January 12, 2015

The Egwuatus

January 12, 2015/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

happy sunday funday!

today was a rest day for me so i stayed indoors looking somewhat like this. i bust out laughing every time i look at this pic! give me a pair of fuzzy socks and i'd be set. an IG follower commented on how her 13 month old would still find her way inside to breastfeed. LOL.

i threw a whole bunch of stuff in my egg whites this morning to make #weggs (waffle iron eggs) and made a huge, delicious mess instead. no-stick cooking spray wasn't enough to save me cause i loaded that thing ridiculously full! there's cheddar almond cheese, Applegate organic chicken & apple sausage cilantro, tomatoes, golden bell peppers, liquid aminos, and black pepper in there. low sugar ketchup on the side! i also had some oat bran with kiwi and unsweetened coconut flakes.

so in addition to it being frosty outside today, it was also raining in my hood at that. staying in was definitely alright with me. i somehow snuck away for a bit to finally break out that Enfusia bath bomb i received in my goodie bag from my WFM Post Oak tour!

the first thing that came to mind when i saw this pic i snapped was 'Calgon, take me away!'. aaaaand now i'm showing my age.

it was like a Sesame Street Fizzy Tub Color Tablet on steroids. the lemon grass aroma filled my bathroom and turned the water a subtle lime green color. nothing like a steaming, hot bath on a nippy, winter day.

i got some blogging done (obvi) and i even updated a new page for baby stuff!! i appreciate the Instagram baby food feed back, man! i wanted to get all my old baby food posts and fit preggo info in general together in one place for you guys and i do hope this serves as a huge resource. i'm also working on that baby food e-book as well! aaand i'm redoing the other pages on my site too, so bear with me.

my fave IG caption for this pic:

'mama imma let you finish, but first i gotta take this selfie.' HILARIOUS.

we received so many beautiful Christmas cards in the mail from our friends this season.

gosh, it just seems like we all graduated yesterday! crazy. well, The Egwuatus didn't get it together in time for Christmas pics (again) this year but we are right on time for New Year's, ha. so here we are!

whadaya think?! Christin is a beast and this a sneak peek from last month's photo shoot!!! my dress is from H & M and i found the stilettos at Aldo during black friday madness for like 50% off. they are definitely the highest pair i own and they keep Sonny on his tippy toes lol. the boy's fits are from H & M too, and Chiso's kicks are from Old Navy. they were THE last pair on the shelf and matched our color theme perfectly! Sonny doesn't care for H & M (half the stuff doesn't fit his athletic build anyway) so he headed on over to Express for his threads.

Qs: what's your favorite rest day relaxation technique?

do you send out family holiday cards?

what else would you like to see in the Preggo Powerrr section???

stay warm over there,

January 12, 2015

The Egwuatus

January 12, 2015/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

happy sunday funday!

the first thing that came to mind when i saw this pic i snapped was 'Calgon, take me away!'. aaaaand now i'm showing my age.

my fave IG caption for this pic:

'mama imma let you finish, but first i gotta take this selfie.' HILARIOUS.

we received so many beautiful Christmas cards in the mail from our friends this season.

Qs: what's your favorite rest day relaxation technique?

do you send out family holiday cards?

what else would you like to see in the Preggo Powerrr section???

stay warm over there,

January 08, 2013

ffl's red velvet pancakes

January 08, 2013/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

hi. this'll be quick.

yesterday's awesome breakfast contains 1 serving of fruit,

and 1 serving of veggies!

double whammy :)

ffl's red velvet pancakes

the stuff:

1/3 cup oatmeal
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of sea salt

1 egg white (or 2 if you want them fluffier/thicker/cake-like)
1/2 cup pureed, cooked beets
half a banana (natural sweetness!)
5-7 drops chocolate stevia
1/2 - 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

do this:

throw your oats into your blender and ground them into a fine powder.
toss in the other dry ingredients: baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt.
dump all that into a bowl and set it aside.
add your roasted, previously cooked beets into the blender along with the banana, egg white(s), vanilla, and chocolate stevia.
scoop all that out and add it to your dry mix. incorporate!
finally, add the almond milk to your desired consistency.
cook up in your no-stick cooking spray coated for skillet 3-4 minutes on each side. make sure it's done in the center! take a peek first.

stats for the entire stack:

what's that topping you ask? you DID ask. i heard you. it's 2 tbsp of no fat cream cheese + 1 packet of granulated stevia. any nuts will do, but that walnut, red velvet, cream cheese combo is a serious triple threat!

as always, adjust those nutritional stats accordingly when dealing with toppings. a drizzle of Walden Farms pancake syrup made these cakes and my breakfast complete. eat'em up, then go lift heavy things at the gym today.

GOOD MORNING TO YOU!

November 07, 2012

journey to clean(er) eating

November 07, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

how it starts....

how it ends.

i got the baby basket on purpose but i stuffed it full like i knew i would. going in and coming out with one thing is a complete joke. there is always something else we need!! or want.

the journey to clean(er) eating starts in the grocery store. remember these tips when you go shopping:

MORE fresh fruits and vegetables

LESS processed foods (low to no)

lean proteins - chicken breasts, ground turkey, seafood, beef,

healthy fats - avocados, mixed nuts, olive/coconut oil, natural peanut butter

whole grains/fibrous carbs - oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa, beans, whole wheat pasta, high fiber cereal

on Sunday's trip, i got everything on my list plus a few more items:

oh and Ezekiel sprouted grain sesame bread. left it off the list, oops. aaaand i did get a few indulgent items for Sonny for winning his show this past weekend... i know you see them :shock: oreos, gummy bears, and cookies n cream ice cream.

i have always wondered why pumpking pie spice is so freakin high!!! this 1.12 oz jar is like 4.99. for no reason. this is what i've always bought. i was on my way to get some magic pop when i passed a table of seasonings and saw a big bucket of this:

what! now 4.99 a POUND is more like it!! i grabbed a couple bags. man i love finding great deals.

yesterday, i applied that same 'squeeze the muscle with every rep' technique to my upper body workout and man did it give me a good muscle pump. try it!!

one of my fave exercises (i'm sure my class members HATE them by now lololol) are W presses with dumbbells. make a W with your arms (similar to my pose above) holding a heavy dumbbell in each hand. move both arms up / out simultaneously without going higher than your head with the weights. then, retract them back in towards your head. keep your elbows in front of your body. makes for great shoulder/collar bone/back definition! the racerback style is my absolute fave to wear, regarding my tops, and this exercises targets that area nicely.

dinner that night was a baked sweet potato stuffed with seasoned chicken breast chunks, green onion, and topped with fromage blanc. french cheese! i also had a side of steamed zucchini.

yum.

i found the fromage blanc at Whole Foods while looking for the quark that they didn't have. the cheese lady told me that fromage blanc was the closest thing to it. i picked it up and read the stats,

and they were even better than the quark! heck that's better than sour cream and greek yogurt! greek yogurt does have a ton of protein, but it also has sugar too. anyway, awesome find. HEB has it also.

today...cardio, legs, and stretching.

i could not WAIT to get home to dinner to make me a sandwich. that was all i could think about.

i made a big pan of baked chicken breasts this morning, so all i had to do was cut it up and put my sammich together. i seasoned each breast with something different (bbq, lemon pepper, garlic and herb, smokehouse maple, and montreal steak seasoning) and some dried parsley. 350 degrees for 1 hr.

finally! seasoned chicken breast, avocado, tomato, almond cheese and Trader Joe's pumpkin butter all on toasted Ezekiel sprouted grain sesame bread. i also had half a sliced apple and some Justin's maple almond butter for dipping.

lastly, i munched on some of that vegetable medley bagged salad with some roma tomatoes on top.

sooooo, turkey day is in like 2 weeks!!!

are you hosting, going to someone else's house, or going out to eat for TG?

October 30, 2012

weekend eats

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

so i used to REALLY let loose and eat whatever and however much i wanted on the weekends. but i always despised how i felt on mondays... especially during my workout. i felt greasy.. heavy.. and kinda sick to my stomach. i don't like that feeling. and it's not like i didn't work out on the weekends either! clearly it was what and how much junk i was putting into my body that made me feel that way.

saturday morning started off like it normally does- at the gym. shoulders, cardio, abs and stretching. i've been making it a point to stretch after my workouts and now i feel incomplete if i don't do it! that's how it should be. i'm the same way with water. when i force myself to down a bottle with every meal, i start craving it over time. that's also when i start collecting empty bottles from EVERYWHERE!!! every cup holder in the cars, piled up on my end table, and all over the house.

i got in and out super early cause i had a baby shower to attend for a friend of mine.

Lululemon is a beast with the slimming effect, seriously!!!! she'll also slim the heck outta your wallet though, my goodness.

first things first, lol! kidding. really though, this cake gave my cake lady a SPRINT for her money. it was from Ooh La La Sweets. do you see how ginormous that cake is? that's only half a sheet :shock:

we were all watching Emily open her gifts (Chiso tried to help) and even after all that cuteness, the thought of having a girl still scares me!! i know she'll come at the most perfect time..... but i could totally do a few more boys.

nevertheless, we cannot wait to meet baby Audrey:) a HUGE congrats to Mike and Emily on their precious blessing and addition to their family. our little boys are close in age and i remember us both taking fitness classes and bouncing around the workout room, big bellies and all!

the lovely hostess on the left is my girl, Anna. she's an instructor too, can't you tell!? she's also a huge part of my inspiration for becoming an instructor in the first place. i'm so grateful for her friendship.

'we don't even have to try, it's always a good time!!' :)

ok back to this cake though!! the icing was subtly sweet. i LOVE that. it's like they got the recipe just right. it's not the heavy, super-sugary icing, and not the fluffy non-dairy whipped topping either. it's... perfect. the right consistency, texture, everything.

white french vanilla cake iced with vanilla buttercreme and filled with chocolate mousse w/ chocolate chips. YES. what a combo. definitely something i'd put together myself. and pink sprinkles!

next, we went to meet my bro for lunch and also to attend a kiddie Halloween event in the same area.

Matt chose Ruggles Green and we scored some awesome seats facing the courtyard where all the action was.

kids in costumes everywhere!

the view + the awesome fall weather + family = my heart overflowing with joy.

#thelittlethings

Matt ordered his usual- bison (or turkey) burger with sweet potato fries.

is this rude?

i ordered a side of their famous organic butternut squash and split it with Chiso. i was still full from the shower.

i get this whether Chiso is present or not though! i Googled the recipe immediately while we were sitting there.

duplication recipe WILL be happening.

i'm glad he enjoyed it so much- he's been turning away vegetables left and right. i'm sure that graham cracker crust had something to do with it.

oh and we had more cake. Anna cut us a huuuuuuge chunk lol! my mind screamed 'nooooooo', but my taste buds said 'heck yes', 'why not?', and 'burn it off tomorrow'.

the event was over and they were cleaning up by the time we finished. we let Chiso run around and expend some energy for a little bit though.

when we got home, it was time for me to eat again, so i cut up a sweet potato and made some chips in the oven.

i also put a chunk of baked salmon, fresh steamed spinach, a fried egg, some reduced sugar ketchup, and spicy mustard on an Ezekiel sprouted grain wrap.

early service on sunday was fantastic. it never fails- i always want to go OUT to breakfast after church! apparently Sonny felt the same way cause he starting driving the opposite direction of home without saying a word.

we ended up at The Egg & I. that was Chiso's cheat meal!

at first i ordered their 'Granny Smith Chicken Salad' and silly me neglected to ask how it was prepared. it was chicken salad on top of actual salad. you know, that mayo-laden, creamy stuff that is usually full of fat. i despise having to return my food or ask my waiter/waitress for anything extra (i've always been that way) but this time...i couldn't do it. i had it replaced with their citrus chicken salad and double checked that the meat was grilled. it was topped with raw red pepper, red onions, candied walnuts, and cilantro.

i also ordered some pecan coffee, but these were my only sweetener options, booooooo. artificial everything...not good.

so i reached in my purse and pulled out one of my 'stevia in the raw' packets. always be prepared. ladies, stash a few in each of your bags so if you happen to switch it up real quick before heading out, you'll be covered.

'the best paaaart of wakin' up, is stevia in your cup.'

Sonny had a 6 ounce steak and a few cups of steamed spinach. he's competing soon, so he's staying on track with his clean diet.

however, he did help me ensure Chiso's waffles were OK for consumption :lol:

afterwards? grocery shopping!!! i KNOW! i can't believe Sonny went WITH ME again either! twice in one month! or maybe it's cause i told him fresh salmon was on sale and that's all he's eating for his last week of competition prep. hmmmmm