Protein Shake(s)

I make these for my son every morning and he absolutely LOVES them. Who knew? Anyway, this is a great way to sneak some more protein into your diet. And you can mix up the flavors every day so as not to get monotonous. It just depends on what fruit and protein powders* you choose. So you could have a peach shake, a tropical shake, a chocolate/peanut butter, etc. The possibilities and health benefits are endless here! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. vanilla rice milk
• 1/3 c. plain yogurt
• 3 oz. tofu (1 large spoonful)
• 1 ripe banana
• handful of frozen berries/fruit

Directions:
1. Blend rice milk (or dairy of choice) with yogurt and tofu.
2. Add fruit and turn up the juice (of the machine that is).
3. Serve cold, with a straw of course! And be careful, because this will stain if let to its own devise.

PS- I make *Brad's pretty much the same: increase rice milk to 1 c. and add 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (and omit banana).

Break Over

I apologize for just leaving you hangin' there high and dry! But amidst our kitchen woes (such as flooding and an ant invasion, plus the extra stress of working around a diet), there were many a-times where I ended up not cooking and my whole plan went bonkers! So to save myself from insanity, I just opted not to post any more meals for the month, especially since it was just me and maybe one other person that I know of that was following along... But if there was something on the plan that sounded like it was something you wanted to try, then let me know and I'll get it up on here.

I also have been feeling weird about posting recipes that I haven't even tried! I'm not sure how to circumvent that problem... unless I just post the meal plans and if you choose to follow it, just push everything back a day. That way I can make my meals one night and the next day post it (since so many of my recipes I personally modify) for you to follow for that night. Make sense? Is anyone getting any of this???

Anyway, there's also enough meal ideas already posted on here to help you guys in your quests for dinner that I'm rather confident you were all ok while I was MIA... So, I'm going to try this again but try to not let myself get stressed out about things. I'm working on my meal plan for February since I'll be shopping tomorrow. So I will get that up as soon as I can, with the shopping list. And for those of you who are wanting to try this whole method of cooking via planning on your own, then please refer to the shopping tips and start coming up with your version of meal plans and shopping lists (then you won't suffer if I do decide to take a break). I really do think that this method has helped our family in so many ways and promise that it can help everyone out there (who doesn't have a personal chef), so do give it, or a variation of it, a try and let us know what you're doing (successes, failures, etc.).

Oh, and I'm not going to post which version of the diet that the dinners go with anymore, because I think my family is the only one it concerns and I've already got everything down on paper and it would just be one more thing for me to figure out and develop migraines over...

On a side-note: please comment on this post if you are even reading this blog! I would like to know who is even interested in any of this and what meals/plans have worked for you. And please share some ideas with us! I don't want to be typing to myself, it's rather lonely...

Thanks!

*Beth

Hiatus Time

I'm just taking a break...

and that's all I have to say for right now...

It's Updatin' Time!

It's not yet "Saturday, January 20, 2007." Ok, so you probably all know that I try to have the meals posted by the week. Since I date them according to the plan, it gets a little confusing at times when trying to navigate your way through this site. So I will post this exact post each time I update a week's meals.

The purpose of this post, the very one you're reading, is to give you the links you might need for that week. And this very post will also be updated each time I re-post it, and will be removed from its former location.

Who knows if that really makes much sense when reading it, but it is typed and done. Hope this helps... Heck, I hope any of this helps (not just this particular post)!!!

Helpful Links:

Meals for the Month (January)
Shopping List (January, part I)
Shopping Tips
Diet plan (and explanation)

Leftovers/ Scrounge Night

Click here and enjoy!

Mexican Pasta w/ Chipotle Sausage

Yummy in my tummy! SO excited for this one, but haven't done it yet. This will be an experiment y'all, so make the necessary adjustments for taste and consistency, m'k?

Ingredients:

• 2 links Chipotle Chicken Sausage, chopped
• 1 small can diced tomatoes w/ green chillies
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• cilantro, chopped
• cheese, shredded
• chicken bouillon, maybe

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta if you didn't make any/enough from last night.
2. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat, spray with a little olive oil or water.
3. Cook sausage in skillet. Once their juices get flowing and they start to brown a bit, add onion and garlic; cook.
4. Add tomatoes w/ chillies and simmer until it reduces and becomes nice and "saucy." Taste test it and add bouillon and seasoning if needed.
5. Toss with pasta (1 c. pasta per person) and top with cheese (1 oz. per person).
6. Option: place in casserole dish and pop it in the oven for a pasta bake.
7. Top with cilantro and serve with a salad.


VERSION 1.3

Italian Garden Veggie Minestrone

I loooove this one. It's my kind of comfort food. Who needs chicken friend steak and mashed potatoes when you can have this (and not the added inches to your waistline!)! Need I mention it's a slow cooker recipe! Yup, definitely a favorite...

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 can mushrooms OR 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 yellow squash, chopped
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2-3 c. chicken broth
• 1 c. bell peppers, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Italian Seasoning, to taste
• Dried Basil, to taste
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients except dried herbs and cheese in crock pot; cook on low for 6 hours.
2. Stir in dried herbs into pot for last 15-20 minutes.
3. Cook pasta in separate pot. The point of this is for leftover purposes. You can cook pasta with the crockpot, but they may end up too soft or too hard upon serving. But if you let the pasta sit overnight inside the soup, they expand and you end up with goulash.
3. Serve; add pasta to each bowl and top with Parmesan.


VERSION 1.3

PS- this is minestrone people, so keep that in mind when you cook and add the pasta. However, if you're not concerned with the diet, then you could morph this into a pasta dish. Just omit the broth and make it into a sauce and serve on top of pasta. You may want to add some bouillon to the sauce; taste test it first.

Time Saver: as you cook the pasta, make enough for tonight and for tomorrow's pasta bake.

Stuffed Potatoes

Just be careful with the consistency here. Add less or more yogurt/ sour cream to match properly with your potato amount... and taste test (as always) for the right seasonings amount. Serve with bacon wrapped chicken.

Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes, cleaned and "forked"
• olive oil
• 1 can mushrooms
• 1/4 onion, diced
• garlic, minced (1 clove at most)
• dried thyme, to taste
• S&P, to taste
• 1/4 c. plain yogurt OR fat-free sour cream
• shredded cheese (1 oz. per person)

Directions:
1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in skillet. Microwave potatoes, rotating half-way through nuking (and preheat the broiler while you're at it).
2. Add mushrooms and onions; cook/saute.
3. Add garlic, thyme, S&P.
4. Cook, stirring frequently.
5. Cut cooked potatoes in half and scoop out the insides (be careful- don't rip the skins).
6. In a bowl, mash potatoes with yogurt until combined.
7. Stir in the sauteed mix and add some shredded cheese (1/2 oz. per person) and more S&P if needed.
8. Mound filling back into potato skins and top with rest of cheese; place on a baking sheet and under the broiler until light brown (3-4 minutes).

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This originally called for beef tenderloin, but we sure as heck couldn't afford such meat! So I'm using chicken instead (once again...). Serve with stuffed potatoes and steamed veggies.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 chicken breasts
• olive oil
• 2-4 slices turkey bacon
• steak seasoning, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat skillet with 1-2 T. olive oil (basically, a tbsp. per person = 1 fat according to the diet plan).
2. Season chicken with steak seasoning and center on bacon slice and wrap.
3. Place seam side down and cook on each side (or you could use the handy-dandy GF!).


VERSION 1.3

Chicken Stir Fry w/ Peanut Sauce

An old favorite, just reocurring. Just follow the veggie chow mein recipe for the sauce, and serve with chicken and a frozen stir-fry mix (cooked/unfrozen, of course). No rice tonight if you're following the diet.


VERSION 4 (using 2 T. peanut sauce per serving; omit 2 oz. dried fruit from your snacks).

Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken

This is a relatively simple, and yet another, chicken recipe. I'll just be serving this with either a salad or some roasted veggies (bell peppers and such) or both!

Ingredients:

• 2 T. chili powder
• 1 t. cumin
• olive oil
• S&P
• 1 t. dried oregano
  
• 4 chicken breasts
• cilantro, chopped
• cheese, shredded

Directions:
1. Combine chili powder, cumin and S&P.
2. Rub chicken with olive oil (not too much remember); coat with spice mixture.
3. Grill chicken (we'll be using our belove George Foreman once again. It should be fine cooked in a pan though).
4. Top with cilantro and cheese.
5. Eat it! -- Would be good served with nacho type toppings: olives, salsa, avocados, etc.


VERSION 2

Hold Your Spatulas!

It's not yet "Sunday, January 14, 2007." But I've got the meals for the month, shopping list, and this week's meals all lined up. Hence, our time-shift.

Before you go checking out this month’s meal plans, I must tell you that we are on a diet. Gasp! No seriously, I’ve gotten lazy with my cooking so I’m taking it to the next level in healthy! Besides, Brad got P90X for Christmas (he asked for it, honest!) and you have to follow the nutrition guidelines, which makes sense to me, for obvious reasons. I’m quite satisfied with this program because it’s no quick fix, easy guide; it’s a lifestyle change. It tells the truth and the truth is you need to eat well to live well.

The nutrition guide is surprisingly similar to what I came up with when I worked on a weight management program for the Wellness Center my senior year at BYU-Idaho (pregnant and all!). I was in charge of the nutrition aspect of weight management and well, I guess great minds think alike! Anyway, we’re following what’s called the portion approach and I spent some time creating meals that would incorporate all the required servings for each food group by the end of the day.

I don’t know if many- or if any- of you are at all interested in all of this, but I have posted my 4-6 versions of meal plans, which includes breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner (The Not-So-Dreadful Diet). I’m doing this so I have a record of it stored online for information backup purposes. But if anyone is interested in how we’re eating or would like to try some of these healthy meals, feel free. What’s more, all the dinners are worked out so that they will fit with our family’s new needs (satisfying daily requirements, etc.) AND will work for you and your families. You are more than welcome to make changes, if you’re not feeling like wheat pasta, etc. But trust me, I hate gross food as much as the rest of you! So this stuff will taste good, I promise!

Wish us luck! And good luck to you if you choose to follow!

Quick and Fancy Broccoli

I use this recipe all the time because I love it! Is there really any better way to eat broccoli?! Maybe roasted you say? Hmm, it’s your call. Anyway, this goes really good with roasted rosemary potatoes and Coq au Vin… my famous meal I’ve made for just about everyone! Don’t worry; it’s bound to show up on the Mess sooner or later. Until then, eat this broccoli with whatever you choose (such as the Quick Cassoulet Stuffed Bread Melts that's set for tonight)!

Ingredients:

• Broccoli, 2 crowns
• 1-2 Tomatoes
• Garlic, 1 clove, minced
  
• 1 T. Olive oil
• S&P
• Italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Heat an inch of water in a skillet until it’s bubbling.
2. While water heats, cut broccoli into flourettes; toss them in when ready.
3. Cut tomato(es) in half and carefully de-seed it/them; chop.
4. Drain broccoli (we’re just blanching them, not entirely cooking them).
5. Add olive oil to hot and dry pan; add garlic and cook for a minute.
6. Add broccoli and tomatoes to pan; season and toss to coat.
7. Serve warm or cold.

Leftovers/ Scrounge Night

Enough said. Except, knowing me, I always have a surprising amount to say about nothing. For a night such as this, clean out what you have in the fridge/freezer/pantry that needs to be eaten. Or you can have takeout if you’d rather… whatever is the easiest (which is my favorite)! Try to think ahead of time, as much as possible, of what you would like for tonight (if you want to follow the diet plan). Then you can decide throughout the week whether you really want to finish off a meal as lunch or save it for dinner later on instead (regardless of the diet).

Ginger Soy Chic Lettuce Wraps

As with any of these recipes, how much chicken you decide to cook up depends on how many people you’re cooking for and if you want seconds and/or leftovers. Since we only need a chicken per person, but I want some for leftovers, I’ll be making 4. So adjust according to your needs, as always.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• S&P
• olive oil
• ginger, minced (you can use powdered/fresh; I happen to have pickled ginger on hand, so I’m going to give that a whirl)
• garlic clove, minced
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 6 scallions/green onions, julienned- 2 in.
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and minced
• 1 can bamboo shoots, drained and minced (opt.)
• 2 oz. raw peanuts, toasted (opt.)
• 1 carrot, minced
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, prepared and minced (plain mushrooms are fine, just sauté them up and then mince)
  
• about ¼ c. soy sauce (a little less)
• 1-2 T. honey- depending on how sweet you want it
  
• Lettuce
• little crispy rice noodles (opt.)
  

Directions:
1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add a little oil to start off with, then add water when needed- a tbsp. at a time.
2. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper (lots of pepper for extra spice).
3. Add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes (the latter two according to taste); cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add scallions and cook for another minute.
5. Add soy sauce and honey to form a sauce and glaze the chicken.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Serve wrapped in lettuce, or on top of shredded lettuce.

PS- Another variation of this would be to follow the Oriental Chicken recipe, which is a crock pot meal and a less spicy variation. Serve it as you would here; wrapped in lettuce.

VERSION 1

Chicken Fajitas

A classic in our family. Steak fajitas are optimal, of course, but chicken works well, too, especially on a budget. I always season this differently every time I make it. I basically just taste test from start to finish. Since we’re on a diet, we’re not using a marinade because of all the oil it calls for. I recommend a fajita marinade if you want to be on the safe side of taste. So no promises on my end!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 chicken breasts
• bell peppers, sliced (about a cup; so try to get as many colors as you can in 1 c.)
• 1 can mushrooms
• ½ small onion, sliced
• garlic clove, minced
• S&P, to taste
• 1 t. chili powder
• 1 t. dried oregano
• brown sugar to taste (1-3 t.)
• olive oil
• a little red wine vinegar/lemon juice, to taste (for balance)

Directions:
1. Notice how I did not ask for the chicken to be sliced. That’s right. So cook chicken and then set aside to rest (it’ll be more juicy).
2. Add a little oil and cook onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms.
3. Slice chicken and return to pan.
4. Add seasoning until everything tastes just right (vinegar, water/broth instead of adding more oil if it seems like it’s getting dry on you).
5. Serve with tortillas (and/or rice if you prefer), sour cream/ plain yogurt, avocados, salsa, and cheese.

VERSION 1.3

Italian Sub Stoup

The original version of this recipe (a la Rachel Ray) called for lots of bad for you yummy food (aka. Italian sausage, ham AND pepperoni). But will it kill any of us to be slightly healthier?! No. I should probably mention this now, since they’re sure to pop up frequently through this month’s meals: we have chicken sausage links. We sampled them at Costco and bought a couple: Chipotle Sausage and Sundried Tomato w/ Basil. They are absolutely awesome, in taste and healthiness, and I totally recommend them. So please, check out Sausage’s by Amy and please welcome them in their first Beth’s Mess debut!

Ingredients:

• 2 links ST-B Chicken sausage, chopped (or one/some of the original substitutes, see above)
• 2 ham slices, chopped
  
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, chopped
• ½ small onion
  
• 1 can mushrooms (or fresh, my personal preference when “rich”)
• 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 4-6 c. chicken/beef broth (your preference: more stew-like vs. more soup-like)
• ½ spinach bunch
• Croutons (2 slices of bread, cubed; olive oil; small garlic clove, minced; Italian seasoning; Parmesan; red pepper flakes)

Directions:
1. Heat a soup pot to medium high. Add just a little (half T. at most) of olive oil, and then add sausage and ham.
2. Brown meat and then add onion, mushrooms and bell pepper.
3. Season with S&P and add tomatoes.
4. Stir in broth and bring to boil.
6. While stoup simmers, heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; add garlic and cook for a minute.
7. Add bread cubes, toss and toast (about 5 minutes). Season with pepper flakes, seasoning and Parmesan while hot.
8. Stir the spinach into the stoup.
9. Serve with some shredded Mozzarella and floating croutons.


VERSION 3

Roasted Broccoli

I kind of just made this one up, since my internet was down and I wasn’t able to follow the recipe I was thinking of. But it turned out very well and it’s one that I will remember, internet or no internet!

Ingredients:

• broccoli, 2 “crowns”
• 2 T. olive oil
• S&P
• seasoning (Italian, All-purpose (the no salt kind), Onion powder… whatever you want it to taste like!)
• 2 capfulls lemon juice (if you use Lemon Pepper as a seasoning, omit juice)
  
• parmesan cheese (dash it all around till it looks right… however much you want).

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Chop up the broccoli (not too much stem-age action please).
3. Toss with rest of ingredients on baking sheet.
4. Roast it in the oven until cooked (about 15-20 minutes). Be sure to toss them every now and then and frequently check on them to prevent any serious burn-age.
5. Serve with toothpicks.

Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is my easy-speedy version. By all means, pound out your chicken, roll them up, dip them in buttermilk, coat them in cornflakes and such and bake. But as for me and my household…

Ingredients:

• 2-4 chicken breasts
• cheese (Swiss, but we’re using Mozzarella b/c it’s what we have on hand), 1 oz. per person
• ham slices, slice per person
• seasonings to taste

Directions:
1. Butterfly chicken.
2. Place a slice of ham and an ounce of cheese (about the size of a domino) in each breast.
3. Sandwich it all together and season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper, parsley and thyme (it sometimes helps to have just a bit of olive oil on there before seasoning).
4. Cook – we’ll be using our George Foreman. I’m sure this would be insanely good on an outdoor grill, but pan cooking, or even baking, is just fine.
5. Serve with Roasted Broccoli.

* An even easier option (can you believe it?!) would be to just cook some seasoned chicken and top it with ham and cheese, pop it under the broiler for a bit and bam, you’re done…

VERSION 4

Shopping List, Part I (January)

This list is meant to work with the diet plan and with the meals for the month. Make sure to refer to my shopping tips and then make the necessary changes to this list in order to fit your needs.

Produce:

garlic

cilantro

bell peppers (1 of each)

lettuce (C)

spinach

carrots

limes?

zucchini

squash

broccoli

celery

Canned:

water chestnuts

28 oz. diced tomatoes (3)

mushrooms (C)

black beans

tuna (C)

chicken (C)

oatmeal

pineapple

Grains:

bread (C)

pita (TJ)

baguette?

brown jasmine rice (TJ)

bagels (C)

English muffins

Protein:

hams slices (C)

turkey bacon

chicken (C)

eggs (C)

almonds (C)

other nuts (peanuts/cashews)

Dairy:

cheese (C)

yogurt

cottage cheese

Miscellaneous:

tofu (TJ)

* C = Costco; TJ = Trader Joes

Meals for the Month (January)

Sorry that this is coming a couple of days late. Our internet keeps cutting it and out, so I wasn't able to get this on when it should have been... But you can refer to anything that's "old" for future recipes or as replacement recipes for others.

I'll keep coming back and updating this post with links to each meal. And if you're wanting to follow the diet plan, make sure to check which version the dinners correspond with (they'll be labeled in their individual posts).

And the only real theme nights are Mexican Monday and Leftovers/Scrounge Night. Nothing too clever; my brain has already been exhausted trying to make everything in the puzzle fit. Enjoy!

Tuesday-9: Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu w/ Roasted Broccoli

Wednesday-10: Italian Sub Stoup

Thursday-11: Chicken Fajitas

Friday-12: Ginger Soy Chic Lettuce Wraps

Saturday-13: Leftovers/ Scrounge Night

Sunday-14: Quick Cassoulet Stuffed Bread Melts w/ Quick and Fancy Broccoli

Monday-15: Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken

Tuesday-16: Spicy Stir-fry w/ Chicken and Nuts

Wednesday-17: Bacon Wrapped Chicken w/ Stuffed Potatoes

Thursday-18: Italian Garden Veggie Minestrone

Friday-19: Mexican Pasta w/ Chipotle Sausage

Saturday-20: Leftovers/ Scrounge Night

Sunday-21: Grilled Chicken w/ Stuffed Zucchini

Monday-22: Salsa Stoup w/ Chicken Quesadillas

Tuesday-23: Chicken w/ Mustard Lemon Sauce

Wednesday-24: Thai Chicken Salad

Thursday-25: Chicken Stir-fry w/ Peanut Sauce

Friday-26: Chicken Breast Subs w/ Sausage

Saturday-27: Leftovers/ Scrounge Night

Sunday-28: Spicy Chicken Rolls w/ Avocado Dip

Monday-29: Southwestern Pasta Bake

Tuesday-30: Honey Mustard Chicken w/ Salad

Wednesday-31: Chicken Stir Fry

The Not-So-Dreadful Diet

P90X MEAL PLAN

Level III: portion approach

I) Breakfast

A) Version 1

1) Scramble I

(a) 6 egg whites (1 protein)

(b) 1.5 oz. ham slices OR 1 slice bacon (½protein)

(c) 1 oz chese (1 dairy)

(d) 1 small potato (1 carbohydrate)

Total: 1.5 proteins, 1 dairy, 1 carbohydrate

2) Scramble II

(a) 6 egg whites (1 protein)

(b) 1.5 oz. ham slices OR 1 slice bacon (½ protein)

(c) 1 oz chese (2 dairy)

Total: 1.5 proteins, 1 dairy

3) Scramble III

(a) 6 egg whites (1 protein)

(b) 1.5 oz. ham slices OR 1 slice bacon (½ protein)

Total: 1.5 proteins

B) Version 2

1) 1 c. oatmeal (1 carbohydrate)

2) 8 oz. yogurt (1 dairy)

(a) 2 T. honey (1 condiment)

3) 1 serving fruit (1 fruit)*

Total: 1 carbohydrate, 1 dairy, 1 fruit, 1 condiment

C) Version 3

1) 1 English muffin (½ carbohydrate)

2) ½ c. yogurt (½ dairy)

3) 1 serving fruit (1 fruit)*

Total: ½ carbohydrate, ½ dairy, 1 fruit

D) Version 4

1) Half bagel (½ carbohydrate), toasted with:

(a) 1 oz. cheese (1 dairy)

(b) 3 oz. turkey (1 protein)

2) 8 oz. yogurt (1 dairy)

(a) 2 T. honey (1 condiment)

3) 1 serving fruit (1 fruit)*

Total: ½ carbohydrate, 2 dairy, 1 fruit, 1 protein, 1 condiment

II) Lunch

A) Version 1

1) Salad I

(a) 6 oz. chicken (2 protein)

(b) ½ c. cottage cheese (1 dairy)

(c) 4 c. lettuce (2 vegetables)

(d) 4 T. dressing (50-100 calories)

Total: 2 protein, ½ dairy, 2 vegetables, 1-2 condiments

B) Version 2

1) Salad II

(a) 6 oz. tuna, drained (2 protein)

(b) 1 oz. cheese (1 dairy)

(c) 4 c. lettuce (2 vegetables)

(d) 2-4 T. fat free dressing (50-100 calories)

Total: 2 protein, 1 dairy, 2 vegetables, 1-2 condiments

C) Version 3

1) Chicken Salad Sandwich

(a) ½ pita (½ carbohydrate)

(b) 6 oz. canned chicken (2 protein)

(c) ½ c. cottage cheese (½ dairy)

(d) 1.25 oz. mayo (1 fat)

(e) ½ c. pineapple (½ fruit)

(f) water chestnuts

(g) 1 oz. cashews (1 snack)

(h) ½ c. celery + lettuce (1 vegetable)

Total: 2 protein, ½ dairy, 1 fat, 1 snack, 1 vegetable, ½ carbohydrate, ½ fruit

D) Version 4

1) BLT sandwich

(a) 4 slices turkey bacon OR 6 0z. ham slices (2 protein)

(b) 1 slice bread (½ carbohydrate)

(c) 1 c. lettuce + sliced tomato (1 vegetable)

(d) mayonnaise (½ fat)

Total: 2 protein, ½ carbohydrate, 1 vegetable, ½ fat

III) Snacks

A) Version 1

1) protein drink

(a) 1 c. rice milk (1 dairy)

(b) 1 scoop vanilla soy powder (snack)

(c) 3 oz. tofu (1 protein)

(d) 1 c. frozen berries (1 fruit)*

Total: 1 dairy, 1 fruit, 1 protein

2) muscle milk

(a) muscle milk powder

(b) 1 c. water

3) 1 oz. almonds

4) 2 oz. dried fruit

B) Version 2

1) protein drink

(a) 1 c. rice milk (1 dairy)

(b) 1 scoop vanilla soy powder (snack)

(c) 3 oz. tofu (snack)

(d) 1 c. frozen berries (1 fruit)*

Total: 1 dairy, 1 fruit, 1 protein

2) muscle milk

(a) muscle milk powder

(b) 1 c. water

3) 1 oz. almonds

4) 2 oz. dried fruit

C) Version 3

1) muscle milk

(a) muscle milk powder

(b) 1 c. water

2) protein bar OR 2 T. peanut butter w/ celery

3) 3 oz. string cheese

4) 2 oz. dried fruit OR 2 oz. turkey jerkey

D) Version 4

1) protein drink

(a) 1 c. rice milk (1 dairy)

(b) 1 scoop vanilla soy powder (1 protein)

(c) 1 c. frozen berries (1 fruit)*

Total: 1 dairy, 1 fruit, 1 protein

2) muscle milk

(a) protein powder

(b) 1 c. water

3) 1 oz. almonds

4) 2 oz. dried fruit

IV) Dinner

* The way this works is you follow one version throughout the entire day. So version 1 breakfast goes with version 1 lunch, version 1 snacks and version 1 dinner. When I post this month's meals, I will have a number assigned to each dinner, which then determines the versions of meals you follow for the day. Once again, this is how we are eating to make sure we're getting in the requirements for the day. You on the otherhand, can mix it up and change it around, to match your family's needs.

Wait Just a Second...

I had wanted to do this earlier, way earlier. I realize it’s been a long time since my last post, and in all honesty, the crème de la crème of holidays has passed. But I wanted to talk a bit about my family’s traditions surrounding food, since this is a site dedicated to food!

My maiden name is Borgia, which most of you know. No, it’s not French, it’s Italian. And although I may only be ¼ Italian and don’t even look it, I am proud of it and I take it to the extreme! All of us Borgias do! ;)

Every Christmas I hear stories of my great-grandmother’s feasts, and how it’s changed over the years. Back then, prospective additions to the family were measured according to how many raviolis you could eat! But I grew up with relatively simple spreads in comparison. Christmas Eve we have Italian Sausages, with homemade marinara, of course. We also have an anti pasta platter and a few families over to share in the goodness. And Christmas morning we’d sit on the stairs munching on sfincies, Italian drop-doughnuts made with sourdough and coated in powdered sugar. But Christmas day is the coup de grace: homemade raviolis, which are prepared a couple of weeks before and left to adorn our kitchen until the big day when they’re cooked. Sometimes we’d stick them in the fridge or freezer if we wanted our room back, but the only place we really wanted them was in our bellies! Mmmmmm.

Brad’s family did things a little differently, but just as special and memorable to him and his kin. Brad comes from a German lineage, which I’ll talk about more on our family site (when I talk about the rest of our traditions besides food). His family has a big get together with several friends and neighbors on Christmas Eve where his mom serves up taco soup with Frito chips. Don’t forget the chips (my mistake)! Christmas day is then filled with cold cereal from their stockings (a treat in the Summers family) for breakfast with the rest of the day spent munching on goodies they’ve received. Whatever is easiest for mom is their motto!

Now on with the show!