the Sprouts Farmers Market #plantbasedgetaway blogger trip i went on this past june (recap right here!) opened my eyes to so many more awesome plant-based products! it’s bananas. i also did a blog post on some of my fave items out right now as well as why i’m even dairy-free in case ya missed it. Sprouts is doing a fabtastic job of keeping up with all these new goodies, whew!
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and another one! this is my 3rd year attending the Blog Elevated conference.
friday afternoon i cooked up and prepped a whole bunch of food & snacks for my boys to get them through the weekend. Sonny has been on a mission since july this year to lose 30 lbs or so before baby #3 arrives. because of meal prep and 6 Pack USA, he made eeeeeeet! achilles tendon issues and all. so proud of him.
my girl Ogechi & i usually attend the conference and enjoy a relaxing weekend together but she was unable to attend this year *insert gigantic sad face*. however, my prenatal fitness client, friend, belly buddy, and fellow mommy blogger, Marissa, was available and made the drive! i enjoyed hanging out and learning alongside her all weekend; check out her adorable, family, blog and try out her delish recipes while you're there! day 1! the conference was held in the newly remodeled South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center in League City, Texas.
i was crazy excited and honored to be a fitness ambassador for BE this year! i brought some fresh fruit to snack on throughout the day but y'all know i ate that soon as i got there, lol. lunch time finally rolled around though and roast beef sammiches were on the menu. 
unfortunately, brie is not a pregnancy friendly food, but i was so hungry i dismantled that bad boy and ate the protein and that pickle.
Marissa headed out to find other options and did just that; isn't it pretty!? i told her i'd take an order of whatever she got; this grilled chicken cobb salad hit THE spot. right back to it after lunch.
in between sessions there was "study hall".' it was a chance for us to go over the info we just learned and to take advantage of speaking with some of the BE mentors (other bloggers skilled in a particular area like Twitter or YouTube, etc.). i have been trying to remain consistent and spice up my YouTube vids for forever!! so, i hunted down Roccibel Volpicella to get some tips. her primary language is Spanish, so there was a translator present to help us communicate. she doesn't have a blog but has become insanely popular just from her YouTube makeup tutorials! 
since IG is my jam, i definitely wanted to attend the, "Perfecting Instagram Panel" session. each of these ladies (l to r: Meg Owens, Elly Brown, Brittany Ashmore, Jaclyn Kent) gave their own unique tips and pointers for growing their Insta audiences. they mentioned using some of the photo apps i am already use and love like Snapped, A Color Story, and VSCO. 
day 2! it's time to move! 
Kroger sponsored a 7am Zumba class and the turnout was friggin' awesome! look at all these girls (and 3 guys including our instructor) gettin' their early morning cardio ON!
my fave way to start the day.
i even won a raffle prize, wuuuut!? yeah, those chocolate almonds came in handy later in the day during sessions.
some of the breakout sessions were held at the same time, so Marissa and i split up and swapped notes afterwards #teamwork.
we learned about getting the most out of our email lists, tracking our blog analytics, and i especially enjoyed the photography session by Rachel Matthews! she provided plenty of tips for sprucing up our camera taking skills.
lunch tiiiime! we dined on grilled chicken topped with pears, wild rice, and veggies while a News Republic rep spoke to us about using multiple revenue sources effectively.
couldn't agree more.
thanks for another fun, info-packed weekend, Lisa and Bobbie!
i tweeted a couple of my takeaways:
i hope they resonate with you too. thanks for reading!
holy guacamole. do we really have less than 9 weeks before meeting baby Egwuatu #3!?
#HOW
after the 1st tri time sped up and hasn't stopped since. i am scrambling trying to make sure i finish a couple of projects i'm working on, get my maternity shoots scheduled and done and keeping up with this blog, *taps mic* hello!!! #Ooowee
anyway, check out my 31 week YouTube bumpdate that i filmed this morning after i taught my HIIT class:
all under 10 min! press play ;)
two crazy awesome things were delivered to our doorstep this week! 1st, my brand spanking new replacement Samsung S6 edge (i beat the first one up so bad... too ashamed to post the proof). YAY for finally being able to exit my Periscope broadcasts correctly, ha! my screen was so shattered i could never press the dang STOP button, smh. 2nd, our foam rollerrrrr. both of them were long overdue.
i let Chiso guess the contents of the box first before we cracked it open... not even close, lol. after foam rolling religiously in the days following my half marathon earlier this month, recovery was a bajillion times better than my first half a few years ago. LOADS better. my hamstrings basically hated me one day post race but 48 hours later i was teaching my HIIT class at full strength again. hence the need for this purchase.
i let the boys give it a whirl that night, but the next day i got down to business. watch my 'how i {foam} roll VLOG right here:
please be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel for more!
leave me a comment and let me know you were there ;)
lastly,
i also suggest using this machine for pre and post workout stretching:
the Precor StrechTrainer. does your gym have them? i sure do hope so! get your preventative maintenance on.
i love that illustrations of the different stretches are positioned right in front of you on the machine's 'dash board', if you will. i do about 5-7 minutes of a combo of the moves above after every workout. happy stretching!
first off, *NEW VLOG ALERT!*
check it out and SUBSCRIBE for mo'.
eeeeerrrrrrmyGOSH, the recipe for this plate of deliciousness can be found in the VLOG above, so hurry, click it!
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if you've never made salmon before you will be straight amazed at how easy it is to prepare, seriously. i guarantee it. this was last nights dinner and we have been enjoying it all day long today too. and as always, this a fantastic meal prep recipe cause it's basically effortless.
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i can't cook rice on the stove top for jack, so i threw the quinoa into my rice cooker which worked puuuuurfectly. the hard part was sauteing the veggies.... and that ain't hard, yall!
enjoy this combo and give our vid a thumbs up while you're over in YouTube land! a comment would be awesome too ;)
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excited to train with this beast of a 2 months postpartum mom again tomorrow! she is killin' it and getting her core and entire body back to where she's happiest. she is doing GREAT and looks even better! yes, i work with preggo ladies AND postpartum moms, one on one! email me for details, or send a preggo/postpartum mama you know my way.
happy thursday, fit friends!
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fit foodie le is committed to living a healthy lifestyle and showing you how to do the same. see just how great your body is designed to feel through physical activity and eating well. we are obsessed with dairy-free recipes and taking care of yourself, inside and out.
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