Protein Banana Bread

So my family seems to have a love/hate relationship with bananas.  Some weeks I have to replenish them once or twice during the week; others, the ones I buy on my big Saturday shopping trip are still sitting in the fruit bowl at the end of the week and our kitchen is beginning to smell very banana-y.  This week has been one of the latter weeks, and I needed to get rid of some bananas.  My very favorite banana bread recipe is a Cooking Light recipe that has chocolate chips in it; this time, I was looking for a recipe that was cleaner and guilt-free.  And I came upon this one for Protein Banana Bread! I was a little nervous about the husband and kids liking it, but it earned a unanimous thumbs-up, especially from my husband who asked me to make it more often!

This is super easy and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand.  Those I didn't I was able to make easy substitutions for (I've noted the substitutions below).  Let me know what you think!

• 1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour (I used oat flour, just because I like it better)
• 1/2 cup Stevia or other sweetener of your choice (I used 1/4 c. Stevia and 1/4 c. organic brown sugar, to make it more husband-friendly!)
• 3 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (I was low on vanilla, so I used 1 scoop vanilla and 2 scoops chocolate)
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I never measure cinnamon--in my opinion you can never have too much!)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup mashed banana (2 large or 3 small bananas)
• 1/4 cup water (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• snack size of unsweetened applesauce (I used 1/4 cup canned pumpkin)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together.  Pour into a 8"/4" loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick can be stabbed into the middle and pulled out clean.

Enjoy!!

This week starts my "official" competition prep for my first figure show with Musclemania.
I have been using these past few weeks to put on more muscle and that is what I will continue to do for the next several weeks. My diet has been very clean whic is what I need to focus on right now. I've been eating a lot of eggs and egg whites. I have about 3 full eggs a day and then between 4-6 egg whites per day. I eat every 3-4 hours which is really important. My meals throughout the day consist of a lot of vegetables, lean meats and healthy fats. I am not eating any grains. I'm not doing the Paleo diet per say, I am actually eating more as an anti-yeast diet. Over the past couple of weeks I have had a very bad yeast infection and I am prone to get these. After much research online and talking to other health preofessionals, I found out that a diet that has any yeast or sugars in it will feed into a yeast infection. So, not yeast or fruit are included in my diet.
As for my workouts, I have been doing very little cardio, lower reps and higher sets. I'll focus on 2 or 3 body parts a day and do 3 or 4 circuits consisting of about 5 exercises hitting those body parts. Circuits keep you moving and work more muscle groups at a time which burns more calories. The reason I am doing low reps (8-10) is because the weights are heavier and I am doing at least 4 sets. I will start to do more actual steady-state cardio in a couple weeks in the morning on an empty stomach.
Lots and lots of water is very important! It keeps you hydrated, keeps your metabolism moving and makes you feel fuller longer.
I have posted a picture of the supplements that I am currently taking:

The whey protein is something I take either right after workout or as one of my meals. I don't take it every day as I am trying to stick with pure clean foods. I take the Amino energy before my workout along with a tsp. of glutamine. Right after the workout I take Cellmass (creatine) and another tsp. of glutamine. CLA pills are taken 3x a day and the Hyper Shred is taken 2x a day. Cellmass, CLA and glutamine are essential in muscle growth and recovery. Amino is for muscle repair before, during and after the workout, helps me lifts more, gives energy and supports Nitric Oxide Synthesis. The Hyper Shred is great for boosting metabolism and giving me a little extra energy.

So, that's what I have so far in my competition prep. My current weight is 142 and my body fat percentage is about 16-17%. That's an estimate as I don't have a way of getting my exact amount at the time. I'm happy with my progress so far and I'm feeling really motivated! I'll try to get picture up soon.



Chicken and Apple

So after a while of being boring, I've finally tried a few new recipes again.  This one is from a Paleo recipe site. It's really simple and very flavorful. My kids even liked it, which is saying a lot since neither of them (especially my 5-year-old) like to try new things.  I ate this plain but served it over brown rice for the rest of the fam. Warning, leftovers do not look appetizing because the apples turn a grayish color for some reason. But they still taste great!

(Serves 2, so mutiply ingredients as needed)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 t. salt
2 T. coconut oil
1 large apple
1/2 t. cinnamon and/or allspice (I love these spices, so I used both!)

Dice chicken breasts.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat a saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil when hot.  Add chicken and cook until slightly pink.  Grate apple into pan and add cinnamon/allspice.  Continue to cook until chicken is done and apple is tender.

Enjoy!

Italian Turkey Burgers

Here's another recipe courtesy of Jamie Eason! I just made these for the first time on Tuesday night and they are SOOO good. Even my red-meat eating, zucchini-hating husband was a fan. The shredded zucchini makes them really moist and they get so much flavor from the seasoning. I ate mine on a bed of spinach and topped it with some salsa. Enjoy! (I know you will!)

1 lb. ground extra lean turkey breast
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper

(*note: You can tweak the spices in any way you want. I didn't have any onion powder or dried basil and I don't like black pepper, so I put in some cayenne, poultry seasoning, and a little Worcestershire Sauce.)

Set broiler on high, arranging rack so that burgers will be about 2 inches from the heat.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients with hands, adding turkey last.  Mix well and scoop out into 4-5 portions.  Mixture will be really moist so for easier clean-up, use a foil-lined baking sheet, prepped with non-stick spray.

Place burgers in oven and broil for 7 minutes. Carefully flip each burger and continue to broil for another 7 minutes on the other side.  Serve warm.

Also makes great meatballs!

Nutrition Facts:
(if making 4 burgers)
Calories: 144
Fat: 1 g
Carbs: 3.5 g
Protein: 27.6 g

Musclemania Figure Competition

Back in Oct. 2011 I competed in my first physique competition. It was a huge commitment and a lot of hard work. However, even though I didn't place very well, I was very proud of my hard work and of what I had accomplished. Then, I did my competition in the bikini division. Bikini competitors have a feminine build, lean muscle and low body fat percentage. Judges aren't looking for too much muscle. Your stage presentation is also a big part of it. You have to be bubbly, confident, shake your booty and make it pop....all that crap that makes you feel like an idiot, basically. I did it all and had fun, but it just wasn't me. So, I have decided to challenge myself again and do another competition but in the figure division. Figure is more about leaness, muscle definition and body symmetry. Figure is more hard-core. Training is intense and a lot heavier than bikini. I am more of a figure girl. I have broad shoulders and can put on muscle pretty easily. Below I've posted pictures of the differences in the 2 categories. First is the bikini than figure below that.

The competition is Sept. 15, 2012. I will officially start my competition prep (diet, training routines) the first week of July. I want to use this blog to map my journey by posting my training splits and diet as well as the changes in my body. I have muscle to gain and body fat % to loose! I will need to get down to about 10% body fat 1 week out from the show. I would appreciate lots of encouragement to keep my motivation up! 

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

So I made these amazing pumpkin muffins yesterday. I love anything with pumpkin in it, so I was so excited to find this Paleo recipe! These muffins are moist and full of flavor. My husband liked them and my son loved them! I tweaked the recipe in a few places based on the reviews that I saw on the website where I got the recipe. I've posted the reciped and noted where I made "tweaks" in parentheses.  Pumpkin is full of vitamin A and antioxidants, and the muffins are sweetened with raw honey, which has been proven to help with seasonal allergies (if local) and boost your immune system.  Combined with the protein from the almond flour and eggs (and I added a little more with some protein powder), this is a wonderful breakfast, snack, or treat!

1 1/2 c. almond flour
3/4 c. pumpkin
3 eggs (I used one egg and two whites)
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cinnamon (I doubled this, both based on reviews and the fact that I love cinnamon!)
1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (I added a little more)
1/8 t. salt
1/4 c. raw honey (I added about a tablespoon more based on reviews)
2 t. almond butter
1/2 t. melted coconut oil
(Optional: I added half a scoop vanilla protein powder, and probably will add a full scoop next time)

Preheat oven to 350.
Put paper muffin cups in a 12-cup muffin tin and mist with cooking spray.
Mix all ingredients together and pour into muffin cups.
Bake 25 minutes, but check at 20 (mine were a little brown on top).
Enjoy!

Day Three

So, I decided to take the weekend off of posting my meals. Between not feeling well and running around all weekend, it was crazy! Today will be the last day that I post my meals, and I hope that this has been as helpful to some of you as it has to me. If you're trying to lose weight, its always a good idea to either write down or snap a quick picture of what you eat; often you're eating either more or less than you think you are. As a recovering anorexic, I have to remind myself often that my life should be fueled by food, not revolve around it. And this goes for those of you who struggle the other way too! Good, healthy, pure food will give you the energy, health, and attitude to live a full life!

Anyway, let me step off of my soap box and get to the point of this post. After a workout this morning, I filled up with some plain greek yogurt mixed with half a scoop of protein powder, some chia powder, and a palmful of blueberries. This is a high protein breakfast that helped my body recover from my interval and weight session this morning, and the blueberries add healthy carbs and lots of antioxidants. Plus it tastes really good!



I grabbed my morning snack this morning in a hurry because I didn't feel like prepping anything last night. I don't like to drink these too often because they are full of things that I can't pronounce (something I always try to avoid!), but I keep them on hand because they're an easy, quick, high protein snack that holds me over until lunch.







Okay, I'll be the first to admit that this is not an appetizing picture. But this is my favorite "My Fit Foods" meal! (And it probably doesn't look appetizing because I just pulled it out of the fridge and snapped a picture this morning before it was heated up.) For those of you who don't live in the Houston area, "My Fit Foods" is a company that prepares healthy meals from scratch that you can pick up and reheat. I usually grap one or two of these on the weekends to take to work for lunch during the week. That way, I don't even have to worry about preparing something on a couple of days! This one is a salmon cake with asparagus. I love the salmon cake because they just put a little flax meal in it to hold it together, no bread crumbs, so you mainly just taste the salmon. Super yummy and filling!

Yep, same old afternoon snack! Why mess with what works?!









This is one of my go-to dinners when I get home late and don't feel being in the kitchen too long. It is one egg (organic and omega-3 enhanced!) and about 2-3 egg whites scrambled with whatever vegetables I have on hand. Tonight it was asparagus, bell pepper, and leftover roasted cauliflower from last night, which I then put on a plate of steamed spinach and topped with some diced avocado and cayenne pepper. SOOO good! I had some carob chips for dessert, but later gave in and ate half of a whole wheat tortilla and some pistachios. Grazing at night is my biggest pitfall!