Blingy Suit and Clear Lucite Shoes!

Well my suit has been ordered and will have my first fitting 4 weeks out! I picked a really nice (bright) yellow fabric with some crystals. I thought that yellow would look great against my dark skin tone. A lot of people at the gym thought it was a great idea as well. Here's the fabric!

 

My shoes came in yesterday as well and they were suprisingly comfortable. I was worried that the plastic was going to annoy me and be very uncomfortable. Yoko and I are going to practice posing tomorrow morning so I get to strut my stuff in these babies tomorrow morning!

 

Vince took some pictures of me in a bikini wearing these shoes. It's definitely different being in swimsuit and high heels. I felt just a tad bit self concious but I better suck it up because in 6 weeks I will be strutting myself in front of hundreds of strangers judging me. I will post pics soon.

 

Brussel Sprouts

One of my favorite ways to cook veggies is to roast them. So simple and easy, yet oh so delicious.

I'm really not sure where or how did brussel sprouts get such a bad reputation but it's going to be hard to convince people that they are delicious if they're always served to you just boiled, unappetizing and bland.

Here's my favorite way to cook these tiny little cabbages.

I slice them into two, sometimes three if they're big enough. Spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (easy clean up). I then spritz them (very lightly) with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with lemon zest and lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until tender. They pair well with grilled chicken and quinoa!

Sometimes, make "chips" out of them as well. I loosen the brussel sprouts into individual leaves and I spray them very lightly with EVOO (sometimes with the chips, I don't even spray them with oil). I roast them for 25 minutes and I take them out and let them cool for a bit.

These are great to snack on or one of my favorite way is topping my kale and spinach salad with the chips. They add a little bit of smokiness and crunch to the salad. If it were okay for me to eat dried cranberries (I preferred unsweetened) at this time, I will add it to the salad along with some sunflower seeds. A simple homemade lemon vinaigrette dressing and it's salad heaven!  

Recipe: Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Pablano with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This was inspired by an old recipe that I had (http://ronnielascano.blogspot.com/2010/10/chicken-chile-relleno.html)for chicken relleno.

This version is much leaner, lower in fat and calories but just as delish!

4 large poblano peppers
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red (or orange, yellow, green) bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb of ground lean turkey (ground chicken works as well)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp ground mustard 
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1½ cups cooked quinoa

¼ cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
4 red bell peppers
1 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat grill and oven to 350 degrees. Once the grill is hot, place pablano and red bell peppers on the grill and roast until blackened on all sides.

 

Put in ziploc bags for 10 minutes then carefully peel the skin off the peppers. 

Using small sharp knife, carefully slit peppers open along 1 side. Remove seeds, leaving stems attached and set aside.

 

Meanwhile, brown ground turkey in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, red peppers and dry seasonings. Cook until turkey is cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Add cooked quinoa and chicken broth, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Remove from heat.

 Stuff the pablano peppers with the turkey mixture placed on a baking dish.

In the meanwhile take peeled and seeds removed red bell pepper and transfer to a blender. Add roasted garlic and chicken broth (or water) and blend until smooth.

 Pour over the stuffed pablano peppers and bake in the oven for 25 minutes and serve hot! 

Note:
Ingredients listed in red above is my own mixture for italian seasoning. You can easily buy Italian chicken sausage in lieu of turkey and added seasoning. I prefer to do my own so I know exactly what goes in my food. It's also one of the benefits of having a well stocked pantry. :)

Meltdown City

So I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. Been extremely busy with work and working out and prepping food. I know that's not an excuse.

Well it finally it hit me. That "thing" that many competitors have warned me about. Yup. I had my very first meltdown this past weekend. I did not anticipate it at all. I thought I was on a roll and was feeling great about everything. The eating, the work outs, the results. Then Saturday night, as I laid in bed, I just kept thinking about how much fat I still have to lose, how tiny I am, how flat my butt is, yada yada yada...and so little time to improve that. How am I going to compete in 7 weeks? No way!

Sunday morning, while Vince and I were relaxing, I texted Yoko with "Do you HONESTLY think that I'm going to be ready to be competitive in April?" It was a loaded question and I thought she answered it perfectly. She ended up calling me as if she knew that it was better said through conversation rather than through text. I did my best to fight back tears and not be a baby.

I sobbed like a baby after I got of the phone with her and I just filled my head with doubts and really just get the pressure of the show get the best of me. After calming down, I stayed in the room and just really thought about what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do the competition in the first place.

I started this journey to really see how far I can push myself physically and mentally. I wanted to inspire other people and better and challenge myself. It was a lifestyle change (or mix up as I would call it) and wasn't about getting on the stage and comparing myself to the other girls who a lot of them have been training and invested a lot of time and money trying to get their pro cards. I had to really dig in and look at the amazing progressed that I've made over the past few weeks. The people that I've inspired so far and the friendships that I've already made during this training. THAT to me is what matters the most. I shouldn't let the pressure of the show be bigger than what it is. I'm in competition with myself and myself alone. No one can say that I don't deserve to be on that stage because I do. I've worked my butt off and will continue to do so even after the show. I deserve to be on that stage and have my moment, even if I come in last. That's not what matters.

So after much consideration, I'm going to try my very best to not let myself get to this point again. Yoko and I switched up my workouts and nutrition and we are ready to kick some major ass (okay mostly my little one) and be stage ready in April!

10 Weeks Out - Progress Pics

10 weeks out and I'm really seeing some progress. My legs are really toning up. I can tell that the little booty that I have is getting a bit more perky (go ahead and laugh, I know, I don't have any booty. Hey! I wasn't blessed with one so I have to work really hard on make the one I have look good. YOu can blame mother nature for that one).

A few friends have made a comment about my quads and you can really tell they are getting a bit bigger and really developing. Same thing goes for my arms. This week for some reason, I feel like my fat everywhere else redistributed to my abs area. I can't really see my abs in the pictures but they're there trust me. Vince reminds me every night when he counts them and teases me about it (in a good way). Hopefully I changing my diet and workouts a bit after next week, would help with that. I know that my waist is shrinking so I'm not going to let that get me down.

Looking forward to the next few weeks!

Dropping It Like It's Hot!

Lbs and inches that is! For a while there I wasn't "seeing" results until the past couple of weeks. It seems like I woke up one day and lost a ton (okay not a ton, more like ten) of weight and inches! 

I stepped on the scale and I weighed in at 115. I started at 125. That's 10 lbs! 10lbs. I wasn't the tiniest person out there by no means but I wasn't fat either, relatively speaking. The past couple of weeks I really noticed my clothes getting loose especially around the waist but tighter on the thighs. 

I saw a post on Pinterest and I started taking these pictures. 

It's definitely motivating! 

I'll be 8 weeks out next week and we're going to evaluate my progress and probably make some tweaks to my diet and workouts and see what we need to focus on. Exciting! 

Recipe: Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I'm 10 weeks out and a lot of people are really noticing the changes with my body and I am too. People are always asking me what I eat and assumes that I'm eating nothing but boiled chicken and broccoli! BOILED CHICKEN!?? That's just silly! I cook clean, healthy and delicious food whenever we have people for dinner and quite a bit of them are asking for a lot of my recipes or suggest that I put together a recipe book. Not sure if I'm quite ready for that but I've always preached that healthy doesn't mean lack of flavor or grilled chicken and broccoli.

Yoko suggested that I create a food blog. I could be the Asian Julia Childs with clean recipes! It's definitely a thought but for now, I'll stick to this until all the things I have going on calm down a bit and maybe I'll start that! For now, I'll stick to this blog and share recipes whenever I can.



Turkey Lettuce Wraps

1 lb ground turkey or ground chicken (if you prefer)
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, julienned 
1 cup of chopped  mushrooms
Salt & pepper (to taste)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and julienne
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 1/2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce (tamari for gluten free option)
1/2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. natural peanut butter
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tbsp. chili garlic sauce
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
romaine lettuce

It's all about flavor. Garlic, Onions, Ginger

Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add ground turkey, stirring often to break up the meat and cook until it's done, drain if necessary. Set aside.

Add onion and garlic until onion is almost translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Add turkey back in the pan.

Meanwhile, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper in a bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add to skillet and stir to combine. 

Add green onion, carrots, ginger and water chestnuts into the skillet, then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.  

Serve with cold lettuce leaves and a side of Siracha if desired. Unsalted peanuts are optional for extra crunch as well!