Breakfast: Left the house early to run a few errands and hit the Farmer's Market. Premier Protein sent me a few of their new Bananas & Cream RTD Ready to Drink Protein Shakes so I took one with me. It's available at Sam's Club's April 5th officially but I hear people are finding some have them in stock now. Do you remember those BB bats banana taffy pops? It totally reminds me of those.
I got great stuff at the market, in fact, I've been doing some cooking today so I'll be posting a few new recipes this week. My haul: zucchini, onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, asparagus, apples, red walnuts, and the most gorgeous strawberries.
That's my 3 pack second on the bottom. I couldn't resist a few when I got home with some Strawberry Chia Cottage Cheese (for some protein) smeared on them.
I learned about this cottage cheese at the HUGE Expo West event I went to a few weeks ago. I promised I'd start sharing the awesome finds... this cottage cheese is soooo good. Good Culture Organic Cottage Cheese, high protein, organic and non-GMO ingredients, grass-fed milk no additives (stabilizers, thickeners, artificial preservatives) they come some really unique sweet and savory varieties that taste ahhh-mazing.
I've tried the Strawberry Chia, Kalamata Olive, and Sun-Dried Tomato so far. It's 4% milkfat, it's made with whole milk but worth every fat gram.
7 Protein Packed Grab & Go Breakfasts
Lunch: I had a spaghetti squash sitting on my kitchen window sill just calling to be turned into something. I was going to just cook it and top it with meatballs and sauce but I'm on a casserole kick lately... and since it'll be too hot for body warming comfort food soon enough in my 'hood I'm trying to get my casserole fix now while I can.
Shelly's Sausage, Spinach and Spaghetti Squash Casserole (say that one 5 times fast)
1 medium Spaghetti Squash
1 - 11 oz. package Birds Eye Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach, cooked per package instructions
1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Yellow Onion, diced
6-8 Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 to 1 cup Cooked Sausage, diced
1 teaspoon Oregano
Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Parmesan
2 Tablespoon Crispy Onions
Half and deseed a spaghetti squash. Microwave it upside down on a glass Pyrex plate with 1/4 cup of water. 14 minutes or so (time will depend on size), you want a fork to insert easily. Allow to cool slightly. Use two forks to shred the flesh of the cooked squash into "spaghetti." I took a clean dish towel and squeezed the squash to remove excess water. Set aside. Microwave the spinach per instructions, set aside.
Saute the onion and mushrooms till golden. Add cooked sausage, spaghetti squash, spinach, mozzarella, seasonings. Stir to combine. Pour into a Pyrex baking dish. Optional: top with Parmesan and crispy onions (the Thanksgiving kind used on Green Bean casserole) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Cook's Note: If you have leftover protein from another dish use it. I used precooked sausage crumbles, it's what I had bumping around the freezer but this would be great with ground turkey, beef, chicken... whatever. Don't worry about how much or little you have somewhere under a cup of whatever protein leftovers will be perfect.
Dinner: I did a little gardening... weeds. I HATE WEEDS. Why is it weeds get no love, no water, no food and would grow 3 feet tall if I let them but I have to nurse my basil or it'll croak. Mother Nature apparently is not a pesto lover. I had plans to make something more for dinner but my jelly arms from weed pulling resulted in this dinner...
A slice of Boar's Head Low Sodium Roast Beef, a slice of Vermont Cheddar, a few Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Chipotle Almonds (nom nom nom my favorite) and mustard... I'm a dipper. I dip everything. It's not the most blog-worthy meal but it's my reality.
5 Things to Do With Cold Cuts
Snacks: Too much coffee and at Costco one of my stops I had a sample of some Chicken Curry dish, the sample was tasty I bought it. Someday next week I'll nuke it and let you know the final verdict when I take more than a teaspoon of a bite. I was too tired for anything else. I actually fell asleep watching my DVR'd American Idol. It's the final season... are you watching? La’Porsha Renae is awesome. She's got my vote. If you haven't been watching just Google a few of her performance... Diamonds was my favorite. Chills.
More days in my pouch