Protein, protein and more protein….

One of my friends emailed me today and asked me to share some of my favorite ways for getting in protein.  So, I figured not only would I reply to her, but I’d just write it up here on the blog so it’s out there in case someone else is looking for some suggestions.

 

First of all, I am not a cook.  You can ask my husband and he will tell you that cooking is not one of the reasons he married me and I’m fine with that.  This is my disclaimer as some of my “recipes” probably wouldn’t count as real recipes by a real cook.

 

I usually try to get in around 100 grams of protein a day which requires a ton of eating.  I spread out the amount of protein to about 20 grams via 5 meals or snacks.  I don’t know where I read it, but somewhere I saw a recommendation that women ingest about 20 grams of protein at a time as that’s about how much our bodies can actually use before it just gets filed away in the “leftover calorie” department, and that formula has worked just fine for me.

 

I’m going to start by listing some of my favorite powders:

 

When you buy protein powders, really take a good hard look at the label for information on serving size.  Some powders are obviously designed for the incredible Hulk type lifter, and if that’s the case, I generally use half of a serving. (Nothing against the Hulk, just not the body type or the tan I’m after…)

 

 

Isopure:  Anything by them is delicious but be ready to pay for it!  They have fruit drinks that I especially enjoy in the purple/grape flavor and since each one has 40 grams of protein, I’ll split it up into two servings.  The chocolate powder is also wonderful – mixes really well!

 

Lean Body for Her by Labrada in Soft Serve Vanilla Flavor:  mix one packet with water, ice, a scoop of cool whip, one packet of Splenda and some frozen strawberries.  Delicious!!

 

Another option with vanilla powder is to mix it with 1 cup of the light orange juice, put in ¼ cup of milk and shake it up.  It tastes like a shake from Orange Julius.

 

Nutrimet in strawberry:  I like this one just mixed with water and ice.  However, one packet has a ton of calories so I’ll generally use ½ of one per serving.

 

And when it comes to bars, I generally go with what’s on sale as I’ve said before.  I do try to make sure that they’re not through the roof on carbs and fat as there are some bars that will give you the protein you’re looking for, but you’ll get a lot of calories that you don’t want along with it.

 

 

 

And here a couple of my “recipes” as I’ll call them….I’ve posted some before and there are probably a couple of minor differences as I change things periodically so that I don’t get bored.

 

Protein Pancakes

Beat 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg

Add in ½ tsp of vanilla

1/3 cup of quick cook instant oatmeal

2 packets of Splenda

Mix all of that up, put it on a hot frying pan and enjoy!  I sometimes add strawberries and cool whip on top.  It’s not IHOP but it will do…

(and you may want to add a TBSP of low fat Bisquick to make them seem a little more authentic.)

 

BBQ Tuna

This is a recipe where you’ll just have to suspend what you would normally believe about the mixture I’m going to share, and just trust me that it really kind of does taste like bbq.  Not the good kind like we have here in South Carolina, but it kind of has a bbq type flavor to it.

 

1 Green Apple cut into small chunks (I use an apple-core thing and then slice up the wedges into little triangles)

Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice so they don’t turn brown

Mustard (you may like jalapeño mustard or brown mustard as well)

2 cans of low sodium tuna

Pepper – a dash

All purpose seasoning – a couple of dashes

 

I mix it all up and then divide it into three containers.  I know it sounds weird…but it’s good!

 

Tuna Salad

2 cans of low sodium tuna, 1 TBSP of lite mayo, 2 Claussen’s garlic pickles cut up into tiny pieces, pepper

 

Sometimes I’ll crush up Red Hot Blues or Chili Lime chips and mix that in for a little added crunch and flavor.

 

Makes me three servings

 

 

Salmon and Couscous

Prepare one serving of Pine Nut Couscous and stir in two cans of salmon which are packed in chunks in water just like tuna.  I split this into three servings as well.

 

Protein Pudding

Mix 1 or 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder with one envelop of cook ‘n serve pudding, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of skim milk.  Stir it the whole time you’re cooking it to be sure that it doesn’t get stuck on the bottom of the pan and burn.  This also makes 3 servings.  It’s especially wonderful with cool whip on top when it’s still hot from the stove.

 

I hope this helps you get in your protein and feel free to share your own ideas!

 

Steph

Four Cinnamon Rolls for supper and my new name is “Charmin”….

 

 

I know that I’m like many of you mothers out there who will go to great lengths to be sure that your children are eating a somewhat balanced diet.  This can involve sneaking vegetables into things that normally wouldn’t include carrots or green beans and pep rally presentations on the joy of eating fruit…  But what do we do to make sure that we’re getting in the kind of nutrition we need to perform the umpteen bazillion tasks we do in a day?

 

I realized how terrible this dilemma can be recently when I was cooking supper for the kids.  I was exhausted after a long day at work and I managed to at least get all of the school bags, diaper bags, coolers and the laptop out of the car and into the kitchen.  As I looked at the incredible mountain of mess sitting on the kitchen table, I realized that I was suddenly overcome with hunger. 

 

I had eaten healthy all day, straight out of my cooler with all of the pre-prepared health food it could handle.  I needed something fast and quick that would give me just enough energy to get the chicken in the oven and the potatoes and green beans cooking on the stove.  The night before my husband had cooked some of those Pillsbury Low fat Cinnamon rolls and they were sitting on the counter wrapped in foil.  After a millisecond of hesitation, I figured what the heck, I needed some quick energy, so one will do. 

 

Then it was time to get Will started on his baby food (which he eats before he takes a stab at the table food for the night) and I was still hungry.  What’s one more cinnamon roll – especially when they’re low fat?  By the time supper was on the table, I had managed to polish off two more and I probably would have had another eventually except that now they were all gone.

 

How did that happen?  One minute I’m the picture of good health and the next I’m an example of someone who needs to go to cinnamon bun rehab…  And that’s when I had to do a gut check and remind myself that we all have those moments when we cave, when we succumb to the immediate gratification wrapped in the cuddly roll of a cinnamon bun.  However, if overall we do a fairly good job at eating the right way – and if we model that for our kids on a regular basis – we’re really doing just fine and we shouldn’t get down on ourselves for the occasional mauling of a nutritional diet.

 

Changing subjects – we’re in full potty training mode, fluctuating between days of perfection and days of imperfection, and I’m trying very hard to be patient and to have somewhat of a sense of humor about it.  If you have any tips on making this wonderful aspect of parenthood any easier, feel free to share!  I recently told my husband that between the two kids and all the wiping I do, I will now respond to the name “Charmin.”

 

Hope you’re all doing well and God bless!