sure to scrape the sides of the pot really good
7. pour batter into a rectangular or square pan and press down on the batter until even across the top
8. add more sprinkles
9. once cool (bout 10 min or so), cut in squares, bars, or however you'd like!

who remembers this drink? who still makes this drink lol!? rainbow sherbert and 7 Up (or Sprite, or natural ginger ale). the ugliest, tastiest party drink, ever. it's been a good while since i've had it, whew.

 Kara made the most adorable, pink cupcakes.

 and she also got another idea from Pinterest: mini strawberry shortcakes in a glass. aren't they beautiful(bottom right)!? there are cubes of light angel food cake, sliced strawberries, cool whip, and sprankles in there. SO.GOOD.

per Michelle's request: subway sammiches, shrimp fried rice, egg rolls, chicken meat pies, wings, and chips.

happy shower day, Michelle! eviction notice goes into effect in 4 weeks (or less).  aaaand we can't wait to plan your shower, Kara! HAHAHAHAHA

thanks for reading.

Q: what's your favorite, indulgent party food?!

le

6 Pack USA @ HBU's Be Fit for Life Health Expo!

what a DAY!  we spent over half of our saturday at our very first event, the Be Fit For Life Health Expo hosted by Student Apprentice on the campus of Houston Baptist University.

it was an outstanding turnout- kids from ages 12-17 showed up and soaked in a ton of health and fitness info at each booth.

we taught the kids about effective fitness and nutrition, and about 6 Pack USA's role in helping people achieve their fitness goals.

this man was in his element and doin' what he looooooves to do- TALK :lol:

Sonny and Brian gave demos on how to calculate lean body mass and body fat using a caliper.

and i proved that clean eating DOES taste good with my PB2 oatmeal carob chip cookies for the babies!

Congressman Al Green even stopped by to say a few encouraging words to the kiddos.

it was a pleasure meeting him!

 we also had some help from some great friends of ours- a huge thank you to Miko (r) the Zumba QUEEN for teaching a rockin' class! that girl can seriously MOVE.

these ladies are the BOMB!  Miko, Kara and Annette (r) volunteered their precious saturday to help 6 Pack USA make the biggest impact possible.

one last pic before wrappin' up the first part of the expo here.

Whole Foods was in the building teaching the kids about fresh, wholesome, all natural snacks and meal ideas,

while Annette was giving them a great workout, TKB style!  she is the best of the best!

Miko was workin' it out on the floor with her Zumba skills,

while Brian, Kara, and I ran drills in the gym and stressed the importance of daily physical activity.

done deal!

we are looking forward to growing, networking, and participating in more health and fitness events in our community, city, and beyond.  a final and gigantic THANK YOU to Denesha James and the entire Student Apprentice staff for allowing us to be apart of this amazing event.

after several weeks of planning, meetings, phone calls, and late nights prepping for this event, Sonny was ready to let loose!  Tornado burger style.

someone brought one to his office just last week and he says it smelled so good he wouldn't even LOOK in its direction. so, he wanted it to be his epic post-expo meal. notice i said HE!!! i wanted no parts of this lol.

ok maybe a few fries.

are you kidding me...

i didn't IG this cause i didn't want to discourage my followers LOL.  but i said i would certainly blog it!  i did have a bite- i could NOT resist all that cheese, come on!  i saved my appetite for a little later though.

we take our date nights SERIOUSLY.  this is not a game.  the expo was behind us, and  since we were toddler-less for a few more hours, we sped home and got cleaned up for dinner.  the weather was absolutely outstanding, and a patio was calling our name.

i promise we planned to go somewhere different...

i had the Ruggles Green atlantic salmon salad with the dressing on the side,

and grilled fish tacos on corn tortillas for Sonny.  we could have at least ordered something different, right?

6 fingers up for 6 Pack USA!

le

weekend + peanut butter oatmeal carob chip cookie balls

i mean i just wanted to take a selfie of my new top from my sweet coworker, Monica!  apparently everybody needed to use the bathroom at the same time.doing his daily ritual.

love it!  workout gear is one of my fave ever gifts to receive.   it's Nike, very light weight, has a cool design, and most important, racerback.

we hit the gym and i decided to take a Total Conditioning class instead of my normal weights and cardio routine.  taking classes and teaching them are completely different for me concerning the workout part!  i do 80%+of the workout with my class, and the rest is coaching, motivating, and walking around checking for great form.  before i began teaching, seeing the instructor struggling with me provided some of THE best motivation to keep me going! so i definitely try to provide that for my members. when i'm up there on that podium, it's like i feel NO burn, seriously!  my adrenaline goes crazy the entire time. talk about an endorphin high :shock:

where's waldo?

 when i take a class, i feel the burn waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay sooner, LOL.  i feel every thing!  it's now me vs me and  i go to war with that voice inside my head telling me the burn is too much and to STOP.  but i refuse!

i did the class, then 30 min of fat burning cardio and got up outta there.

but not before a progress selfie lol.  Chiso and i had a day of Christmas and grocery shopping to get to, and i neglected to pack our lunches.  i knew we'd pass by that death trap of a food court at the mall and the smell of fries just might win me over after that workout! so, we had lunch at the gym.

 

and i'm glad we did! ok more like a snack.  i got a smoothie for the first time in MONTHS.  i've enjoyed eating my fruit instead of drinking it..that's my only reason.  anyway i was super surprised to see that Lifetime now has almond milk substitutions!! what!? they are always one step ahead!

i got an almond delight which did not hit all my macros for meal 2, but it held me over juuuuust enough until we got home.  don't worry, i made up for it.

i chose blueberry and banana for my fruits of choice; the best smoothie combo ever, i know!

cold and creamy.

Chiso loves the chocolate flavor of this milk too, lol! (me too)  

'if it's here, it's healthy.'

100% clean menu.

on to the mall!

i spotted this while we were out shopping and did the most obnoxious double take ever.  miracle slimming system.  no diet and exercise required. 10 minute method. 3.99. it's called a WORKOUT for a reason, yall!  it requires an effort.  it's still on the shelf because unfortunately someone will buy this thing.  only real, lasting results come from good nutrition and exercise. that's it. that's the secret.

i spent longer grocery shopping than Christmas shopping lol. i  saw these in the bulk isle at HEB and gave them a taste...score.  they are low in sugar, grain sweetened, carob chips and they taste just like semi sweet chocolate chips!  grain sweetened chocolate covered raisins from Whole Foods have been my guilty pleasure for YEARS.  it was the only place i could find them for a while, but carob has definitely gotten more popular lately!  you'll see these guys again shortly.

TODAY was leg day and i had a grilled turkey and almond cheese sandwich on Ezekiel bread, a small red delicious apple, and some tomato & cucumber salad from Central Market before hitting the gym. 

tryin to shred these puppies!!

had just finished doing my heavy squats here.  i went heavy and did 4 sets of 10 of the following: barbel squats, single leg seated presses, hack squats, alternating dumbbell lunges, deadlifts, leg extensions & curls.

then i followed that up with about 10 min of abs.

nice burn!

 

i've been thinking about the kind of cookie i wanted to leave out for Santa, and i tried my hand at some no-bake peanut butter cookie balls that turned out darn good!

No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Carob Chip Cookie Balls

the stuff:

• 10 tbsp quick oats
• 2 tbsp carob chips (can totally use any kind of chocolate chips)
• 2 tbsp agave nectar (can sub honey)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 4 tbsp chocolate PB2

do this:

MIX! form into 10 balls and pop them into the fridge until you're ready to devour.  give them at least 30 min though.  if they are too sticky for you, add more oats in increments of 1 table-spoon.  they were just right for us though!  recipe makes 10 balls.

serving size = 1 cookie

low sugar, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free (long as your oats are gluten-free) and YUM-MY.

Chiso looooooooooooved them!

him and his faces.

more, more, more!  

ok we ate this entire batch, but we will make plenty more.

Santa will wash them down with a big glass of almond milk!

what kinda cookies will you be leaving out for Santa this year?

le