food faces #toddlerfood

having a little fun with healthy breakfasts these days!  it's whatever works and gets Chiso's plate clean, and these have proven to do just that. he thinks it's hilarious (telling a funny story along with it helps too) and i enjoy creating them. just some ideas for your picky eater(s) fueled by Pinterest.

banana bear faces using Sara Lee whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter, and chocolate chips.

 the original 'recipe' actually used blueberries for the eyes and nose, but they were a no-go.

this morning we had whole wheat pancakes and i'd love to share this easy recipe with ya as promised.

easy whole wheat pancakes

the stuff:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk + 2 tbsp
• 1 packet stevia
• 1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp baking powder

do this:

1. heat your griddle or pan to med heat and coat it with no-stick cooking spray.
2. mix all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl.
3. drop 2 tbsp worth of batter onto your griddle and cook 2-3 minutes on each side (flip when you see bubbles form)
4. top however you'd like and eat warm!

makes 15 (or more) silver dollar sized pancakes. for 1:

i added natural pb and chocolate chips to Ralph too. happy friday :)

le

that's amore - homemade whole wheat pizza crust + med ball moves

what.a.morning.

 i woke up at 2:30am randomly and just couldn't get comfy again nor could i go back to sleep! daylight savings time + a kickboxing 27 week fetus = one tired mama.  praying & hoping this doesn't become a normal occurrence.

getting to 5:30am class was something like pulling teeth but we made it!  smiling up there in the pic cause my workout was finally over after that :lol: .  i taught Total Conditioning for 1 hr as usual and then did these exercises with the med ball and bands afterwards (listed clockwise):

[wpvideo IxeR5xi2]

1.  medicine ball squat throws against the wall: 4 x 25
2. med ball squats w/ explosive jack - band is optional but come ooooon! USE IT! 4 x 25
3. burpees with overhead dumbbell presses. modify where needed! walk back if you are preggo or nursing an injury if you do not wish to jump. it's your workout. 3 x 12
4. 90 degree wall sits with extended med ball (see top pic).  hold this guy for as long as you can. your arms will most likely give out before your legs, so let them drop but stay up until you can't take it anymore. HOLD until it burns ;)

i owe you a pizza crust recipe, don't i!

this was Chiso's cheese pie hot outta the oven.

the sauce is homemade too!!! i'll share that recipe in a future post.

and here's the pie i made Sonny and i for dinner that night looooaded with goodies!

extra lean ground chicken, red onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, grape tomatoes, fresh cilantro,  homemade pizza sauce, and plenty of shredded provolone.

i'm saving my very special crust recipe for my homemade pizza cooking class so you'll have to join me on March 25th to get that one!

homemade whole wheat pizza crust

the stuff:

• 1 cup white whole wheat bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp coconut sugar (or agave nectar or honey or pure maple syrup)
• 1 cup warm water
• dash sea salt
• 1/4th tsp fresh minced garlic
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 envelope)

do this: 

ok, i actually had steps listed out for the beginning part ( :shock: i know) but SEEING it done is the easiest way to actually get it. i don't want to scare you guys from making it and i haven't created my own video yet, so i'm going to use a popular youtube vid that is very similar to what i did. also, i added the dry seasonings and garlic in with the wet ingredients.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvIF81APkj8&w=560&h=315]

1. NOW you're ready! let the dough rise for at least 2 hours minimum. (whip up a ball right after breakfast)
2. preheat your oven to 500 degrees and put your pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven NOW.
3. on a flat, clean, floured surface, drop your round dough ball in to the center.
4. use your fingers to press the dough out as wide/thin as you'd like it. my Sur la table instructor advised against using a rolling-pin.
5. sprinkle your pizza paddle (or a pan/cookie sheet with no edges) generously with dry, yellow corn meal
6. pick up your dough and place it on top of the corn meal bed. is it slide-able? rock the pan back and forth and see.
7. top your pizza however you'd like. (sauce, cheese, veggies, meat, cheese...but remember less is more! that doesn't apply to cheese though)
8. do a slide check one more time, then open your oven and transfer (rock vigorously back and forth til you've successfully moved it over) the pizza paddle onto the already HOT HOT HOT pizza stone or baking pan.
9. needs to bake about 7-9 minutes at most. cooks super fast!

nutritional stats ONLY IF you use the entire dough ball and make a gigantic pizza cut into 8 slices:

i find that cutting the ball in half first makes the perfect size pie for 2 people. in that instance, stats for 1 slice when cut into 8:

you can refrigerate the other half for 2-3 days and even longer in the freezer.

yummmmmmmmmmmmmy!

make your own pizza at home, take a pic, and tag me @fitfoodiele on IG! also, if you send your pics to le@fitfoodiele.com, i will feature them on my Facebook Fan Page, blog, or IG. can't wait to see the deliciousness you create!

 Q: what do you do when you can't go back to sleep? read? watch TV? stare at your significant other in the dark? :shock:

le

that's amore: homemade whole wheat pizza crust + med ball moves

what.a.morning.

 i woke up at 2:30am randomly and just couldn't get comfy again nor could i go back to sleep! daylight savings time + a kickboxing 27 week fetus = one tired mama.  praying & hoping this doesn't become a normal occurrence.

getting to 5:30am class was something like pulling teeth but we made it!  smiling up there in the pic cause my workout was finally over after that :lol: .  i taught Total Conditioning for 1 hr as usual and then did these exercises with the med ball and bands afterwards (listed clockwise):

[wpvideo IxeR5xi2]

1.  medicine ball squat throws against the wall: 4 x 25
2. med ball squats w/ explosive jack - band is optional but come ooooon! USE IT! 4 x 25
3. burpees with overhead dumbbell presses. modify where needed! walk back if you are preggo or nursing an injury if you do not wish to jump. it's your workout. 3 x 12
4. 90 degree wall sits with extended med ball (see top pic).  hold this guy for as long as you can. your arms will most likely give out before your legs, so let them drop but stay up until you can't take it anymore. HOLD until it burns ;)

i owe you a pizza crust recipe, don't i!

this was Chiso's cheese pie hot outta the oven.

the sauce is homemade too!!! i'll share that recipe in a future post.

and here's the pie i made Sonny and i for dinner that night looooaded with goodies!

extra lean ground chicken, red onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, grape tomatoes, fresh cilantro,  homemade pizza sauce, and plenty of shredded provolone.

i'm saving my very special crust recipe for my homemade pizza cooking class so you'll have to join me on March 25th to get that one!

homemade whole wheat pizza crust

the stuff:

• 1 cup white whole wheat bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp coconut sugar (or agave nectar or honey or pure maple syrup)
• 1 cup warm water
• dash sea salt
• 1/4th tsp fresh minced garlic
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 envelope)

do this: 

ok, i actually had steps listed out for the beginning part ( :shock: i know) but SEEING it done is the easiest way to actually get it. i don't want to scare you guys from making it and i haven't created my own video yet, so i'm going to use a popular youtube vid that is very similar to what i did. also, i added the dry seasonings and garlic in with the wet ingredients.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvIF81APkj8&w=560&h=315]

1. NOW you're ready! let the dough rise for at least 2 hours minimum. (whip up a ball right after breakfast)
2. preheat your oven to 500 degrees and put your pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven NOW.
3. on a flat, clean, floured surface, drop your round dough ball in to the center.
4. use your fingers to press the dough out as wide/thin as you'd like it. my Sur la table instructor advised against using a rolling-pin.
5. sprinkle your pizza paddle (or a pan/cookie sheet with no edges) generously with dry, yellow corn meal
6. pick up your dough and place it on top of the corn meal bed. is it slide-able? rock the pan back and forth and see.
7. top your pizza however you'd like. (sauce, cheese, veggies, meat, cheese...but remember less is more! that doesn't apply to cheese though)
8. do a slide check one more time, then open your oven and transfer (rock vigorously back and forth til you've successfully moved it over) the pizza paddle onto the already HOT HOT HOT pizza stone or baking pan.
9. needs to bake about 7-9 minutes at most. cooks super fast!

nutritional stats ONLY IF you use the entire dough ball and make a gigantic pizza cut into 8 slices:

i find that cutting the ball in half first makes the perfect size pie for 2 people. in that instance, stats for 1 slice when cut into 8:

you can refrigerate the other half for 2-3 days and even longer in the freezer.

yummmmmmmmmmmmmy!

make your own pizza at home, take a pic, and tag me @fitfoodiele on IG! also, if you send your pics to le@fitfoodiele.com, i will feature them on my Facebook Fan Page, blog, or IG. can't wait to see the deliciousness you create!

 Q: what do you do when you can't go back to sleep? read? watch TV? stare at your significant other in the dark? :shock:

bok, bok, bok! healthy, homemade chicken nuggets

after a fantastic early morning church service that concentrated on faithfulness to your spouse, i got crackin' on meal prep right away.  i roasted some asparagus (seasoned with Weber Zesty Lemon blend) and some red bell peppers (seasoned with Weber Smoky Mesquite) in the oven on 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes or so. for our protein, i made something i will be making more often, especially for Chiso since he loves'em.

the coating for this recipe stemmed from the Fit Sticks recipe in my first ebook!  anytime Chiso eats and asks for more of something homemade i have to shout it from the roof tops!

healthy, whole wheat, tender, baked, HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS!

i went a lil' crazy and made them 3 ways: baked nuggets, and pan seared & grilled strips.

the coating can easily be gluten-free if you use gluten-free bread to make your breadcrumbs.  i used toasted Sara Lee 45 Calories & Delicious multigrain wheat bread.  a few pulses in the food processor and that's it!

healthy homemade chicken nuggets 

the stuff:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 + 2 tbsp cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 heaping tbsp of your fave no-salt seasoning (lemon pepper, cajun, bbq, etc)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp parsley
• sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste

do this:

1. set oven to 450 degrees.
2. cut chicken into desired shapes and coat with olive oil.
3. spread a layer of foil across a large baking pan and coat it with no-stick cooking spray.
4. add all dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl; blend well.
5. in a large tupperware container with a lid, add in a few raw chicken pieces with a few spoonfuls of breading and SHAKE!  (or you could spread out some breading on a plate and dredge the chicken pieces until fully coated but this way was easier and not as messy AND Chiso had fun doing all the shaking :lol: )
6. space the nuggets out across your baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes. (high heat & 4-5 min on each side if grilling, and 7-10 min on each side if pan searing or until done in the center.)
7. let them cool, then whip out the dipping sauces! we used honey mustard, Weber all natural Buzz'n Honey bbq sauce, and dijon mustard.

i know i cut strips with some of my chicken, but i used 4 large breasts total.  you can cut at least 40 nuggets alone from 4 breasts though.  stats per nugget (using 40 ct):

35 cals,  1g carb, 2g fat, 3g protein

then we had a biggest belly contest! happy sunday family funday!

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.

[wpvideo O51tjR8F]

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

[wpvideo eHbXyM6V]

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