20 songs that get me through cardio + Transformation Tues #quickie

and another one! would you LOOK at this girl!?  

4 weeks postpartum and new mommy Kara is looking fantabulous! i am so proud of my sister!  she remained active for the bulk of her pregnancy and is now reaping those fit pregnancy benefits.  i got to watch my niece, baby Natalie, for the first time last week while Kara tended to some court business with her clients.  Baby Natalie is THE sweetest lil' thing!  look at that face! what a pleasure and an honor to be able to return the favor and watch baby Natalie for my sis & bro-in-law.  if you are a preggo or postpartum mom that needs help getting back on track, email me: le@fitfoodiele.com.

my fave music apps are Spotify and recently the Pandora app.  i get my cardio in a couple of times a week and yall know i don't mind it at all!  ONLY if i have my Beats headphones. silent cardio is the worst, right?!  anyway, here are 20 songs i'm feeling that help speed up my fat burning sesh. no judgement! oh and radio version preferably.

1. Yoga - Janelle Monae, Jidenna
2. Love Me Harder - Ariana Grande
3. Bring It Back - Travis Porter
4. You Know You Like It - DJ Snake
5. Hit The Quan - iLoveMemphis
6. Finna Get Loose - Diddy, Pharrell Williams
7. Badd - Ying Yang Twins
8. Wipe Me Down - Boosie Badazz, Webbie
9. Chandelier - Sia
10. She Knows - Ne-Yo
11. Pop That - French Montana
12. Swimming Pools - Kendrick Lamar
13. Flashing Lights - Kanye West
14. Take It Off - UGK
15. Where Ya At - Future, Drake
16. Did A Whole Lot - Sosamann, Sauce Walka
17. Who Do You Love - YG, Drake
18. She Knows - Ne-Yo, Juicy J
19. We Dem Boys - Wiz Khalifa
20. Animals - Maroon 5

check out this morning's motivational Periscope and have a blessed tuesday, friends!

Q: add to my list!  what song(s) gets you through your workouts?

le

hiit & core + zoodle cajun lobster pasta

if ya haven't seen my HIIT & core vid from tuesday on my YouTube channel then check eeeeet:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL5lIVKrm0o&w=560&h=315]

clearly i'm going to start using the Sony cam Sonny bought me on my birthday last year- those black bars are not hot and i recently found out i can't do a thing about them since i recorded the vid vertically with my cell. oh wells. we used my Sony cam last night to film us making banana ice cream so i'll be uploading that vlog soon, bar-free. OK, on to this BANGIN' Cajun Lobster Pasta recipe i posted to IG recently! if you're staying indoors on V-Day next saturday, WOW your significant other with this incredibly tasty, healthy, savory dish.

so this was my first time EVER cooking lobster at home. using some kitchen shears, i 'parted the red sea' by cutting a center line straight down through the top of the shell, exposing the meat. then i just pried it on outta there without cutting myself. yay.

Cajun Lobster 'Pasta'

the stuff: (source)

• 1 lb lobster (you can use claw meat too), roughly chopped into bite size pieces
• 3 strips Applegate turkey bacon, chopped
• 1 red, golden, or orange bell pepper, chopped ( or a combo of all three)
• 1 cup portabella mushrooms, chopped
• 4 stalks green onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken, or seafood broth
• 3/4 cup coconut cream (canned from Sprouts Farmers Market)
• 2 tbsp Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
• 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 tsp Cajun Spice Mix
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste
• fresh parsley, for garnish
• 3 large, raw, zucchini, spiralized

do this:

1. spiralize those zucchini's! i have a Spirooli (pictured below)

2. cook up bacon in skillet over medium heat until done; remove from pan

3. add butter, garlic, bell peppers, mushrooms to pan; saute for 2-3 min

4. add half your green onion mixture and cook 1 more minute

5. chop bacon and throw it into your pan along with your broth

6. add all your spices now: cajun, old bay, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, oregano, and S & P

7. turn up the heat; once almost simmering, reduce heat and add lobster meat. cook 3-5 more minutes

8. finally, add the coconut cream and fresh zoodles, and remaining green onion

9. toss, turn, and coat the entire pot of goodies until the zoodles cook down a bit to your desired texture (maybe 2-3 minutes). sprinkle with fresh parsley.

*tip* you might need to run a knife through the zoodles once or twice to shorten them because they can get so long, you know? this will make it easier to plate the dish.

isnt' it sexy!? make this! and do that workout up there too:)

add me on IG, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Q: have you ever made lobster at home yourself? WHAT did you make?

le

products that change the game

goooood morning!

i'm feeling pretty darn good today- had an energizing, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast:

 i can eat peanut butter by the spoon and jar-full. sucks that it's almost 100 cals per tablespoon and 8 grams of fat (2 saturated) though.  i've tried adding it to my oats before, but 1 tbsp doesn't provide a strong enough pb flavor, and anything over 2 makes the nutritional stats of my oatmeal skyrocket. you can't just get all willy nilly with your pb serving sizes- it adds up so fast.  even nutella- it's DELICIOUS (although way too high in sugar) but i honestly can't stay under the recommended serving size sometimes.  let's be real.  which brings me to a product that has very well changed my LIFE, overnight. thanks, Alli!!!

 PB2.  i can't tell you how many times i walked past this stuff in the store thinking 'uh, i bet that fake, powder pb crap tastes horrid.' well my friends, let's just say i was in my kitchen toasting bread at 11pm just so i could slather this stuff on there.  it comes in two flavors- original peanut butter and chocolate.  it's in powder form, so there's a little mixing required. no big deal.

2 tbsps of PB2 +

 1 tbsp of water and..

 BAM.  sweet, creamy, peanuty, chocolaty, the real deal.  i was immediately reminded of a pb smoothie my college roomy introduced me to @ Jamba Juice- Peanut Butter Moo'd.  i went to their site to check the nutritional stats on that thing and i was completely blown away.  it's a DIET DISASTER.  for the original size, it's 770 cals, 20 grams of fat, and 126 carbs.  however, can you believe we both used to get the Power size (one level above that)?! and NO we didn't buy one and share either. my goodness- i don't event want to know what those stats look like.  ironically, the power size isn't even available anymore- maybe JJ saw just how ridiculous a 1000 calorie smoothie is. *shrugs*. man, we must've had crazy high metabolism back then. nevertheless, peanut butter everything (cookies, smoothies, etc,) seem to always be calorie/fat loaded...but now, just LOOK at these stats:

2 TBSPS	PB2	Peanut Butter	Nutella
Cals	45	200	200
Fat	1g	16g	11g
Sat. fat	0g	3g	3.5g
Carbs	6g	6g	22g
Sodium	70mg	110mg	15mg
Protein	4g	8g	3g
Fiber	1g	3g	1g
Sugars	3g	3g	21g

all natural.  i can recognize and pronounce every single ingredient.

*faints*

i'm ok. next up, green tea. i am SO on the green tea kick.  i was going hard with coffee before i got preggo.  my OB told me to cool it, so my 'addiction' eventually wore off after going so long without it.   besides, i was only adding coffee to my cream and sugar- it has to be super sweet.  sure i used low cal sweetners like torani's sugar-free vanilla syrup (great stuff) but ultimately, coffee does nothing for me but stain my teeth.  i occasionally have a treat from starbucks- a tall skinny vanilla latte when it's cold out, and any of the light frappucino drinks in the summer.  but now, green tea is def my daily drink of choice these days.  i tried a different brand at WF- the 'with white tea for a smoother taste' sold me because green tea can leave quite a bitter aftertaste.

why you should drink green tea every day too:

• aides in burning fat!!!! EGCG speeds up the rate at which fat is burned in your body which produces a faster metabolism.  music to my ears.
• calorie free. long as you stick with those zero calorie sweeteners:)
• provides stable energy. no spiking of your insulin levels which means no crashing and/or burning.  also wards off fatigue, irritability, and fatty food cravings. helps keep your appetite in check!
• aides in lowering the risk of several types of cancers, including heart attack, and stroke.
• antioxidant loaded = cell regeneration = 200 times more powerful than vitamin E when it comes to destroying those skin damaging, wrinkle causing free radicals.
• the tannins in green tea help with digestion after a meal.  however they also give it that bitter aftertaste.  that's nothing a little squeeze of lemon or lime can't fix though!

*just a tip:  green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, but consider switching to decaf if drinking before bed so you can get to sleep.  for real. staring at Sonny getting some good sleep gets old real fast.

le