you are NOT behind!

how bout this facelift though?! guys...i kept coming back to my blog over and over again in the last month or so and i could never shake this feeling of discontentment. something just wasn't right. it was too dark. it was off. it haunted me every single time i attempted to post. i had to fix it, and i had to fix it with the quickness.  i did NOT want to have to take my blog down again for maintenance so i did a one-hitta-quitta sorta thing and knocked it out all at once.  i googled and youtubed my face off let me tell you... it was worth every tear i shed that night. or morning, or whatever! i didn't stop until i LOVED it.

  this guy kept me company before he conked out for the night though!  i REALLY, really hope you like the new look as much as we do. and if so, well let ya girl know below then!

on to the next issue lol,

i am instagramming waaaay faster than i am blogging these days and i don't like it one bit. so many new recipes, not enough time!!!!  or is there?  IGing is easy. takes what, 2 secs tops to make a post sometimes, right?  but blogging takes work. blogging takes time. time i have to pull outta thin air sometimes.  when people ask me for advice about starting a blog i tell them to treat it just like a job.... cause that's exactly what it is.  and uuuuh, i need more one on one time with my boss right about now!   fitfoodiele.com is my baby.  and just like my real life babies, i want it to grow, flourish, and be the best it can possibly be.    unfortunately, social media keeps me distracted way more than it should.  when i give Him less of my time...suddenly i have no time for anything else. we've been through this already though, right!  in short, change is coming, friends. again. time to refocus, turn down the world, and listen for His voice.  Heather Lindsey's post are often right on time for me and her words below encouraged me greatly. follow her!

today still matters!  every day matters.  your attitude is everything, especially when things aren't going your way.  heart & faith check, indeed.  i do hope this inspires you to prioritize your time better and focus on the things that are important to Him.  that's what matters most and what we should be focused on in the first place!  remember, if you are on His time, you will NEVER be 'behind' or 'late', so don't ever feel pressured to keep up, especially with someone else.  stay focused yall.  food posts are lined UP, yall get ready!

'starting over'

so my blog was down for a hot second recently!  every night i went to bed and it was not up and running (bout 7 days straight) it put me in a pretty big funk that only got funkier.  nevertheless, we're almost back up and running and are sitting at about 85%.  switching hosts is not as simple as i thought it would be. or actually the process is not complicated, but nothing ever really goes as flawless and seamless as you see it play out it in your mind.  that's how things go in my world, anyway! some things have changed for the better (the layout, menu options) but some have done the opposite (my social media share buttons for every post were all  reset to 0, comment count was set to 0, and 1/4 of my data (old blog posts, pictures, etc) never even made it over to my new home after i imported them). total. bummer. which means i have to pull those blog posts (about 100 or so) over by hand until they're all here. soooo, if a link doesn't work, that doesn't mean it's gone forever! just give me a few days to get this thing together.  thank you for your continued support, patience, and feedback!

Cross Fit Fulshear

i have been wanting to try Cross Fit foreeeeever and i finally got the chance!

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one of my biggest fitness inspirations, Alli Vasquez, is co-owner of CrossFit Fulshear! I'm incredibly excited for her and was honored to have been invited to their Get Real event yesterday morning. she is so passionate about sharing her purpose with others and such a humble, sweet woman.

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there was Zumba indoors, and a boot camp happening outside.  i planned to do both before i realized they were happening at the same time!  so after a few songs i stepped outside for some team circuit training. i've always seen the row machine at the gym and never used it...until yesterday.

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the trainers coached us through a combo of kettle bell swings, high knees, walking weighted lunges, rowing, mountain climbers, and then we flipped a few tires. fun, fun.

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flexin' cause we had all just killed it out there!

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i grabbed a quick snack outta my bag as i had a full morning of training ahead of me in addition to this event.  i had a crunchy nectarine right after boot camp, and some chicken breast chunks, carrots, and grape tomatoes for later.  then, Alli hopped on the bullhorn cause it was time....

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for our WOD! my very first one!

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i see that acronym aaaaaall over instagram on some of the fitness pages i follow. it stands for Workout Of the Day. ours was 1 min of the following exercises 3 times straight, no breaks:

• wall ball squats

• kettle bell swings

• toe touch sit ups

• ball slams

• row machine

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after each coach explained the exercises i was all like, 'but where are the muscle ups? handstand push ups? cleans?' bwhahahaha!  yeah, i am definitely not ready for all that stuff, but those are the moves i think of whenever i hear the words Cross Fit. one of the trainers graciously recorded some footage of me in action:

[wpvideo Mci28S8S]

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YEAH. loved it.  i'd also love to stick with it so that i can look back at this a few months down the line and see my progress. we'll see what happens!

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big thanks to Alli and the Cross Fit Fulshear team for hosting such a FUN event.  if you're located and never tried CF or looking for a CF box, give them a shout!

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i had to head back to Houston to train one of our 6 Pack USA clients and spotted this baby on the way to my car. taking pics of cars is so not my thing but when it comes to Vettes...i couldn't help it! isn't she everything!? looked like it was about to transform into an autobot or something #chills

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fueling up and eating with my hands cause i forgot my fork!  i used two kinds of Weber Seasoning (from Walmart) on the chicken breasts: Beer Can Chicken and Garlic Sriracha. i hope you spent your weekend doing something you enjoyed too!

Q: why do you cross fit?? why haven't you tried it? what do you like (or dislike) about it?

le

*updated* Zucchini Pizza Cruise Ships + we're registered!

had a bowl of organic rolled oats cooked in unsweetened vanilla almond milk, water, cinnamon, and vanilla before heading to my (now weekly) OB appointment this morning.   fresh blueberries, more cinnamon, more almond milk, and pure maple syrup went right on top.  i had egg whites w/ salsa on the side too. fueling up for some kickboxing a little later today.

was running late and threw on whatever (but i was comfy though!)  and we made it just in time for my group b strep test and routine check up.  if only pap smears were that quick & easy-peasy!  all is well @ 35 weeks and i thank Him for another great progress report. and yes, i smacked Chiso right after he smacked me.

on to our new hospital to registerrrrrr!

so the hospital where Chiso was born doesn't do L&D anymore. i enjoyed the experience there and was saddened after hearing that!  however, the new hospital is literally 3 minutes away, so no biggie.  AND my favorite OB in the entire universe will be there to deliver Odego this time, Lord willing.  (she was out having her twins at the time Chiso was born :'(  ) .  i went ahead and registered juuuuust in case we have to pop up there sooner than expected, but i am coming back with Sonny to take a tour so we can be cheesy and take pics and stuff.  a date i am so looking forward too, again.  i hardly EVER buy overpriced convenience store food/snacks, but i was unprepared and Chiso got restless while i filled out paper work.  so i got him this Sabra pretzel and hummus dip along with a banana.

enjoy this updated recipe of last night's dinner:

*updated* Zucchini Pizza Cruise Ships

the stuff:

• 4 large, raw zucchini, halved & seeded
• 2 cups cooked and seasoned extra lean ground turkey
•  1 cup homemade marinara (add more if you'd like and the recipe is below)
• 8 turkey pepperoni, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup shredded almond or rice cheese
• 6 cherry tomatoes, sliced into coins
• 2 tsp dried italian seasoning or parsley or fresh basil
• sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste

do this:

1. set your oven to 350 degrees and coat a large baking pan with foil and no-stick cooking spray.
2. after halving the zucchini, scoop some of the insides out using a small spoon.  they should look like empty canoes cruise ships once you're done; arrange them flat and seed-side up on your baking sheet.
3. mix the cooked ground turkey and the marinara sauce together, then spoon the mixture evenly into/onto the zucchini.
4. sprinkle the turkey pepperoni, tomato, and italian seasoning on top of the cruise ships, and bake them for about 20 minutes.
5. remove them from the oven and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. ( i used 2% colby jack cause that's all i had. to keep this recipe dairy free, use almond or rice cheese.)
6. let them bake once more for 7-10 minutes or just until the cheese melts to your liking.
7. top with fresh basil or parsley!

i thought i posted my marinara recipe in the Fit N' Crispy Chicken Parm post but maybe it didn't save like i thought?? can't explain that one.  but here it is:

homemade marinara:

the stuff:

• 1 6oz can tomato paste
• 6 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning blend (optional)
• sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste

do this:

1. heat a large sauce pan to medium-low heat; once hot, pour in your olive oil.
2. add onions & garlic and sauté until translucent...about 2-3 minutes.
3. add in the rest of the ingredients except sea salt and cracked black pepper, stir, cover, and let simmer for 12-15 minutes.
4. shut off heat; add mixture to your blender or food processor and blend on high until super smooth.

you can make this ahead of time and store in the fridge to be used for pizza sauce, wing dip, breadstick dip, whatever!

happy hump day! hollaaaaaaaaa

le

chicken PB2 pad thai + TJ's trip

let's pretend today is yesterday, ok? ok.

i made pb chicken pad thai for an Instagram challenge last night for dinner.  IG can be so addictive! i've been seeing a number of 'i need to get away from technology and focus on my life and the plan God has for me....etc.' posts lately from some of the health and fitness peeps i follow.  it's admirable, long as it's not a publicity stunt or anything.  it takes a LOT to step away from technology for a few hours, days, or even weeks nowadays.  anyway, i get it.  what is IG to you though anyway? a 'likes' contest? are you secretly competing with someone? a business opportunity?  marketing tool? searching for who can flex the hardest?  seeing what celebs are up to? seeing who can make their plate of food the prettiest? finding who can wear the least amount of clothes? lmbo (not really).  i said all that to say it's cool to be inspired and build off of what you see in your feed, but stay true to YOURSELF.  after all, it's your account.  it's tough to be original once your mind has been tainted with what everybody else is doing.   on top of all that, IG can be a huuuuge distraction, like facebook.  sometimes you gotta put the phone down,  log off your computer and just live.....  technology-free.

*inhale....exhale*

so i adapted this from my own PB2 Shrimp Pad Thai recipe, but i used chicken breasts and fettucine miracle noodles instead of kelp.

aaaand i added a yellow bell pepper along with the red.  everything else is the same.

ooooh these noodles are simply amazing and went PERFECT with this dish i tell you, perfect.  my relationship with kelp is officially OVER, thanks to my affair with miracle noodles. *chunks deuce*

eye-popping color and freshness goin' on up in that pot!

letting the flavors marry for the last few minutes...

and bam! plated up! no cashews....i used pistachios and it was an even exchange.  ok, the pistachios really was the last thing i altered, whoops.

yummay &  healthay.

i worked the leggies at the gym this morning! how do i get my calves to pop?  4 x 25 of calve raises in between leg press sets.

flexin' in btw squat sets.

afterwards, my Stank Tank and i had lunch in the Life Cafe that started out with some Snikiddy grilled cheese puffs.

we're fans of Snikiddy all natural snacks-  they sell the huuuuge bags in sams and costco, fyi.

i ordered half a cheese pizza with whole wheat crust 2% mozzarella for Chiso (yes more cheeeeese),

and a turkey avocado sammich on Udi's gluten-free whole grain bread for moi.  this was my first time having Udi's bread and i liked it cause it was thick and actually kinda sweet, like challah bread or even a coarse pound cake!  however, like Ezekiel, the slices are kinda small, and the price is kinda big. Natures Own and Sara Lee have the regular size bread and for less cals and price.

nevertheless, both halves were gone in about 2 minutes.

the weather was GORGEOUS, so we took to the courtyard for a little bit to play.  funny, i remember bringing Chi out here and all he could do was crawl and watch the other kids play and jump over him.  yeah, i had a moment.

 our next stop- Trader Joe's Houston numero TWO!!!! i took this pic from the car so i wouldn't seem like an, i don't know...TJ's stan?

 they said it was coming...and it's here.  crunchy cookie butter. *shakes first*

i walked down this aisle for f...o...r...e...v...e..r.  TJ's  literally has chocolate covered everything you can think of.  some of THE oddest combos just go together.

i didn't do too bad- walked away with only a handful of items i don't need, like these. cinnamon sugar (15 cals per tsp) and sugar chocolate coffee bean (calorie-free) 'sprinkles' or dust, or whatever you wanna call it.

first victim - PB2 topped whole wheat toast.

so...how are yours coming along?

  whether short-term or long, sow your seeds NOW and as often as possible, and knock'em out one by one.  happy to be sharing some of mine very soon!

le