Tortilla Basa and some clean tips

I do most of my meal prep on Sundays. When I tell people this, I think that they picture me in the kitchen for hours and hours making 7 days worth of meals. In reality, this process takes about 2 hours. Here is how to do it;

1. Make your grocery list and stick to it. Most of your shopping should take place around the perimeter of the store and not down the aisles, which saves lots of time!

2. Part of my prep process is cleaning and chopping veggies for the week. Label your storage bags and keep in the refrigerator what you will use for the next 2 days. Freeze the rest. Most vegetables freeze very nicely.

3. Cook enough meat (protein) to last you 2-3 days. Keep single or double servings of protein in freezer bags readily accessible for the remainder of the week. An electric grill (like the George Foreman) is great for cooking meat quickly.

4. Like oatmeal? Skip the processed/flavored crap and go for the Steel Cut Oats. Make enough for a few days in the crock pot on Sunday. Add fresh or frozen fruit and a package of Truvia to each serving before you heat it up.

5. I usually make one tray of protein bars to last for the week. Keep them refrigerated!

6. Pick 1 or 2 starches for the week and make enough on Sunday. I cook quinoa in bulk and also cook 1 pound of pasta at a time. Divide it into single servings to quickly grab and go.

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Tortilla Basa

Preheat oven to 400
4oz basa fillet
1/2 tsp Williams-Sonoma Chili Lime seasoning (Or Mrs. Dash of your choice)

Cook basa for 10 minutes or until it flakes. Cube it and add it to the following;

In a fry pan;
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup of cooked black beans
1 tbs of lime juice
1/4 cup red salsa
1 tsp of Cholula hot sauce
1/4 cup of sweet peppers (I use a frozen, prechopped tri color blend from Trader joes)
1/8 cup chopped jalepenos
1 corn tortilla, cut into strips

Cook on stove top over medium heat for about 7 minutes. Plate and eat.

I should mention that the veggies were prepped on Sunday and the fish was cooked on Sunday. All I needed to do today was throw it in the pan and heat it through for 7 minutes. Quick, healthy lunch!

Key Lime Cheesecake protein bars

I really made an effort to change the consistency of my bars with this recipe. I wanted to make them less dry and cake-like and more like a dessert. It worked, but I did need to use Splenda Brown Sugar blend.



Preheat oven to 350

Crust:
8 sugar free wholegrain graham crackers crushed fine(found in health food stores)
1/8 cup of melted vegan butter (or regular butter)

press into the bottom of an ungreased glass baking dish, 9x13

Mix all dry ingredients;
3/4 cup of steel cut oat flour
1/4 cup of oat fiber
1/2 cup of Splenda brown sugar blend
8 packets of Truvia
1 package sugar free/fat free lime gelatin
1 package of sugar free/fat free cheesecake pudding
2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition Vanilla Whey protein (or other brand, I like how this bakes though)
teaspoon of salt

Mix in the following;
1/4 cup of egg whites
1/4 cup of fat free cream cheese
1 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of lime juice
zest from 1/2 of a lime

(Blend with a mixer to avoid clumps of cream cheese.

Pour over crust, bake in oven for 22 minutes. Let cool before serving, garnish with lime. Makes 12 servings with the following macro nutrients;

Calories; 133.22
fat; 3.0
carbs; 14.3
Fiber; 2.25
protein; 6.76

Strawberry Banana Split Protein Bars

Hello, and welcome to this installment of "It's too damn good to be healthy for you".

Today, I bring you these tasty delights that are sure to cure your sweet tooth and feed your muscles.

Last night, my sweet tooth screamed at me and said "give me what I want bitch". Little does that tooth know I tricked the shit out of it.



Preheat oven to 350

mix the following:

1 cup of ground steel cut oat flour
1/4 cup of wheat bran
2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
4 egg whites
6 packets of Stevia or Truvia
1/4 tsp of baking soda
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of unsweetened organic applesauce
1 package of sugar free/fat free Strawberry Banana gelatin (I used Jello brand)
10-15 strawberries sliced (I suppose you can add a banana sliced too, I didn't)

Bake the mixture in coated mini loaf pan for about 10 minutes. You can also use a 9x13 baking dish. Remove from oven and drizzle with a few tablespoons of this stuff....


This is calorie free, fat free, sugar free, everything free (well, actually there is about 60mg of sodium)strawberry syrup. I found this at Jewel near the chocolate syrup. I also bought caramel and chocolate flavors.....can't wait to try those out....Anyway....

Place back into the oven for another 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Then enjoy. Makes 8 mini loafs or 16 squares in a 9x13 (2 squares per serving).

Calories: 86
Fat: 1 gram
Carbs: 10 grams
Protein: 9 grams

Fighter Diet Pizza, it's not Lou Malnattis, but hey....

The Fighter Diet intrigues me. I have yet to buy any of Pauline's ebooks but I have been Google-ing the concept and tried her "famous" fighter diet pizza last week. She doesn't measure ANYTHING so I had to wing it and the first attempt was a total bust. Second attempt was better, and my third is bound to be even better.

I am stealing the excerpt from her blog and posting it below, then with my comments to follow.

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Warning! This “recipe” doesn’t have any info on how much of each ingredient. It doesn’t matter from a calorie point of view, but it does matter when to get the right consistency. Consistency is a trial and error.



Keep in mind that a real pizza with flour is the real deal. No fake pizza will be able to match it unless it’s too good to be true;-) This pizza won’t make your body fat, just full!!!

This is what I do to get my wonderful carbo-fake Fitness pizza:

Mix dry yeast, a lot of oat fiber (I THINK I took 2 cups total for ME and it became a big pizza), 4 tbsp-ish (I THINK it was about that, I didn’t measure up) pulverized psyllium husk, tons of mrs dash’s and a hint of himalayan salt.

Add warm water and mix til it’s a quite loose dough, looking a bit like thick pancake dough. Put it in the microwave in a big glass bowl, full effect 6 minutes.

Spray a coat of fat-spray on aluminum sheet. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Press out the dough to a firm sheet with a spoon. Bake for 6 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, fresh basil, mushrooms (I like dried and soaked), chopped onion and finally Lifetime fat free mozarella cheese. I use the whole block which gives me about 290 calories and 63 grams of protein. Bake until cheese has melt and starts to burn a bit in the edges.

Voila!!!!


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Okay, through my trial and error, I figured that 1/4 cup Psyllium, 1/4 cup of Wheat Germ, and 1/2 cup of Oat bran gave a good crust consistency. To season, I used cayenne pepper, a twist of sea salt, dried basil and oregano. I also needed to bake for about 10 minutes. I also only used 1/2 cup of Kraft fat free cheese to her, what I think is, 2 cups.

End result, a decent pizza fix. I will be making it again.

WTF Chocolate Protein Brownies

Why the WTF? Because I can't believe these are good for me. I developed a sweet tooth last night and before I touched any of the kids junk food, I decided to *try* my hand at making a healthy, protein-rich, low glycemic, brownie. One word:

Winning.

I will be making these for parties and I promise that no one will know that what they are eating is actually good for them. My son liked them. 'Nuff said. I may add a swirl of natural almond or peanut butter to the next batch in order to add some healthy fats, or better yet, some raw chopped almonds.

Preheat oven to 350

1 cup of steel cut oat flour (steel cut oats ground to flour consistency)
1 cup of unsweetened natural organic applesauce
4 packets of Stevia
1 package of sugar free/fat free Jello pudding
2 scoops of chocolate protein powder (I like Platinum Hydrowhey)
4 egg whites
1/2 cup of water
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1.5 oz of dark chocolate (at least 70% dark)
I use Trader Joe's small dark chocolate bar (72%) and I took a hammer to it while
still in the wrapper to break it up into small chunks

Mix all the stuff together with a spoon until well blended.

Pour into a 9x13 glass baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting/serving. Note: This wait will be difficult.

Makes 8 servings:
190 Calories
2.6 Grams of Fat
1.5 Saturated Fat
25 carbs
3.25 grams of fiber
13.25 grams of protein

Oh, and you're welcome!

Clean Crab Cakes

Physiques are created in the kitchen.


Clean Crab Cakes:

1 10oz can of Lump Crab meat
2 tbs of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 tsp of Mrs. Dash Seafood Seasoning
1 tsp of dry mustard
1/2 cup of steel cut oats, ground coarsly

Pack into 2 patties

Pan fry over medium heat using a cooking spray or a tsp of Olive Oil

Not quite as good as the real thing, to be honest, but was still very good.

Lemon Coconut Protein Bars

OMG Yum is all I have to say. Stolen and slightly modified from Jamie Eason. Recipe and macros are below.

Ground Steal Cut Oats:


1 cup steel cut oats, ground to a flour
2 scoops vanilla whey protein (I like Muscle Milk)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 qt mix Crystal Light (preferably without aspartame)
4 egg whites
8 packets of Truvia
8 oz unsweetened applesauce
4 oz water
1/4 cup of coconut flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Mix oat flour, vanilla whey protein, salt, baking soda and crystal light, in large bowl.


Mix egg whites, Splenda, applesauce and water in a bowl.


Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.


Spray glass pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray.


Pour ingredients into dish. Sprinkle coconut flakes evenly across the top.


Bake 23 minutes.

Makes 16 squares, 2 squares per serving.
Calories: 86
Fat: 1 gram
Carbs: 10 grams
Protein: 9 grams

Note, I only sprinkled coconut over half of my tray.

Status Quo

That's all that has been going on folks, maintaining. For the most part, at least.

I fell off the wagon for a few months. Going through a separation and subsequent divorce can do that to you. I have been thoroughly enjoying life though. I have met some great new friends and have been getting out much more than usual, which has resulted in a few less workouts, a few more calories, and a lot more wine.

I am still hovering at about 19% bodyfat but I believe that I was as low as 17% prior to my recent "slip-ups". I had much better definition back in March.

I grocery shopped yesterday and stocked the kitchen with clean food and I feel like I am recommitted to my goals. I am narrowing in on some goals in the gym which include balancing and symmetry and shredding and building my problem areas, hams, glutes, and hips.

I plan to add Bikram Yoga into my regular routine and some TRX body weight training. Living downtown part-time affords me the opportunity to visit some of these specialized gyms that I wouldn't normally have a chance to visit. I am also giving some thought to trying Cross Fit, but the movements and speed still scare a form-conscious person such as myself.

For those of you who have asked where I have been and why the posts have stopped, thank you! You may have been the fire under my ass I needed!

Williams Sonoma Chili Lime Rub

I absolutely cannot say enough good things about this stuff. It is perfect for chicken, fish and veggies. 1/4 tsp is the serving size and it has so much flavor, you don't need much more than that. What I love about it the most, only 2g of sodium per serving.

I recently used this to flavor Basa filets, which made great fish tacos.

$7.95 might seem like a lot to spend on a tin of spice, but you don't need very much and it lasts me a while.

NPC Southern Indiana

This last weekend, I went to see my first NPC show. As many of you know, I have been toying with the idea of entering a competition. Knowing how much dedication and commitment is necessary in prepping for a competition, I wanted to see a show for myself and make sure that this is something that I really want to do before enduring months of grueling prep and grilled chicken.

The show was smaller than I expected. My cousin Deanna, who is probably one of the only people in my life that understands my desire to do this, tagged along with me for the show and the 5.5 hour drive there and back. Thanks DEE! Love you!! We went the morning of the show to see pre-judging. With no music on stage, each group of competitors, in their division, came out and posed for the judges. Some looked very confident, others looked scared, either way, I am sure that they were all nervous to some degree.

The night show is geared more towards the crowd. The music was pumping, each contestant was introduced individually along with a short bio. When the emcee would get to the portion of the bio that described what the contestants were interested in, each one of them was interested in training/working out/weight lifting. Duh. You have to be, right?

So, long story short, I am going to put in the work after my marathon is done. I am going to follow a contest prep schedule for a while and see how my body responds. If I like what I see, I will go back to a building phase for a while and hire a contest prep coach to see me through 16 weeks of contest prep when I am that far out from a show that I choose to do.

A few people question my desire to do this, or to even look like this. I know that this may not be appealing to everyone, but this is something that I really like and am really into. This is a sport. These women are athletes. Below is the overall winner of the NPC southern Indiana women's figure event.

Ashley Lemmons

This week's diet, so far!

Tuesday, March 22nd

Preworkout: NO Explode
Post Workout: Eggwhites with mushrooms, jalepenos, and 2% cheese
Meal: handful of nuts, 1 wedge of Laughing Cow light, green tea
Meal: Large veggie salad and 3 turkey muffins
Meal: Muscle Milk Light
Pre-workout: Handful of organic animal crackers (not the best choice but needed energy for second workout)
Meal: Whole wheat pita pizza

Wednesday, March 23rd
Preworkout: NO Explode
Post Workout: Eggwhites with Muschrooms, jalepenos, and 2% cheese
Meal: Handful of nuts and dried fruit
Meal: Freshii Noodle bowl
Meal: New Whey Shot
Meal: 1/2 Buffalo Chicken wrap from Freshii
Meal: Wine and cheese its (Uh, yeah)

Thursday, March 24th
NO WORKOUT, OFF DAY
Meal: Eggwhites with veggies in 2 corn tortillas
Meal: 1/2 buffalo Chiken wrap from Freshii
Meal: 1/4 cup cooked Quinoa with veggies and lemon juice
Meal: Muslcle Milk light
Meal: Pita Pizza
Meal: Casien protein and dark chocolate square


As you can see, during a given week, I am repeating a lot of food. That is because this is how I shop and prep my meals for the week. This week has been a little boring so far, with a couple of cheats. Next week, I am going to aim for more variety.

Pizza with a side of re-inspiration

For those of you that know me, you might be aware that I am facing some challenges at home right now that aren't going to be easily resolved without a huge, heaping dose of stress!

Thinking back to how I used to handle these types of situations; a bottle (or two) of wine, bad TV, and a pack of smokes, I feel the need to be ultra cognizant of my emotions right now in order to prevent picking up bad habits.

For the past couple of weeks, amidst some of the aforementioned stress, I haven't been eating the best and there have been a few more glasses of wine than what I consider to be "on plan". I have forgiven myself and I am moving forward, hoping to turn some of the negative energy into energy that I can use to finally start seeing gains in the gym and putting miles and miles on the open road in preparation for my marathon that is less than 3 months away. I have been re-inspired.

So....all that said, this weekend was fabulous!

I hit the gym hard on Saturday, crushing my legs and still experiencing DOMS 2 days later. Sunday was back, biceps and a spinning class led by an instructor that must have been under the influence of some type of speed. Today? HIIT cardio session and heavy HEAVY triceps and chest.

All this working out makes a girl hungry. A trip to Trader Joe's resulted in an easy pizza; whole wheat pita bread, organic pizza sauce, skim milk mozz, and veggies, veggies, and more veggies.

In order to stay 100% accountable, I will be sharing my diet here each and every day for the next month.

4:30AM: Preworkout: NO Explode, Glutamine
6:00 AM: Postworkout: Chocolate whey protein shake with BCAAs
9:00 AM: Baked Oatmeal
12:00 PM: Veggie salad (Romaine, brocolli, tomatoes, mushrooms, edamame), 2tbs Trader Joes spicy peanut dressing, 3 turkey muffins, 2 capsules CLA, Glutamine
3:00 PM: Protein Shot
6:00 PM: Veggies and 4oz of chicken
Right before bed: Casein with fresh strawberries and dark chocolate square

It's working, it's really working!

It is SO much easier to lose fat than it is to gain muscle. Losing 70 pounds over the last year and a few months was easy in comparison to the new goals I have set for myself.

I can admit it, I am not a patient person. It was frustrating for me when I was losing weight to see less than 2 pounds come off the scale on a weekly basis. Those weeks where I lost nothing, or even gained a pound or two, were pure torture! I wanted more of an immediate satisfaction with all the hard work and clean food I was eating.

Feeding your mind with the right information about health and eating is just as important as feeding your body with the right foods. Knowing how the process of transforming yourself is supposed to work, and constantly reminding yourself of that process is key to staying motivated. Otherwise, I may have let my frustrations get the best of me. I may have quit!

Now that my goal is to add lean muscle mass, I really REALLY need to be sure I am paying close attention to the process, the meals, and the workouts. I am working out 3x as hard as I was when I was losing body fat, with no where near the amount of visible results. Now that I am fine tuning the appearance of my body, every thing matters. The cheats, the workouts, and the dedication.

I am happy to say, that while still somewhat frustrating, I am seeing the small changes. I am seeing the cuts of my muscles take form, slowly but surely.

Tomorrow is measurements day and picture day. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will see even just a few centimeters of a change here and there.

My purpose of this post; Keep with it. It works. The process works. Don't quit. When you get frustrated pick up a copy of a health magazine (Oxygen is my favorite) or read a healthy/weight loss blog. Re inspire yourself.

February Measurements

January 5th, 2011
Over my breasts: 38"
Under my breasts: 32"
Waist: 27"
Hips: 35"
Thighs: 20"
Bicep unflexed: 10 3/4"
Bicep flexed: 12 1/8"
Calves: 13"

February 17th, 2011
Over my breasts: 38"
Under my breasts: 32"
Waist: 26"
Hips: 35"
Thighs: 19"
Bicep unflexed: 10"
Bicep flexed: 11 3/4"
Calves: 13"





Very Happy!!

Happy V-day, as in abdominal V-Twists

Okay, happy Valentine's Day too. But, today, I want to celebrate the V-Twist, which I think have a lot to do with the way my abs are taking shape these days. For a V-twist tutorial, please check out this LINK.

Over the next 30 days, in addition to working all of my other body parts, I intend to give my abs a drop-dead, work until exhaustion every single time, workout.

A few people have sent me emails inquiring about my tummy tuck procedure. I have NOT had a tummy tuck and at this point in time, I am not sure I am going to have one based on the level of progress I am seeing.

I will reitterate again, abs are mostly diet. I had a long conversation with my mom this weekend who is beginning her own weight-loss journey. Weight Watchers really works well for her and has helped her shed a lot of weight. I think she looks great and is on her way to finding a place where she can be happy and secure in her weight again. When I am asked "What do I do/eat?", it is important to recognize that what I do, is on the more extreme end. This is not for everyone. I have very specific goals in mind for myself and seeing my abdominals and other muscles grow is one of them. Dare I even say that next year, after I have run all of my races, I may attempt to take to the stage in an ameuteur figure competition? Still a long way to go for that...but I feel like I am capable of getting myself there.

Thank you V-Twists on this V-Day, for giving me abs I can see.

Is this breakfast or dessert? Chocolate PB Baked Oatmeal

Seriously, I thought I was being bad when I had this for breakfast today:


Preheat oven to 350

Throw the following into an oven safe baking dish, makes 1 serving:

1/2 cup of Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 tsp of baking powder
1 tbs of unsweetened cocoa
1 cup of water
1 tbs of PB2 (Or peanut butter if you prefer)
2 packets of Splenda
2 egg whites

Stir and throw into the oven for 20 minutes.

Eat and pretend to cheat.

Great Food Find: Garden Lites Veggie Soufles

I was at Costco last week and picked up a box of all natural Garden Lites Zucchini Souffles.


When I find something THIS good and good for you, you know I have to share. They are DELICIOUS and convenient. They are microwavable and extremely portable.

Nutritional Breakdown:

140 Calories
1 g of fat
26 g of carbs
3g of fiber
9 g of protein

Jan-Feb Back Building

I am in a fun competition with myself to build my back muscles.

I am looking for a lean back with muscular definition. The back contains some of the larger muscles of the body but can also be the most difficult to define.

One month really isn't a lot of time to expect major changes on my back but I think I see a little difference. I hope that, just in time for summer, my back will be ripped!

Chicken Polenta

I totally ate this one before I could take a picture!

This recipe came from Jen-Fit of Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding. Find her on Facebook. She is awesome and always comes up with a couple recipes that make you wonder if you are cheating or not because they taste so good! I altered her recipe just a little in order to avoid going to the grocery store.

I layered cut polenta on the bottom of a baking dish.

On the stove top, I sauteed onions and garlic with a tsp of olive oil. Once the onions were translucent, I added a can of low sodium petite cut tomatoes, 2 10 oz cans of chicken breast in water, and 2 tbs of premade, all natural pesto.

I then poured half of this mixture on top of the layer of polenta and added another layer of polenta and the remaining half. On top, I placed about 5oz of fresh cubed mozz.

I baked in 350 oven for 30 minutes. DELICIOUS!

Tomorrow, I am trying her Pumpkin Chicken Wontons. I will try to exercise some restraint so that I take photos first.

2011 Measurements

I am doing away with the scale for the next two months and will solely rely on the measuring tape to tell me how I am doing.

So...here it goes!

I never get chest and bust right so to explain;

Over my breasts: 38"
Under my breasts: 32"
Waist: 27"
Hips: 35"
Thighs: 20"
*Hint: When measuring your thighs, measure the half way point between the top of
your knee cap where your upper thigh meets the hip. That is where you want to
take your thigh measurement.
Calves: 13"
Bicep: 10 3/4" unflexed, 12 1/8" flexed

What do I eat?

In an attempt to put some muscle on my body, I am really upping the protein in my diet and varying the types of protein I eat at different times during the day. While my diet isn't as fun as it can be right now, I have decided to restrict calories to 1,600/1,700 per day in order to be bikini ready in February for our vacation to the Dominican Republic. Once I return, I will increase my calories back to about 2,000.

So...I have been asked "what do you eat?". I decided to print the frame directly from Fitday.com in order to show you what I ate yesterday. I am still eating about every 2.5 hours and I am NEVER hungry. I could have used some more fruit and veggies yesterday and my goal will be to add more of those today.

Here we have it (Double click the photo to see the details):

We have a winner!

Joan will be receiving the signed copy of the cookbook! Thanks everyone for sharing your 2011 goals with me. Good luck to you all!