Breakfast: If you are a carrot cake fan promise me you will make these. They are sooooo good. Pre weight loss surgery I used to frequent a Mexican restaurant in my town. They had carrot cake on their dessert menu, it was their signature dessert. One day I happened to look up the nutritional information on it and almost died... one slice was 910 calories, 52 grams of fat and 107 grams of carbs. A slice.... no joke! and I'd eat a slice after a meal of plenty of chips & salsa, a couple of tacos, rice, beans... and... I'd take an extra piece home for later. Eeek. So these pancakes give me my carrot cake fix and I don't have to walk the length of the Baja Peninsula to burn them off.
Shelly's Carrot Cake Ricotta Pancakes
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 cup Carrot, raw, shredded
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Cheesecake Pudding Mix, dry
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (SF Caramel or SF Brown Sugar Cinnamon)
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
Optional Cream Cheese Topping: Mix together 2 Tablespoons Whipped Cream Cheese and 1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (Sugar Free Vanilla, SF Caramel or SF Brown Sugar Cinnamon), add a dash of Cinnamon and a sprinkle of chopped pecans.
Mix all ingredients together. I use whole milk ricotta, if you use part skim, drain first. Spray pan with nonstick spray. Spoon a dollop of mixture in pan and pat flat. Cook on low till golden, flip, pat flat, cook till done. Serve each pancake with a drizzle of Cream Cheese Topping or warm Sugar Free Maple Syrup or they are really delicious plain. Makes 8 pancakes.
These can be frozen between slices of wax paper or kept in the fridge a day or 2 and reheated (nuke 25 seconds) for breakfast during the week. Surprising good cold too. Leftovers usually get some SF jam, almond or peanut butter smeared on them, wrapped in foil and they become a great breakfast-on-the-go.
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Lunch: Leftovers. Shelly's Pepperoni and Olive Pizza Bites (aka Mini Crustless Quiche) these are a great Sunday Meal Prep type food (they are great reheated and last several days in the fridge.) They are also super kid friendly, in fact, have the kiddos help you make these.
Shelly's Pepperoni and Olive Pizza Bites (aka Crustless Mini Quiches)
5 Eggs, beaten
2 Green Onions, diced
1/4 cup Black Olives, sliced
1/4 cup Tomatoes, diced (canned & drained or fresh)
Mini Pepperoni Slices (about 3 pieces per quiche)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 Tablespoon Oregano
a few twists of Black Pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together (except pepperoni). Spoon into lightly greased (non-stick cooking spray works great for this) mini muffin tin. Place approx. 3 mini pepperoni pieces in each quiche. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let them cool a few moments they pull away and pop right out. Makes 24.
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Dinner: We had our final #YWM2016 debrief meeting of the Your Weight Matters National Convention Committee. It gives everyone an opportunity to share their thoughts about the event while they are still fresh in our minds, a lot to cover and despite best efforts it ran about 20 minutes over so I was so glad I had most of this prepared before and just assembled it. We ate our little weight loss surgery friendly tidbits and watched a little mindless TV.
Pictured: Cucumber Sticks, Caprese Skewers, Crunchy Cheese "Crackers" and 2 Greek Yogurt Dips: Hummus & Yogurt Dip (just equal parts plain Greek Yogurt & Hummus) and Greek Yogurt with this new Trader Joe's find mixed in to taste.
Snacks: Too much coffee as usual and a Protein Shake before my meeting.
Shelly's Chocolate Cinnamon Coffee Protein Shake
8 oz. Almond or Soy Milk (any milk will do)
1 scoop Chike Nutrition High Protein Iced Coffee (Mocha flavor)
dash of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Chocolate Syrup
a few Ice Cubes
Blend on high till well combined. I topped it with No Sugar Added, Homemade Whipped Cream and a dash of Cinnamon.
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