Banana Fosters Premier Protein Pudding Jars

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein®. I'm excited to share this new recipe featuring Premier Protein Shakes and 100% Whey Protein Powder with you.

In the early 1950's, New Orleans was the major port of entry for bananas imported from Central and South America. The owner of Brennan's Restaurant, challenged his chef to include bananas on the menu. He famously created the iconic New Orleans dessert: Bananas Foster, a combo of bananas, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, ice cream and some booze. It is delicious but not the most weight loss surgery friendly food item, that's for sure. I decided that I would create a dessert for us that has all the yummy flavors of the traditional decadent dessert but something that wouldn't do damage to our weight, health or fitness goals.

I'm heading to New Orleans next month for #YWM2017 this year's Your Weight Matters National Convention, a 3-day educational event where the countries leading experts on weight, weight loss, nutrition, wellness topics like sleep, stress and emotional health will be sharing their latest research. It's going to be an amazing weekend. Advanced registration continues through July 28th but you can register at the door so if you need great education and inspiration on your weight loss journey... come to New Orleans next month. Find all the info about the event at www.YWMConvention.com and be sure to sign up for e-alerts to hear all the 411 about this event and the location (when announced) of next year's event!

Thanks to Premier Protein for creating their delicious Bananas & Cream Protein Shake it's what inspired me to create this protein-packed recipe (30 grams of protein in each shake.) I also used Premier Protein 100% Whey Protein Powder in the Cinnamon Protein Granola that made the perfect base layer of my nod to New Orleans Banana Fosters Pudding Jars.

Shelly's Premier Protein Banana Fosters Pudding Jars

6 - 4 oz. jars (or clear cups)
2 cups Premier Protein Bananas & Cream Shake (Ready to Drink RTD, chilled)
1 - 1 oz. small package Sugar Free Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix (dry)
Premier Protein Cinnamon Protein Granola (uses 1/2 a batch)
Bananas Foster Topping

Spoon a couple of Tablespoons of Cinnamon Protein Granola into each jar. Set aside while you make the pudding.

Pour the chilled shakes and pudding mix into a shaker bottle. Shake for 3 minutes or until thickened slightly and place in fridge for about 5 minutes to thicken further.

Spoon the protein pudding on top of the granola layer.

Top with Bananas Foster topping. These Premier Protein Bananas Foster Pudding Jars will store in the fridge for several days but they will not last long... seriously, non-ops I gave them to LOVED them. Hide yours.

Shelly's Cinnamon Protein Granola

1/4 cup Oatmeal, dry
1/4 cup Premier Protein Vanilla Whey Protein Powder, dry
1/4 cup chopped Nuts (I used a combo of pecans and almonds)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Syrup (or Sweetener of your choice)
dash of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Almond Butter
1 Tablespoon Butter

Mix all ingredients together. Squeeze together with your hands till clumps form. You need to use your hands for this one.

If your almond butter is on the loose side add a little more protein, if it's on the drier side add a little more syrup till clumps form.  Place on a non-stick sprayed, foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool.

The 6 pudding jars use 1/2 of this batch of granola, store the remaining in an airtight container for several days. It's delicious sprinkled on Greek yogurt, cottage or ricotta cheese, or put it in a baggie and it makes a great airplane snack! I'll have a baggie in my carry-on when I head to New Orleans!

Shelly's Bananas Foster Topping

1 Banana, sliced
1 Tablespoon (or less) Butter
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Syrup (or Sweetener of your choice)
1 Tablespoon Walnuts, chopped
a couple of drops of Rum extract
a dash of Cinnamon

Saute first three ingredients till bananas are softened and slightly golden.

Add final 3 ingredients, toss and let cool slightly before topping pudding jars.

Hope to see you at #YWM2017 but if you can't make it... make these and follow my Twitter and Instagram posts August 9-13th from New Orleans.

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein® #TheDayIsYours For the purposes of this post Premier Protein provided me with products used. Want to learn more about Premier Protein products LIKE their Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram and tell them The World According to Eggface told you to stop by. 

Healthy Italian Dinner Recipe: Ricotta Pancake Pizza

So you guys know I make ricotta pancakes all the time. They are a staple post weight loss surgery breakfast for me. Over the years, I've made sweet versions and savory ones. I've made mini versions both sweet and savory. I've even made sandwiches out of them but I've never thought to turn them into little pizzas till last night. What... I know right?!

Growing up when my family ate something for dinner that was a little too British (Steak & Kidney Pie) or Sicilian (Squid) for my kid palate I had a couple of go-to meals I would eat instead: one was pasta with just butter and Parmesan cheese or I'd have a toasted English muffin pizza. This dinner I made yesterday totally reminded me of my little muffin pizzas except these have way more protein and way less carbs. Soooo good! I can't believe I haven't been making these for years.

Shelly's Savory Ricotta Pancakes 

1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Chives
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 Green Onion, diced fine
dash of Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

For Ricotta Pancake Pizzas:

Store bought or Homemade Tomato Sauce (I love Rao's brand Tomato Basil Marinara)
Italian Blend Cheese, shredded
Optional: Mini Pepperoni or any other pizza topping you love (cooked sausage, beef, veggies)

Mix pancake ingredients together. Spray non-stick pan with Pam. Cook on low till bubbles appear, flip. Cook till done. Makes 8 pancakes (about the size of the container those BreathSavers 3 Hour Mints that I love, about 3"-ish across.) These pancakes can be made ahead and reheated.

Cook's Note: I used whole milk ricotta if you use part skim. Drain through a mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter for several hours or overnight in the fridge. Avoid ricotta that says "creamier formula" you want regular ricotta.

To Assemble the Ricotta Pancake Pizzas:

Line a baking sheet with foil and place as many of the ricotta pancakes as you are turning onto pizzas on the tray.

I topped each cooked pancake with a little store bought Tomato Sauce

I sprinkled each with a little shredded Italian blend cheese and a couple of them I added mini Pepperoni

and broiled them in the oven (or toaster oven) for about 2 minutes just till the cheese was all melty.

These reheat great in the microwave not as crispy edges of course but still delicious.

More Eggface Healthy Italian Recipes
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Repurposing Leftovers. Easy as 1 2 3.

Post weight loss surgery it's a given there will be a lot of leftovers... or sadly some waste. I hate wasting food and frankly I don't have the money to not use leftovers. You could just heat them up but that would be... BORING. I much prefer "repurposing" them...

Repurposing: Transforming leftovers into something equally as yummy. The goal is for them to taste and look so completely different you don't realize you are having leftovers.

Mission accomplished. Here are three delicious and very different meals and it all started with an extra piece of chicken...

1. I made a batch of my Unbreaded Chicken Tenders. I just dredge chicken breast tenders in beaten egg then in a combo of almond meal and Parmesan (1/2 cup almond meal to 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese) and seasonings (salt, pepper, sprinkle of Zaatar.) I sauteed them in a small amount of olive oil but for an even lighter version you can bake them. I do 425 (foil lined, non stick sprayed, baking sheet) for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. They are great served with a homemade Greek Yogurt Dipping Sauce (add herbs or a little BBQ sauce or mustard to plain Greek yogurt to change it up.)

They made a great bento box lunch with some Egg Roll Slaw, Chocolate Microwave Protein Cake, and a great big Strawberry.

More Eggface Bento Box Recipes and Ideas

2. The leftover chicken tenders were the perfect protein addition to this Pesto "Zoodles" Zucchini Noodles dinner the next night.

Shelly's Chicken and Pesto "Zoodles" Zucchini Noodles

1 Yellow Onion, sliced
6-8 Mushrooms, sliced
3-4 small Zucchini, spiralized
2 Tablespoons storebought Pesto Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
a few twists of Black Pepper
Salt to taste
Parmesan Cheese
Leftover Cooked Chicken, sliced

Saute mushrooms and onions till golden, remove from pan. I used my spiralizer to make zucchini noodles, sauteed those till limp about 5 minutes, drain any liquid.

Add back onions and mushrooms, pesto sauce, and seasonings. Top with cheese and leftover chicken (or steak or shrimp would be great too!)

More Eggface Healthy Italian Dinner Recipes

3. And finally... the leftover Pesto Zucchini Noodles became this Frittata (Italian Omelette) in the morning...

I warmed about a cup of leftover Pesto "Zoodles" Zucchini Noodles in a saute pan. Add 3-4 beaten eggs. Cook till almost set. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and toss under the broiler till top is set and lightly golden.

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Hope you give one (or all three) of these a try. If you do, let me know what you think of them.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

A day in my pouch is a series of blog posts to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world. Today's healthy and delicious menu...

Breakfast: We are in the middle of a hideous heatwave. I debated going to the Farmer's Market but I did need a few things. I didn't have a single onion or any garlic in the house... an Italian with no onions and garlic is sacrilegious. I was in and out though. I grabbed my list items, some zucchini, a couple of peaches, strawberries, avocados, carrots, celery, a little bag of red walnuts. It wasn't even 9 AM the sun was blazing hot... no one tell me there's no global warming.

I stopped in Starbucks and got those Sous Vide Egg Bites for breakfast. I asked last month and got the heads up from a Barista that they were coming back at the end of June. I spotted them a few days ago but it was after breakfast. Nice to have them back as an option. If they aren't back in your hood yet, they should be soon.

I came home and quickly made up dinner. I had a little lump of ground beef from the night before. I hoped the zucchini would be good to make zucchini boats but I figured if all else failed I would have made bacon cheeseburger deviled eggs or one of my other ground beef recipes but the zucchini was perfect. I made little zucchini boats so all I would have to do is heat them up in the microwave come dinner time.

Lunch: It was 108° (this is day 3 of this) so the entire middle of the day I consumed nothing but liquids and survived. Water bottles with my latest favorite drink stick flavor: Sugar Free Squirt (99 cent store)

This new flavored water from Trader Joe's. Comes in 2 flavors: Lemongrass Spearmint (haven't tried it) and the Lemon Ginger which I LOVE...

I also made a Celebrate Vitamins Wildberry Protein Shake...

Speaking of Celebrate... tune in tomorrow I have some summer fun starting ;) Are you following me on Instagram? Believe me you'll want to.

Dinner: Yay! It was easy thanks to my work earlier. This is a great make ahead dinner. They reheat great! I just nuked them 3 minutes when we were ready to eat.

Shelly's Stuffed Zucchini Boats

1/4-1/3 lb Ground Beef, browned (could be Turkey, Pork, whatever you like)
3-4 Zucchinis, halved
1 Yellow Onion, diced
8-10 Mushroom, sliced
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 cup Storebought Tomato Basil Sauce (I use Rao's)
1/4 cup Shredded Italian Blend Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

Take the halved zucchini and using a melon baller or a small spoon to scrape out the middle (not all but enough to get a nice amount of filling in.) Place them on a non stick baking sheet. Brown the ground beef, drain any fats. Set aside.

Chop the zucchini middles up and toss it in with the the onions and mushrooms and saute till golden. Add sauce and beef. Stir till combined. Fill each zucchini boat. Top with cheeses.

Bake for 350 for 30 minutes.

Snacks: I made a Chocolate Microwave Protein Cake about 5 minutes ago and when I hit publish this awaits... and some mindless TV. Oh I did end up cancelling DirectTV and went with YouTube TV (w/Live TV) so far so good... $35 versus $86. Woot.

Mmm Chocolate... OK gotta go. Remember check in tomorrow!!

More days in my pouch

Summer Dessert Recipe: Protein Jello Gelatin Cups

If you live in a city with a large Mexican population you have undoubtedly seen those little jello cups in markets, some look like traditional jello cups but some have a milky, creamy look. They are called Gelatina de Leche, it's Jello with sweetened condensed milk mixed in. I always buy a few for my Mum. She loves them because in England where she was raised they have a similar dessert called Blancmange which is very similar though usually slightly almond flavored. I decided I would try my hand at a sugar free version I could eat. I axed the sweetened condensed milk (sugar & fat) and opted instead for protein-packed, Greek yogurt and for a bonus protein bump added protein powder.  

This is a great one for newer bariatric surgery post-ops. It's a way to get a nice amount of protein in something other than a shake. For us older post-ops and non-ops (my Mum loved these too) they are just a yummy and refreshing, summer dessert... perfect after a BBQ. If you make them in disposable cups you can cover them with plastic wrap and take them with you to a movie in the park or on an evening walk... just remember to bring a spoon. 

Shelly's Protein Jello Gelatin Cups

1/2 cup Very Hot Water

1/4 cup Cold Water

1 small (3-ounce) package Sugar Free Jello Gelatin, powder (any flavor)

1 cup Greek Yogurt (any flavor)

1/4 cup Protein Powder (any flavor)

Disposable cups 

Heat the 1/2 cup of water in the microwave. Pour hot water over sugar free Jello gelatin powder and stir until dissolved. Pour in cold water. Set aside. Mix yogurt and protein powder (I used a whey isolate) together till well combined. 

Pour into gelatin mixture. Stir till both are combined. Pour into cups (I love 4 oz plastic cups filled about 3/4 full) and refrigerate a few hours. 

Cook's Notes: You can use plain Greek yogurt or flavored (just watch for added sugars in the flavored ones) stick to brands your dietitian has given the thumbs up or create your own flavor with plain, Greek Yogurt and a little Sugar Free Torani syrup mixed in. If you go that route and add syrup just reduce the cold water a Tablespoon or so to compensate for it and not effect gelatin setting.

If you are allowed fruit you could drop a few pieces (chopped strawberries, peaches, pears, whatever you like) into each cup before they set but they are great without (pictured), or topped with fruit or a squirt of homemade, no sugar added whipped cream, or more Greek yogurt or cottage cheese.

More Eggface Bariatric Surgery Friendly Desserts