Sweet Tooth? Post Work Out Protein? Mushies?

PMS is the killer of all diets and I am so glad that I only have healthy food in my house because I could plow through the aisles of a grocery store right now. Seriously. Danger.

The good news is that i've been losing 2 lbs a week consistently. I can see my body changing for the better. I feel good about having purpose behind my workouts as opposed to just going cardio crazy for as long as I can possibly stand it. I'm really sticking to the all around healthy eating regimen and don't feel deprived. Well... every once in a while I want to smash chocolate all over my face but who doesn't? 

I ran across this post on post workout snacks that caught my eye and I seriously have to share this with you, it's over the top! It's a perfect mix of complex carbs and protein with no added sugar. It's smooth like icing so its easy on the band and it's rich and chocolatey!! Holy yum. 

1 Japanese/asian sweet potato (reddish on the outside white on the inside ... Different sweet potatoes have different nutritional value so just take note if you have to substitute)

1 scoop of syntax nectar chocolate truffle 

Splash  of water

Microwave or bake the potato until cooked through, remove the skin and mash with protein powder and a tiny splash of water if needed. You can also just put it all in the blender or use a hand mixer to whip it up. 

Makes 2 servings - You can eat it hot or cold - 1 serving has about 12 carbs and 12 grams of protein and about 100 cals! 

 

Today's Menu

Feeling good! Officially 1/3 of the way through my first 12 weeks of Body For Life and I've lost 20 lbs. hoping to lose a little more by Wednesday, my official weigh in day! 

Here's an example of what I'll eat today: 

4:45 am 1/2 Atkins shake before the gym

6:00 am 1/2 after

9:15 am: 1 organic red delicious apple

               1 oz of 2% reduced fat sharp cheddar

12:30 pm 3 oz slow cooked Berbere Chicken thighs (recipe below) 

                1/2 flat out light italian wrap 

                 Cucumber slices

6:00 pm 2 oz turkey bratwurst patty (recipe below) 

              1/2 cup roasted Kohlrabi 

              1/2 cup steamed sweet potato 

              1/2 tablespoon of  Mustard or sweet baby rays on the patty. 

*If for any reason I'm still hungry ill have another turkey bratwurst patty! 

               

Slow Cooked Berbere Chicken Thighs

1 small onion, quartered

1 package of chicken thighs (breasts are fine too, but drier) 

1/2 cup diet sweet tea or any other liquid 

1 tablespoon Penzey's Berbere seasoning (any good spice blend you like will work)

Lay the onions on the bottom of the slow cooker, coat the chicken with seasoning and layer in the pot. Add 1/2 cup of liquid and let cook on low for 4-6 hours shred with fork or chop. 

3 oz serving = 104 cals 15.3 grams protein 

Turkey Bratwurst Patties

1 lb 99/1 ground turkey 

1 tablespoon Penzey's Bratwurst seasoning 

Mix meat with seasoning, refrigerate overnight. Form into 2oz patties and grill or pan fry (very light mist of olive oil works perfectly in a pan) 2 minutes on each side. 

1 patty = 60 calories and 13 grams protein 

If you've never been to penzeys spices check it out!! We are lucky enough to have a store nearby. But you can normally get free shipping online. They send a coupon every month for a Free small jar of spice with a 4 or 5 dollar purchase. It's an awesome way to try things you wouldn't normally try!! 

Summer Time Slow Cookin'

I had shrimp ceviche on our cruise and have been wanting to make it since we returned. Turns out ceviche is a very low cal, very delicious meal!!  If you're unfamiliar with ceviche it is fish cooked in salt and citrus juice.You throw everything together with the raw shrimp

and let the citrus cook it for you! its a really nice way to get a summery slow cooked meal! Here's the recipe we've come up with after two tries:

1 pound shrimp (medium) cut in half or leave whole (raw)

Half onion finely chopped
Half red pepper finely chopped
Half orange pepper finely chopped
Whole tomato diced
Half a cucumber diced
1 cup of chopped cilantro 
Quarter of a spicy pepper very finely chopped
2 limes (juiced)
2 lemon (juiced)
1 orange (juiced )
Tbsp of Splenda
Touch of cumin
Pepper to taste 

1/2 tbsp of salt 

(Optional - shredded lettuce and avocado to serve with) 

Throw everything except the lettuce and avocado in a covered bowl or ziplock bag. Marinate at least 6 hours or overnight, Turning or stirring the mixture a few times. 

To serve: put about 1/2 a handful of shredded lettuce in the bottom of a bowl. Top with 1/4 of an avocado diced. Spoon 1 cup ceviche over top making sure to get some of the dressing

1 cup of ceviche by itself = 69 calories, 9 grams of protein, less than 1 gram of fat

1 cup with 1/4 of an avocado = 194 calories, 10.5 grams of protein, 12 grams of fat

Easy and Delicious Shrimp

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lemon

2 packets Splenda or whatever sweetener is not bad for you at the moment :) 

5 or 6 shakes of chili powder

5 or 6 drops of choula hot sauce or whatever your fav is

2 cloves of garlic

Olive oil (small amount or a misto)

Shrimp 

This recipe was good to coat 1 lb of medium, cleaned shrimp

1. Mist a pan with olive oil and get it hot

2. Sauté the garlic for a few minutes in the pan

3. Whisk the 1st 5 ingredients in a small bowl. 

4.When the pan is hit and the garlic is done to your liking take a handful of shrimp and toss in the marinade

5. One by one place them face down in the pan and quickly toss another handful in the marinade

6. Place the second handful in the pan and then immediately start flipping the first set (shrimp cooks fast) 

7. Once all of the shrimp has been flipped once and has cooked for about 30 seconds toss all of the shrimp around in the pan so the juices coat the shrimp again. 

8. let cook for another 20-30 seconds 

9. Transfer to a dish and let cool  

(1lb of shrimp gave me 4 handful size servings. I portioned those out and will saved them for another meal) 

I wrote this last Saturday and never posted!!! Here's what we had:

I  tossed my shrimp with a handful of spinach and 3 pieces of fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar

MS had his with spinach 3 pieces of mozzarella and some locally made yah's salsa 

Ultra Light Pizza

I'm so satisfied what we ate for dinner I have to share! My previous post about cloud bread, really does make a great pizza crust! Check this out:

1 slice = 198 calories, 4 carbs, 14 fats, 16 proteins

 

MS gave this pizza a two thumbs up and asked for more. The cloud crust is really easy on both of our bands, and as it cools off you can actually pick it up like a real piece of pizza. You could cut the calories and fat down dramatically by using veggie toppings or Turkey pepperoni. That just doesn't fly with my hubby. Just use this recipe and spread it over a greased pizza pan, bake it for 25 minutes.

I let mine sit out for a few hours, just because I prepped dinner a little early. When we were ready to eat I fired up the broiler and topped the pizza with Ragu Light (it has much lower sugar than most tomato sauces) and cheese and toppings. I spread the toppings and the cheese all the way to the edge because I wasn't sure how the crust was going to hold up under the broiler. The parts that were exposed browned up like a normal pizza crust, but I'm actually glad I  spread the toppings all the way to the edges.

 

The only thing I will do differently in the future is season up the crust more. I'm out of parsley AND oregano. So I will make a trip to penzey's spices before I make another one of these bad boys!

 

YUM!!



Cloud Bread

Woah - if you have trouble eating bread after the band or are low carb dieting, you have to try this recipe! This blows the cauliflower pizza crust out of the water as a bread substitute!! I've been seeing this recipe float around but tonight is the first time I've made it. I'm sad that I waited this long!!!

75 calories, 0 carbs, 5 protein

Preheat oven to 300

3 eggs
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
3 oz cream cheese

Separate egg whites and yolks into 2 small bowls if you're using a stand mixer. Use 2 medium bowls if you're using a hand mixer.

First beat the whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. If you're using a stand mixer, very gently transfer the whites back into a bowl and set aside.

Dump the cream cheese and and egg yolks in the mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides with a spatula a few times to incorporate then cream cheese.

Remove from mixer and gently fold the whites into the cream cheese and yolks mixture. Be very gentle with those whites!!

Spray a cookie sheet or use a silpat and gently spoon the mixture onto sheet making six equal rounds, each about the size of a pancake. Bake for 30 minutes.

Let them sit on the pan for a minute or two and then remove and cool on a rack or paper towel. You don't want them to be hard, they should be soft and fluffy and bend a bit.

Use them like bread. I topped mine with a little melted butter, Splenda and cinnamon and I'm determined to make a BLT on these this week too.  I saw a blogger on Pinterest who used these as hamburger buns, someone else spread the batter into a pizza pan and made pizza crust out of it. You could probably use it as a pie crust somehow. Whoever came up with this recipe is a genius!

Embarassing Moments and More Vodoo

Let's talk about accountability. In January, MS and I joined Planet Fitness because they had the $99 for a whole year deal and I wasn't so sure I was going to stick with a gym plan at that time. I still wanted to take other classes etc, so I also took advantage of a benefit that is offered by my company. They pay $40 towards a gym membership at the YMCA or Lifetime Fitness every month and the remainder gets taken out of my check. Well Lifetime is super expensive, but with the Y membership costs me $1.80 and it's taken out of every paycheck. Not bad, $43 out of pocket for the entire year. In return, I have to go to the gym at least 10 times in a 3 month rolling period.

I knew I hadn't gone to the gym a whole lot in the past three months, but oops. I really hadn't been going, because yesterday I get an email from one of our HR people that says this:

Hi!

 

Just wanted to send a friendly reminder about the gym subsidy. You are doing a great job! Keep up the good work by going to the gym at least four times in (month). You can definitely do that!!!

June: 1

July: 1

August: 1

 

Goal for Sept: 4+

 

 

OMG. How embarassing is that? I only went to the gym 3 times in 3 months? That can't even be possible. I used to go almost 9 times a week! Well, I've already been 3 times this month and I would like to just knock out the 10 required visits right away so I don't have to worry about it! Plus, if I'm not working out, I'm not losing weight. Plain and simple.

 

Now, onto Vodoo. Last night after the gym, I was craving a fruit smoothie for some reason. So we stopped at the grocery store and I bought everything that i needed for this Green Cleansing Smoothie I found on pinterest.  http://www.fitsugar.com/Kimberly-Snyders-Green-Smoothie-Recipe-Weight-Loss-18356998  I thought it was delicious and I could tell this morning that it cleanses like it says it will! The only problem is that is makes an entire blender full of smoothie, at least 3-4 servings. I put the remaining shake in an airtight container and refridgerated it over night.

This morning I took it to work, shook it up and poured about 1 cup of it in my little blender, added vanilla bean torte protein powder, a splash of almond milk and some coconut oil to make it more of a meal. I think it's just delicious. Try it out if you're into vodoo!

 

Hibachi @ Home!

Obviously, MS and I have quite a unique set up in that we are both going through this at the same time. Everyone recommended against it, the doctors, family, everyone. I knew in my heart that was the way it was going to go, and we just went with it.

I can't even explain in words how grateful I am to have someone to go through this with. It's interesting because I think I'm tougher than MS when it comes to pain and feeling bad, and he's one thousand times tougher when it comes to sticking to the rules and playing everything by the book. So after surgery when he didn't want to get up I kept pushing to get him up and walk. On the flip side, when I slip a piece of food in my mouth after a fill, when I'm supposed to be on liquids, he always catches me. It balances out nicely.

I always wonder what it would be like if I were doing this on my own, or if we had kids to keep up with. I can't even imagine the temptations around and if I could stick to the rules as easily as I do now.

The reason I'm saying all of this is that when I make new meals, I always think if it would work for someone else who lives with non-bandsters. I love the muffin tin meals, because regular eaters can take an extra meatloaf or lasagna for a full serving. Or they can add a big salad to the side of it because, let's be real, who gets tempted by a salad?

So tonight, I made stir fry for the first time ever. I wanted to do it hibachi style so MS could make his how he wanted and I could make mine with broccoli. While I was making it I thought about how great that would be to make for a group and still control my own portions.

So this is what you need:
Protein: I did chicken tenderloins
A variety of fresh veggies: I bought, Zucchini, Mushrooms, Green Beans, Broccoli and Ginger
A variety of Asian/Thai Sauces: I did Oyster Sauce, Thai Sweet Chili, Peanut Sauce
Some other things I already had on hand were: Rice Vinegar, Chili Oil, Coconut oil, Soy Sauce, Honey, Salt, Pepper, Garlic powder

I chopped everything ahead of time, marinaded the chicken and put it in the fridge. When MS got home from golfing I just heated up the pan and coconut oil and made dinner.

For portion control we put a bowl on the food scale and zero'd it out. We just added the marinaded chicken and whatever veggies we wanted. Tossed in the sauce of choice and threw it in a very hot pan with coconut oil. It was wonderful. Everyone can have only what they like and can mix up flavors and of course everyone has as much or as little as they want!

Thumbs up!

You Need This Chicken Recipe

Lord have mercy. This chicken recipe is divine. You MUST try this. it was so juicy and flavorful the whole time I was eating I kept going "OOOHHH, MMMMM, YUUMMMM" ha!

Melt In Your Mouth Chicken from Food.com

Photo by Marg (Cayman Designs)

- 4 Boneless Chicken Breast Halves

- 1 cup mayo

- 1/2 cup freshly grated parm

- 1 1/2 teaspoons Seasoning Salt

- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Mix mayonnaise, cheese and seasonings.

2. Spread mixture over chicken breast and place in baking dish

3. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

Muffin Tin Meatloaves

These Meatloaves are bangin ... And 2 are less than 300 calories.

1lb of hot Italian sausage
1lb of ground turkey
1lb of lean ground beef
Grated zucchini
Chopped onion
Chopped mushrooms
1/2 jalepeno, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup sweet baby rays
1 egg
Salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, chili powder, Ceyenne

Sautée the veggies and let cool mix with meat, bread crumbs and BBQ sauce and egg.

Use a cookie scoop to portion the Meatloaves into a muffin tin

Bake at 350 for 30 mins, top with a little more BBQ sauce and return to oven for 10 more mins. Let sit for 10 mins and drain on a paper towel before serving

This made 24 Meatloaves, I'm going to freeze them individually and make 2 packs with my food saver, it is a perfect lunch to grab out of the freezer.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Protein Shake

My bff gave me a jar of simply fruit the other day because she didn't like it. It's been sitting in the fridge at work and today it gave me the inspiration to make a fab new shake.

The Almond Milk I've been using is really good. This week I have the vanilla flavor, but I honestly can't taste the difference in my protein shakes.

Here's the recipe  (I put ice in this as well)

Tip - if you use coconut oil make sure it is in liquid form and do not put it on the cold ice or milk or you'll end up with little waxy balls of coconut oil. First pour in the ice, then milk, jelly, protein powder and then throw the oil in last. If you stack it that way in the blender, the oil will mix in well and you won't have a weird texture.

Little Bundles of Joy

I'm not talking about babies, people. These little lasagnas (inspired by pinterest) were so delicious.  I could eat a whole pan of lasagna if left alone. The portion control by using a muffin tin allowed me to only make enough for dinner tonight and tomorrow's lunches

Here's what you need:

- Won Ton wrappers
- Red Sauce
- 1 or 2 Meatballs, sliced -OR- any cooked ground meat/soy product
- Sliced Mozzarella
- Ricotta (Kraft Simply is the closest thing I've found to fresh - use fresh if you have access to it. Or you can use my sister's recipe found here)


Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and stack in the following order:
1 wonton wrapper
Tiny dollop of ricotta
2 meatball slices
teaspoon of sauce
1/2 slice of mozzarella (cut the slices into quarters they fit perfectly)
Repeat

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Each of mine were a little over 3 oz. 179 cals and 13 proteins. Leaves just enough room for a little spinach salad! Yum!!!

Super Bowl Sundae

Do ya'll follow The World According To Eggface? I learned about her blog at my first WLS support group meeting. One of the doctor's mentioned that the blog featured amazing protein shake recipes.I love checking in on the blog weekly.

I love that she has millions of recipes for snacks that would normally be shunned, like donuts  and ice cream.

Lately I've been craving chocolate and/or ice cream something fierce. The other day I grabbed one of those tiny Hershey's Dark Chocolate bars at work. No big deal right? It's smaller than my pinky finger. 40 calories. When I'm eating 800 calories a day, 40 calories is too much. Especially for something that offers me about 30 seconds of enjoyment. So I decided to give the protein ice cream a whirl.

I whisked 2 cups of Hood Chocolate Milk with 4 scoops of Body Fortress Chocolate Peanut Butter and threw it in my ice cream maker.We took a few extra large spoonfuls to taste test just now and it was great.

I can't wait to have some later. I'm going to top it with a bit of whip cream later and have a little sundae. When I get a chance to go to the store I'll try some of eggface's ice cream recipes because they all sound delish.

Sauteed Mushrooms - My Lighter Version

A few days ago I posted a blog about how shocked I was by the calories I added to my sauteed mushrooms with olive oil. I know that olive oil has wonderful health benefits, but I make this recipe so much that I wanted to lighten it up.

From the suggestion of Julia Nelson, I decided to sub out the oil for a tiny bit of broth. I am in love with the flavor of the mushrooms tonight, and I cut the calories from 200 per serving to a measly 23.

I've had these broth concentrate packets in my pantry for a while so I gave them a whirl.

Here's the recipe for 2 servings:

2 handfuls of sliced Mushrooms
1 packet of broth concentrate
1 tablespoon of water
2 teaspoons of Worcestshire
2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
Dried Parsley
Garlic Powder
Ceyenne

Put concentrate and water into a hot frying pan and wisk together. Let it get very hot and bubbly. Throw in the mushrooms and toss to coat. All the mushrooms to sautee for a few minutes and add dry seasonings. Continue to toss the mushrooms to mix in the seasoning. When the mushrooms are just about done, add in the worcestshire and dijon and toss until the mustard mixes in and coats all of the mushrooms.

Serve immediately.

I love some Trader Joe's Turkey Burgers as well. Here are the mushrooms along with 1/2 of a Turkey Burger and a slice of swiss cheese. Definitely one of my favorite meals for only 220 Calories and 18 grams of protein.

Today's Menu

Breakfast

Vanilla Bean Torte Protein mixed with 2% milk and ice

Lunch

Buffalo Chicken Wrap

2 oz of store bought rotisserie chicken

1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light Blue Cheese

1/2 Tumaro Low Carb Multi Grain Tortilla

Less than a tablespoon of Frank's Buffalo Sauce

I put it in the toaster oven at work and melted the cheese. 3 of the guys I work with came in my office while I was eating and were staring at it asking about it. It was like there was a set of boobs sitting on my desk or something.

Snack

My lunch was super low in calories, but I ended up getting pretty hungry around 2:00 so I have a Pantry Selections Protein Pudding for a snack. I got it from mybariatricpantry.com. I like it because I can mix it with 4 oz of water in my little blender cup and it has a really nice pudding texture. However, I've had 3 of these so far, Vanilla, Tropical Banana and California Strawberry. Vanilla was great but the other two were ehhh.

Dinner

I skipped dinner tonight because I'm feeling icky, but here is what MS ate. The enchiladas were made with inspiration from a pinterest recipe. But I actually cut each tortilla in half before I rolled them to cut down the serving size. Once I put the sauce on, each enchilada was about 3 oz or a little more. I'm going to freeze these and I think they will be fab with a little spinach salad for lunches.

The recipe made way too much sauce, so I threw in some random ingredients in the left overs and made a corn and ham chowder with it.  MS had 1 enchilada and an ounce of the chowder. Happy Hubby. He's probably already burned off all of the calories he ate from watching American Idol ;)

Please say a prayer for my friend Lisa. She is getting banded tomorrow morning! Send her some love!

My Super Secret Hummus Recipe

I was going to keep this recipe a secret because I've never done that before. But what fun is having a recipe that no one else gets to try. Last year I started making my own hummus and people always go crazy over it. A few weeks ago one of my co-workers said, "Oh your hummus is legendary." The funny thing was she had never even had it before!

I prefer it to the pre-made stuff because it actually goes bad. You can buy a package of hummus at any store and throw it in your fridge for months and it never gets moldy. After 2 to 3 days, my homemade hummus gets great big fluffy green mold all over it.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a mold enthusiast, I'm allergic to the stuff. But when I saw that I kept thinking what the hell are we eating? How in the heck does hummus that has been made, packaged, shipped around the country, stocked on shelves and then purchased days later not get moldy after a month in my fridge? If cancer is literally cells that are supposed to die off but don't ... then maybe the chemical preservatives in our food have something to do with that.

Anyways, I digress. Here's the recipe, I made it up on a whim and it is CRAZY good. It packs some heat, so if spicy food bothers you sit this one out.

1 can chick peas (reserve juice from can)
3 cloves garlic Juice from 1 lemon
2 heaping tablespoons Tahini
About 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Parsley -or any mix of green spices you have on hand
(Everything above this line is my base recipe you can stop here and skip to the directions if you'd like)
2 tablespoons of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
Cumin
Dried Cilantro
2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar

Start by spooning the chick peas and some liquid from the can into the food processor. You'll end up with a little less than 1/2 a can of juice left over. Set the can and remaining juice to the side, you'll need that for texture later. Pile the rest in the food processor. Throw the lid on and let it process for quite a while until it looks smooth. If the texture is too thick add more juice or olive oil until you get a nice smooth consistency. Taste it right away to see if there is anything missing and add spices as you see fit. You can eat it right away, but it's so much better if you cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Blueberry-Spinach Protein Shake

I have been dying to try a shake with some fresh spinach in it because quite frankly I haven't had very many greens lately. When you're eating such a small amount it's hard to fit it all in. And quite frankly, my intestines are screaming for a little extra fiber if you know what I mean. So,try this, it's delicious.
1 oz of baby spinach
1 oz of blueberries (I used fresh, but read my notes below, frozen may be better)
1 cup of your favorite % milk
2 scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder
2 packets of splenda Blend until smooth.

I didn't have enough room in my little blender cup to put ice in this one, but I definitely wanted it colder. I put my fresh blueberries in the freezer to help with that and making milk ice cubes might even been another good option. Either way this was super delicious and had 45 grams of protein!

ProtiZyme Protein Review

I've mentioned MyBariatricPantry.com before because they have really great prices on protein and I am really impressed with fast shipping and rewards program.

It's hard to commit to a 2 lb container of protein powder if you've never tasted it. The sample packs are right up my alley because I can have a variety of flavors and if I don't really like one I'm not out very much.

Last week they had a sale on sample packs and I was able to try another really great tasting protein powder. I was intrigued by this one because it is specially formulated for bariatric patients. Check out the description from the website:

Specialized Designed Protein Protizyme from Metabolic Nutrition is a premium pharmaceutical grade engineered protein that is ideal for pre and post bariatric patients.

It is designed to increase protein absorption and that is a very important feature to bariatric patients. In scientific terms, the secret lies within the unique manufacturing process of Protizyme, which differentiates from all other regular proteins in the marketplace. Protizymes 10x ultra-microfiltered process preserves the essential protein-peptide structure which delivers greater concentrations of amino acids, glutamine and BCAAs. Each gram of protein in Protizyme is coated with only the most potent digestive enzymes dramatically increasing digestion and absorption, therefore eliminating gas and bloating. What does this mean to you? It means you can absorb more protein per meal. More protein absorption means increased protein synthesis, thus faster results than other regular proteins!"

 

 

The peanut butter cookie powder mixed with  8 oz of skim milk and some ice made a killer breakfast! Definitely a must try!!

 

Chicken Stack and 2 Types of Chicken Salad

 Tonight I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the store and premade 4 different meals with it 6.5 total servings!  (I use my foodsaver like it's going out of style. The cool thing is we have plenty of pre-portioned meals for lunches or quick dinners)

I learned how to throw together tomato sauce from my beautiful Italian mother. She used to start with tomato paste and go from there but when they came out with Ragu Robusto sauce, she would start with that as the base and add all the goodness. I love making my version of that sauce, but I'm just not there yet. I can't make it first, because it makes WAY too much sauce, but that's one thing I like to taste and taste and taste as I make it. Not worth it right now.

Well, recently I found this little jar of Wolfgang Puck Vodka Sauce that is really wonderful. It comes in a smaller bottle and I still doctor it up with garlic, onion, mushrooms, and a bunch of seasonings. But I have to admit, there is nothing wrong with that sauce right out of the bottle.

Tonight i just threw a plate on the foodscale and stacked the following on it:

2 oz of shredded rotisserie chicken
2 oz of vodka sauce - warmed up with a couple of chopped mushrooms and garlic
Topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese
(spend the 5 bucks on a big hunk of parm, keep it wrapped tightly in your fridge - it's so worth it)

I pulled the rest of the chicken and divided it up. I didn't want the chicken to dry out too much, so I decided to dress it up a bit. Here are 2 different chicken salad recipes that I came up with:

Mexican Chicken Salad:
4 oz shredded Chicken
2 tablespoons of plain Greek Yogurt
Tablespoon of Taco Seasoning (more to taste)

Mix up the yogurt and taco seasoning to make a paste and mix with chicken until coated.
Tomorrow, I plan on serving 2 oz of this salad with cubed avocado and some of my favorite tamed jalapenos. Maybe even a touch of salsa.

Black Bean & Corn Salsa Chicken Salad:
2 heaping tablespoons of Black Bean & Corn Salsa
1 tablespoon of plain Greek Yogurt
Dash of Chili Powder
2 oz of rotisserie Chicken

Mix the salsa, yogurt and seasoning, pour over chunks of chicken and lightly toss (I just put the lid on the container and shook it up) This is what is pictured. 1.5oz of avocado, 2 oz of chicken and just a touch of sour cream, cheese and jalapenos

Crab Cakes!

Gullah Gourmet is this wonderful little place that I found through Groupon. If you've ever been to Charleston South Carolina, you've probably seen their products. They make all kinds of low country food mixes and package them in the sweetest hand sewn cotton bags. Everything we have purchased there and fixed has been delicious.

Tonight I used the He Crab Cake mix to make dinner. Normally I would have also made their She crab soup and served them together, but given our current condition.. ha!

I know you're probably thinking that this doesn't sound like diet food, but I actually doubled the crab meat and portioned each cake out into 2 oz servings. 2 crab cakes made a perfect 4 oz serving and had 23 grams of protein!

Full Can of Chicken of the Sea Crab Claw Meat (16oz)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Fage 2% greek yogurt
1 packages of Gullah Gourmet He Crab Cake Mix (or whatever mix you want)

gently fold all of the ingredients together, and make small cakes that are 2 oz a piece. (use a 2 oz cookie scoop, or 1/4 cup measuring cup)  form into patties and brown in a pan or bake in the oven.

I made a remoulade sauce and used greek yogurt as the base instead of mayo. It was a perfect compliment. I honestly can't even remember what i put in it or else I'd list that too!

Here's the link to Gullah Gourmet: http://www.gullahgourmet.com/