super crazy late vday post

this was our v-day weekend '15!  my parents gifted me with a Sur La Table gift card for Christmas and i finally put it to use by signing Sonny and i up for a couples cooking class. a tasty, fun, night. seriously!  if you've never done one, do one then! we were on the wait list and got in because another couple canceled.  so V-Day eve we made and devoured:

Spinach Salad with Warm Sherry Vinaigrette

Porcini-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Chocolate-Port Sauce

 Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Caramel Pot de Crème with Cocoa Nib Cookies

Sonny doesn't really do creamy type desserts so i smashed his too. omg, it was SO GOOD. i can't even remember the last time i had full-fat cream so i savored EVERY single bite of yumminess in that ramakin! the creaminess was out of this world. i'm about to sound like a Food Network Star real quick: 'the creaminess and sweetness of the custard combined with the cold, fluffy, whipped cream and crunch of the cocoa nib cookie... dessert trifection.' #AndCut

we were paired up with such a down to earth, funny couple. an #usie was a must, lol.

 they had us cracking up the entire class and made the experience so FUN.

that's what i'm talkin' about. snacks while we cook.

we took turns cooking our dinner,

and taking pics. i was trying to be jazzy for Sonny, hence the heels.  my feet hurt something serious later that night though. can't do it like i used to. and don't even want to most days! man i used to LIVE in heels.

we all came together to make a 'mock' dessert.  they just wanted us to go through the actual steps should we make it at home.  they had plenty of pre-made pots de creme ready for us in the fridge since it has to chill in there for while ahead of time.

she was a riot!

on Valentine's Day, we 'celebrated' as a fam.

Chiso and i decorated some strawberries after i taught boot camp earlier that morning.

we used a 25 cent squeeze bottle for the melted chocolate and plenty of sprinkles!  it's the same bottle i use to freestyle his pancake shapes on the griddle.  more inexpensive toddler entertainment!

then i got the boys ready so that we could go grab some dinner.  one sock already gone and we hadn't even left the house yet! i received a few compliments on my blouse while we were out lol- it's actually a dress that i tucked into my pants from Zara.

V-Day was on saturday so most restaurants were crazy full!  we tried to go to Benihana's with no reservation... HA!  that bombed so we ended up at Whole Foods Market which had something for all of us. Chiso suggested we have a picnic, so we went home and had one while watching the All Star Festivities.

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here's my foooood: chicken, potatoes, mushrooms, salad, more chicken, veggies, blah, blah, blah and water.

seriously...why do we even buy toys?  paper bags, water bottles, cardboard boxes, pots and pans...that's all they need.

did you stay in or go out for V - Day this year?

le

light whole wheat pineapple upside down cake & home HIIT moves

i had a little cabin fever Tuesday after my Total Conditioning class was canceled cause of the freezing temps and icy Houston roads. i have to be honest with you guys... home workouts are still hard for me to get through :shock: . being up in front of my class at the gym is my motivation to keep going and never quit. i know my members are looking up to me for motivation but they provide the exact same thing for me.  i'm 58 times more likely to stop when it burns when i'm at home. when i'm up on stage i don't feel a thing. i just look at my HR watch an hour later and it says 800+ calories burned :lol: . anyway, i make up my class routines the night before so i pretty much did the whole thing without a step bench in my dining room and got a really good sweat going.

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got the job done. try some of these exercises for getting your heart rate UP.

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HIIT is great for burning fat while keeping all your hard-earned muscle, e.g. like sprinting on a track or treadmill.  you can only hold this high rate of intensity for so long, so you give it all you got for 30 seconds - 1 minute then recover. i do it gradually by starting with a basic exercise move then building on it from there (see example vid above).  my heart rate has to stay in the safe range of 140-150 since i'm preggo, so i don't go full throttle anymore. but YOU can! if you're not preggo.  if you have never taken Total Conditioning at Lifetime Fitness, YOU MUST.

on to one of my favorite cakes to eat growing up.  i don't have it often at all and i didn't want to have to resort to a boxed cake mix (even though they taste awesome too) so i created this one. finally got it right on the 3rd try.

light whole wheat pineapple upside down cake

the stuff:

• 1/3 cup coconut crystals (or organic brown sugar or sucanat)
• 2 tbsp organic whipped buttery spread (i used Earth Balance)
• 7 fresh or canned pineapple slices
• 3.5 **maraschino cherries
• 1 whole egg
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/3 cup fresh pineapple juice (you can use more milk if you'd like)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour OR cake flour (i used King Arthur)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2/3 cup coconut crystals (or organic brown sugar or sucanat)
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

do this:

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. coat a 9 inch round or square pan with no-stick cooking spray.
3. melt and coat the bottom of your pan with whipped butter spread until even.
4. next, sprinkle 1/3 cup of coconut crystals in the bottom of your pan on top of the butter.
5. lay pineapple rings flat in bottom of pan; place cherry halves in center of the rings.
6. mix egg, 2/3 cup coconut crystals, coconut oil, milk, pineapple juice, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
7. in a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder well.
8. slowly add your wet mixture to your dry and stir until all combined, no lumps.
9. pour batter on top of pineapple rings evenly.
10. bake for 30-33 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

let it cool, then flip the pan over and convert it onto a plate. see below.

 ta-da.

**let's chat. maraschino cherries are not healthy. no way around it.  i used them cause they just go with the standard pineapple upside down cake recipe. they just do. it's not the same without them. you don't have to use them though! chances are you don't even have any in your fridge anyway. you can actually make them yourself using fresh cherries, or find another fruit to use. be creative.

i equate the area under the individual pineapple slice as one serving, so there are seven up there.

per 1 serving: 264 calories, 10g fat, 38g carbs, 4g protein.

not too shabby when compared to Betty's stats ;)

so i'm taking my very first cooking class at Sur La Table tomorrow, aaaagggghhh!!!! and guess what we're making?! the best food ever on earth. homemade PIZZA.  this class had my name all over it.  i plan to start teaching my own cooking & exercise classes as early as next month so i'm getting all the tips, info, and advice i can stuff into my brain. more details to come VERY soon- it's pretty much February already :shock:

le