NASOYA (Vegan Goodies!!!) GIVEAWAY + Farfalle w/ Pesto, Kale & Garlic 'Parmesan' Crusted Tofu

 so.... after having a bad experience with tofu a few years back, i haven't touched the stuff (other than in desserts, pumpkin pie specifically) since then.  yikes!  this dish...... has rekindled my tofu flame.  i KNOW it will either ignite yours or make it burn even brighter! trust fit foodie le on this one, friends. you'll need your food processor for sure; here's the affordable, user-friendly one i rock with. homemade pesto always tastes amazing cause it's so fresh!   clearly i've been missing out.   i used Barilla High Protein Farfalle and i chose Nasoya's Organic Extra Firm Tofu Plus which has been fortified with vitamins B2, B6, B12, D, and Calcium.  it's spectacular for peeps on a no/low meat diet.

a few more key FAQs:

• non-GMO project verified

• USDA organic

• good source of protein

• cholesterol free food

• low in saturated fat

• gluten-free

• no preservatives

that moment... before i combined the powers that be.  i snapped a little bit of the cooking process of this dish; did you catch it!? add me (fitfoodiele)  and let me know what your snap chat is so i can follow your story too!  i have truly enjoyed commenting and connecting on there. holy cannoli.  i mean, i was blown away and impressed after one forkful.  i don't care what anybody says- vegans eat DARN GOOD.  you can find the recipe for this vegan masterpiece right here on Nasoya's website!  i have been encouraged to add more tofu to our weekly menu and give more vegan recipes a chance whirl.  eating healthy does NOT meal sacrificing flavor; this recipe proves that to be true!  TofuPlus not only reduces fat and cholesterol levels (when substituted with meat of course) but it will make both your body and your taste buds happy indeed.look at this guy!  i could not keep him away from this stuff during shooting.  he was eating the tofu chunks too! now.. where is my nail clipper? sheesh i know why you're here. lol! time to find two winners! YOU both can have any of the Nasoya items up there on that coupon for FREE-NINTEY NINE should you win!  then you can go make any of the healthy dishes i've featured previously using Nasoya's products like: how do you enter?

follow me, follow nasoya, and tag two vegan recipe loving friends on IG in the comments of the post to be entered.

das it!  minimal hoops to jump through, right? that's how i do eeeeet. i'll pick a random winner 1st thing monday morning, march 14th.

good luck! 

K E E P   U P   W I T H   U S !

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, PINTEREST, AND SNAP CHAT (FITFOODIELE).

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup...healthified! + skinny bacon

i told Sonny to get me outta bed when my alarm went off this morning no matter what.  he didn't, haha, but i got on up anyway and hit it early so i could use the rest of the day cooking for Thanksgiving!  speaking of, we have a Thanksgiving Damage Control Challenge going on right now by the way for 1 buck!! check out the details and sign up to keep yourself in check for the big day tomorrow.  i did a little arc trainer for my cardio and then one of our 6 Pack USA upper body workouts which targeted chest, biceps, triceps, and a little back.  then i went into the group fitness studio for core and stretching and did a few of these:

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i admit- i love this Beyoncé video and song. i just do!  not a Yonce stan, but definitely a fan.

then i got home and got the boys up and fed before i got cracking on this soup again.  yesterday went terribly wrong. bad pics, bad soup color cause i burned the sausage...it was just...wrong.  sometimes i want to post anyway and get it off my chest but something kept telling me to WAIT and be still.  today turned out loads better. loads.

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while i was cooking away, the doorbell rang.  i immediately heard a truck engine start which means it was UPS and i had a package, haha! they never wait. ever.

knock, knock...

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IT'S BACON!!!!!!

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not just any bacon though. uncured, ApplegateGood Morning Bacon.

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 skinny bacon! what? yes please! when it comes to natural and organic meats, Applegate is top-notch.  you get what you pay for, guaranteed.  Chiso looooved the hot dogs from our welcome-home-from-the-hospital lunch a few months ago!  and if you're a dear reader of mine then you know how picky that guy is.  we cracked the bacon open right away for breakfast. it's:

• applewood smoked
• 60% less fat than regular bacon
• uncured
• antibiotic, gluten, casein, hormone, and nitrate-FREE
•  heaven-sent

it's no coincidence the soup calls for *drum roll* bacooooon. i told ya, perfect timing.  His timing!  anyway, it tastes just like pork belly bacon without all the excess grease and/or oil.  let's give it up for Applegate!

*round of applause*

without further adieu, i present to you, healthified, dairy-free, Zuppa Toscana soup!  it's 2nd place to Olive Garden's chicken & gnocchi soup in my book.  maybe i'll healthify that one next ;) .  the longer you let it sit, the creamier it will become, fyi. i hurriedly took these pics a few minutes after i finished cooking while i still had some good natural light left and it was still a tad thin. a few hours have passed since and the flavors have made their presence known and the texture is just right.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup - Healthified

the stuff:

• 1 lb sausage of your choice (see mine below), sliced
• 2 medium red potatoes
• 1/4 cup Applegate uncured Good Morning Bacon, roughly chopped
• 1 can light OR full-fat coconut milk
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 32 oz low sodium chicken broth
• 2 big handfuls of raw, fresh kale
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

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couple things: i used light coconut milk.  full fat would yield an even thicker, creamier soup of course!  i also used spinach & garlic chicken sausage that i found at HEB, but you can use whatever you fancy.

do this:

1. coat a very large pot with no-stick cooking spray and set it to med-high heat
2. brown sliced sausage in pot  (3-4 minutes)
3. add onion, shallot, potatoes to pot and stir
4. add chicken broth ensuring the water cover the top of the veggies/meat
5. cook on medium heat until the potatoes are done (about 10-12 minutes...watch it closely)
6. add bacon
7. add salt & pepper and let simmer for 10 min; taste
8. season again if needed then turn heat to low
9. add coconut milk and kale (make sure you push the kale into and under the liquid) and stir until well combined
10. serve warm and top it with more bacon!

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using the My Fitness Pal recipe nutrition calculator i estimate 4 big bowls of soup from this pot. for one 12 oz serving:

285 cals, 10g fat, 28g carbs, 4g sugar and 1299mg sodium

 (high sodium because of my sausage choice but that can be altered.)

pure YUMMINESS! make this and tag me! @fitfoodiele

omg. i'm running a 10k tomorrow morning. it's not like i don't know how to train for a run, i just don't want to. lol. and the temperature has dipped early this year at that!  man. this time last year i was preggo and complaining about the cold.  only difference is i still want to workout (indoors) and no first trimester woes.  welp, if you're out there getting your trot on in Houston, holla at meeeeee!  for now...

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back to cooking my mom's famous cornbread dressing! happy TG eve!

le

small group host + BE conference time again

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 bwhahahahahaha!  i cracked UP at that meme and immediately sent it to my brother. he understands my humor like nobody else.  get it?? happy first day of FALL, yall!

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in the studio extra early waiting for my coffee to kick in and ready to teach some HIIT.  i usually wear my Lifetime jacket to feel cool but i needed it this morning. the weather was fantastic at the crack of dawn; the exact opposite of humid and stuffy.

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afterwards i did about 10 min of steady state cardio on the arc trainer (cause i got cold again after class) before hitting the weights for some upper body work.  bring on the leggings, yoga pants, and all things pumpkin!  i was sipping on the last of my coffee spiked with International Delight's fat-free Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer on my way home.

later that evening, i had the pleasure of hosting my very first small group.  yep, comfort zone aborted.  joining one, sure, ok. hosting one? me? no way.  i remember signing up for it several weeks back, but only up until a few days ago did i realize the magnitude of what i had done. people really were signing up to come, and they were actually coming.  whoa.  the food responsibilities fall on the host, and well, i was SUPER excited about that part, you already know. i had to sincerely pray about keeping the whole point of the small group and our curriculum as the main focus though, not the food!  don't get me wrong, the food needed to be on point, but ensuring our meeting was well facilitated from beginning to end was just as important.

thank God, it went WELL!  excited to meet again next week.

so, here's what we munched on:

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fresh fruit salad with blackberries, strawberries, and nectarines,

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i got all the ingredients needed to make my kopy kate Central Market Cranberry Pepita Kale Salad and did just that.

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yummers.

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next, Zucchini Pizza Cruise Ships made with 93% lean ground turkey, smoky chipotle cheese, and turkey pepperoni.

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voila.

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homemade guac and butternut squash tortilla chips,

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and finally, i cut up and toasted some naan bread to be dipped into the hummus or the guac.

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here's my plate! got a little bit of everything like always.

remember last year's BE conference!? well it's that time AGAIN! the opening ceremony kicks off tomorrow and Ogechi and i are IN THAT THANG!  be sure to keep up with me during BE weekend on Twitter and IG.

peace!

le

buy 4 get 1 free! + Sprout Channel

only two more Thursdays 'til Turkey Day yall!

this is my highlight meal for the week:

this filling, savory meal is the Baked Penne with Sausage and Kale from FITzee Foods.  the kale part immediately sparked my taste buds!  whole wheat penne pasta, chicken italian sausage, and fresh kale all baked together with a dairy-free cream sauce, mushrooms, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh herbs. i'm lovin' it.

-----> a 'buy 4 meals get the 5th free' deal is happening right, right now! take advantage, fit friends.<-----

i would just love to express my joy for the Sprout channel real quick.

my sis-in-law told me about it months ago and after the last adult joke i could stand from Sponge Bob i decided to look it up in our cable directory.

3 words. WHAT A BLESSING.  Chiso has fallen head over heels in love with, well, every single show.  his absolute fave is Caillou.   Caillou games have mysteriously appeared on the iPad and neither Sonny nor myself put them there.  and then there's Tree Fu Tom:

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so even if we don't head to the park, he can still move and shake indoors! that makes me one happy fit mom. but not happy enough to clean out that file cabinet.

Chiso sings,  interacts,  learns, & plays SO much more so than when the TV was on Nickelodeon or  Disney.  the Sprout channel caters to his crowd (24 hour pre-school channel) and i have really seen a different side of him these past few weeks.

they have a fantastic, interactive website too! games, videos, and next on our agenda is printing out some of the blank coloring sheets provided of some of his favorite characters (soon as we get some more ink.) i am fond of several of the shows myself; especially The Goodnight Show :lol:.   i really like that they keep some of the classic shows like Sesame Street in rotation too. ooooh the memories. i am just too happy about this and wanted to share.

 parents, please check and see if your cable provider hosts this channel for your little one!  if you're already a fan, which show does your little one love the most?

you can check out the FITzee Foods Facebook & Twitter pages, or click here to order.

le

homemade kale chips and cheese sticks

the kitchen is usually my solo domain, but i never pass up the chance to share what i love with the one i love.  however, these snacks are so easy to make, i let Sonny do all the work this time.

he tore 1 big bunch of kale from its stems.  they shrink after baking, so it's cool to keep them kinda large.

washed and dried.

he then showed the kale some love and gave it an olive oil massage. no dirty talk needed though.

i went ahead and lined the baking pan with wax paper since his hands were oily.

last thing; he sprinkled the kale with sea salt and popped them in a 350 deg oven for 12-15 min. you gotta watch them cause they burn EASILY.

again, they'll shrink, but don't overcrowd the pan.

done.

light, crispy, easy-peasy.

next, baked cheese sticks.  i LOVE cheese; i was extremely anxious to make and eat these.

the stuff:

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• tony c's and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 beaten egg white
• 5 sticks of light mozzarella string cheese

do this:

 we halved 5 light string cheese sticks for a total of 10.  no deep-frying or high fat cheese needed and they still came out tasting like a restaurant appetizer.

flour first, then egg wash, then panko. i sprayed some no-stick cooking spray on them so the flour would stick though.

sonny got restless real quick and dumped them all in at once. men. lol

 if you have left over ingredients, make more and minimize waste.

bake for 10 min in the oven or just until the cheese starts to melt. you gotta watch these too, but i wanted mine to burn a little cause burnt cheese tastes darn good.  each stick is only 40 calories!

the marinara sauce was perfect- made it feel like we were eating pizza!  you have to eat them quick else they will be a melty mess. that wasn't a problem though.

 super crispy on the outside and all gooey and cheesy on the inside.

great job, Sonny!!! who knows, maybe i'll cut the grass this weekend.

le