Foodie Fun

Yay!  I'm so glad to be back in my kitchen cooking again! :)  Here is another recipe I made this week and it was a big hit at my house:

Flank Steak Roll Up:

1 flank steak - about 1-2lbs
1/4c whole wheat panko crumbs
2tsp red wine vinegar
2TBSP minced garlic
1/4c low fat feta cheese
3oz spinach (about 6 cups)
Seasoning of choice to taste - I used Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil and Garlic

1) Preheat oven to 400F.  Place a rack inside a baking dish and spray with cooking spray.

2) Take the steak and cut through the middle so that it opens like a book (to make the thickness half of what it is).  I read that cutting against the grain makes it more tender, but who knows - mine was great.

3) In a small bowl mix together panko crumbs, vinegar, garlic, and seasoning of choice.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over opened steak.

4) Sprinkle feta over steak

5) Top with spinach, pressing down

6) Starting from one end, roll the steak, pressing the spinach down as you go.  You can either use kitchen twine to tie the steak in one inch intervals (that's what the recipe I used called for), or if you don't have any, poke with toothpicks to secure the roll. 

7) Bake at 400F for 30min for medium, and 35min for medium-well.

8) Take out of oven, and wrap loosely with aluminum foil and let sit for 10min.  Steak will continue to cook inside.

9) Cut into 1inch portions and enjoy!

This was a big hit at my house, and it looks beautiful, so it would be a great entre to serve to house guests.  Super easy, and pretty quick too.  This will definitely be made again at my house! :)

What I'm Reading Now

The New Metabolic Effect Diet - by Jade and Keoni Teta

I am SO into this book - it's a lot of the same stuff you hear in most "diet" books - because that's what you're supposed to do!  Anyways, I like it.  It goes hand in hand, for the most part, with what I've learned in my fitness journey so far.    If you need an easy plan to follow, and don't have (or want) a lot of time to devote to the gym, then definitely check this out!

Yummy Chicken Strips!!

I made this last night and they were SOO yummy!  Low carb, high fiber, and not even fried!

In one bowl combine:
1c whole wheat panko bread crumbs
1/3c oats (ground in food processor)
1/4c wheat bran
1/4c milled flax seed
2tsp each of garlic and onion powders, and Mrs. Dash chicken seasoning

In another bowl combine:
1/2c skim milk
1/4c non-fat plain greek yogurt
1T each of lemon juice and white vinegar
garlic and onion powders to taste and salt and pepper

Take 1-2lbs of chicken breast tenders and put into the bowl of milk, then roll each chicken tender in the bread crumb mixture.  Line on baking sheet sprayed with Pam, and spray tenders with spray as well to make a light coating over the crumbs.  Bake at 400F for about 20min or until cooked through.

These measurements are approximate!!!  I just threw some stuff in a bowl, so feel free to do the same.  With the dry ingredients, you don't have to use all of the ingredients - make it your own and use what you have.  I just threw in some stuff that I knew was high in fiber, good fats and whole grains.  They turned out excellent!

Serve with a low-cal honey mustard or low-car/sugar bbq sauce.  Enjoy!!

Post Competition Thoughts - What's Next

I trained for 16 weeks for the WBFF Central US Championships - I don't even know how many hours of cardio that equaled too, or how many calories I turned down, and the amount of will power I managed to have is completely beyond me now that I look back. 

I've enjoyed the process of competition prep - of total mind and body transformation.  It's an experience you can never relate to unless you do it.  Hours upon hours of cardio and weight training, depriving yourself of a social life and certain foods, devoting all of your time and energy to the sport.  Some people may question my sanity, but I did enjoy it.  I've found that when I'm taken out of my comfort zone, I am able to learn a lot about myself. 

Through this process I've realized that I am so much stronger than I've given myself credit for in the past.  I've got more will-power than most people I know, and I know that if I want something bad enough, I can make it happen. 

But I also realized some other, more important things along this journey.  I realized about 3 weeks out from competition, that I had missed a lot.  I had a husband and a daughter that wanted nothing more than my time and I couldn't give it to them because I didn't have the time or the energy.  As I laid in bed one night, I realized that I had something I'd always dreamed of - a six-pack stomach, a rockin' bod - but I wasn't happy.  At that point I was down right miserable.  What good is a hot body if you aren't happy?  I realized that what I'd thought was so important to me, really wasn't that important at all...and what mattered to me most - my family - I had set on the back-burner.

A couple weeks later, I competed, and I didn't even place...but I'm not upset.  I think God started working in me weeks before the competition so that I wouldn't be upset when I didn't win.  At one point while I was on stage, I looked out in the crowd (you could barely make out anyone in the crowd because of the bright lights), and I saw my mom standing next to one of my best friends from kindergarden, and she was holding Kira.  Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to look away because I thought I was going to start crying on stage!  It was in that moment that I knew where my heart was - and it wasn't on a stage.

Now, don't get me wrong - I loved the competition, and I had a great time, I enjoyed myself, and I'm SO glad that I did it.  It just opened my eyes to a lot of things that I didn't see before.  So with that being said, I've decided to graciously bow out of the competition scene.  I won't say that I'll never compete again, because I may decide to again someday, but for now, and for awhile, I'm going to focus my energy and attention on the people I love.  I plan to pick up some college courses soon so I can finally finish my degree (with MU of course!), and after that I'm going to (slowly) work on my Master's.  I don't want a full-time job anytime soon.  I spent enough time away from my family over the last four months.  I'm going to continue to train and do what I love, and at the same time go to school at a very UNstressful pace. :)  Maybe we'll have baby Burgos #2 in another year or two...and then when the kiddies are off to school, or I lose my mind - whichever comes first - I'll get a career. 

I do intend to keep up with my love for fitness (of course!!) - I love it.  But my fitness goal for now is to find the balance.  You can be healthy, and be happy and not have to live a deprived life, or spend hours in the gym.  That is where my focus is now, fitness-wise.  It's all about being happy, healthy, and fulfilled! 

I Did It Again!

Well, I did it again!  I finished the competition!  I didn't win, or place even, but it was a very big competition and I had a great time participating.  Something I've always wanted to do, and I can now say that I did it. :) 

It was a great weekend all together.  I got into Kansas City on Wednesday, got my eyelashes done by my mom's friend, then met up with some old friends for dinner.  I had chicken and asparagus while they ate tacos - but it was ok - my suitcase was filled with chocolates that I brought for post show! :)  Thursday I just relaxed and took it easy, hung out with my dad and just enjoyed not doing a whole lot.  Enrique and Kira arrived at Mom's Thursday night (bless his heart, he drove 18+ hours with Kira!). 

On Friday, the day before the show, I had a photoshoot with LHG FX Photography - it was awesome!  I got TONS of great shots with them and will have some of the images up once I get them. :)  They also took my photos during the competition as well.  Friday night, Katie, Kara and myself went to the athlete's registration and meeting, then broke off to do our tanning.  I was up pretty late putting on tanner - with the help of Enrique!  I woke up bright and early to apply some more tanner and get my hair and makeup done by Envy Salon.  I looked AMAZING! Not to toot my own horn, lol.  They did a fabulous job though!

Pre-judging started at 10:30am and before I knew it I was walking across the stage!  I did two categories this time - Diva Bikini Model (with a bikini and formal gown round), and Diva Fitness Model (bikini and themewear rounds).  Pre-judging ended around 2pm and we got to go  relax until the evening show.  I went back to our hotel room with Mom, Enrique and Kira - they all napped, but my nerves were too strung to sleep even though I was so tired!  The evening show started at 6:30 and ended around 11pm! I went out on stage a total of 6 times for the whole show - it was a blast and I felt like suck a DIVA!

All in all, I am very proud of how I did.  I've seen my stage photos and I exceeded my expectations.  My coach, Layne Norton did an excellent job, and I'm very happy with how it turned out!

I will have more photos up soon when I get them from the photographer, but here are some sneak peak photos that I took myself from the competition.