my #StartFreshii Juice. Cleanse. Energize. experience!

the results from my 1 day #StartFreshii juice cleanse are in: i survived, woo hoo!  in all honesty, it wasn't that bad.  i'm definitely saying that cause it was only 1 day though, haaaa. when those hunger pangs kicked in i was totally transported back in time to my 1st bikini competition prep. good times, lol! mix that in with a couple "come on, Leah..just a few more hours. you can do this. focus." moments and that was my day in a nutshell.  i explained on Periscope (are you following me yet? have you checked out the app? leave your ID below so i can look you up!) that i'm breastfeeding and can't afford to go longer than one day to keep from putting a big dent in my milk production (gotta keep those calories up!).  plus, i'm a group fitness instructor and although light exercise (yoga, walking, stretching)  is ok when detoxing, strenuous activity is not recommended.  bummer.  anyway, i've gotten the 'do you juice? do you detox?' questions over the years and can finally say, 'Yes! i've done one!' however, i have always turned them down in the past because:

• fearful of feeling way too hungry (and crappy) to deal
• i prefer eating calories over drinking them
• cannot be sustained long-term
• prohibited strenuous exercise (booooo.)
• generally low in protein

what i do believe they are great for:

• complete system reset
• rid body of toxins and excess waste
• improved complexion, hair & skin (clean eating cleared my skin up completely by the way...no more Proactive!)
• promotes/jump starts healthy lifestyle changes
• increased mental clarity, energy, stamina
• a healthier, nourished colon

when the #StartFreshii Challenge was presented to me, i finally decided to take the plunge! i love Freshii cause they offer a variety of healthy, nutritious, fast-food items for people on the go. i just wish they had a drive through! the decor is fun, bright, and contemporary, and kid friendly items make this the perfect healthy family eatery.

again i did the 1 day, but if you decide to give this a whirl yourself, you've got 3 or 5 day options too.  pick the one that best suits your lifestyle and schedule for best results.

i ordered some oatmeal for the boy's breakfast.

adorable presentation! and i am thrilled they both love oats so much.

  my eyes!! i was LOVING all that beautiful, healthy color! the smoothies were labeled and to be consumed in a certain order every 2.5-3 hrs;  the detoxifying Metaboost salad was to be eaten at the end of my day.

1. Green Energy - apple, cucumber, kale, lemon, carrot, romaine, spinach (my fave!)
2. Carrot Zinger - carrot, apple, ginger
3. Mighty Detox - pineapple, cucumber, celery, apple, ginger
4. Red Power - beet, carrot, lemon, ginger (2nd fave!)
5. Metaboost Salad - field greens, spinach, kale, carrots, mango, edamame, almonds, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette

staying busy between meals was going to be key in getting me through this! we explored the city a little before running errands.

one of the calming fountains at a small, contemporary park just down the street.

the sun was out but thankfully there was still a nice breeze at 10am! so Chiso got to run around and play a bit as i finished up juice #1.  i sipped all of them suuuuuuuper slow.

Q: what is THE very first thing that pops into your mind when you read that question? comment below.

A: before i die...i want to live out and fulfill His purpose for my life. that's #1. i will remember and cherish these days forever!!! so grateful to be able to do what i love with the people i love.

after that, errand time.  running around in the Texas heat and jumping in and out of the car with kids is a workout in itself. whew.

i said all that to say that at 2pm, i cracked.

lol! keeping it real! i'm used to eating over 2k cals a day so i was really going through it at that point.

i just hope there was nobody sitting in their car watching me tear this salad UP. wasn't it pretty though?

 after that, i felt like i could actually finish this thing strong.

3rd juice done with one left to go as we finally headed home.  you're supposed to drink 8-10 glasses of water in between 'meals' when doing a cleanse as well. i did my best.

by 6pm? DONE. finished a lil early, haha.  the Freshii cleanse pamphlet did suggest that if hunger overtakes you, increase your water intake, drink a herbal tea, or reach for raw or lightly cooked fruits and vegetables.  that said, i had grape tomatoes and half a cucumber before finally getting in bed around 10pm.  the next morning i felt lighter, and my mid section's skin was noticeably tighter.  that's what cutting out refined sugars does for me though, immediately. my tummy and waist are the first to respond when i tweak my nutrition.

takeaways:

• this was a mental battle more than anything! once i woke up the next morning with no pressure to stick to the cleanse, i wanted to keep going. go figure.
• not having to chew overall made it feel like i had not eaten a thing = hoogry
• great for resetting/restarting your system.  i am now motivated to keep my refined sugar intake low and my raw fruit/veggies intake high. this is when i feel and look my best.
• not great as a lifestyle (possibly once a week at best) or for fat loss.  the diet is already low in protein and calories and the body goes into starvation mode after a while which conflicts with the fat burning process.
• unless you have your own juicer at home and get a great, cheap deal on produce, juicing can get rather expensive.
• we CAN do anything we put our minds to

fyi! many times the media choses to focus on the short-terms results produced by these cleanses.  know that your results won't last if you don't make it a point to move more and maintain and healthy, low-no processed diet.

i highly recommend you accept the #StartFreshii juice cleanse challenge! all 4 juices are delish and refreshing but my fave was definitly #1. tell me about your cleanse/detox experience below.

le

easy, fresh, healthy, steamed fish foil packets

watch dis!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjN26SabfcY]

Steamed Fish Foil Packets

the stuff:

• 2 lb fillet of trout (of fish of choice: salmon, halibut, etc,)
• 2 stalks green onion, chopped
• 1 large red (or any color) bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 large zucchini, sliced thinly into rounds
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped/minced (or any fresh herb: dill, basil, thyme, etc.)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• cracked black pepper & sea salt to taste
• 1 heaping tbsp of any seasoning blend of your choice
• 1 lemon, sliced

do this:

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. in a small bowl, mix all dry seasonings together
3. section fillet into desired portions using a sharp knife or kitchen shears
4. tear off sheets of foil (15'' x 15'') and lay them out across a large workspace
5. coat one half of the sheet with no-stick cooking spray, and place each fillet portion on that same end, leaving space between the fillet and the edge
6. place veggies & herbs around your fillet (lemon slice on top); sprinkle veggies and fillet generously with seasoning
7. fold over the uncoated side of foil covering the fillet and veggies. crimp the edges to form a packet
8. i placed the packets directly on my oven grate, but you can also place them flat on a very large baking pan.
9. bake 8-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fillet portions).  a general rule is 10 min per inch of thickness
10. take out, let cool, unseal pouch, open. *cue ooohs and aaaaahs*

best things about this recipe:

• clean up is BREEZE, right!? #disposableplate

• customizable to the MAX (fish choice, veggies, seasonings, etc) 

• easy, healthy, portioned controlled and awesome for my meal preppers!

---

cause she boxed her slice up while they were talking. mama ain't no dummy :)

i hope you guys enjoyed your Mother's Day, however you spent it! remembering past, present, and future moms. this job ain't easy, but what an honor it is to be a mommy.

my fam treated my grandmother to a birthday/mother's day lunch the saturday before Mother's Day at Mia's Table.  it was my first time there and i loved the homeyness of the place!  do you even have to ask what i ordered....

grilled sammmmman! and avocado salad. yes. right up my alley.

<3

whoops. Sorry Aunt Annette!

and free soft serve? we'll be back.

so sunday i didn't get to sleep in LOL, but what better way to wake up, right!? this is all i wanted. EVERYTHING else was just an added bonus. this is why we can't co-sleep anymore right here though. we'd all wake up bruised and battered, my goodness. and YES, that hurt!

grateful for time with The 3 Bears.  it's the only thing we can't get back, so spend it wisely.       

Sonny picked another great restaurant for us to dine at after church, Latin Bites!  we pretty much shared everything you see up there. fresh & tasty.  we then went to hang out with our moms for the remainder of the day.

how'd you spend Mother's Day?

moms, what's the best gift you received?

what's the best Mother's Day gift you've given?

le

because i do. Chevron Houston Marathon EXPO

we moved right on along to carrots today in the homemade baby food chronicles!

i switch new foods every 4 days or so to give any allergic reactions time to reveal themselves. we'll see what happens. i just eyeballed and simmered raw carrots + cinnamon + water until tender then puree in the Ninja. carrots are naturally sweet like sweet potatoes so they don't need any extra sugar! they also:

• slow down aging
• reduce blood pressure
• reduce risk of stroke
• helps prevent cancer
• facilitates digestion
• boosts immune system
• improve eyesight

my eyesight has been terrible for as long as i can remember.  i've worn glasses since elementary school and only need them to see far distances and to drive.  i pray the boys get Sonny's eyesight cause i am pretty much legally blind!  i hope they get his teeth too cause i went through braces, a head-gear, a retainer...the whole 9.  i'd love to get Invisialign as they are shifting again from not wearing my retainer years ago. i was so happy to be DONE with all that stuff i didn't care. but now i do. that's how it goes!

so far so good!

i've been doing solo dates once a week with Chiso for a while now and today i took him downtown to the GRB for the Chevron Houston Marathon EXPO!  i registered for the 5k while i was there and ran right into my Sorority sister and fitness expert, Crystal!  she was there to do the same thing.

only she was using the 5k for her warmup for the marathon on sunday! superwoman status!  I will be running along side her in a marathon one day, mark my words!  i have yet to do my very first full marathon, but my goal is to do a half mar sometime this year.

i can't wait until this guy can keep up and run alongside me.  i plan to put him in his first 1k this year and i am SO excited to watch him run across his first finish line.

we walked around and visited the booths for a little while,  ate Cliff Bar samples, and eventually made our way to the 'I RUN HOU BECAUSE....' wall.  i gave Chiso the marker and he started drawing shapes :D.  then i asked him, 'why do you like to run, Chiso?' and he simply looked at me and replied 'because i do.'

i didn't even ask him to explain! this time.

pose for the frame! neat idea!

then we went to Whole Foods for lunch.  we discussed his new friends in the child care center at our gym and also sports he would like to try this year.  3 is still tougher than 2 in my opinion but it has its highlights like all ages i'm sure!  i'm loving our discussions these days.  pepperoni pizza for Chi,

spring mix salad with pomegranate vinaigrette,

and a few scoops of the hot bar items for me which included: chicken fajitas w/ peppers & onions, hoke (white fish), cilantro-lime rice, and a scoop of spinach/mushroom enchiladas- they looked too good not to try!  the enchilada pan was pretty much empty and i saw why. YUM.

i got my race stuff ready as soon as i got home!  the ABB 5k shirts matched my shoes this year, how cool is that?  bib #55808 is ready to RUN! that said,

and blogging of course!  have a relaxing friday night, friends!

Q: what special things do you do for one-on-one time with your kiddos?

le

chocolate, chips, and crackers, oh my

this morning i got the chance to walk it OUT again at the gym! you've seen the quote 'you're one workout away from a good mood,' but baybaaaay, i was already in one and the early workout made my day that much better.

i did about an hours worth of treadmill incline intervals.  i switched back and forth between these two settings:

4 mph @ incline level 4

2.5 mph @ incline level 15

sweaty, saturday FUN.

back at home, i had a gangload of zucchini (about 6 medium) i needed to spiralize so that's exactly what i did before they went bad.  i sauteed the zoodles in a large wok for about 5 minutes in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat, then added them to a large bowl with about 3 large spoons of homemade guacamole from yesterday.  i didn't really have a sauce prepared and was being lazy. it worked though!  i paired them with tilapia and a few fresh tomatoes for lunch.  Sonny really enjoyed this! seriously.  these postpartum cravings...  i try to fight them as best i can and it is pure torture some days. i am a bottomless pit and i'm not even working out like i used to yet, jeez.  i either want chocolate, salty, crunchy chips, or crackers, so I turned to my old friend, popcorn.

3 cups of air popped popcorn is only 25 cals, 1g of fat, 22g carbs, 6g fiber, and 3g protein. soooo I made a big vat of homemade Salted Dark Chocolate Popcorn! I melted 2 tbsp of dark chocolate and drizzled it over the popcorn (that I cook on the stovetop with a lil coconut oil) and added a pinch of sea salt and a few mini chocolate chips. i suggest putting the entire bowl into the fridge so the drizzle can harden first, but i didn't wanna wait nor did i mind the mess.

 so, friday night ended differently that i expected! hubs came home and suggested sushi and i did not dispute him.  i order the same thing at our fave spot every time with the following adjustments:

• salmon teriyaki bento box with the teriyaki sauce on the side
• steamed veggies instead of vegetable tempura
• 2 salads instead of the soup & salad my meals comes with as the sodium from the miso soup bloats me
• i customized my roll and asked for brown rice with fresh shrimp and avocado.

according to Sonny my roll always tastes too healthy.  whatevs.

dinner... and a show.

 Q: what special healthier requests do you make when ordering food at a restaurant?

le

33 weeks + Double Chocolate Skinny-Fat Brownies

 in the beginning of the 2nd tri i remember sometimes forgetting i was even preggo.  didn't feel anything on the inside most days and definitely wasn't showing on the outside yet.  yeah, those days are OVER.  i actually feel great and my energy didn't deplete like i expected at 33 weeks now, but as my little nugget grows, obviously the discomfort does too.

#magicbump now ya see it, now ya don't!

you know that hasn't stopped me from moving though!  outside of teaching my Lifetime classes, i look forward to Zumba and Kickboxing for my cardio because they are just so FUN to take.   some days all i want to do is move, nothing serious.  i've been constantly reaching for healthy fat to nourish the baby and i and i'm slightly addicted to Dark Chocolate Dreams by Peanut Butter & Co on my early morning pre-workout snacks as you can see!

other healthy fat sources:

• avocado! homemade guacamole (2 avocados, 1 roma tomato, sea salt, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 tbsp minced cilantro - BLEND)
• raw or roasted, unsalted almonds, pistachios, and cashews
• olive & coconut oil
• lite & full-fat coconut milk
• natural peanut butter, nut butters in general
• flaxseed
• mackerel & salmon

today was my last ultrasound scan until we meet baby Odego.  my OB just wants to make sure he is measuring correctly and will compare his progress to the last scan.

Sonny always asks me why i cuff my bump. i don't know!!!! it's just something we do. my hand just goes there automatically. especially in pictures.

here are some recent eats! if you follow me on Instagram though you've prolly already seen all of these ;)

lean protein, plenty of fresh & raw veggies, fruit, healthy fat, and whole grains, even when dining out.

 remember, your postpartum 'transformation' starts the MOMENT you get preggo, not after you deliver your baby! smart food choices and physical activity from start to finish is what makes the difference in your recovery time.

for my Sunday Dinners cooking class last evening, we made Fit N' Crispy Chicken Parm and Thai Coconut Curry Chicken (recipe coming up next post!) - two flavorful, fun, things you can do with those plain ol' chicken boobs.

i sent my students home happy and packed up all the leftovers for them to kill later.  which left me with, well, nothin'!! it's all about you guys though.  sooo, i made a big pan of parm for mysel....err, my family today and my Italian fix has once again been satisfied.

they also went home with a sample of these guys: Double Chocolate Skinny-Fat Brownies! why? cause i used skinny / healthy ingredients (no processed sugar, whole wheat flour, no butter) but it still tastes like a brownie should.  i had my fingers crossed that they would be a hit and they were!  which means i'll be whipping some up for a 'Skinny' themed private 30th birthday event next month.  YES, i do those too!  email me for all the details at le@fitfoodiele.com.

ok, ok.

Double Chocolate Skinny-Fat Brownies

the stuff:(source)

• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder + 2 tsbp
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chunks, chips, or mini morsels
• 1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour (i used King Arthur)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large egg, beaten and at room temp
• 1/4 - 1/2  cup pecan pieces (optional;  can add to batter or save for topping)

do this:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat an 8 in square pan with no-stick cooking spray.
2. mix the maple syrup and cocoa powder together really good (you'll be stirring for a minute, just keep going).
3. combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. in another bowl, add the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla.  work in the maple syrup / cocoa mixture.
5. add the wet mixture into the flour and stir until well combined.
6. pour into your pan and let bake for about 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

TIPS:

*remember, there are chocolate chunks in the batter so don't mistake the melted chocolate on the toothpick for uncooked batter like i did.

*let the pan cool a little then place it in the fridge for about 20 minutes before serving. i just popped a piece in the microwave for 10-15 secs before eating.

*when cutting, run hot water on your knife for a few secs first to make clean cut squares each time.

makes 16! for 1:

nighty nite!

le