feelin good, feelin great

you know the saying, 'it's gonna get worse before it gets better.'   well, things got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better this week, starting with my food.  new stuff on the menu! went the store and got those items this past weekend so i could start my week off on the right foot.

i hit up HEB of course and saw these little pink signs aaaaall down the bulk aisle.  yep, i was in the bulk aisle and wasn't tempted at all, really! just stopped to get some papaya for Chiso and kept it moving.  but back to these signs, OK, who ruined it for everybody!? i guess i'll raise my hand too.  they better be glad i'm not eating sweets right now, hmph.  just kidding, i'm too scary to try that, really.

few things i picked up: more mc cormick grill mates seasonings (still 1 buck at HEB), some garlic powder, onion powder, and liquid smoke.  ever heard of it?? it's EVERYTHING-free and provides awesome smokey flavor for your proteins.  i had it for the first time on some baked pork chops, but i think it goes excellent with grilled steak. it's like 95 cents!

i got plenty of limes and cilantro to add to my big vat of rice.

which equals cilantro-lime rice! smelled so fresh and citrusy.

matter fact i had so many limes i decided to make a limeade.  you know, the same thing you do at restaurants sometimes.

juice of two limes, 1 tsp stevia in the raw, 8 oz cold water.  stir!  add more water as needed.

less than 3 weeks left until showtime and my meal planS are all over the place and i LOVE it!  they will keep on changing and rotating until the day of the show.  my trainer is confusing the heck outta my body and it's responding positively.  i've been carb cycling for the last few weeks, and now i'm carb loading.

 which means *drum-roll* more yummy rice and FRUIT!

meal #6 from last night. #inhaled

yesterday i felt strong enough to lift a house.  i don't ever remember feeling so high, so full of energy,  and just plain READY to tackle the weights.   ever.

still workin on that un-flexed bicep lol

i felt and looked physically stronger (to me anyway) and there were veins and muscles i had never seen before popping out everywhere.

  i felt compelled to text my trainer after my workout to tell him how much i was loving my meals and how awesome i was feeling.  he replied with 'carb loading is a beautiful thing!'.

why YES, YES IT IS!

instabreakfast this morning:

what? like all your bowls are chip-free.

i scrambled my eggs this time and added fresh cilantro, garlic & onion powder, and a little lemon pepper seasoning.  topped those banana pancakes with a few shots of 'i can't believe it's not butter' spray and some Walden Farms pancake syrup.  yep, breakfast is STILL my fav meal of the day by far.

what low or no calorie things do you add to your food for better flavor? 

le

bbq + fish = why didn't i think of this sooner

so, i'll be turning the big 3-0 next month, and my little man will be 1 the following month!  i'm so excited for all these upcoming milestones, sweet.  i took my LO (little one) to the dr. yesterday for his check up and all went well.  as luck would have it, HEB is directly across the street from the clinic and i just couldn't be so close and not pay them a visit.  i got a few items for dinner and also some that i will add to the right stuff (i hope you've been checking for updates over there).  bbq shrimp was on the sampling menu and it smelled and tasted fantastic. sooo you already know what we had for dinner:

pretty sure they meant 'than'.. but who cares, it was so tasty.  i used up all my shrimp for another dish recently, but i knew this recipe would work just as good on some tilapia. and i always have tilapia.  people bbq up some ribs and chicken- why not fish?  i bought the sauce and did the buy-one-get-one-free deal.

i bought some fresh limes, used shallots instead of garlic, and chopped up plenty of fresh cilantro.

 i didn't buy the adams rub the recipe calls for- i stuck with my tony c's to season the fish with.

everybody in the pool.

i could have grilled this up in my grill pan, but i wanted to go get a quick run in since i have another 10K saturday and i hadn't run all week. surprise. so, i baked it like i normally do- 350 deg oven for 30 min.  when i walked back in the house, the smell was out of this world! definitely a new twist for this boring, but nutritious protein.

steamed some corn and whipped up some creamed spinach for the sides.

i packed up the rest for Sonny's lunch- i know he'll enjoy it even better today, yum.

speaking of today, i had about 3/4th cup of 2% greek yogurt with some almonds and a handful of pumpkin flax granola for my mid-morning snack.

you can find this at Whole Foods in the bulk isle. it's definitely the lowest cal count i've found for granola at 140 cals per 1/2 a cup.  pretty reasonable sugar count too at 3 grams per serving. not bad.  most other granola i find start above 200 cals.  again, no drizzle of honey needed cause the granola is sweet enough.

i taught my hour-long weights class this morning so my appetite is raging. lunch has already been served and devoured:

who has lettuce now? i do! i swallowed this peppercorn turkey avocado sandwich on wheat bread with a side of strawberries.

smile, tomorrow's FRIDAY:)

le