"What's that?" you say. "What could POSSIBLY be the best feeling in the world? You mean like, stuffing yourself silly at Thanksgiving?"
No, more powerful than that.
Giving yourself your power back over mind and body.
The mind is a fickle thing and takes a LOT of work to fix...sometimes we need help fixing it, or navigating it, and that's okay. Now the body, on the other hand, when it comes to HUNGER...We can TOTALLY fix.
Our stomachs growl because they are lonely and they need GOOD companionship. It's truly the best feeling to take control of your busy day give yourself something you CAN rely on- which is healthy and satisfying food.
I'm not a NO PRESERVATIVES-ONLY GRASS FED-SUPER ORGANIC person. But I DO try to find the best deals on the best kinds of foods. ANY of my recipes can be altered to fit YOUR eating style and YOUR needs, so don't be afraid to! And speaking of fitting needs...I was needing some banana pudding yesterday. It was a HC day, so totally okay...Especially how I made it :)
I started the morning off with my Fiesta Eggs and a Whole Grain Tortilla. I've learned that when searching for breads or grain products, go for products that say WHOLE GRAIN or MULTIGRAIN because that stuff is the nutrient dense stuff. Whole wheat is not really different from white wheat other than it hasn't been bleached and there is a bit more husk left in the dough. Whole grain is just hearty, dense, and delicious.
Here we have 1 c fresh green beans, laid horizontally and cut 3 times. I steamed those babies for a little bit in a pan of water. Once they were the right texture, I drained the water and added about 1/3 c of salsa (you can variate depending on taste). I mixed the two together and then added 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg (2sp for the mix). As the eggs were cooking I added my favorite, McCormick Vegetable Seasoning, to the mix and let the eggs cook to perfection. Cooked all the way through, no runniness, but still visible moisture. (If I ever overcook an egg...it looks dry and firm and not so yummy...I don't even eat it. I just throw it away. Why waste points on something that's not even good?) I scooped my eggs onto a plate and laid 1 Ezekiel 4:9 Whole Grain Tortilla in the still-warm pan (stove off), placed the lid over it, and let it sit for a few minutes in the steam. After a few minutes, I touched the tortilla to check temperature, and it was done. This 6 smartpoint meal was ready to devour. My husband even asked if I could make that for him as he was headed out the door to work. Victory.
Cue 2nd meal of the day, which had to be quick and portable because I would be eating it in the car after Little Man's motor class. It consisted of an apple and a Quest Bar in Mixed Berry Bliss (5sp). I'll definitely be getting that one again. Simple, but full of protein with an apple carbohydrate to pair with it.
3rd meal of the day was an experiment...gone satisfyingly well. Hear me out on this...Herb & Garlic Tuna Stir Fry. Remember, if you aren't into any of the ingredients I share, change it out for something else...like chicken! Or steak! Anyway, I came up with the meal as I went. My priority was some FLAVOR FAVE: Seeds of Change Whole Grain Brown Rice & Quinoa with Garlic. I really didn't want to spend 7 smartpoints for a whole cup, so I figured I could pair it with something. Then I started thinking tuna...Oh! I have some garlic tuna in the pantry. I know, let's make a stirfry! Usually rice is the base for stirfry, but I was HUNGRY and I didn't want to spend 7 smartpoints on a whole cup, so I turn to veggies.
That is a WHOLE PAN of veggies...about 3 cups to be exact. I got a little chop happy and after I took this picture, pretty much figured it was WAY too much and that I would need to take 1/2 of it out for a later time. As I kept steaming the veggies, they started to look less huge and intimidating (though still thinking "there is waaaay too much here...I won't be able to finish!"). When the veggies were finished, I drained the water out of the pan and dashed some 21 Seasoning on them while adding the tuna. I heated the rice in the microwave (because that's how it comes) and measured out
EXACTLY 4 smartpoints worth of the rice. On my WW app I couldn't do 1 whole cup because the points were too high and 1/2 cup was 3 smartpoints and the next step up was 2/3 cup for 5 smartpoints. Then I though...well, what about in ounces?? Ended up getting 2.5 ounces of rice for 4 smartpoints. YUS! My Starkist Tuna Creations, Chunk Light Single Serve Herb & Garlic was 2 smartpoints and so my meal turned out exactly how I wanted it...6 smartpoints. I ended up keeping ALL the veggies (just to see what would happen)
And I ate the WHOLE THING. It was WAY yummy, quick to make (under 15 minutes, yes, I timed it) and totally filling.
I had planned a delicious dinner for my 4th meal, nothing too heavy because I was TRULY excited for my banana pudding...but sometimes, when it rains, it pours. Ya hur me? My sister-in-law came by because some inspections were happening at my parents house (totally awesome! I haven't seen her in a while and we were looking forward to visiting). So while she was on her way, I started making dinner for my husband and son. Everything was going fine, a little pinched for time, but not a big deal before heading out to work. My sister-in-law gets to the door and she's covered in puke. Her little cowboy son had gotten car sick and was dry heaving as she was rushing to my kitchen sink. She makes it just in time before Mt. Stink-suvious erupted. Poor little guy. After he finishes, I clean him him, clean her up, and she runs to clean out her car while I run a bath for Little Cowboy. My husband had Little Man and everything was taken care of. But that little skew in the schedule made my meal more of a rush and so I satisfied myself with 1/2 a cantaloupe (seeds scooped out) (0 smartpoints), 1/2 c Fage Total 0% Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt (1 smartpoint), 1/2 c Daisy 2% Small Curd Low fat cottage cheese (2 smartpoints), topped with a single packet of Truvia sweetener (0 smartpoints). A filling 3 smartpoint meal, giving me 10 smartpoints to finish the day. The greek yogurt really bulked up the meal and kept me satisfied until around 8:20pm when the meeting room finally emptied.
As soon as our last members left the scene, M&M and I got ready to eat the delicious banana pudding I created. I call it "The Devil Done Me In...With No Regrets: Banana Pudding"
Split between 2 people, this little beauty came out to be ONLY 4 SMARTPOINTS!! Eaten by oneself would be 8 smartpoints...and totally worth it. So, you want the recipe??
1 medium sized banana, sliced
1 1/2 to 2 T of Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
8g of Sugar Free Banana Cream Instant Jell-O Pudding Mix (yes, my scale measures in grams too...so that's what I did!)
1 single serve container of Dannon Greek Light & Fit Banana Cream Yogurt
3 T Lite Cool Whip
10 Mini Nilla Wafers
1. Lay the Mini Nilla Wafers along the bottom of your individual sized container.
2. Slice your banana. You can eat the two ends because you want to work with flat pieces (that's what I did)
3. Take your yogurt cup and give it a good mixing and add the banana pudding mix to the yogurt. Fold in gently. Once the pudding mix is folded in (yes, the yogurt clumps a bit) add the Almond Milk. Start with 1.5 T for consistency, and then add a little more if you so desire. No more than 2 T...that will be PLENTY.
4. Once the yogurt is mixed and creamy, spoon half the yogurt container on top of the Nilla wafers.
5. Place a layer of bananas
6. Another layer of pudding
7. Top with Cool Whip and the last little bits of bananas
8. *Place in fridge and let sit for about 4 hours.
*The sitting is for all the ingredients to settle into each other and the cookies to soften. Mine actually ended up sitting for 8 hours because I made it around noon, after lunchtime, and then didn't eat it until I was at work.
It will seriously be the most delicious thing you've tasted. I almost needed a moment after my first bite. M&M and I couldn't get over how delicious it was. M&M asked if I was OK with her taking the last bite...and licking the container.
I said yes :)
In fact, she went to the grocery store after work to get all the ingredients she needed to make it for her family for Valentine's Day. Yum. Yum.
So that little taste of heaven is only 4 smartpoints if you share, and 8 smartpoints if you eat it yourself. No regrets, remember?
M&M brought a bite of a Combat Bar she purchased at GNC and I ate that little bite and counted it for 2 smartpoints to be safe. It was OK...not so good after eating the banana pudding heaven but after getting home I still had 4 smartpoints left for the day. I ended up drinking a Premier Protein in Chocolate (2 smartpoints), a banana, and 1 FLAVOR FAVE: Bamboo Lane Crunchy Rice Roller (2 smartpoints per roll).
There you have it, my friends. Try the banana pudding and let me know how it turns out! On Saturday I'll be posting a Chocolate Strawberry version...I'm super excited!
Happy Eating,
Camille
No comments:
Post a Comment