Almost back

I'm about 95% back to normal after being sick. I did some of my typical weekend things but usually I can go go go non-stop and this weekend by the afternoon I was plopped down on the couch, wiped out. Still... what a difference a week makes! If someone had videotaped me last weekend it would have looked like a scene out of The Exorcist. Not pretty. So I'll take being a little wiped out.

I went to the Farmer's Market. I missed it last week. It was huge yesterday. The great weather we've been having are bringing lots of new faces out. We even had a few new booths. I picked up some onions, a few apples, some baby leeks (thinking casserole), and some absolutely gorgeous Strawberries. They are super sweet. I've already turned some of them into Strawberry Cannoli.

After the market and some errands. Costco on a Saturday, ughhh. I went for a walk then came home and crashed. When I felt human again I made a batch of Protein Ice Cream...

Shelly's Toasted Coconut Protein Ice Cream

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk 2% or above)
2 scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Coconut Torani Syrup
2 Tablespoons Toasted Unsweetened Coconut

Mix together milk, protein, and Torani syrup. 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 toasted coconut. 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 as its not cream) just nuke it 25 seconds to bring it back to scoops.

Nom nom nom. Coconut not your thing? Here's a ton of other Protein Ice Cream flavors and Protein Ice Cream making success tips.

Today I've done all my household chores (well almost all, grrr ironing), I've packed up my super cool bento box with some noms and in about an hour I'm heading to the park. I think all the Vitamin D laced sunshine and fresh air I can get the better.

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Strawberry Cannoli
Green Box (top right): Sliced Cucumber
Blue Box (bottom left): Just the Cheese Crunchy Cheese
Orange Box (bottom right): Hummus

Oh I wanted to give you a heads up... I just nabbed this sale on Crunchy Cheese (Save 20% when you enter code JTCHNYNY at checkout) and realized it only lasts till January 31st (tomorrow) I picked up a box of Classic White Cheddar (my fav) and a box of Grilled Cheese. I also have tasted the Jalapeno (a bit too spicy for me) and the Pizza (tasty.) For those of you that don't know what it is, it's basically crunchy mini rounds (dime-ish sized) of baked cheese. Hmmm how to describe... OK you know when you bake something cheesy like a casserole and some cheese bubbles over the edge and gets very crunchy. If you chipped it off the dish and ate it (not that I'd know anything about that) you'd basically have crunchy cheese.

You can make them yourself (silpat, low oven, pile of cheese) I have tried but you know they never quite come out as dry as I want them too. So I stick to buying them. They are a salty low carb snack fix and great for tossing in your bag when traveling. It's as close to a "chip" as I get.

Nutritional Information (Classic White Cheddar)

Serving: 1 bag (approx. 22 pieces)
Calories: 75
Fat: 6.5 grams
Carbs: 1 gram
Protein: 5 grams
Sugars: 0 grams
No wheat, gluten free, no MSG.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

P.S. Don't forget to enter this year's Progresso Souper You Contest. I want one of my pals to win!