Friday, March 28, 2014

Protein Packed Pancakes


Delicious Low Carb Protein Pancakes
-1 scoop of your favorite smoothie powder
   (I use Shakeology Pro7ein or Cytosine 100% Whey)
-3 egg whites
   (from eggs or the egg whites in cartons)
-2 oz of your favorite low sugar yogurt
  (My faves are the Carbmaster brand
   from Ralphs or Food 4 Less but Greek 
   works well too)
1. Put all of the ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Make pancakes in a pan as usual and serve.
3. It's that easy! That's it ;)
You can add the other ingredients such as bananas, oats, peanut butter, nuts, etc if you'd like but I'm trying to eat low carb so I stick with the Ralphs Carbmaster yogurts, egg whites and low carb protein ;-)
I make a large batch of these on the beginning of the week,  refrigerate them and snack on them throughout the week when I'm craving sweets, bread or carbs in general.
You can choose any protein flavor you like but vanilla tends to work best. I've also tried chocolate,  cookies & cream and strawberry.  All are yummy but vanilla is my fave! Serve them to your whole family. My daughter ♥s them!  In the batch above I made 6 batches (6 scoops of protein, 1 1/2 yogurts & 18 egg whites). It's easier to do all at once for the week with a newborn & makes plenty to have on hand for the family. My husband grabs one on his way out to work and my daughter and I love to eat pieces throughout the day.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Protein Packed Egg Muffins

Ok so I have a bit of a problem lately...if you can call it that. I am hungry ALL OF THE TIME and it's because I have a two month old son that I am breastfeeding what seems like all day long. So, with that said, I have been on the hunt for recipes for food that I can make and have on hand to eat when hunger strikes....which is usually every 10 minutes LOL! A friend of mine shared her egg muffin recipe with me and, after tweaking it a bit, I am obsessed with them and make them every week. Sometimes I eat so many of them that I end up having to make them twice a week.  Good thing is they're harmless! They are packed with protein, low in calories, low in fat and low in carbs.  To top it off, I make them with lots of veggies so they could not be better for me. With that said, here's the recipe for you all to enjoy! The only mandatory ingredients are the egg whites (or full egg if you so choose). The rest is up to you to get creative with. I make mine with feta cheese and steamed veggies but some prefer to add in sausage, ground turkey, mushrooms, etc.  Basically, if you have it in your fridge and want to add it, go for it!  I've yet to make them with anything that didn't taste good in them.  Leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought after you try them if you decide to give this recipe a whirl :)

Ingredients
--10 egg whites from large eggs or a carton of egg whites with 10 servings
--1 chopped onion
--Feta cheese
--Normandy vegetables (Kirkland brand from Costco of frozen broccoli, squash, cauliflower & carrots)
--1/2 cup pico de gallo or chopped tomatoes
--1/2 cup cilantro
--No salt seasoning such as Mrs. Dash

1.  Pour egg whites into blender.  Add seasoning to your liking.  Add chopped onions, cilantro & pico de gallo (or tomatoes).

2.  Blend for only a few seconds. It should be just enough to mix the ingredients, not puree them.

3.  Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray.  Pour the egg white mixture in your blender into the muffin pan filling each muffin only half way.

4.  Steam several cups of Kirkland Normandy Vegetables.  Quantity depends on how many veggies you want in your muffins. If you don't use them all, you can just eat them alone.  Add vegetables to muffins in pan by just dropping them in.  Do the same with any other ingredients you want to add, such as mushrooms, spinach, bacon, sausage, etc. Top with feta cheese and Mrs Dash seasoning to your liking.

5.  Cook in oven at 375 degrees until browned or approximately 30-40 minutes.

6.  Let cool, remove from pan and enjoy!  This is a great snack food for mom, dad & the kids.  My daughter hated eggs until she tried the eggie muffins as she calls them!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Buying in Bulk & Making Food Last!


If you're have a family with a few hungry kids, you would probably be better off buying in bulk to save money & save yourself a few trips to the grocery store as well.  With these food preservation tips you can do both!  Check them out. You can save hundreds per year on your grocery bill by incorporating just a few of these in your household!
Lettuce
When you buy romaine lettuce,  wrap it in paper towels and place it either back in the bag you purchased it in if it is resealable or place it in large zip lock bags.  This helps keep the moisture off the leaves and prevents then from browning.
Bananas
Separate them as soon as you're home from the grocery store, wrap stems in plastic wrap and, if you are able to, try to put them on a lave where they are not touching each other. The latter can be difficult to do since buying in bull means buying a lot of them so, at minimum,  separate them from the joint stem and wrap it.  By wrapping them you will slow down the ripening process and they will remain green or yellow longer.
Herbs
Buying fresh herbs is costly and they don't last long.  To preserve them, freeze them in oil. Herbs frozen in oil are ideam because they are not only preserved, the also have a little bit of oil to cool them with already and add to a meal.
Dairy
Keep dairy on the top shelf in the fridge because in most refrigerators, the top shelf keeps the most constant temperature due to the fact that that's where the thermometer is. Keeping it's temperature constant ensures that it will last until it's expiration date and possibly a little longer.  The worst place for dairy is the door since it is opened often and exposed to much warmer air.