NASOYA (Vegan Goodies!!!) GIVEAWAY + Farfalle w/ Pesto, Kale & Garlic 'Parmesan' Crusted Tofu

 so.... after having a bad experience with tofu a few years back, i haven't touched the stuff (other than in desserts, pumpkin pie specifically) since then.  yikes!  this dish...... has rekindled my tofu flame.  i KNOW it will either ignite yours or make it burn even brighter! trust fit foodie le on this one, friends. you'll need your food processor for sure; here's the affordable, user-friendly one i rock with. homemade pesto always tastes amazing cause it's so fresh!   clearly i've been missing out.   i used Barilla High Protein Farfalle and i chose Nasoya's Organic Extra Firm Tofu Plus which has been fortified with vitamins B2, B6, B12, D, and Calcium.  it's spectacular for peeps on a no/low meat diet.

a few more key FAQs:

• non-GMO project verified

• USDA organic

• good source of protein

• cholesterol free food

• low in saturated fat

• gluten-free

• no preservatives

that moment... before i combined the powers that be.  i snapped a little bit of the cooking process of this dish; did you catch it!? add me (fitfoodiele)  and let me know what your snap chat is so i can follow your story too!  i have truly enjoyed commenting and connecting on there. holy cannoli.  i mean, i was blown away and impressed after one forkful.  i don't care what anybody says- vegans eat DARN GOOD.  you can find the recipe for this vegan masterpiece right here on Nasoya's website!  i have been encouraged to add more tofu to our weekly menu and give more vegan recipes a chance whirl.  eating healthy does NOT meal sacrificing flavor; this recipe proves that to be true!  TofuPlus not only reduces fat and cholesterol levels (when substituted with meat of course) but it will make both your body and your taste buds happy indeed.look at this guy!  i could not keep him away from this stuff during shooting.  he was eating the tofu chunks too! now.. where is my nail clipper? sheesh i know why you're here. lol! time to find two winners! YOU both can have any of the Nasoya items up there on that coupon for FREE-NINTEY NINE should you win!  then you can go make any of the healthy dishes i've featured previously using Nasoya's products like: how do you enter?

follow me, follow nasoya, and tag two vegan recipe loving friends on IG in the comments of the post to be entered.

das it!  minimal hoops to jump through, right? that's how i do eeeeet. i'll pick a random winner 1st thing monday morning, march 14th.

good luck! 

K E E P   U P   W I T H   U S !

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mini Trader Joes haul + healthy travel snack tips

TJ's is such a fun specialty store!  they walk to the beat of their own drum.  i stopped by there yesterday and picked up a few healthy travel snacks ( hellooooo wedding anni #8!) and also some things that looked too interestingly tasty to pass up:

boo-yaaaaah! i exercised a little restraint and didn't get any chocolate. yet.

1. Trader Joe's Roasted Plantain Chips - one of my guilty pleasures!
2. Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa - salsa + eggs = :)
3. Creamy Sun Butter - hey there, portion control!  both my boys eat this stuff right off a spoon. it's basically roasted sunflower seeds. so yummy.  it's nut-free if you or any of your loved ones have nut allergies.
4. Trader Joe's Freeze Dried Raspberries - so i picked up every single pack of freeze-dried fruit they had and the raspberries had the lowest amount of sugar per serving @ 12 grams.  the serving size is one whole bag  though and how about that fiber count-- 11 grams per serving!

1. Trader Joe's Wild King Salmon Jerky - high protein, non-refrigerated snack.  turkey jerky is great too.
2. Organic Sriracha Ranch Dressing - i knew my hubby would FLIP once he saw this!  two of his fave things combined in one.
3. Coconut Oil Spray & Olive Oil Spray -  i don't normally use oil to cook, so these are perfect.

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 healthy eating travel tips:

• a lil' planning goes a long way.
• never let yourself get too hungry between meals! keeping snacks on you saves money and keeps your hunger attitude at bay.
• they never give you enough snacks on the plane anyway!
• are you even hungry.... or just thirsty?  guzzle your water every chance you get.
• protein rich, non-refrigerated, and/or nutrient rich snacks that won't leak or get smashed in your bags are best. examples:
  • low sodium turkey, salmon, beef jerky
  • roasted, unsalted raw mixed nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts)
  • single serving nut butter packets
  • Modern Oats for a healthy breakfast
  • fresh or freeze-dried fruit (apples, bananas, raisins, avocados, halos),
  • raw veggies (carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli)
  • rice cakes
  • Quest Bars
  • Stevia packets
  • Magic Pop
  • whole grain, air popped popcorn
• take a cooler bag (or actual cooler) for refrigerated snacks like:
  • babybel / string cheese
  • unsweetened applesauce
  • pre-cut fruit
  • hummus/pretzel combo single serving
  • greek yogurt

found some new mustard i'm lovin' on!  they are from HEB and were 2 for 3 bucks.  the whole grain one is DELISH on top of fish.

so i made some for dinner!  fresh steel head trout was on sale as well and came home with us.  i used South African Smoke seasoning & coconut aminos from Trader Joe's on it, and i bake it the same way i bake salmon-- high heat (450 degrees) @ 5-7 min per lb.

someone missed their first official day of school!  my hubby is very proud of the fact that he had perfect attendance from preschool through high school. crazy!! anyway, apparently there's a stomach virus going around that got the best of him. we sure do miss the Sprout channel's Summer Family Movie Night, but we watched his fave shows while he ate Trader Joe's (how many times can you say Trader Joe's in one post :D) turkey corn dogs, Go-Go Squeeze applesauce, and strawberry magic pop on the couch. enjoy your friday night too, fit friends!

Q:  the very last trip you took on a plane....where did you go?

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!

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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

Dego's Dedication Day + Chocolate Chick Cookie Pie

baby Dego was dedicated to the Lord recently!  Sonny and i both desire to raise these boys up His way.... that is our daily prayer.  though our parenting styles differ in some ways one thing is clear; we both love our boys deeply and have their best interests at heart.  always.  we want them to both have their own personal relationship with our Savior and we can illustrate that best by setting the example.

our niece, Camille, was also dedicated that same day!  so sunday was pretty busy.  i didn't get to meal prep like i planned,

but i did get a quick workout in that morning before coming home to cook dinner for the family we had coming over.

fresh trout is on sale at HEB this week, so i seasoned a 2 lb. fillet with one of my fave spices! i can only find Adams Reserve at HEB, and the Smokey Sweet Potato is BOMB.  450 degree oven, 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. depends on the size of the fillet though.  just pierce the thickest part with a fork to check and make sure it's done.

on the side, i made a fresh spinach salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing!

whisk together:

• 2 tbsp raw honey (or 2 tbsp granulate stevia packets)

• juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

• 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (or white wine vinegar

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 1 tsp poppy seeds (i get mine from the bulk spice aisle at Sprouts Farmers Market)

i added crumbled goat cheese, cucumber, and avocado on top.

toss and coat!

my dad is a bean eater so i had to include them on the menu.

for dessert? deep dish cookie pie. again!

man. i have made this dessert like 6 or seven times in the past few weeks.  this has become the kind of recipe i don't even need to read anymore; it's all in my head.  and it's SO good!  and deceiving!  

Chocolate Chick Cookie Pie

the stuff:

• 1 -15 oz can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

• 1/2 cup rolled oats or oatbran

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 2 heaping tbps unsweetened applesauce

• dash salt (maybe 1/4 tsp)

• 1.5 tbs melted coconut oil

• 1/2 cup golden brown sugar or coconut sugar

• 1/2 cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips

do this:

1. throw everything except the chocolate chips into your blender/food processor and let it rip until a smooth and creamy consistency is achieved.

2. in a mixing bowl, add the batter + 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips and combine really good

3. pour into prepared baking pan, spread batter evenly across, sprinkle on a few more chocolate chips on top, then bake for 35-40 min.

the chocolate drizzle is just melted down dairy-free chocolate chips mixed with a little unsweetened cashew milk ;)

i plopped two spoonfuls of Arctic Zero's A Lil' Bit Chippy ice cream on toppa there. had to!

we thank our friends and family for celebrating Dego's dedication with us.  it's a REALLY big deal and we treated it like one.

up on the jumbotrons!

2015-05-04 23.01.27

our homework was to write a letter to Dego as if he were 18 years old.  man, each family that went up had beautifully written, heartfelt letters for their children!  it was incredible to witness. sure we wanted to write a novel (ok, i did) but Sonny kept ours short and sweet.

what is this, a natural hair convention? LMBO

my mom, brother, and sis-in-law came up to pray over Dego with us.

20150503_172400-01

Dego was pretty excited for his big day.

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i was looking through my closet for something to wear that morning and came across my baby shower dress!  last time i wore this thing we were two weeks away from meeting Dego.  sure it was a lil' baggy, but it was perfect for the occasion.

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congrats to baby Camille and baby Dego; God's will was certainly done.

le