these crisps were made for snacking

once i hear or read about a product (usually food) multiple times, i must see what all the hype is about for myself!  this was one of those items- Mrs. Dash no-salt fiesta lime seasoning.  i knew it would be the bomb on some seafood, but....

go ahead and add fruit to that list.  where did i get that tip? the back of the bottle!  paired with strawberries, it makes for a sweet, citrusy snack with a kick of lime spiciness.  you've  gotta try it on mango and pineapple too!

i heart sweet potatoes. i can smash an entire package of any kind of crackers in one sitting (especially gold fish), and you already know how i feel about my beloved cheese.

i wanted something different from my nightly roasted sweet potato!  i bought a wedge of fresh parmesan cheese from HEB just for this, and you can get some at any local grocery store.

so when you put those 3 things together, you have one healthy, low-calorie sweet & savory snack cracker chip thing.

baked, not fried....you already know.

baked cheesy sweet potato crisps

the stuff:

2 large raw uncooked sweet potato, shredded

1/2 cup egg whites

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onion

fresh cracked pepper

1 tbsp liquid aminos

1 tsp fresh rosemary (optional)

do this:

preheat your oven to 425, and spray a baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray.  shred/grate your sweet potatoes either by hand or by food processor and squeeze all the moisture out.  don't skip that step! also, chop up your green onion.  add this to a mixing bowl and pour in your egg whites, grated parmesan cheese, aminos, and pepper and minced rosemary (any other fresh herb will do). mix! make tablespoon sized mounds all over your baking pan (make sure they aren't touching) until there is no more left.  press down slightly but do not flatten and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are browned, not black :lol:

serving size = i made approx. 20, but it depends on your scoop size.

adapted from here!  and yeah, i left them in for a little too long but i'm a gigantic fan of burnt cheese so it was ALL good.  had i had some greek yogurt at the time, i would have tried the smokey yogurt dip to go along with it.  i mashed up a ripe avocado and sprinkled some salt-free Mrs. Dash fiesta lime seasoning on top and that worked for me! if you have the ingredients though, go for it: 

Smokey Yogurt Dip (via How Sweet It Is)

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

i seriously only check our mailbox for my mags, that's IT.  

was this issue not perfect timing!?

i paid Christine, my posing coach, a visit earlier this week to show some love by purchasing one of these cute, sexy, 'Pose4You' racerback tops of hers!  i'm so proud to be one of her clients!

what is your favorite food and/or fitness mag? 

wackday

wednesday was one of those days.  when i don't get enough rest my world comes crashing down.  i wanted to say screw this whole competition, quit, and eat an entire papa johns pizza. :evil:  i want to eat an entire pizza every day, but that day i threatened myself out loud.  it just got worse and worse as the day went on.  i worked out with my trainer that morning, and i somehow hit the gym in the evening for round two.

i took a pic just so i could remember this very day and my mood at the time.  i can laugh at it now, but i'm pretty positive i'll feel like this again or worse in the next few weeks as my journey to the stage draws near.  and come on, a journey wouldn't be a journey if it didn't have a mixture of good, bad, high, and low days.

keep. pressing. forward.

that was prolly my worst workout of this entire journey though.  i could barely get my heart rate up to my fat burning zone, and i literally struggled to keep it there, which is always relatively easy.  after my last meal that night, THANKFULLY Chiso calmed down enough to go to sleep early with me even though he took a late nap.

Thursday was a new day. a better day.  a high carb day.  i DID get some good rest the night before and felt tons better, mentally and physically.

Chiso wasn't the only one enjoying fresh fruit that day :)

this is just some of his meal... sweet potatoes, avocado, and his fav, strawberries.

i got in some posing practice that night after my cardio.

POW, stick that hip out there!

i can be silly/goofy/flirty, but being serious/sexy/flirty WITHOUT laughing and feeling like an idiot is the tough part.  how i will ever manage to sell it and make it believable on stage is beyond me, but i have 3 weeks to figure it out.

i feel wack taking these pics of myself but who do you think i am, june ambrose!? i need a picture snapping assistant.  sometimes.

this will be my final pose before exiting the stage. :shock: kidding.

i didn't even think to bring my show suit with me-  my coach said i should be practicing in it or at least less clothing from here on out though. she's absolutely right cause i could not see my body the way i needed to.

some days i feel way too skinny, some days i feel like i could maintain this weight.  either way, Sonny reminded me that if i do fall off the wagon after this competition, i now have the tools and the knowledge to get my body back where i want it to be. well, what could i say after that lol?

i made more banana pancakes this morning cause they make me happy.  and i need all the happiness i can get!!!!

  i think i have made/eaten them for the past week and i can't stop.  until i can add more crazy ingredients to my batter, i'll have them just like this up until the show.  so YES, more pics of pancakes are coming, you've been warned.

have you made these pancakes yet!? what did you put in yours?

*****HAPPY FRIDAY*****

le

1 month out

less than 1 month away.

show suit? done.  themewear?  being worked on and almost done.  there is still so much more to do, ESPECIALLY posing practice.  most of the rest will be knocked out the week of the show though.  hair, nails, waxing, tanning ...girl stuff.

*update*

142 lbs

11% body fat

my cardio hours are gettin on up there... i'm at 9+ a week.  i like to do a little every day- that works for me.  however i know some competitors who can't get to the gym as often as they like and will do double or triple duty at once. omg!  i would hate to do it that way...but i would if i had to.  shows just how much determination they have to reach their goals though.  super admirable.

i'm having VIVID dreams about the things i plan to eat after the show.  i woke up earlier this week dreaming i was stuffing a chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing into my mouth.  it was so real.  however my sugar cravings are actually under control and don't bother me anymore.  i still want the fatty, greasy stuff though, and i will be having papa johns as one of my post comp meals!!! i went to my sis-in-law's graduation dinner last night (CONGRATS MICHELLE, OTC!!!!!!) and the food looked and smelled absolutely wonderful.  see?

there were egg rolls...

there was cheese dip...

can't have dip without chips...

and BREAD.

*faints*

all within arms reach.

my bro ordered somethin i'd prolly get myself- a cheese stuffed portabella mushroom topped chicken breast.  FOODGASM.  however, i wouldn't have gotten double potatoes for sides. who does that!?

 i ate my meal in the car on the way and that helped tremendously.

i will NOT be messing these abs up.  YOU HEAR ME!? i'm screaming at that nightmare cupcake, not you.

that's all i got. i'm tired. night.

le

almost doesn't count

Saturday morning started with a much-needed posing session!  i met with my coach, Christine, and she took video of me this time which reeeeeeally helps me see what the judges will see.  still working.  so grateful for that and for her!

we had a sweet sunday and visited my parent's church this morning.  we did the family thang in our green :mrgreen:

after an active rest day yesterday, i had a ton of energy and was ready to kill it in the gym for leg day.  i so wanted to get up super early and go do my cardio outside before church so i could devote my gym time later to legs only, but it just didn't happen that way!  had to do both in one trip, no biggie.

heeeeeeey :P

normally i'm in the gym for 1 hour, tops.

i was on the stairmaster, pumped, and well on my way to burning 1K cals when suddenly i heard over the loud speaker:

'leah, you are needed in the child center, leah, you are needed in the child center.'

CRAP!!! i was soooooooooo close!!

i try not to always think of the worst thing possible when something like that happens, but as i scurried off of that thing and ran downstairs i prayed whatever happened was minor.  i flew open the door to the child center and was greeted by 6 employees standing around staring at me.  it was quiet as a mouse.   i looked past them and in the distance for Chiso and asked 'is everything ok??'

employee # 1 said, 'oh yeah, everything's fine.'  employee #2 turns to employee #3 and with his fists clenched and arms in the air exclaims, 'no more kids, we can go home now!!' employee #1 turns to me and calmly states, 'we closed at 4, ma'am.'

clearly it was 4:15 :oops: .  i missed the warning messages that the center was closing AND the 3 subsequent calls for me after 4pm. i told yall i was GETTIN' IT today!!!

afterwards, we hit up HEB to get some stuff for the week.  the usual- more brown rice, fresh fruit, frozen veggies, and meat.

i wandered past the bulk spice isle and i'll revisit it again soon.  i have way too many of those McCormick bottles at home to be buying any more seasoning right now!

i did pick this up though- loooove this stuff on my turnip greens instead of regular white vinegar!  Bragg's raw, unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar, good stuff.

welp, monday is here again. already.  let's do this- full speed ahead!

le

kickin and pushin

who left their gym clothes at home yesterday? i could have kicked myself.  i was driving to work when i realized what i had done. guess where i went on lunch break:

i'll never have enough workout gear, so no biggie there!  no excuses...nothing will keep me from my workout date.

my colorful ensemble!

  i can feel my husband giving me a side-eye through the screen, but i could have gone to lululemon, sooo.... :-?

now shoes, on the other hand, those are deal breakers.  i would have just had to go back home for them. striking a pose before i went to kill it- upper body and cardio that night.

update:

currently @ 152 lbs and 18% body fat after two more weeks.

yeah i thought my body fat went down a lot more too by now, HMPH.  i'm losing weight for sure, but my trainer says i burned a little muscle too, bummer.  this means i need to make sure i am staying inside my fat burning zone during my cardio sessions.  it's honestly hard for me to stay there cause i just want to GO GO GO all the time and burn up everything.  i have to remind myself to stay focused and concentrate on burning fat.

been working on my posing and walking every chance i get. i hope it shows! these progress pics help me tremendously though- i see so many things i need to fix asap.

no cheat meal(s), no processed snacks, no white sugar nothin for 4 weeks straight now. wow is all i can say.  it's ALL God. i have never, ever, in my entire life gone this long without those things.  when i'm tempted, i start praying lol!!!! i'm so very serious though.  somehow i look up minutes later and the craving is gone and i've moved on to doing something else.  i was talking with Sonny the other day about just how much my/our lives revolved around food!  for any special occasion, milestone, celebration - WHATEVER - we go eat.  bored and nothin going on?  we go get fro-yo.  before Chiso was born, we would randomly wake up in the middle of the night and go get some fries or ice cream or something sweet.  gosh i miss being able to do that! with the way the weeks have been flying by though, it won't be long before i can enjoy those things again.  my mentor reminded me that 'the body always craves what the body can't have.' unfortunate truth. UGH.

i came to terms with having a thick waist and being shaped like a boy a few years ago.   i am happy to report that this couldn't be any further from the truth.

this is my first time wearing this dress since 2010 @ my mom's graduation.

matter fact, i almost sent it to Goodwill this past year.  it just wouldn't zip up anymore and i was tired of sucking it in.  i was sooooooo uncomfortable that day.  not only were my feet hurting, but i couldn't even breathe right cause the dress was so tight.  i was trying to be cute - you know how that goes :roll:

alright now!  it's pretty comfy these days as are my jeans and other bottoms.  found it in the back of my closet and wore it to church this past Sunday.  old dress turned new again!  competition or not, i love these results and i plan to commit to eating 85% clean after this is over with.  life is just too darn short not to indulge every now and then.  no food will ever be off-limits in my book.

kissy break during the 'photoshoot'- you know he was wasn't too far away:)

finally, i miss eating my fav foods these days for sure, but i miss cooking new things and meals just as much if not more.  i see TONS of inspiration and ideas on Instagram and Pinterest every single day and i have collected and created a nice log of cleaner and leaner recipes (breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert)  over the past few weeks that i add to daily.  i cannot wait to get back into my kitchen and get creative and test out these recipes...and most important, EAT them!!  september will be a great month. a really, great month..

i'd love to place in this upcoming competition...i think about the day of the show often.  overcoming the entire journey leading up to stepping on that stage is what i will be the most proud of, though.

le