Protein Ice Cream Birthday Cake

Here's some proof these protein ice cream cakes are easy to make: I made this cake one-handed. My sister called me to wish me a Happy Birthday as I was making it. I guess I could have told her I'd call her back but I just kept on chatting away phone in one hand, ice cream cake making going on with the other. I think it came out pretty cute despite the lack of a hand. It definitely tasted yummy!

Yep, I made a wish!
Nope, I can't tell... you know the rules ;)

Shelly's Strawberry Protein Ice Cream Cake

You need:
Stainless Food Ring
Protein Ice Cream
Sugar Free Cookies or Protein Bar, crumbs
Sugar Free Torani Syrup
Optional toppings: Smucker's SF Strawberry Topping or SF Jam
Homemade No Sugar Added Whipped Cream

Amounts will vary based on how big a cake you make.

Crush Sugar Free Cookies and add enough SF Syrup to make it clump. I needed about 8 cookies and 1 Tablespoon of Syrup. Place food ring on a plate. Fill base with cookie mixture and press to cover bottom (about 1/2 to 1 inch high.) My protein fudge would work great for the base too.

Fill with Protein Ice Cream you get right out of the machine (soft serve stage) Cover with plastic wrap and freeze till hard. Unmold. I used a warm (nuked 20 seconds) damp dish towel to warm sides and the ring just lifts off.

Decorate if desired. I used Strawberry Topping and Whipped Cream. Other options: Sugar Free Hot Fudge Sauce, Nuts, Fresh or Frozen Fruit, Crushed SF Candy.

My cake makes 4 big wedges. Great for a post-op birthday celebration.

The Protein Ice Cream flavor I used...

Shelly's Strawberry Protein Ice Cream

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
2 scoops of Strawberry Protein Powder (or Vanilla)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Strawberry)
4 Strawberries, mashed

Mix together milk, protein, and syrup. If you use Vanilla Protein Powder be sure to use Strawberry Sugar Free Torani. I used this gadget to mix it up. It makes it airy and lump free. If you don't have one just toss it in a blender on super high. You want it fluffy almost double in size. Pour into ice cream maker. Add strawberries about 5 minutes before done. Follow your machine's instructions for freezing. You can eat it right away it is soft serve-ish (use it at this stage for Protein Ice Cream Cake making) if you want scoops put it in the freezer to set for an hour. After that hour it will be hard (like rock hard - this is do to the lack of fat content) just nuke it 25 seconds to bring it back to scoops.

More Eggface Protein Ice Cream flavors
Protein Ice Cream 101 Tips

Other Eggface Protein Ice Cream Cakes:

Shelly's Chocolate Mint Protein Ice Cream Cake
Shelly's Oatmeal Cookie Protein Ice Cream Cake
Shelly's Caramel Apple Protein Ice Cream Cake
Shelly's Pistachio Protein Ice Cream Cake
Shelly's Vanilla Bean Protein Ice Cream Cake
Shelly's Candy Cane Protein Ice Cream Cake

More Ways to Celebrate Birthdays Post Weight Loss Surgery

Confetti Egg Salad: You say it's your birthday...

Another year older. 39. *sigh*

“You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.” ~Bob Hope

I do though take pleasure in the fact that I feel and look better than I did at 29. Woot!

Having a little tea party later for my birthday lunch. Here's one of the dishes I'm serving. Confetti Egg Salad in little "Cucumber Canoes." It's sooooo good and super festive for a birthday celebration.

Shelly's Confetti Egg Salad

4 Hard Cooked Eggs
1/4 of an English Cucumber, diced
1/4 of a Orange Bell Pepper, diced
1/4 cup Black Olives, chopped
4 slices Cooked Bacon, crumbled
1 Green Onion, chopped
2 oz. jar Pimentos, drained
2 Tablespoons Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Whiz hard boiled eggs till finely chopped in a mini food processor.

Add remaining ingredients and mix till well combined.


Great on it's own, spooned on to slices or scooped out (I use a melon baller) sections of cucumber into "cucumber canoes," or stuffed in tomatoes, or eaten as a wrap.

My beautiful birthday flowers that greeted me this morning...


A birthday is just the first day of another 365 day journey around the sun. Post weight loss surgery I'm enjoying the trip (and I pack much lighter.)

Drum roll...

Thank you for the wonderful response to the Eggface Big Birthday Giveaway.

The random generator has selected:

Anne
sunnedaeyt@xxxxx.com

Congratulations!!! You are the winner of the Cuisinart 1-1/2-Quart Ice-20 Automatic Ice Cream Maker! Check your mail and follow email instructions for claiming your prize.

Thanks for playing everyone. I wish I could give a machine to everyone or at least have you all over for a Protein Ice Cream Social ;)

Didn't win but want the 411 (my review) of the machine? Here's the link.

Already have one and want to recipes to make super delicious and guilt free Protein Ice Cream? Here's the link.

I love these giveaways. I'm already planning the next.

Lots of Yum (& not just the Bento)

Dinner yesterday was tasty and simple. I couldn't muster much energy to cook. I just filled my super cool bento box with a sort of deconstructed riceless sushi and dessert and brought it outside on the patio to eat under the light of that amazing moon. Did you see it? Look up tonight. It still should be cool.

Blue Box (top left): Cucumber Spears
Orange Box (top right): Shelly's Lime Green Margarita 5 Minute Cake
Pink Box (bottom left): Imitation Crab Meat Sticks
Green Box (bottom right): Shelly's Wasabi Yogurt Dressing (to dip the spears & crab)

Shelly's Wasabi Yogurt Dressing

2 oz. Fage Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Wasabi Powder (or more to taste)
squeeze of Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Mix till well combined.

The fake crab sticks are fun and easy. FYI: 4 ounces of fake crab (minced pollack) has about 110 calories and 17g of protein. Real crab contains around 125 calories and 25g of protein. Fake crab is higher in carbs (binders) but both have about the same fat stats 1.5 grams. Great for lunch, chopping up into omelets, my Crabby Bites or California Roll Salad. I prefer the real stuff but when $$ is short this stuff is a good alternative.

It was a yummy dinner, perfect for a warm evening.

Why I was so wiped out... Thursday I scored a ticket for my Mum and I to go to a rare remote location taping of General Hospital (she's watched GH since the 60's.) The shoot was held in West Hollywood at MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was a long day of traveling and quite a wait to get in but very worth the experience. We had a blast.

Basically... a psycho serial killer/artist (played by James Franco - yum) has lured the head mobster's enforcer Jason, (Steve Burton - yum squared) to LA for a dramatic battle to the finish. The sets were freaky. An outdoor art gallery set up with crime scene pics and other crazy psycho killer stuff including a creeped out "BOB" like mine. Check it out...

More pictures

In one scene James Franco's character falls or jumps from the balcony to his death (? presumably) but you know in Soap-land that just means he'll be back next year as his evil twin or after some reconstructive surgery in a remote Swiss Alps village ;) We also saw Dominic Zamprogna (yum cubed) and Julie Marie Berman (remember Luke & Laura from the 80's, she's their daughter, all grown up.) It's so cool to see the behind the scenes stuff. If I lived closer I'd love to be a paid extra. We all signed releases as we have the possibility of being on camera. It airs in about a month. It was lots of fun but a looooonnnnnnggggg day. Hence my easy peasy dinner.

Fun at the Fair - Tiramisu Protein Smoothie

Had some fun the past few days. Most of you guys know I enter cooking contests on occasion. I entered a couple this past week. One very weight loss surgery friendly (San Diego County Fair Smoothie Contest) and one not so much (Make it with Malt-O-Meal Cereal.) Here's the results and some pictures...


Shelly's Tiramisu Protein Smoothie

2 cups Soy Milk (you can use ANY milk)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Kahlua Syrup
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Cheesecake Jello Pudding Mix, dry
1 packet of Instant Coffee Granules (you know those Taster's Choice or Starbuck's Via tubes)
1/4 cup Chocolate Protein Powder
1 cup Ice
Optional topping: Whipped Cream and Sugar Free Chocolate

Add liquids to blender first, then ice, then powders. Blend on high till smooth. Serve with optional squirt of Whipped Cream and dusting of shaved Sugar Free Chocolate.

I've made a similar one on the blog before but the above is the version that I made for the fair-goers and that went to the judges. It won a blue ribbon. Yay!

I also entered the not so weight loss surgery friendly "Make it with Malt-O-Meal Cereal" contest and scored 2nd place for my Golden Croquettes (a deep fried, cereal encrusted, savory appetizer made with Golden Puffs Cereal.) The whole deep fried part makes them not something I choose to eat but the judges (and my Mum) liked it and I'm told they are super tasty.

I also picked up this year's County Fair Cookbook which has my last year's very weight loss surgery friendly blue ribbon winning Shelly's Jazzy New Orleans Muffaletta Salad recipe in it (page 9) if you are a local be sure to grab a book when you hit the fair. Every year the fair puts out a cookbook of the award winning recipes from the contests held the year before. Yummy stuff.

The Eggface Birthday Giveaway

4 years ago today I had weight loss surgery and next Monday it's my birthday so this is a pretty BIG week in my world. I feel like celebrating.

It's GIVEAWAY time.

The Prize: A Cuisinart 1-1/2-Quart Ice-20 Automatic Ice Cream Maker - this is the Eggface preferred Ice Cream Maker for making all of my favorite Protein Ice Creams and Ice Cream Cakes. I heart this machine. It's a must have for the summer. Here's your chance to win one and make yummy weight loss surgery friendly ice cream like Shelly's Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream (pictured below)

How to enter: Just leave a comment (include your name and an email addy) on this blog posting by Sunday, June 27th, midnight (Pacific time) and sometime on my birthday June 28th. I'll draw a name using a random number generator and announce the winner here on the blog! I will also email the winner at the addy posted. You'll have one week (7 days) to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen.

One COMMENT ENTRY per person. Remember blog comments are moderated so there may be a slight delay (up to a few hours) in seeing your comment/entry post. Giveaway is open to anyone in the United States (48 contiguous, Alaska & Hawaii.)

***Want extra chances to win?*** Do anything listed below and leave me a comment letting me know what you did! For up to four more entries per person!!

* Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway: Hey everyone enter the @Eggface Birthday Giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/3xlznkv

* Post about the giveaway on Facebook, MySpace or some other social networking/support forum you frequent

If you are a blogger:

* Blog about this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)

* Place the following link in your blog:
www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com

Can't wait to see if you win the giveaway to try making Protein Ice Cream? I understand. Here's the 411 (my review) of the machine and an online source.

Got a machine and ready to start churning... Here's some Protein Ice Cream Making 101 tips and some of my favorite Protein Ice Cream flavors to start you off.

Good Luck! and thanks for celebrating with me!

Weight Loss Surgery: Best. Decision. Ever.

June 20th 2006, 9 AM.
I made the BEST DECISION of my life.

A day in my pouch

Yesterday: My post weight loss surgery day in eating.

Breakfast: I love cherry season! Mmmm this protein packed smoothie was a great way to start the day.

Shelly's Black Cherry Cottage Smoothie

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (you can use any milk)
1/2 cup Frozen Pitted Cherries
1 scoop Strawberry Protein Powder (20% off discount code info)
1/4 cup Cottage Cheese (I used storebought Pineapple Cottage Cheese)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Black Cherry Torani Syrup

Whiz in blender till smooth. I swear, you will NEVER guess cottage cheese is in there. Top with Sugar Free Land o Lakes Whipped Cream, optional.

FYI: If you ever can't finish your protein shake I toss any leftover in these and make protein popsicles.

Lunch: If you love Falafel (Middle Eastern) or Panelle (Sicily) you'll love these. You could serve them with the traditional Tahini sauce or my lower fat, higher protein Feta Yogurt Dip. My vegetarian friends will love this one. Ummm so yeah, note to my veggie friends reading: you might not want to read past lunch ;)

Shelly's Mini Chickpea Sliders

1 can (15 oz.) Chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/4 cup any Creamy Salad Dressing (I used Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette, creamy Italian or Caesar would be great too)
1 cup Shredded Carrot
1/3 cup Almond Meal*
1/4 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Whiz chickpeas and dressing in a mini food processor till smooth-ish.

Spoon into bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients. *Almond Meal is just finely ground almonds (storebought or you could do it yourself in a coffee grinder) FYI: Almond Flour is the same thing just using blanched almonds.

Shape into 12 small patties "slider" size and place on a non-stick baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.

Bake at 375 for 16 minutes. Flipping once halfway through baking time.

Serve with Feta Yogurt Dip.

Shelly's Feta Yogurt Dip

3 oz. Fage Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoon Feta Cheese
a few twists of Black Pepper

Whiz ingredients in a mini food processor till smooth.

Dinner: Why is it everything tastes better wrapped in bacon? I grilled up a batch of Moink Balls (Moink = Moo "Meatballs" + Oink "Bacon") A BBQ outfit in my area makes these little suckers and I decided to try my own version at home. Verdict: Yum! I used the real deal pork bacon but you could do it with turkey bacon (lower fat), I trim any huge areas of fat and a lot of the fat drips away as it is BBQing. You only use 1/2 a piece for each cocktail size meatball. I ate 3 and was full. 3 Moink balls = 1 1/2 pieces of bacon = works for me.

Shelly's Moink Balls

Frozen Meatballs, Pre-cooked, storebought, cocktail size, slightly thawed
Bacon, sliced in half
BBQ Steak Seasoning (watch for sugar content)
Sugar Free Apricot Jam

Wrap each thawed meatball with a 1/2 slice of bacon. Thread onto a metal skewer and dust with BBQ seasoning. BBQ till bacon is cooked, flipping once.

Near the last few minutes baste with SF Apricot Jam.

I removed them from the large metal skewers and threaded them on little food picks for serving. I served them with grilled zucchini.

Snacks: Too much coffee as usual and an Apple PB&J sandwich - my bread-less ('cause that's how I roll) version of a PB&J sandwich. Peanut Butter & SF Strawberry Jam smeared on an apple slice. You can make them open faced or I top them with another apple slice.


It was a yummy day. Hope yours was too.

National Lobster Day!

It's National Lobster Day! To celebrate I sang and danced to the classic B52's tune Rock Lobster (seriously, I did "Down! Down!" I know total goober) and this was lunch...

Shelly's Lobster Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla topped with storebought Bruschetta Sauce (near the fresh pasta section), Langostino Lobster Meat (Trader Joe's - freezer section), Mozzarella and Provolone Cheese and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

I sauteed the langostino a bit with some fresh chopped garlic before putting it on the pizza. Mmmm like lobster scampi.

The Eggface Pizza Porn Gallery

How to make them: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I put 1 drop literally of olive oil on the cookie sheet and spread it around. Place tortilla on cookie sheet. Spread the sauce on the tortilla (pesto, marinara, alfredo, bruschetta sauce, BBQ sauce, hummus, ricotta cheese, (peanut butter or ricotta for dessert pizzas ), whatever.) Put a slice of cheese on top of the sauce and then I add any combination of toppings or leftovers I can find bumping around the fridge. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan if desired. Pop in oven. 10 minutes exactly. Have the oven hot before you do the toppings **Do not let them sit. Pop them in the oven right away or the toppings will make the tortilla soggy versus the yummy crispy porn pictured above.

FAQ's:

How much is a serving?

The answer is: serving size can vary. What I eat as an almost 4 year weight loss surgery post-op is a very different amount than a 3 month, 6 month, post-op. For me if the toppings are protein dense like the Philly Cheese Steak Tortilla Pizza or Meatball or Chicken then I eat 2 wedges and call it a day. If they are lighter just cheeses, veggies or pepperoni. I can eat the whole pizza but remember these are 6" fajita size tortilla (not typical size tortillas) If it's lighter toppings and I'm having a scoop of bean salad or a green salad with it I eat 2 wedges.

My standard line when it comes to portion size is: go with what your medical posse recommends.

What's the nutritional value on (insert Eggface recipe)?

I don't put the nutritional info on my recipes because frankly that can vary so widely. I use full fat cheeses (the good stuff) others may use low fat or (horror) non fat, the % fat on beef, differences in packaged products, brands of protein, etc. will change the info dramatically. What I do when I need to find the nut info is go to a site like fitday.com type in each individual ingredient, that will give you the calorie count, carbohydrate grams, protein grams, and fat gram totals and divide those by the # of servings I get from the dish. It's not exact but it's close enough for me.

FYI: I eat full fat (cheese, mayo, butter, olive oil, etc.) Fat = flavor. I eat it in moderation (thanks to my pouch) if I ate Reduced Fat or Fat Free (aka nuclear waste) I wouldn't be satisfied and in an hour I'd be thinking about my next meal. I eat yummy, lip smacking stuff so I never feel like I'm on a diet or suffering in my new life.

I also eat regular condiments if you dump easily look for a low or no sugar alternative. I just don't slather and I don't have a problem. The above Lobster Tortilla Pizza has 1 Tablespoon of Bruschetta Sauce on it. You'd be surprised how far 1 Tablespoon can go. I get the yummy taste I know and love without the fear of a visit to Dump City, USA.

Where do you get the Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortillas?

I get mine at Albertson's, Vons, Winco. If you don't have those stores near you contact the Mission Tortilla web site. Here's another "crust" option.

More Eggface Pizza Porn

Weekend Wrap Up

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was a mix of fun and work. Hit the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

It's berry heaven right now at the market. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. The first apricots and plums are here and they are so sweet. I got oodles of cherries. The price has dropped this week so I grabbed up a ton. I spent Saturday afternoon pitting them and froze them for use all year long in Black Cherry Protein Ice Cream, Cherry Nut Muffins, Cherry Protein Smoothies (use frozen cherries instead of ice), yummy desserts like my Cherry Apple Crumb, crazy desserts like my Buried Alive Trifle and this delicious protein packed breakfast we had Sunday morning before I head off to work...

Shelly's Baked Cherry Pancake (Clafoutis -ish)

2 cups Cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (SF Vanilla, Almond, or Black Cherry all would be great)

Batter
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Cottage Cheese
3/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Multigrain Pancake Mix
1/4 cup Strawberry Protein Powder
1/4 cup Sugar Free Torani Syrup

Saute cherries and 2 T of SF syrup for a few minutes till slightly softened.

Arrange in a Pyrex baking dish or deep pie plate that has been sprayed with Pam non-stick spray. I used my latest thrift shop score (I collect vintage Pyrex) but any size around 8x8x2 would work.

Whiz the batter ingredients in a blender till smooth.

Pour batter over top of the cherries.

Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden brown.

Serve a wedge with a squirt of No Sugar Added Homemade Whipped Cream and/or a drizzle of SF Maple Syrup. A piece topped with a dollop of sweetened Fage Greek Yogurt is great too.

Speaking of collections. That was the first question in the meme I was just tagged in. I'll post my answers and anyone that wants to be tagged next can be. I'd love to read your answers so if you post them on your blog let me know the link or feel free to answer them in the comments.

1. What if anything do you collect? Vintage Pyrex (all patterns), cookbooks, I also love things with embroidered flowers, vintage linens and aprons. I'm starting a Christmas Tree Pin collection. I saw a cool thing in a magazine a few years ago... a pillow with tons of those bejeweled Christmas tree shaped pins arranged on it. I loved it. Started to gather the couple I had and each year I think I'll add one till I fill the pillow. Mum and I make our ornaments each year and our tote bags. I also love and own waaaay too many purses but what girl doesn't.

2. If you stretch out your left arm as far as possible, what are you touching? Puffs with Vicks tissue box, oh and word of advice never wipe your eyes with them. Ouch.

3. What's the last program you watched on tv? The Real Housewives of Someplace or Another. Mindless drivel. My favorites are off for the summer... Amazing Race, Glee, Grey's Anatomy.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is? How close were you? Guessed 11:00 AM, 15 minutes off. Not bad.

5. Except the computer, what can you hear right now? My rearranged guts saying howdy ho to the coffee and vitamins I just swallowed. They are very talkative.

6. When was the last time you were outside and what did you do? A few minutes ago. Watering my 6 foot tall tomatoes.

7. What are you wearing? Black exercise pants, a lime green 3 sizes too big top and bare feet with chipped blue tootsies. Sex-ay.

8. Did you dream last night? If you did, what about? Nope and I'm glad. The past few have stunk. The other night I was being chased by a creature that was sort of half dog, half porcupine. It was mean and I think it thought I looked tasty.

9. When was the last time you laughed? Earlier this morning when I told my Mum we needed to go back to the drawing board. We were putting up a new bird feeder. Plan A resulted in seed everywhere including our heads but very little in the feeder. It's up. I love to sit on the patio in the evening and be serenaded by the little birds.

10. What's the last film you saw? "Letters to Juliet" I won a 10¢ ticket from Fandango on twitter. Romance + Gorgeous Italian Countryside Scenery = Perfect movie for me.

11. What's the last song you listened to? "Bennie & the Jets" on my blipstream. I completely mess up the lyrics and sing it at the top of my lungs. My neighbors love me.

12. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? Italian (3 semesters and I still suck) or should I say... Sono ancora molto male.

13. What state do you live in? In what other state would you like to live? The state of confusion mostly. Ha. I live in California and if I ever lived in another state I would love to live in Boston, Massachusetts.

14. What do you want God to tell you, when you come to heaven? "What took you so long, we've been waiting for you to come cook?! Oh and those fist fights you got into as a teen, middle fingers you gave butt head drivers, times you didn't honor your mother & father, interesting tequila fueled nights, etc, etc, etc, etc, all is forgiven." ;)

OK tag you're it.