Banana Pecan Chocolate Chunk Muffins

how was your monday?

the 'monday blues' do not exist!  Mondays only suck if you let them- accept what you can't change and change what you can't accept.

 whether it's your career, your relationships, or even something you want to change within yourself, start by making a CONSCIOUS effort to be positive with your actions, expressions, and words.  positivity breeds positivity. don't dwell on the negative and what went wrong.  break the habit.  talk about your joys and count your blessings!  and if what went wrong is worth it, fix it, but keep building and focusing on the NEW.

i finally started the online defensive driving course (gag) task i've been putting off since i got the ticket back in july.  i thought that horrible procrastination habit was supposed to fade out as you got older, i mean really.  during one of my countless mini breaks i went and made some of the best homemade muffins i've had....ever. look!

Banana Pecan Chocolate Chunk Muffins (source)

the stuff:

• 6 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup coconut crystals
• 1 cup 2% greek yogurt
• 3 small RIPE bananas
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces

do this:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. mix the wet ingredients with the wet, and the dry with the dry.
3. combine all together in a large mixing bowl
4. fold in chocolate chunks and pecans last
5. spray muffin pan with no-stick cooking spray
6. bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown

macros for 1 regular muffin (makes 24):

 macros for 1 mini muffin (makes 36):

30 minutes of defensive driving down, 5.5 hours to go. welp, goodnight. :lol:

le

WFM KATY <3

feast your eyes on the awesomeness that is Whole Foods Market............. KATY, TX.

i pulled up like 3 minutes before go time and hopped my butt right on in line.

they had some great grand opening deals, and fresh wild salmon was one of them!  they were selling like hot cakes under that tent up there for 5.99 a lb.

as i neared the door, i heard....music?  there was a live orchestra back there, even though you can't tell at all from this pic.  that's how WFM does it!  it didn't make the weather any warmer, but it was a nice touch.

this is the very first pic of the madness once i stepped foot in the store.  this is NOTHIN!  there were still a ton of peeps behind me.

:shock: the freshest produce ever in life :shock:

beautiful berries!

how can you not want one of everything?

so i was caught on camera using my own camera. (l)  #awkward!   i have no idea what station he was affiliated with but i do hope it was a major network LOL

beans, beans, the musical fruit!

the beloved bulk bins.  i couldn't pass up getting a couple scoops of pumpkin flax granola.

this is THE cleanest this area will ever be in life. lol

ok i have a confession.  my phone straight DIED a few minutes after i took this pic and i was devastated. seriously.  i went to bed with a full battery and did not put it on the charger and because i have soooooo much crap on my phone these days and have yet to order an SD card.  which means my battery is toast in a matter of hours. soooooo, i sped through the store and came back a few hours later with my bro for lunch.  hey i had a dr's appointment and was out anyway ;)

 i'll pick back up where i left off-

fresh

meat!

would i like a sample?  do you know who i am?

'air chilled' is a new term i said i'd google later. the tender was super juicy!

right, Matt?

and wow, that camera man was still there.

 these were so cute. and true.

we rounded a corner of the store and walked past the gourmet grilled cheese and specialty beer station.

it was a little after lunch time here and the store was CRACKIN'.

and then we saw a walking banana and had to get a pic!  and yes...i've officially been #photobombed by the lovely shopper behind us.

twice, smh!!!! who does these types of things!? i thought you only photobombed people you know!

we kept going and passed the delectable desserts...

just looking!

they had pizza samples left and right, mmmmm.

next up was the prepared foods section.

man...food presentation at its finest. *DROOLING*

this was matt's incentive for coming with me. free lunch!  he got a sammich at the sammich station.

gettin' mo samples...sushi samples.

it was a shrimp, avocado,  multigrain rice roll; lovely combo!

we turned around and saw several fresh food bars like the olive one above,

and this multicultural one.  variety is something WF never lacks!

so many overwhelming options to choose from.

 and uuuuuuuuweeeeeeee that 8.49 per lb. hurts my HEART!  especially when i remember when it was 2.99.........

last thing on this side of the store was the cool coffee bar.

more samples on the way to checkout- this tasted like kombaucha soda. not bad!

i meant to get some canned tuna while i was there so i cut through the frozen foods aisle and ran into this thing-  i thought it just rotated commercials and advertisements all day long, but nope, i touched the screen and was wowed immediately!

'touch a produce item for recipes and information.'

um, OK!!!

recipes, ideas, and tips galore! what a fantastic tool!

wait, how did i end up here?  focus!!!

got the tuna and headed to checkout, but not before passing up the to-go bakery case.... YUMMERS

seating area was CRAY-CRAY so we went home to eat.

i'm sure this area will be boomin' once Houston weather warms back up.

more samples outside!? of course! just some grilled fillet mignon, no big deal.

they even have their very own food truck(s).  i'm not surprised!

smelled amazing...

i'll save it for the next trip.

OH, a lady was standing at the door on our way out with a basket FULL of free grocery bags!  i loved this pattern the second i saw it.

juuuust expanding my grocery bag collection.

see, i didn't do too bad at all! this was nothin.

tuna, kettlecorn, bell peppers (5 for 5 dollar deal), pumpkin flax granola, and a loaf of seeduction bread for my mama.

aaaand the very last #foodie shot- half of Matt's reuben flat bread wrap. delish!

i think ALL but like one of my friends can stand grocery shopping lol!

Q: have you ever attended a store's grand opening? any store!

le

turkey day 10k + november goals

happy NOVEMBER &  friday :)

let's celebrate.  have some pancakes.

i made a big one for Chiso's breakfast yesterday.  since he hadn't had them in a while (we switched to Ezekiel's cinnamon raisin bread for a little bit) he killed the whole thing in a few minutes.

it was topped with some cinnamon and a drizzle of walden farms pancake syrup.

SO, what are your fitness and nutrition goals for this month?  how often do you make goals anyway?  do you even make them? daily? weekly? monthly? making goals has become an incredibly useful tool for me now that i'm in off-season with my competition training.  whenever i write ANYTHING down (grocery list, an event, reminder, whatever) Sonny feels the need to remind me what year it is and to document things electronically.  well sometimes i don't want to!  i mean seriously.  i enjoy writing out my grocery list by hand and crossing off items one by one while i'm at the store.  i just do.  i'm pretty sure it's cause my mom did/does that.  i also like to group all my items together (frozen, produce, etc.) as i take them out of my basket and put them on the belt at checkout.  Sonny finally understands this and lets me do my thing :lol:  anyway, it will take me longer to type my entire list into my phone... and then what if it dies!?

i did a reverse selfie (which is way freakin harder to do than i thought) of my october progress which was to eat as clean as possible and to add more definition all over, especially my abs.  i stuck with my clean eating for the most part even though these weekend parties filled with pizza and cake got me a few times!   but i stayed inside my 80/20 rule, so it's all good.  i also upped my weight training and decreased my cardio.  i'd love to stay where i am right right now so that when i compete again, i'll be at an acceptable 'starting' place.

 le’s NOVEMBER 2012 fitness and nutrition goals 

• continue to stay on track with my meal plan and clean eating
• ENJOY Thanksgiving to the fullest – no meal plan, scale, nothin’ on that day
• Run this 10K on turkey day ----> http://turkeytrot.shelteringarms.org/  and beat my current PR!
• Add HIIT back into my current workout routine (sprints 2x’s a week)
• Take my ab workouts more serious

ok those are mine!  whether you write them or type your goals, just make some.   i'm not just running a 10k so i can eat like a crazy woman on TG, but  i already planned to workout anyway.  i know my gym class will be canceled like it is every year, but i'd totally be there at 5:30am sharp for anyone who wanted to get in a great weight workout that morning.

have you ever worked out on Thanksgiving Day???  

  my little Ruggles Green lunch date from the weekend inspired me to throw a butternut squash in our grocery basket.

 i threw the whole thing in the oven for about 20-25 minutes on 400 degrees.  after it cooled, i cut it in half, long ways.

i think i got pretty darn close to their Famous Butternut Squash.  in terms of taste, not looks, apparently.

at least Chiso thinks so- he liked it *wipes forehead*.   i used:

squash:

• walden farms pancake syrup (instead of the maple syrup)
• i can't believe it's not butter spray butter
• few dashes of cinnamon
• dash of salt

topping:

• crunchy lite granola (bulk bins at HEB/Whole Foods)
• coconut crystals (found at Whole Foods)

that's all that's in there and it was too simple to be that good.  i didn't measure a thing though and just threw it together, fyi.  i was gonna cut it into chunks and throw it in the blender, but it was soft enough to just whip/mash up in a bowl by hand.  also,  i didn't have graham crackers like the original recipe, but Sonny's lite crunchy granola worked out fine.

does he look warm?  bless his heart.  i hadn't been outside since my eeeeearly morning workout, so i assumed it was still pretty cool out.  not quite.

i took him out of the jacket and he took the hat off himself lol.  Moms, if you don't have a jogging stroller, INVEST in one.  no gym membership required.  your post baby body journey starts with some good ol' walking.  you'll be jogging/running again eventually though, and you'll be able to knock out two birds with one stone!  family time and exercise.  never let your little one be your excuse...only your reason.  we were blessed with this stroller as a baby shower gift and i am SOOOOO grateful for it.

i used the last of that fresh atlantic salmon we bought to make breakfast tacos for meal #4 that night.  i put this concoction together in my head while on our evening walk- fresh salmon, avocado, egg whites, shredded almond cheese all on a Ezekiel sprouted grain corn tortilla. yum!  the tortillas pretty much broke apart once i picked it up :( , but hey it all went to the same place.

we topped them with cilantro and salsa first.

after that, i went to my freezer for the next best thing since we're outta salmon right now- tilapia!  i baked a few pans of garlic and herb tilapia in the oven so i could prep some more meals to get us through the week.

i also made so fresh steamed asparagus for our green vegetable. lots of lemon pepper and Pam.

meal #5  for that evening consisted of spaghetti squash i baked earlier in the week, tilapia, and asparagus. i just rolled up two fork fulls of the squash and made it look like little pasta nests.  then i sprinkled them with garlic and herb seasoning and some dried parsley.

Chiso and i are gearing up to support Sonny in his 2nd bodybuilding show this weekend!

we are so ready to cheer him on :)

a trophy would be awesome, but i get to bring the man home with me! whoop whoop!

le