October 23, 2012

dark chocolate pumpkin spice fudge brownies

October 23, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

crazy good 5:30 am workout this fine tuesday morning! got through 1 hour of Total Conditioning, a Lifetime Athletic signature formatted class. almost 700 cals burned! i set aside some time every monday to sit down and write out exercises for my class. i have always sucked at making up stuff on the spot- that never goes great for me. like i could never be given a mic and asked to 'say a few words' at an event... omg. i'd totally pee on myself. however if i'm to speak about health, fitness, or FOOD, i'd be straight!!

i'm no longer unbeweavable. i know sew-ins are supposed to last way longer than one month lol, but that's all i could take. i definitely sweat out my perm this morning and i'll be smelling it for the next few days. aaaaand so will anybody on the elliptical to the left and right of me :lol:

after my class, i did a quick upper body circuit cause i didn't get to finish my workout from last night. i did:

bench press 4 x 10

machine curls 4 x 12

machine tricep extensions 4 x 12

machine pull ups 4 x 10

pushups 4 x 10

cable flyes 3 x 12

with moderate - heavy weight. didn't do abs cause i do them at the end of my class.

breakfast was my banana-cinnamon oats and spinach egg white omelette as usual. dinner last night though.....

i was imagining making and eating this while on the elliptical, not even kidding. could not get home fast enough.

grilled chicken BBQ pizza.

i used mc. cormick BBQ seasoned grilled chicken, Trader Joe's organic pizza sauce, roma tomatoes, shredded rice cheese, and fresh cilantro on an oatmeal/egg white pizza crust. i made two out of one serving and killed them both immediately.

are you stocked up on canned pumpkin through the winter? lol. i have way too many cans of it in my pantry right now. i bought so many at once though cause there was a shortage last year. i use canned pumpkin all year round though, and pumpkin pie is my fave next to key lime. pure pumpkin is low-fat, low sugar, low carb, and has plenty of fiber. great for sweet and savory dishes, just like sweet potatoes.

i cannot wait until Chiso can participate more with me in the kitchen! i have so many fun cooking projects planned. for now, he's my studio audience and listens to all my cooking demos. yeah right, he only sticks around if i give him snacks.

my little hamburglar munching on strawberry magic pop, his fave. this week.

Sonny requested brownies, so i made some with canned pumpkin. who the heck knows who created this recipe first, but i got it from Hungry Girl a couple years back. it's just 1 can pure pumpkin mixed with 1 box of brownie mix. no oil, eggs, or butter. i added a few thangs though.

dark chocolate pumpkin spice fudge brownies

the stuff:

1 box fudge brownies (your fave brand)
1 can Libby's pure pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

i cut 15 servings outta my loaves.

do this:

set oven to 350 and mix everything together in a big bowl until smooth. no lumps or dry spots. cooking times vary..but since the batter is thicker than normal, take it out after baking it for the required time according to the kind of pan you use and do the toothpick test.

hey, the stats are still waaaay lower than the normal box recipe.

made two loaves instead of using a rectangle or square pan- one with chocolate chips, and one without. which was stupid cause all our visitors ate the one with chips.

and that's why! i microwaved a piece for a few seconds until the chocolate melted a little, then topped it with some vegan whipped topping (found at HEB in the vegan/produce department).

YUM-MAY.

what are you gonna be for Halloween this year?

October 22, 2012

tidbits

October 22, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

saturday morning started out with bananas and Justin's almond butter. Chiso killed these things one by one and so did i! what a yummy combo.

i sprinkled some coconut flakes on a couple of them too.

we'll be having these more often.

it was leg day @ the gym-

i didn't even get to finish though which makes me so upset!!! i had to get to my hair appointment (time to chunk the deuce to this weave) and i was scolding myself for setting it so early in the day. rushing through my gym time is the worst. this is what i did get done though using moderate to heavy weight:

barbel squats 5 x 12

calve raises 5 x 12

machine leg press 4 x 12

barbel dead lift 4 x 12

then i went into the empty workout room and did three full circuits of this holding 15 lb. dumbbells:

walking lunges forward/backwards (used length of room)

stationary reverse lunges (12 each leg)

stationary side lunges (12 each leg)

15 jumping squats (put the weights down 1st)

rest then repeat.

i ended it with 20 minutes of fat burning cardio on my second fav machine, the stairmaster. i have grown to love this thing.

700+ cals later, crotch-sweat status was achieved and we were outta there!

on our agenda for saturday was a trip to see the Rat. { happy very 1st birthday, Levi!!!! } we hit up Chuck E. Cheese, aka, CEC, for a family birthday party. i ate a quick meal in the car on the way of canned salmon (chicken of the sea), avocado chunks, and some asian stir fried veggies. i think it's some rice cheese up under there somewhere too. i sprinkled Mc Cormick's BBQ seasoning on it and it came out waaaaaaay too fast. whoops.

yeeeeah Chiso pretty much stayed cooped up under one of us for the most part.

he is not a fan of Chuck yet. couple more trips and he'll be kicking CEC in the shins like the rest of the kids. and yes, the weave was still present in my head at that point, lol. i ended up having to push my appt. to the following day. sooooo i rushed through my workout for nothin :roll:

but i'm glad i got somethin in cause WE enjoyed the 'peeza' and cupcakes.

back on track this monday morning though, right. i hope you started your day with some GOOD stuff- i had a spinach and tomato egg white omelette, my oats made with vanilla almond milk, bananas, cinnamon, and vanilla creme stevia, and a cup of green tea.

more healthy recipes and are en route- pumpkin chili, cauliflower crust pizza, salmon cakes, and pumpkin brownies. it's also time for an updated oatmeal post as i make it a liiiittle different now, huh.

September 14, 2012

competition eve

September 14, 2012/ leah.egwuatu@6packusa.com

i'm getting used to not doing morning cardio already lol!!! my last cardio workout was wednesday, so thursday i went and got a pedi for the first time since this past April.

i have always been uncomfortable with falling asleep in public places, especially when i'm travelling alone. i don't see how people do it. i just feel so vulnerable and i'm sure people have been taken advantage of in those types of situations. however, when i tell you that this is the first time i have ever dozed off during a pedicure and plain did not care, you better believe it. i got the works- massage, wax wrap thing, salt scrub, yeah all that. it felt that darn good and was well worth the wait.

golden toes! they will match my show suit perfectly, you'll see! i would have gone for the french tip (or whatever it's called) but ummmmmm, i can't get that done on my toes for the very same reason i didn't include my left foot in the shot. HAHAHAHA

this morning's breakfast: 1 egg + 2 whites, banana pancakes, and a bowl of oatmeal that isn't pictured.

this is prolly THE saddest breakfast shot i'll ever take but i don't regret posting it. every meal isn't a pretty presentation although most times that is what i strive for, even if i don't take a pic. i remember trying to WOW Sonny when we first got married with my food creations and presentations. i really do enjoy them. it's all apart of my cooking/kitchen experience lol. ok ANYWAY, i burned my omelette at that. i cut it up, added some fresh cilantro and dijon mustard and enjoyed every bite. i used to put one egg white into my pancakes, but one morning i tried leaving the eggs out entirely to see if it would still cook and hold together ok. and it did. i added water to the mix instead. i just wanted a bigger omelette, that's all. that way, it seems like im eating more food. get it? and besides, after putting 'i can't believe it's not butter' and Walden Farms pancake syrup over them, the consistency doesn't even matter anymore. still the yummiest, cleanest pancakes ever! but if you'd like them to look prettier, add the egg.

i really thought it would be hard for me to just sit down and do absolutely nothing today, but that feeling passed rather swiftly :lol:

i also woke up with something extra-

lots of HAIR!!! and a headache as my scalp is super sore:(. i normally don't get my hair done, done unless there's a huge event happening. aaaand well, this one calls for it. i'm ready to whip it all across the stage tomorrow!

i picked up a slab of salmon yesterday in prep for Sonny's last meals before our show.

i used some Walden Farms (calorie-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, etc) pancake syrup, Mc Cormick smokehouse maple seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried parsley.

12 min in a 450 deg oven. cooking salmon could not be any easier.