The Green Monster, PB2 style

It's time to revisit the green monster again. 

I recently discovered PB2, all of the peanut butter taste--85% less fat calories. Whhhhhhat! Sign me up. 

I was a little hesitant, but decided to try it anyways. It comes in powdered form [to be mixed as needed] and TWO tablespoons is just 45 calories. Compare that to 190 in most other brands. Plus it comes in chocolate. I digress...

Here's a modified version of my beloved smoothie:

1 sliced banana, frozen 100 cal

2 tbsp PB2 45 cal

1 cup almond milk 80 cal

1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt 55 cal

1 cup fresh spinach 13 cal
4 ice cubes 0 cal

Throw everything in a blender & blend until smooth. A refreshing, delicious breakfast for just 293 calories!

Find original recipes here & here.

Meatless Monday Tacos

Back in April when I really decided I needed to change my lifestyle, not just go on a diet, I decided to start eating less meat. For some people, this isn't an issue. But I was raised with the mentality of eating meat at basically every meal. I decided to try a few 'meatless' options, and I was pleasantly surprised. It tricks my brain into thinking that I'm eating meat. I'm getting the nutrients I need. I'm staying full on a lot less calories. Win, win. I swear by Morningstar, but Gardein is delicious, too. I usually keep a bag or two of the meatless crumbles in my freezer because I use them for just about anything! I came up with this recipe on one of my busy days. I forgot to thaw anything out for supper and I was not about to ruin all of my hard work on fast food. Thank God for the meatless crumbles! Aaron was a little skeptical, but I won him over. He even said he wouldn't mind having them again. Score!

1/2 cup meatless crumbles 80 cal

1/4 cup salsa 20 cal
1/2 cup black beans, strained 70 cal

shredded lettuce 10 cal

2 tbsp cheddar cheese 55 cal 

2 tortillas 240 cal

2 tbsp nonfat greek yogurt 28 cal

Pour crumbles in a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add black beans and salsa. Stir to incorporate & cook 5 more minutes. Assemble your tacos using the rest of the ingredients & serve!

Here are mine:

You can barely see all the delicious goodness for the mound of lettuce on top. JUST the way I like them :)

Two hearty tacos for a total of 503 calories. For less calories [383 cal], pile one tortilla high with all of the ingredients and serve open face.

What is your favorite meatless product?

Spicy Sweet Potato Home Fries

I've been a bit obsessed with sweet potatoes lately, but with all of these benefits, can you blame me?

[source]

This is the perfect side to any lunch, especially a lunch that you would usually eat chips or fries.

Spicy Sweet Potato Home Fries

Make this wrap! 1 tortilla [120 cals], 1 wedge laughing cow cheese [35 cals], 4 slices deli style lunch meat 

[56 cal], shredded lettuce [10 cal], sweet potato home fries [54 cal]

total for the whole lunch: 275 calories!

1 small sweet potato, peeled & cubed [54 cals]

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's low sodium seasoned salt

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Spray olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Meanwhile, put potato cubes in a bowl and toss with seasoning. Add seasoned potatoes to the skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes [depending on how 'done' you want them, I like mine to have a slight crunch to them]. And Voila! There you have your spicy sweet potato home fries. Eat these plain [no ketchup!] or, if you must have something to dip them in, try 1 tbsp fage nonfat greek yogurt [14 cals] with a squirt of horse radish sauce. So good! 

Green Eggs &...Jam?

Y'all, sometimes breakfast can be boring for me. I get stuck in a rut and I get tired of eating the same stuff every day! So this weekend I was looking for something a little different [I usually eat things on the sweet side for breakfast] and came up with this simple recipe with ingredients that I had on hand.

1 cup fresh spinach 13 cal
1 whole egg 70 cal
3 tbsp egg beaters [or 1 egg white] 25 cal
1 tbsp fermented fish sauce 20 cal [note:if you don't like or don't want to use the fish sauce, just season with salt as you would normally]
Pepper, to taste

Spray olive oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add spinach and allow to wilt. Meanwhile, beat egg & egg white together with the fish sauce & pepper. Once spinach has wilted, add the egg mixture & stir occasionally to 'scramble'.

Serve with a piece of whole wheat toast [60 cal], 1 tsp low cal butter [17 cal], & 1 tbsp sugar free jam [10 cal]!

A delicious, easy breakfast for just 215 calories!