Key Lime Pie Protein Smoothie

I wish I could take the credit for this one, but I found this recipe in either Fitness Rx or Oxygen and decided to try it out. It's creamy, smooth, and refreshing - in other words a little sip of heaven.

Here's what you need:

• 1 level scoop of vanilla cream elite whey protein powder (30g protein)
• 56g avocado (about half a small avocado)*
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut almond milk
• 2T concentrated lime juice or juice of 1 lime
• Splenda or Stevia in the Raw, optional**

Blend and enjoy!

*WEIGH your avocado! They are calorie bombs so you want to make sure you are getting what want and nothing more. Also, I recommend dicing the remaining avocado (plus a few more), sprinkling with lime juice, then flash freezing the pieces on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. After frozen (about 4-6 hours) store in a Ziplock in the freezer.

**I didn't use it and it was delicious.

The Blond Bomb Protein Shake

If any of you have noticed, I have a teeny-tiny-little-bitty-sorta-big-huge fixation on measurements. I have the measurements of the most popular pin-ups and bombshells of the the late-40's to mid-60's written down somewhere. Hell, I know the exact measurements of Betty Grable's legs. (Did you know that her legs were deemed perfectly proportionate and were used to design pantyhose? At least that's what I hear on the Interwebs.)

Anyway, my biggest crush is the legendary Marilyn Monroe - I absolutely adore her. I was reading about her and found out that she had a quite peculiar diet. I'm not a fan of raw carrots and liver for dinner, but what she had religiously for breakfast peaked my interest: warm milk with two whole eggs whisked into it.

Now, stop! No lurching or dry-heaving allowed. Although the whole warm milk thing wouldn't work for me, the idea of sexy Marilyn drinking eggs like Rocky was sort of awesome. I decided to make a few modifications and try it myself. What was born has now become my go-to after weight training shake. If you like eggnog, this shake is for you. Here's what you will need:

• a Blender Bottle*
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup egg whites**
• 1 level scoop of vanilla cream elite whey protein powder (30g protein
• 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg


*These are available at Walmart for about $6-8. If you are serious about weight lifting or integrating protein shakes into your diet, this is a must. This cannot be used to blend peanut butter, oatmeal or frozen fruit, though. You still need a blender for that.

** Quit gagging! Surprisingly that weird slippery, gelatinous substance you are envisioning sliding down your throat is totally wrong! It is very watery, with almost not semblance of egg white at all. Oh, and if you are concerned about salmonella, many brands are pasteurized and even if they aren't there is a greater chance of you contracting salmonella from under-cooked chicken or picking up staph from a hospital than getting sick from egg whites. True story.

Add ingredients in the order listed. Twist top on tightly, hold the pour spout cover down tightly with two fingers and shake. Decant into a glass or travel mug and enjoy!

Amelia Pond Protein Smoothie

A few of my MFPeeps have asked about my protein shake recipes. As I mentioned in an earlier post, MFP does not currently support sharing/viewing recipes with friends.

Until then, here is the **aptly named, deliciously sweet, peaches-and-cream ginger treat that keeps me going almost every morning.

Here's What You'll Need:

• 3/4 cup (140 g) of frozen peaches, unsweetened - I recommend a digital scale because I measure in oz. and grams for accuracy
• 1 level scoop of vanilla cream elite whey protein powder (30g protein)
• 1-2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Add ingredients in order listed to your blender. Pulse for 30-60 seconds until creamy and smooth. Mangia!


**If you don't know who Amelia (Amy) Pond is, you are obviously not a Whovian and that means you are mentally deranged and should stay away from sharp objects and machinery.**

Salmon & Spinach Puff Pastry

I had a few rogue pieces of salmon in the freezer. Since we need four for our family, I was struggling to work them into this week's dinner menu until I recalled a super-delicious creation I made about 6 years BC (before calorie-control). It's crunchy, savory, and full of two of my favorite foods: salmon and spinach. Its simple flavors balance well and the flakey crust is divine (especially for carb-watchers like me). It easily feeds two adults and two kids, but tonight my husband and I ate the whole thing because our kids decided grilled cheese sounded better. To tell you the truth, I didn't fight them at all. I was fine with not sharing. ;-)

Here's What You Will Need:


Salmon & Spinach Puffed Pastry

• 1 puffed pastry sheet, thawed and rolled out to about 25-30% larger. *Use parchment paper
• 1/2 a package of frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed, wrung out, and squeezed again until it no longer gives up moisture
• 2- 5 to 6 ounce Atlantic salmon fillets, thawed and patted dry
• 1/8 cup basil pesto
• 1/2-1 tsp. lemon-pepper seasonings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out puffed pastry sheet on parchment paper. Evenly disperse the spinach; top with basil pesto. Place salmon fillets on top of spinach and pesto. Sprinkle fillets wit lemon-pepper. Fold over pastry flaps and roll up ends to seal (Somehow I missed this step in picture). Gently transfer the parchment paper and pastry onto baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the dough puffs and is golden and flakey.
Mangia!

Melba WEIGHING Less..

It has been a crazy-ridiculous long time since I made a blog post. I've lost about one-hundred pounds (no big deal lol) using MyFitnessPal and have totally revamped the way I cook.

Some of my Pals have requested recipes (one flaw of the app is that you cannot view/share recipes with friends) so I figured what better way to share recipes than on my long-neglected blog.

I've been working on my upping my protein intake and controlling carbs. So far it's been fairly easy.. but boring. I've grown listless with tuna (gasp!) and protein shakes aren't really something warm and comforting you can sit down around a table and share with the family.

I made up this recipe after being inspired by the Southwestern Style Egg Beaters that called to me from Wegmans cooler. This recipe is versatile enough to feed two VERY hungry adults or a family of four with a complementing side. Mangia!

Southwestern Soufflé

• 12 ounces cooked 99% fat-free ground turkey
• 15 ounces Southwestern Style Egg Beaters
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free shredded cheddar
• 3/4 cup *salsa (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Liberally apply cooking spray to a non-stick skillet. This is important: the lack of fat in the turkey makes it stick easily - even on non-stick surfaces. Cook ground turkey over medium-high heat until done; drain excess fat/water.

Lightly coat a 2 quart rectangular Pyrex dish with cooking spray. Pour in eggs. Add ground turkey. Top with baby spinach and shredded cheese. Add *salsa a tablespoon at a time. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until eggs are no longer runny and any excess moisture from the spinach and/or salsa has cooked away. Enjoy!