triple f

family, food, and fun.

 that sums up the holidays for me.  my annual company Christmas party went down last weekend at my boss's home.

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he and his wife ALWAYS throw down, always. i didn't even get a pic of the buffet table:( but just know that i made 4 trips to it.  these snacks and desserts were on the kitchen island.

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homemade chocolate and vanilla cake balls :shock:  so rich and decadent.

sis2

posin' by the tree with Sonny.

sis3

my lovely homie & co-worker, Monica, makes THE best vegan pumpkin pie i have ever tasted and i'll love her forever for sharing the recipe!  you should make it for Christmas- i know i am.  thank you, Monicaaaaa

Monica's Vegan Pumpkin Pie

the stuff:

  • 10 oz silken tofu
  • 1 can pure pumpkin
  • 3/4 cup maple sugar*
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla

do this:

MIX! then pour into your pie pan and cook for 45-50 min on 350 deg. keep an eye on it as cooking times and temps vary per oven. you can even go crustless with this- it's up to you.  and no, nobody will EVER know there's tofu in there long as you zip your lips :shock:

for 1/8 slice:

veganpumpkinpie

gotta love those stats!  i added a layer of cool whip and crumbled a few sheets of graham cracker on top after the pie was done. did NOT miss the crust one bit.  i'll take pics when i make it again for Christmas.

*tip per Monica: you can switch our your sweeteners and do granulated stevia, honey, agave nectar, etc...you choose your favorite one.  just convert your amounts and adjust your nutritional stats accordingly.

sis4

this man clearly took advantage of his off-season diet :lol: 20121207_210847

fast forward.  who had a Chiso-less date night recently? we diiiiiiid!  i had seen this mexican restaurant countless times and finally paid Diego's Cantina a visit.  why does my hand look SO BIG?

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they seated us by this big bay window and even though it was night time, the view of the lake behind us was excellent.  just across the water was the hospital where Chiso was born.  we just can't escape him. LOL.

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as if we hadn't already eaten like 3 baskets of chips and salsa, Sonny ordered nachos for our appetizer :roll:

nachos mayas: crisp corn tortillas topped with refried black beans, creamy lump crabmeat, mozzarella, jalapeños, served with guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo. mucho points for presentation!  yummy? YES.

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Sonny got the lamb chops:  grilled marinated lamb rib chops with queso oaxaca topped with tomato and chili guajillo sauce served with nopales, onions and grilled corn.

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and i got the mahi mahi.  when the waitress came over to check on us, she gave my plate a puzzled look and said 'wow, it looks so different without the sauce!'  i'm guessing it's normally submerged in it *shrugs*.  anyway, the sauce tasted like lime garlic butter and was fantastic.  however, i want to be in control of how much goes on my plate, please and thank you!  per the menu: grilled mahi filet marinated in garlic and butter on a bed of grilled vegetables and sautéed spinach, served with a pineapple papaya avocado pico-de-gallo with wine butter sauce drizzled on top.

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mine came with a side, so i got the sweet potato mash.  they added raisins to  it which was new to me.  a good new. 20121207_221922 then we ended the night at our fro-yo spot....it's only right. 20121207_222011

my usual sugar-free vanilla and chocolate fro yo with sprinkles, chocolate chips, and whipped cream.

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what, more sweets? yep! our last date of the weekend was @ Brios for  my cousin Kandice's birthday dinner. Sprinkles cupcakes were in the building. yesssssssssssssssss.

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cupcakes make me dance too :lol: HAPPY BIRTHDAY my love! 20121208_223035

red. velvet.

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family foto of the evening with my boys.

gumbo and bbq tilapia recipes are headed your way!  nite.

le

winner winner chicken dinner

glory to God, Sonny won 1st place in his division at the Ft. Worth MuscleMania bodybuilding show this past weekend!! here's Chiso congratulating him and apologizing for sleeping through the entire evening show in mommy's arms.  630-930...what a nap :shock:

i'm pretty proud of this guy.

i was screaming as loud as i could!!  great show and amazing jobs done by all.

here are Sonny and some of the other competitors soaking in their win.  cloud 9 status!

Chiso clearly just wanted to play with that ball, but we got a good family shot outside the venue during intermission break.  immediately following the show, Sonny's team went to dinner at Blue Mesa  to celebrate their accomplishments, weeks of hard work, dieting, and training.  both of our phones were almost dead after our long day, so my camera flash was toast.  horrible lighting for these next few pics, ugh.

along with Sonny's show day meals, i prepped all of mine for the trip as well.  and this meal was not apart of the plan lol! neither was the pizza Sonny brought me from backstage earlier.  nevertheless,  i started with a  dinner salad of field greens topped with tomatoes and red onion.  balsamic vinaigrette was on the side.

Sonny got the Perfect Tortilla Soup which had chicken, tomatoes, jack cheese, smoked chiles, and fresh lime in chicken broth.

CHIPS. sweet potato, tortilla (blue and flour).  and honestly they were nothing to write home about.  it's just that they were in front of me and i was hungry!!! snacking ensued. excessive snacking.

having no flash totally took away from the dish, but it was way tastier than it looked.  i got the Spa Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas with asparagus and grilled sweet potatoes.  the Spa section on their menu was detailed with nutritional stats and lighter options.  i totally appreciated that.  why don't restaurants just do this for the entire menu?  we're prolly better off not knowing in some cases!

Sonny asked the server for the dish with the most food and variety like he always does and ended up getting a sampler platter.  like he always does. lol.  the Mesa Sampler came with a carmelized onion quesadilla, mixed nachos, and chicken taquitos.

so on the way back to our hotel WE wanted something sweet and went through a Mc Donalds drive through in hopes to get some ice cream.   the machine was already closed down for cleaning for the night.  that has happened to us SEVERAL times... we should know the darn schedule by now.  so we ended up at the next best thing... actually it's prolly the best thing lol.

we split a whatasized vanilla shake and i'm pretty sure i slurped down 70% of it!  i hadn't had one in YEARS.  it was.... incredible.  Sonny mentioned going to In-N-Out burger too (hey we don't have one in Houston) but i had to put my foot down and call it quits.

we got some rest and headed home the next morning, but not before grabbing breakfast.  i took a selfie of my abs before we left though and i wasn't surprised that they were still flat.  after i eat crap, it pops back up to say hello on me 3-4 days later.  for a while i had myself fooled!  the symptoms may be delayed  (bloating, gas, bubble guts, pimples, fatigue, flat muscles, heaviness) but they ALWAYS come.  always.

Sonny wanted to start breakfast with a BANG but Ihop was the  best option that popped up on our GPS.  i was somewhat relieved and i'm also glad there were no Shipley's around :shock:

now THIS is a breakfast of champions.  ^^^ there's one right there, tee hee.  Ihop always did have crazy portion sizes.

Sonny smashed a steak omelette topped with cheese and tomatoes,

and a stack of what Ihop is famous for.... mmmmmm.

we got Chi a kiddie sampler of baby cakes, scrambled eggs, and turkey bacon which he did NOT like and took off his plate immediately.  i'm not a fan of the texture of turkey bacon either...i don't blame him.

 

time to get back on track.

after examining this pic closer, that totally looks like a bug in my oatmeal!!!!! LOL. i remember seeing it after stirring my bananas in though and it was definitely an oat.  i think.  i hope.

i also got a spinach, mushroom, and tomato egg white omelette that was pretty amazing.  i'm am in complete love with their Simple and Fit menu. look at all those options!!! the website is super user-friendly. seriously, GO IHOP! 4 thumbs up from fitfoodiele.

the oatmeal came with butter, brown sugar, and milk on the side, but i didn't use them.  you know what i used!  packet of stevia from the stash in my purse.

didn't bring any Walden Farms syrup with me, but they did provide sugar-free syrup.  again, GO IHOP!  HEB sells Cary's syrup as well, FYI.

we hit the road and made it home safely, thank God.  THEN i hit the gym solo to get a head start on that vanilla shake before it did too much damage lol.  Saturday was a full rest day and i did absolutely nothing for the first time in a while, so i was ready to go and pump some iron.

one of the bodybuilders gave this advice to the crowd at the show:  'it's not about who can squat the most.  it's not about who can bench press the most.  eat right, squeeze the muscle with each rep, and train hard.'  it was short, sweet, and really hit home.  during that workout, i did my best to squeeze my glutes, hams, quads, and calves with each rep. i felt and saw a difference immediately.  oooh it burns. STILL feeling it.

i did legs and cardio and got up outta there.  will be switching up my routine next week though-  time for something new.  next i hit up the store cause my Sunday just ain't right without some grocery shopping.

CONGRATULATIONS SONNY!!!!! XOXO

le