Shamrockin' Shake

A Special St. Patrick's Day Treat



Ingredients:
1 cup fat free milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 drops mint extract
3 drops green food coloring
1 cup ice

Blend and Enjoy! Counts as 1 protein, 1 dairy

Thursday Fiexta!

Tacos are always a big hit with our family, so we really wanted to incorporate them in to our P90X meal plan.  Three corn tortillas count as one serving of carbs, so this is a very substantial and satisfying meal!  We used 6 ounces of shredded, poached chicken breast, romaine lettuce, green onions, reduced fat cheddar cheese, salsa, and a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt for a total of 2 proteins, 1 carb, 1/2 veg, 1 dairy and 1 condiment.

Our side dish is Mexican Smashed Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower

3 stalks celery

4T hummus

3 T Greek yogurt

1t cumin

2t garlic powder

1/2 t chilli powder 

Separate cauliflower into florets and dice celery.  Steam together until very tender, about 20 minutes.  Place steamed cauliflower and celery in a large bowl and add hummus, Greek yogurt, cumin, garlic powder and chilli powder.  Smash with a potato masher for a coarse consistency.  Use a food processor or stick blender for a creamier smash.  Garnish with paprika, if desired.

Serves 4  (at least)

This comes to just over 50 calories per serving, so we counted it as 1 vegetable.

What's that?  You noticed the "margarita" in our photo?  Don't worry, that is a non-alcoholic Crystal Light Margarita, weighing in at just 5 calories!  Some of the fun and none of the guilt.  Just close your eyes and pretend, that's what we're doing!

Kid Tweak

My children, 2 boys ages 7 and 10, are observing us very closely and even beginning to participate in some of the workouts.  It is very important to me that they see us modeling good nutrition and health habits, not dieting, so we are feeding them the same meals with a few tweaks to ensure they are meeting their nutritional needs.  For this meal we added black beans, carrots and celery, and chips & salsa.  Everyone was happy!

Cheers!

Saucey

Honey Chili Sauce

A p90x approved condiment worth trying! The recipe is from the nutrition manual and is a quick way to add a sweet and spicy punch.  It's recommened for chicken but we also found it's great on quinoa and broccoli.  Were going to try it with fish next week!

The Breakfast Bump

Since Uncle Ken has to be to work early, he rarely has the time in the morning to prepare a proper p90x breakfast.  I came up with the idea to prepare these egg cups for him ahead of time to grab and eat on his way to work! Just pop in the microwave for a few seconds, and you are good to go! I made a variety of flavors for him to try and see what he likes best.  These are: Spinach, Basil, and Feta, Tomatoe and Mozzarella, and Green Onion and Cheddar.

I made 12 egg cups (4 of each variety) by using 6 whole eggs and 4 egg whites, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half, 1/3 cup chopped green onion, 1 cup raw spinach, dried basil, salt, pepper, and cooking spray.
Start by heating a small skillet coated with cooking spray and saute each vegetable sepearetely until soft.  Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray and divide each vegetable evenly into 4 cups.  Top with the cheese. ( I also sprinkled a little basil onto the spinach ones)

Add a little salt and pepper to the egg mixture and pour into each muffin cup, about 3/4 of the way full.  Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes and let cool. 

Viola!
Put 2 egg muffins into a sandwich bag for a breakfast serving, I labeled them with what varieties were in the bag.  Hopefully this will keep Uncle Ken on the right track for an easy nutritious breakfast!