Pumpkin Pie Spice of Life

I am sure I have said it before--I LOVE FALL and YES, I love FALL FOOD!  Pumpkin is one of those foods that I have grown to love over the last couple years. Unfortunately, my love affair with Pumpkin really started a couple years ago with Pumpkin Muffins from Dunkin Donuts. Well, that affair didn't end well as those muffins can pack on lots of calories and sugar that Shay Shay's body just doesn't need!

Last year, I decided to conquer the Dunkin Pumpkin Muffin temptation with making my own version as posted here:

 http://losingfatandwinning.blogspot.com/2011/09/spibelt-pumpkin-muffins-and-running.html

This year, I am even more focused on my training, clean eating, and body sculpting, so even my own clean version of pumpkin muffins are not "on plan" right now.

What is Shay Shay to do?

Well, I have been seeing lots of clean recipes using pumpkin pie spice. I had never used it before--probably would have been great in my muffins actually. Anyhoo, I decided to buy some and see how I can get my Fall Pumpkin Fix and stay "on plan".

SO GLAD I DID!

Pumpkin Pie Spice really spruced up my morning oatmeal and protein shake.

For my oatmeal and my chocolate protein shake I added the following to my cooked oats:

• Dash tsp nutmeg
• Dash cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Now you can play with the amount based on your desired spice tolerance--I am all about season to one's OWN TASTE!  I like the kick, but most folks probably only need the Dash of nutmeg and cinnamon and the 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. I don't add stevia, but that may sweeten up the spicy if you need.

Oh, and I add 2 tablespoons Bee Pollen Granules to my oatmeal.  This Super-Duper Food has all sorts of health benefits but also adds a nice little flavor to my oats.  Two tablespoons of flaxseed and egg whites are also a great addition to have a fully balanced bowl of oatmeal.  Oh, and of course, if you are eating fruit with your morning oatmeal, try adding a few tablespoons of pumpkin. 

For a little information on Bee Pollen, see  http://www.livestrong.com/article/270887-what-are-the-benefits-of-eating-bee-pollen/ 

Keep it Spicy and Have a Great Weekend! I sure plan on it! 

What's Cooking Shay Shay? Fish and Fresh Roasted Green Beans

Every since I was a little girl, I loved fresh fish! Growing up near the waters of the beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia, there was no shortage of fish on our dinner table (and yes, my family COOKED and we ATE TOGETHER MOST NIGHTS!)

While I am a little land locked in Atlanta, I still love to sit down and enjoy a nice fish lunch or dinner.  With my endeavor toward a lean, tight, muscular physique, I am cooking lots more fish: tilapia, orange roughy, and salmon are my favorites!

Here is a recipe for white fish like tilapia or orange roughy that I have recently thoroughly enjoy. I played with these spices I tend to enjoy in various dishes.  This turned out much better than I expected.

SEASONED WHITE FISH
Preheat oven at 425 degrees

• 8-10 fillets of white fish
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning 
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Dash of sea salt and pepper to taste
• Spray a gallon storage bag with cooking spray
• Add fish and seasonings to the bag and toss until fish is  thoroughly coated

Tossed and Fully Coated

Ready for the oven

• Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread fish evenly on a the sheet.

• Cook for 15 minutes/until fish is at desired flakiness

FRESH ROASTED GREEN BEANS

Done:  Seasoned Tilapia and Fresh Roasted Green Beans

Preheat oven at 425 degrees 

• Spray baking sheet with cooking spray
• Garden fresh green beans (about 2 pints or 4 handfuls)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 2 tablespoons rosemary
• Dash of sea salt and pepper to taste
• Put all the ingredients on the baking sheet, spray beans with cooking spray and toss/stir until green beans are coated
• Roast beans until slightly tender/until desired tenderness reached 

12 Weeks: Committed

The other day I saw a Facebook post on one of the many fitness fan pages I "like".  It mentioned that we have 12 weeks left in 2012 and asked what we are going to do (fitness wise) before the New Year (i.e. before resolution making time).

Me?  I am going to be Committed in a way that I have NEVER BEEN to reaching the next phase of my fitness goals.  I am armed with a great training and meal plans by Lisa at Boutique Body Fitness (www.boutiquebodyfitness.com), so the rest is up to me!

I am committed to stay on my meal plan, without compromise.

I am committed to toughen up and extend myself during my training sessions and follow the cardio plan designed for me.

I am committed to REST--to get adequate sleep at night and rest my body as instructed.

I am committed to not OVER commit my time such that I am overwhelmed.

I am committed to ME.

I am committed to entering 2013 with a BANG, a BOOM BOOM POW--feeling, looking, and being THE BEST Shay Shay I can be!

What's Cooking Shay Shay: Breakfast

On this journey to Lose Fat and Win, I have studied and have learned quite a bit about eating clean and how to stay on track whether at home or traveling.  The key to my success has been food preparation--that is 1. buying whole foods, 2. cooking and preparing my meals with these whole foods, 3. packing and taking with me the meals I cook and prepare, and 4. most importantly--EATING and ENJOYING what I cook and prepare.

Over the years, I have shared my food preparation tips with my friends.  They have been encouraging me to share with a broader audience.  So, here I am--sharing what Shay Shay is cooking.  I will endeavor to share on a regular basis and will include pictures.

Just as I adapt recipes to suit my taste, you can do the same. Some things I cook come various cookbooks, blogs, and websites. Others come from my playing around in the kitchen based on dishes I have enjoyed in restaurants or just experimenting with various foods and flavors.  I will always try to give proper credit.

Back to what's cooking.

I wondered where to start. Ah, DUH!--start with the first meal of the day. The meal that gets me energized to be the most productive Shay Shay I can be. BREAKFAST--probably my favorite meal of the day!

Here is a dish I created because I wanted to add more leafy greens in my diet. I figured kale would be a nice compliment to the sweet potato and egg whites I have as part of my Boutique Body Fitness meal plan. It was inspired by "hash" I have had at various restaurants over the years. Frankly, without seeing "hash" on menus I would not have knows what to call this!

Kale, Asparagus and Sweet Potato Hash (one of my favorite breakfast dishes)

1 1/2-2 cups chopped kale (spinach works too)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup asparagus
3-5 small portabella mushrooms, sliced
4-5 oz sweet potato--baked whole and sliced or cubed and roasted beforehand
3-5 egg whites
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning or other herbs
2 dashes black pepper (optional to taste)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (optional to taste)

Coat a skillet with cooking spray.  Saute garlic, red onion, asparagus, mushrooms, seasoning/herbs, optional salt and pepper until browned.  Add Kale (or spinach) and saute until tender.

Add egg whites and scramble with other ingredients until whites are cooked well.

Put on plate and top with sweet potato, which can be reheated if prepared in advance.

Enjoy!

Pure Delight!

For some time now, I have really been watching my sodium intake among other non-herbal additives.  My mantra when I go out to eat (when I am sticking to plan as I should) has been: no butter, no oil, no salt, please. 

While many may think that this would make for really bland meals, I am finding what I am now going to call PURE DELIGHT in the rich, but simple, pretty much, unadulterated flavor of clean food. 

I really have trained my taste buds to uncover this Pure Delight.  If there is even a smidgen of salt, my taste buds (and many times my head--headaches) get overwhelmed.

Finding this Pure Delight makes it super simple to stick to my eat-clean lifestyle AND enjoy my meals! Shay Shay is and has always been (since the days in my grandmother Omia's kitchen) a FOODIE! 

To give you a sense of this Pure Delight let's look at my lunch out with my colleagues yesterday to Miller Union--www.millerunion.com.  I was tempted to pass because I wanted to get back to my tighter clean eating after about 7 days of vacation, but I enjoy getting out of the office with my group.  Passing--especially on a beautiful Friday afternoon was not really going to happen. I had to make it work.

I contemplated eating at my desk prior to leaving and just getting tea--maybe a salad--at Miller Union.

Instead of "being weird" I decided preview the restaurant menu and determine what I could work and then called the restaurant to ask if they would be able to accommodate me.  

Of course they could!  

I chose the trout from on entree, the green beans from another, and the farro (after being told the butternut squash already had been prepped in butter)-- ALL with NO BUTTER, NO OIL, NO SALT!

PURE DELIGHT!

I absolutely enjoyed it AND stayed on plan!  

PURE DELIGHT! 

Back and Back on Track

Oh what a wonderful time I had in the beautiful Coachella Valley this past week!

Beautiful Historic LaQuinta Resort and Club

I am back in ATL and back to my routine of strict clean eating and workouts (although I don't pick up with Lisa at Boutique Body Fitness until next week).

To help me get back on my strict clean eating track, I hit up the Dekalb International Farmer's Market and tried some new things including Monk Fish--baked it and it was yummy, and I spruced up my tuna a bit with some fresh basil, tomatoes, artichokes, dill, celery seed, and champagne vinegar (which is yummy with no calories, no salt--just taste!)

When I get settled in a little more I will be doing a couple posts on my Coachella Valley Adventure, including the food, fitness, and fun!

Stay Tuned!

Until then, Shay Shay will be running the Black Girls Run Drive to End Hunger 5K (looking to get a personal best) and playing my first match of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Season and continuing to work on Getting and Keeping it Tight!

Adventures in Shay Shay Travel: The US Open!

Happy Labor Day!

I just finished watching Serena Williams beat her opponent hands down 6-0, 6-0 and now watching some incredible doubles play by the Bryan Brothers. Oh how I LOVE this GAME!

I had the wonderful fortune to spend time in NYC for the 2012 US Open! I saw so many awesome players do their thing on the court. For me, the US Open was like the Super Bowl, March Madness, the Olympic Games, the World Cup and World Series(and any other major sporting event/series) ALL IN ONE!

If only I had figured out the darn zoom function on my iPhone camera! I could have gotten some awesome shots--like a closer up of the Williams Sisters:

While I've been told that if I don't have pictures on this blog, then it didn't happen, I KNOW I saw:  the Williams Sisters, the  Bryan Brothers, Federer, Murray, Tsonga, Bartoli, Stouser, Sloan Stephens, and Sharapova to just name a few. 

What DID happen is that I was totally prepared to stay on my plan while at the Open. We pretty much stayed ALL DAY and NIGHT and the healthy food choices are limited and EXPENSIVE and not on plan.  

 Here is my cooler. Packed up with enough lean protein, veggies, complex carbs, and sugar-free gum for the ENTIRE trip! Tip: frozen ice packs are totally TSA Security friendly. I only bought one full meal the entire trip! It SAVED me in so many ways!

With storage bags and foil, getting in all my clean meals was virtually hassle free!

    And, of course I got in my workouts!  I even pushed myself harder than I have ever done during my treadmill circuit workout. I am no longer afraid of 7.0 sprints?!?! Not Shay Shay Baaabbbbyyyy! 

Shay Shay is proving that I can vacation, enjoy myself and NOT COMPROMISE my overall healthy, fit lifestyle. This makes me extremely proud and happy.

I look forward to my next adventure.  Until then, here is a picture that I just think is way cool that happened totally by accident. Shay Shay's silhouette against the US Open lighted logo. My last moment on the grounds of Billy Jean King Stadium.

And this is me at the Historic Lenox Lounge in Harlem having a little post-US Open fun!  I got my dance (and extra cardio in for sure!)