Butternut squash soup and variation

Butternut squash soup

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen butternut squash cubes
1/4 cup onions
1 tablespoon coconut oil
4 cups veggetable broth
S&P to taste

Saute the onions in the coconut oil. Add the butternut squash cubes and cook for a few minutes. Add the broth, and simmer for 20 minutes until the squash in tender. Puree with a stick blender. This is a thin, broth-like soup, great for a base.



Today I wanted something hot for lunch, and soup sounded good, but I wanted a heartier soup. So, I thought I would heat up a cup of my butternut squash soup and add 3 tablespoons of couscous. Then for protein I chopped up the end of the smoked ham from christmas and added it. It was so good! The soup thickened up nicely, and the ham added a great salty contrast to the sweet base.

Larabar Cashew Cookie

Instead of chocolate in my stocking, I was presented with some natural food bars, what fun! I hadn't ever tried a Larabar, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The stats are decent, but not a whole lot of protein. Then I actually looked at the ingredient list and there were 2 things: cashews and dates. And it's in bar form:


So, of course my mind is whirling thinking about how I could make this myself and add some protein powder. Might be getting some dates on the next shopping trip! This bar was quite tasty.

Delicata squash soup

Tried delicata squash today. I was in the mood for soup, since we have a winter storm coming. I split the delicata and roasted it in the toaster oven.
Then I scraped it out and put it in the magic bullet blender. I guess you are supposed to be able to eat the skin, but it seemed a bit tough to me, so I just scooped it out. I used 1 cup of veggie broth. The squash was 110 grams of 'meat'.
I wanted protein, so I scoured the fridge. I chopped up a veggie sausage patty and then added some feta cheese. Strange combo, I know - but it turned out pretty good. I am craving salty stuff today, so this kind of hits the spot. The cheese didn't really melt, which gave it an interesting texture, but maybe a bit rubbery. I topped it with 10 grams of toasted walnuts for crunch - those were the best part!

Mini pumpkin souffle

In my never ending quest to eat more pumpkin - I tried this idea from Kath Eats

It's like a quick and easy version of pumpkin custard.
1/2 cup (122 g) pumpkin
45 grams of egg whites (just under 1/4 cup)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 generous tsp brown sugar.

Mix well in a small bowl and microwave for 3-4 minutes until it is firms up all across the top. Of course, I had to top with a dollop of cranberry sauce.

I have to say that this is really tasty, especially on a cold day like today after 2.5 hours of shoveling!

Stats: About 125 calories, 1 gram of fat, 5 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein

Breakfast cookie

I made these awhile ago, but am just now getting around to posting the recipe. It's from The BodyArt Cookbook: Physique Transformations

It's kind of a mix between a pancake and a big moist oatmeal cookie, and I can again see many possible variations on this. I did a gingersnap version.

1/2 cup (40 g) rolled oats
15 g protein powder
1/4 tsp of baking powder
1 tbsp ground flax meal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 egg whites (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
sweetener of choice (I used 1 tsp of molasses)

Mix everything together in a bowl, and add enough water to make a batter - around 1/4 cup or less.
Cook on the stove like pancakes, or you can use muffin cups and bake them in the toaster oven (although I have not tried this yet). I would say several minutes per side to make sure the cookies are done all the way through.

It made 3 big cookies (as pictured above). They aren't really sweet - so adjust the sweetener as you need to (and adjust calories)

The total calories for the recipe - 272 calories, 5 grams fat, 29 grams carbs, 6 grams fiber, 30 grams protein.

I ate all 3 as my breakfast, yum! I could certainly see making some cream cheese frosting for these and having one as a snack!!
Think I might try some with cocoa powder next or maybe pumpkin and craisins.

Roasted Veggie Soup

Yum! Super easy. This really doesn't need to be measured per se, unless you are counting calories.

1 sweet potato (350 grams)
150 grams frozen cauliflower
85 grams frozen carrots
2 cups vegetable broth
cooking spray, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400.
Peel and chunk the sweet potato. Place all veggies on a cookie sheet and spritz with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast the veggies until they are tender and have a golden brown tinge to the edges. Like this:

Then put the veggies in a blender, add the vegetable broth and puree until smooth. Voila! You have soup. This made about 3 cups of soup for me.

Served with a dollop of Fage yogurt.

Today's Menu

Pretty good on plan day.

Brekkie:
Protein pancakes with blueberries
Cafe au lait

Lunch:
Tuna sandwich on Smart Life wrap
Cucumbers
Banana

Snack:
16 oz skim milk latte

Dinner:
3 oz turkey breast
1 cup steamed broccoli

Snack:
Chocolate mint Luna bar

Today's Menu

Breakfast:
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Cafe au lait

Lunch:
Morningstar Veggie Corn Dog
Cucumber slices
Soy crisps

Snack:
2% latte
2 tsp dark chocolate chips

Dinner:
4 oz turkey breast
strawberries
steamed broccoli

Snack:
Fage 0%
strawberries
honey

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Rich and creamy tasting, and packed with lots of good, healthy stuff!
Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk (I use 2%)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup (40 grams) rolled oats
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
5 grams protein powder
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
10 grams Craisins, chopped
drizzle of honey

Prepare the oats on the stove top using the milk and water. I added the protein powder with the oatmeal and spices and let them cook together. No lumps, so that was good. When the oats were done cooking, I turned off the heat and stirred in the pumpkin to let it warm through.
Put it into my bowl (which I thought might be too small!), sprinkled with chopped craisins and drizzled with honey.
Yum! This is not a sweet breakfast, so those of you that like that might want to add splenda, stevia or whatever sweetener you use.

Stats with my ingredients.
Calories: 308
Fat: 6
Carbs: 50
Fiber: 10
Protein: 16

Roasted curried cauliflower

This is a super easy side dish to make, and is a nice change from steamed veggies.


Frozen cauliflower (however much you want to make)
Olive oil spray
Curry powder.
S&P (optional)

I used a toaster oven, since had a small amount, but a regular oven is fine. Preheat to 400 degrees.
Spritz the frozen cauliflower with the oil spray. Dust on the curry powder and salt & pepper (if your curry blend doesn't contain). Spread in a single layer on a pan and bake until the edges of the cauliflower brown, stirring halfway through. These little crispy bits give it a great flavor. It will take anywhere from 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.

I could see cooking up a big batch of this, and then pureeing it with broth to make a curried cauliflower soup!

Today's Menu

Breakfast:

Protein pancakes with blueberries
Cafe au lait (made with 1 cup 2% milk and coffee)


Lunch:
Tuna sandwich (small can of tuna, arnold sandwich thin, light mayo)
2 clementines

Snack:
2% milk latte

Dinner:
5 oz chicken breast pan fried in 1 tsp coconut oil
Steamed broccoli
1/2 banana

Snack:
NS pretzels
tea

Daily stats:
Calories 1279
Fat: 36 g
Carbs: 134 g
Fiber: 26 g
Protein: 111 g

Cottage cheese muffins

Another super versatile recipe.
I tweaked the recipe found at 101 cookbooks (get a cloth to wipe up the drool if you click here).
Makes 4 muffins

1/2 cup cottage cheese (I used 1%)
1 ounce parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/8 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup almonds flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped (mine were dried that I rehydrated in water)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
I used 4 large silicone muffin cups for this recipe. You could easily make these minis, but just adjust the baking time.

Reserve a couple tablespoons of the grated cheese. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Divide evenly into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top of the muffins.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

These are very moist and flavorful. They are almost like mini souffles in taste. I can see doing these with a bit of bacon in place of the tomatoes, or using a combo like rosemary and thyme for herbs. Yum!


Stats using my ingredients:
Per muffin: 143 calories, 6 grams of fat, 13 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 10 grams protein.

Toasted cottage cheese sandwich

This was an interesting lunch. I wanted a change from tuna, so I blended together 1 teaspoon of honey, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, and a dash of cinnamon in my bullet blender.

I spread this on an Arnold sandwich thin and popped it under the broiler. I think I could have broiled it longer. It had a good flavor. I think this spread would actually be good cold with apples or something.

Sweet Potato Soup

This soup was very tasty. I used a 450 gram sweet potato, it was pretty big and made a couple cups of soup.

Sweet potato soup

* 2 large sweet potato(es)
* 2 cup canned chicken broth, divided
* 1 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
* 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
* 1 Tbsp chopped pecans

Instructions

* Pell, then cook the sweet potatoes in a microwave or pressure cooker until soft.

* Combine sweet potatoes and 3/4 cup of broth in a blender or food processor; blend or process until smooth, about 1 minute. Set potato mixture aside.

* Melt margarine in a medium-size saucepan; stir in flour and ginger, and then add milk. Cook, stirring, until slightly thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Cook 1 minute more and then stir in sweet potato mixture and remaining 1 1/4 cups of broth. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes more. Pour into 4 serving bowls and sprinkle each with 3/4 teaspoon of pecans. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Yum!

Now this was a delicious dinner!



Chicken breast cooked in a pan with a bit of coconut oil. Topped with fresh salsa.

Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Bars

Can you tell it's fall? I am all about the pumpkin now! Lucky this recipe turned out good on the first try - don't even think I need to change anything! These are dense and filling, very portable.

Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Bars

Ingredients:
28 grams of protein powder
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup lowfat yogurt (any kind but fruit - I happened to have vanilla on hand)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
40 grams of Craisins (or dried cranberries).

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. This will really make it easier to get these out, trust me.

In a bowl, mix together the protein powder, pumpkin, eggs, yogurt, spices, brown sugar with a mixer. You want to make sure the protein powder is really well incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Chop the Craisins smaller and add to the mix. Then stir in the oats.
Press the mixture evenly into the 9x9 pan and bake for 35 minutes. These won't really get brown, they will just firm up - so don't over bake. Remove from the pan right away and cut into 9 squares. It's much easier to cut these when warm.
Store in the fridge.

Stats with my ingredients:
Per bar: 157 calories, 3 grams fat, 27 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 8 grams protein, 54 grams sodium.

1 minute almond/pumpkin muffin

Ready for yet another 1 minute muffin?

This one I did with the almond meal, as per the below post - but replaced the oil with pumpkin.

1/4 cup almond meal
1 egg
1 tbsp pumpkin
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients together. Microwave in a small bowl or silicone muffin cup (large size) for 80 seconds.

Super moist and delicious. Definitely different than those made with flax meal.

1 minute almond muffin

Another spin on the 1 minute muffin. This one is a little fattier than I like to eat, but very tasty. Might try the pumpkin in place of the oil in this one as well.




1/4 cup almond meal
1 egg
1.5 tsp oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
ground nutmeg to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Microwave in a small bowl or silicone muffin cup (large size) for 80 seconds.

This looks a little like a corn muffin, and has a yummy flavor. A bit eggy, but good. Would also be yummy with some cocoa powder added, or almond extract!

Pumpkin Protein Muffins

These are really yummy! Obviously they take longer than the 1 minute muffin, but they have lower calories and are even more moist.



Please note that I do not use artificial sweeteners, so you could certainly sub that if you wish.

For 6 muffins:

3/4 cup oats - grind in a food processor.
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 scoops (2oz) protein powder of your choice
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix these together and then add:

1 whole egg (or 2 egg whites)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (plain)
1/2 cup milk

Mix and divide equally into 6 muffin tins. Silicone liners are best, as paper liners won't come off the muffins!!
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

1 Minute Muffin

Super, quick and easy breakfast or snack.

1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp oil

Mix and microwave for 1 minute. We used a silicon large muffin cup. This was just like a muffin!




Variation: Pumpkin 1 Minute muffin

Substitute 2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin for the oil, and pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon. Microwave for 80 seconds. Top with cream cheese frosting. Yum! I think I liked this variation better than the original. More moist.

Protein bars

I will be posting recipes and such as I have a little more time to play. I found an interesting recipe at Healthy Indulgences, a website that creates healthy recipes without the use of splenda. I have been experimenting with some protein bars (I am addicted to Zone bars).

I adapted her recipe as follows:
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (any nut butter would work)
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon stevia
pinch of sea salt
2 oz protein powder

Heat oven to 350 F. In a medium size microwave safe bowl, add the peanut butter, butter, and honey. Microwave for about a minute until warm and you can blend thoroughly. Add the vanilla, stevia, salt and cream and mix well. Mix in the protein powder. Really mash it to mix well. It will be kind of like shortbread dough.

Line a loaf pan with parchemnt paper. Press the mixture into the bottom of the loaf pan evenly. It is a very thin layer. Bake for about 10 minutes - you don't want it to brown. Remove from the loaf pan and cut into 4 pieces while it is still warm (that way they don't crumble).
Looks like this:


The texture is almost exactly like a shortbread cookie. I actually really like these. A little caloric, but would be a great sub if you want a cookie. Much healthier LOL!
I then melted a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips and spread over the top:


For an on-the-go meal, these are pretty good. With the chocolate, around 250 calories or so. YMMV depending on the brand of protein powder you use. I might replace the cream with milk next time. I also have a mind to try some PB2, should I get around to ordering any.

Latte art

I love getting a good espresso drink from someone who cares! A pricey drink deserves some love and attention:



Yum......

Oopsie rolls

A fun bread substitute. These have a huge potential for all kinds of applications.

3 large eggs
dash of salt
pinch of cream of tartar (optional)
3 ounces neufchatel cream cheese (not Tbsp!) Do not soften.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Separate the eggs. Milk salt and cream cheese into the yolks - I just beat the crap out of it with a whisk. Took a while, but it became smooth. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until really stiff - think meringue here. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the whites, using a figure 8 motion. You want to deflate the whites as little as possible. When they are really stiff, it actually is easy to mix in.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 piles.

Bake about 30 - 40 minutes. Remove to a rack and allow them to cool. Store them in the fridge. Makes 6~ about 70 calories a piece

Variation:

Chocolate Oopsies

Tried an experiment with the oopsie rolls. Wanted to try some chocolate ones for John, so I added a couple tablespoons of dark chocolate powder to the egg yolk mixture, and some stevia. Will need to practice on how much stevia to add (I don't use Splenda), as these weren't too sweet. I also sprinkled some dark chocolate chips on top before popping in the oven.

He had some with whipped cream on top and some ice cream. Kind of a brownie type sundae of sorts.

**originator of recipe

Protein Pancakes

Protein pancakes

1/3 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup egg substitute *or* 1 whole egg
dash of cinnamon
dash of vanilla
Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Then cook as you would normal pancakes.

Blueberry Topping

1 cup of frozen blueberries (I like Wymans wild blueberries)
1 tsp of cornstarch
1 tbsp of cold water.
Heat the frozen blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot and just simmering. There will be juice in the bottom of the pan. Don't boil them! In a small bowl mix the cold water and cornstarch. Add to the pan and stir until the mixture thickens up - about 30 seconds. This is a great topping over pancakes, or use as the base of a crumble.

Stats for this breakfast are:

291 calories 7 grams of fat 40 grams of carbs 9 grams of fiber 19 grams of protein

September 9th

Nutrisystem Day


Pre-run snack:
1/2 Balance bar

Brekkie:
1/2 cup Fage 0% greek yogurt
Nutrisystem Lowfat granola
1 tsp honey
1 cup chopped strawberries

Cafe au lait ( 1 cup 2% milk, coffee)

Lunch:
2 oz bumblebee albacore tuna
Nutrisystem Fudge Graham bar
1 cup roasted cauliflower

Snack:
Latte (1 cup 2% milk, 2 shots espresso)
1/3 ounce of cashews

Dinner:
Nutrisystem thin crust pizza
1 cup broccoli
1 banana

Snack:
Nutrisystem pretzels


Calories: 1469

C/P/F ratio: 49/26/25

September 8th,2008

Brekkie:
Cafe au lait ( 1 cup 2% milk, 1 cup coffee)

1/2 cup Hemp Plus Organic Granola
1/2 cup Fage 0% yogurt
1 tsp honey
1 cup chopped strawberries

Lunch:

Arnold Sandwich thins Whole Wheat
Flame Grilled Boca Burger
Fudge Graham Zone bar

Snack:
Latte ( 1 cup 2% milk, 2 shots espresso)
1/3 oz of cashews

Dinner:
1 cup roasted cauliflower
1/2 cup natural applesauce
1 Serving SeaPak breaded clam strips

Snack:
28 gr Nature's Place Cheddar Soy Crisps

Calories: 1459
Carbs/Protein/Fat 51/24/25
Fiber: 30