turkey day — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

i'm going through a period in my life where i'm letting go of something good to make room for something a billion times better. why is that so dang hard though? always easier said than done in my world. accepting change doesn't have to feel like pulling teeth, but i tend to take it to that level ~~a lot~~ every now and then.

i stick to my 6 Pack USA workout plan for the majority of my workouts but sometimes i just go in and wing it.

today's sweaty randomness: back, light triceps, cardio

machine shoulder press 4 x 10
lat pull downs 4 x 10
machine tricep pushdowns 4 x 10
hammer strength pull downs 4 x 10
seated rows 4 x 10
deadlift / overhead press combo w/ 45 lb bar 3 x 10
steady-state, fat burning cardio on the elliptical 30 min

before that though, i met with the ladies of Style to Envy for breakfast at La Madeleine and did my best to resist all their crazy delicious savory and sweet pastries. i met Val and Nikki at the Blog Elevated Conference this past Sept. and we discussed a few collaboration ideas for 2014! looking forward to that.

Chiso worked up an appetite playing hard and requested pizza for lunch. soooo, since were in the vicinity, we chowed down on some Ruggles Green gluten-free cuisine.

i had the Atlantic salmon salad with all the trimmings. i actually forgot to ask for the dressing on the side this time and was too hungry to wait for a re-do.

what a Hammy Mc Hamster! Chiso got his pizza fix and i finished what he left which was only one dang slice! and i have no idea where he got 'eat everything but the crust' from. he certainly didn't learn that from Sonny or i cause we eat the whole thing. so yeah, i finished all his leftover crusts too. that dough is AMAZING.

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here is a lighter, low sugar pumpkin cake recipe i made a few days ago i'd like to share before Turkey Day:

yummy pumpkin cake

the stuff:

1 cup Stevia for Baking
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 can pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk

do this:

mix wet with wet, dry with dry, then incorporate together. do not over mix!
divide batter evenly between two 8 in round pans
bake for 28-30 min on 350 or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
let the cakes cool then pop them out of the pans
top however you'd like! i used vanilla butter cream and the very last few pecans in the bag (i hope that explains the debris on the plate) this time, but next time i'll keep it super light and use sugar-free/fat-free cool whip. there are actually a few vegan coconut cream frosting recipes i've been seeing around. that's a great option too!

makes 12 slices (for 1, no topping): 137 cals, 6g fat, 18g carbs, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 3 g protein

hope you had a fantastic weekend. it's COLD in Houston these days, brrrrrr.

t-4 days yall!!

happy NOVEMBER & friday :)

let's celebrate. have some pancakes.

i made a big one for Chiso's breakfast yesterday. since he hadn't had them in a while (we switched to Ezekiel's cinnamon raisin bread for a little bit) he killed the whole thing in a few minutes.

it was topped with some cinnamon and a drizzle of walden farms pancake syrup.

SO, what are your fitness and nutrition goals for this month? how often do you make goals anyway? do you even make them? daily? weekly? monthly? making goals has become an incredibly useful tool for me now that i'm in off-season with my competition training. whenever i write ANYTHING down (grocery list, an event, reminder, whatever) Sonny feels the need to remind me what year it is and to document things electronically. well sometimes i don't want to! i mean seriously. i enjoy writing out my grocery list by hand and crossing off items one by one while i'm at the store. i just do. i'm pretty sure it's cause my mom did/does that. i also like to group all my items together (frozen, produce, etc.) as i take them out of my basket and put them on the belt at checkout. Sonny finally understands this and lets me do my thing :lol: anyway, it will take me longer to type my entire list into my phone... and then what if it dies!?

i did a reverse selfie (which is way freakin harder to do than i thought) of my october progress which was to eat as clean as possible and to add more definition all over, especially my abs. i stuck with my clean eating for the most part even though these weekend parties filled with pizza and cake got me a few times! but i stayed inside my 80/20 rule, so it's all good. i also upped my weight training and decreased my cardio. i'd love to stay where i am right right now so that when i compete again, i'll be at an acceptable 'starting' place.

le’s NOVEMBER 2012 fitness and nutrition goals

continue to stay on track with my meal plan and clean eating
ENJOY Thanksgiving to the fullest – no meal plan, scale, nothin’ on that day
Run this 10K on turkey day ----> http://turkeytrot.shelteringarms.org/ and beat my current PR!
Add HIIT back into my current workout routine (sprints 2x’s a week)
Take my ab workouts more serious

ok those are mine! whether you write them or type your goals, just make some. i'm not just running a 10k so i can eat like a crazy woman on TG, but i already planned to workout anyway. i know my gym class will be canceled like it is every year, but i'd totally be there at 5:30am sharp for anyone who wanted to get in a great weight workout that morning.

have you ever worked out on Thanksgiving Day???

my little Ruggles Green lunch date from the weekend inspired me to throw a butternut squash in our grocery basket.

i threw the whole thing in the oven for about 20-25 minutes on 400 degrees. after it cooled, i cut it in half, long ways.

i think i got pretty darn close to their Famous Butternut Squash. in terms of taste, not looks, apparently.

at least Chiso thinks so- he liked it *wipes forehead*. i used:

squash:

walden farms pancake syrup (instead of the maple syrup)
i can't believe it's not butter spray butter
few dashes of cinnamon
dash of salt

topping:

crunchy lite granola (bulk bins at HEB/Whole Foods)
coconut crystals (found at Whole Foods)

that's all that's in there and it was too simple to be that good. i didn't measure a thing though and just threw it together, fyi. i was gonna cut it into chunks and throw it in the blender, but it was soft enough to just whip/mash up in a bowl by hand. also, i didn't have graham crackers like the original recipe, but Sonny's lite crunchy granola worked out fine.

does he look warm? bless his heart. i hadn't been outside since my eeeeearly morning workout, so i assumed it was still pretty cool out. not quite.

i took him out of the jacket and he took the hat off himself lol. Moms, if you don't have a jogging stroller, INVEST in one. no gym membership required. your post baby body journey starts with some good ol' walking. you'll be jogging/running again eventually though, and you'll be able to knock out two birds with one stone! family time and exercise. never let your little one be your excuse...only your reason. we were blessed with this stroller as a baby shower gift and i am SOOOOO grateful for it.

i used the last of that fresh atlantic salmon we bought to make breakfast tacos for meal #4 that night. i put this concoction together in my head while on our evening walk- fresh salmon, avocado, egg whites, shredded almond cheese all on a Ezekiel sprouted grain corn tortilla. yum! the tortillas pretty much broke apart once i picked it up :( , but hey it all went to the same place.

we topped them with cilantro and salsa first.

after that, i went to my freezer for the next best thing since we're outta salmon right now- tilapia! i baked a few pans of garlic and herb tilapia in the oven so i could prep some more meals to get us through the week.

i also made so fresh steamed asparagus for our green vegetable. lots of lemon pepper and Pam.

meal #5 for that evening consisted of spaghetti squash i baked earlier in the week, tilapia, and asparagus. i just rolled up two fork fulls of the squash and made it look like little pasta nests. then i sprinkled them with garlic and herb seasoning and some dried parsley.

Chiso and i are gearing up to support Sonny in his 2nd bodybuilding show this weekend!