Protein Ice Cream! Great for WLS patients

So as many of you may or may not know, I am in the process of undergoing a big weight loss. ..

YES, I've had help, and NO it's still not easy, but I have found some foods and recipes that are making my life easier. I have found they are not only good for helping to fight the weight loss battle but just good for healthy eating in general.

I recently stumbled upon some really great Protein Ice Cream recipes. Since I can't eat regular Ice cream since it is not weight loss friendly, these recipes by Eggface- google: The World According to Eggface- are amazing.  The base is super simple and then you can take that base recipe and do really whatever you want to it.

I bought the Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment. After having it for a whole 2 days I am in love.  Kitchen Aid Mixer is one of the best things ever invented. Just try and convince me otherwise!

Last Nights Protein Ice Cream Recipe (and the first I have ever made) was Chocolate Caramel Swirl with Sugar Free Chocolate bits

Recipe:
1 cup Milk (at least 2% or you can also use Vanilla Soy milk)
2 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder (higher the protein the better)
2 TB Torini Sugar Free Caramel Flavor Syrup
1TB Sugar Free Smuckers Caramel Sauce
1/4 cup Sugar Free Chocolate bits

Mix everything except for the chocolate bits and then follow your mixer instructions.
I put my chocolate bits in 5 minutes before the ice cream is done.

When it's done it will be like soft serve. I like to put mine in tupperware and then freeze it for awhile before digging in!

The best thing about these ice creams is that you can take the milk and protein powder base (try vanilla, strawberry, etc) and try your own add-ins and different syrups.  Even better is that I didn't feel guilty after eating it and since I can only eat a tiny bit of it, a batch will last me quite a while.

Tomorrow I am thinking of trying to make a Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream with bits of Sugar Free Candy Canes. ... If it works out, recipe to follow :)

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins....YUMMY

So I was watching my favorite cooking show the other night with Ina Garten and she made the most delicious looking Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. Now, technically I can't eat muffins, but I want to make these so darn bad. So I caved and made them for my family...


Ina Gartens Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins:

What you will need:
Muffin Cup liners
2 Muffin tins- makes about 16 muffins
Regular size Ice Cream Scoop- makes the perfect size muffins

Ingredients:
2tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2-1/2 cups Flour
3 XL Eggs
1-1/2 Sticks Butter
1-1/2 cups Sugar
1-1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup Milk
8oz Sour Cream
1-2 cups Fresh or Thawed Blueberries

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time then vanilla, sour cream, and milk.
Sift together Dry Ingredients and slowly add to wet mixture until just combined.

Fold in Blueberries gently so you don't break them!  Scoop into prepared pans and bake at 350 for about 18-22 min.

I split my batter into two and made half blueberry and half chocolate chip!

I got a batch of 20 out of my batter...

If you give the recipe a try, let me know how it comes out!

Happy Baking!!

After the storm...

Living in New England always has it's ups and downs in the winter months. After the holidays I needed some time to decompress from all my holiday baking. We headed out on our cruise just two days after Christmas and we had the best time ever. I would highly recommend a Royal Caribbean cruise to anyone who asks.  We had such a good time, we are already booked for this Nov.

Me, Robert, and Viv right after we landed in Miami. 

Since we have just be trying to get all the holiday gear put back in the basement and picking up around the house. I think I still have an unpacked suitcase somewhere!

Yesterday we were lucky enough to get 20+ inches of snow...and yet we both still had to get to work. Boy was that fun. Thankfully the guys from work dug out my car since apparently the plow guy put so much snow around our cards it was up to the windows. I would have pissed if I went out at the end of a long day and saw that. Needless to day, there were treats of homemade Ginger Snaps for those work guys this am as a tasty treat. I had to do something other than say "oh hey, thanks for digging out my entire car!". I will try to blog the recipe in a few days. It is pretty easy actually and a change for your normal chocolate chip cookie.

My eating habits are getting pretty good too. I am down as of today about 95 lbs. I think I finally have my eating patterns down and as long as I plan ahead I do pretty good each day with my meals. I have some new things I am going to try in the upcoming weeks so we will see how that goes! I have a new love for these chocolate peppermint protein bars I found recently. They are super tasty and taste like a candy bar and at the same time, are low in sugar, carbs, and high in protein which is perfect. It's like getting a special treat without cheating! It's pretty awesome I have to say when on this crazy journey to find something super yummy when you thought you might never eat anything super yummy ever again.
Today I actually put on a pair of size 12 jeans. They were Viv's and I think they are a big 12, since none of her other jeans fit me quite yet, but the tag said a big ol' 12 and that made me do a little dance. The other day I bought 14's and that made me do a dance too....specially when my previous size was double that. My love of shopping was bad before, but I really love to shop now.  I had cute clothes before but bigger clothes are much more expensive so now I have cute and cheaper clothes which I guess is when you are buying them every few weeks it's a plus :)

On a final note, on day 2 of the snow fall, notice I earlier said 20 + inches, our dumb ass neighbors have YET as of right this minute (after 9pm on Thur) to clean off their damn car in the driveway. It's the one thing I hate about sharing it. They are redic. The entire driveway is so nice and clean except for their snowed in cars..and when they eventually clean them off, the drive will be a mess and then I am going to  knock them out with my shovel for being a pain in my ass.

Ok, that's it for today....

Looking forward to the weekend :)