pumpkin flax — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

no more start/stop- catching up NOW.

good monday that is almost over to you!!

this will be crazy random but just stay with me.

i hope you guys are using and being creative the IG food pics- that's definitely some of my motivation for posting.

this was lunch @ my desk last Friday:

100 calorie multi-grain english muffin, grilled chicken breast, avocado, spicy mustard, and a crispy red bell pepper. since my job is waaaaaaaaay closer to Trader Joe's than my house, i stopped by there to get a few specialty items on my lunch break that day.

more eggplant humus wish it came in a big TUB.

i can pronounce everything. that's the kind of ingredient list i like to see and the kind you should look for as often as possible. also, natural, no additives or preservatives means eat it sooner than later! won't last but a few days.

also got some sweet sugar snap peas for dipping! in the car.

i walked into TJ's with intent to restock my fig butter, but as soon as those double entrance doors parted, i walked straight up to a tower of pumpkin butter. clever is that seasonal marketing. they also had honey apple butter and i couldn't leave without it. i did leave the mango butter for next time though.

i hit up HEB, Whole Foods, and Sams this weekend to do my real shopping. i got my sample on of course,

*high five*, HEB. but zero points for presentation. steak pizzaiola, italian chicken sausage soup, and creamy potato casserole was served at one of their live sample stations. oh God, those potatoes though :shock: . i always grab a recipe card to see just what they put in those samples and they never fail to freak me out. full-fat heavy cream and cream cheese is what made those potatoes so darn good! but they were sample size sooooo i proceeded to enjoy.

i got outta there with my usual stuff plus a few specialty items.

my kitchen island stays just like this for the most part. i like to keep my produce out where i can see it cause i'll forget about it in the fridge and it's more likely to spoil. gonna go ahead and add 'personal grocery shopper' to my resume, seriously!!! i could do this every day.

i've been using the sesame Ezekiel bread for the past few weeks, so i picked up the cinnamon raisin loaf this time.

i have sweet and savory dishes in mind for this puppy.

fat-free feta and goat cheese are still two dairy cheeses i won't be giving up (will expand on that shortly), but i was inspired to try almond cheese from a fellow health and fitness IGer. i figure i love almond milk, so i'd prolly like the cheese too. uh, yeah! it melts, grates, and tastes just like dairy cheese and nutritional stats are awesome. i'm impressed and sold. gonna try some rice cheese too.

i've been a fan of Blue Diamond brand almond milk since Hungry-Girl introduced me to it a few years ago, but decided to try the Silk brand because of the lower calorie count.

it is so much more creamier than i was expecting! i may have been converted indefinitely...

I picked up some of Sonny's fav granola from Whole Foods - pumpkin flax. it's the best granola (nutrtion-wise) in the bulk aisle line up. 140 cals and 5g of sugar per serving. read your labels- granola is more like a treat/dessert as the sugar content can be super high for some of them. a few spoonfuls over some cottage cheese or yogurt or a small serving of it is just enough.

granola + almond milk = one great bed time snack. if only i could stop eating bowl after bowl.

lunch today @ my desk:

seeing red today for meal 2- grilled chicken breast, avocado, red bell pepper, tomato, spicy mustard and honey apple butter. wrapped all up in a La Tortilla Factory white-wheat soft wrap with some strawberries on the side.

i snuck in some sugar snap peas and eggplant humus too.

we had some GORGEOUS weather in Houston today!! Sonny hates the cold and is already griping about having to stop his outside runs. he still has time to take advantage though cause it will be hot again like tomorrow.

cajun crusted tilapia recipe coming up next.

so, i'll be turning the big 3-0 next month, and my little man will be 1 the following month! i'm so excited for all these upcoming milestones, sweet. i took my LO (little one) to the dr. yesterday for his check up and all went well. as luck would have it, HEB is directly across the street from the clinic and i just couldn't be so close and not pay them a visit. i got a few items for dinner and also some that i will add to the right stuff (i hope you've been checking for updates over there). bbq shrimp was on the sampling menu and it smelled and tasted fantastic. sooo you already know what we had for dinner:

pretty sure they meant 'than'.. but who cares, it was so tasty. i used up all my shrimp for another dish recently, but i knew this recipe would work just as good on some tilapia. and i always have tilapia. people bbq up some ribs and chicken- why not fish? i bought the sauce and did the buy-one-get-one-free deal.

i bought some fresh limes, used shallots instead of garlic, and chopped up plenty of fresh cilantro.

i didn't buy the adams rub the recipe calls for- i stuck with my tony c's to season the fish with.

everybody in the pool.

i could have grilled this up in my grill pan, but i wanted to go get a quick run in since i have another 10K saturday and i hadn't run all week. surprise. so, i baked it like i normally do- 350 deg oven for 30 min. when i walked back in the house, the smell was out of this world! definitely a new twist for this boring, but nutritious protein.

steamed some corn and whipped up some creamed spinach for the sides.

i packed up the rest for Sonny's lunch- i know he'll enjoy it even better today, yum.

speaking of today, i had about 3/4th cup of 2% greek yogurt with some almonds and a handful of pumpkin flax granola for my mid-morning snack.

you can find this at Whole Foods in the bulk isle. it's definitely the lowest cal count i've found for granola at 140 cals per 1/2 a cup. pretty reasonable sugar count too at 3 grams per serving. not bad. most other granola i find start above 200 cals. again, no drizzle of honey needed cause the granola is sweet enough.

i taught my hour-long weights class this morning so my appetite is raging. lunch has already been served and devoured: