Friday, July 10, 2009

I bought a few cans of gluten free spaghetti in tomato sauce at Hannaford the last time we were there. They were in the “gluten free” specialty section and rather pricey, $3+ per SMALL can, but being they had a list of wholesome ingredients and I am fond of rice pasta, I decided to give them a try being they are only 136 calories for the whole thing. They’re imported from Australia, so I imagine that’s why they are so expensive. Well, that and they love to markup gluten free/specialty foods basically because they can.

I figured they’d make a good snack or mini meal, so on a whim, I decided to have them for breakfast along with 2 Quorn meatless meatballs (45 cal) and a deluxe salad topped with a lil’ of everything:

With the Quorn meatless meatballs, this was a unique plate of spaghetti and meatballs for just 181 calories. The spaghetti texture was different than regular wheat, but I liked it! With the meatballs it tasted just like Chef Boyardee, which I don’t eat (even before I started eating healthier) but hubby does. And before you scoff at Chef Boyardee, just know that I hold a special place in my heart for them, even if I hardly ever ate them, because my parents bought the house I grew up in from one of the original founders of Chef Boyardee, how cool is that?

My salad was DIVINE! In the bowl: arugula, red wine vinegar, red onion, a plum tomato, 1/2 serving Quorn chik’n tenders (40 cal), small scoop of leftover baked beans (100 cal?), 1oz Shop Rite no salt added Swiss cheese (100 cal) and 2 TBSP Bolthouse Farms ranch dressing (80 cal).

This is the first time I’ve had Bolthouse Farms yogurt ranch dressing and it did not disappoint! In fact, it was wonderful! For only about 546 calories, this was a great first meal of the day and pre-obstacle course meal. The Quorn chik’n tenders were much smaller than I thought based on the package, but they were really delish and tasted just like real chicken. I just wish they weren’t so high in sodium. Boo! Ah well, this meal was worth it.

After “breakfast”, I headed down to the obstacle course for a 60 minute romp. It felt good and the time went by fast. Then I came upstairs, did a tiny bit of work, sipped on a “10 calorie” Vitaminwater, then about an hour-hour and a half later I went back down to the dungeon basement to finish my exercise for the day. I did lower body strength training, 20 mins on my recumbent bike and another 60 minutes o obstacle course — I really love that setup!

When I was done, I came upstairs to make my post-workout feast; blueberry yeast protein pancakes with chicken & apple sausage:

A very BIG thank you to Randomlymikey for posting a link to VeganYumYum which posted a recipe that inspired me to make baking soda/powder free pancakes and instead use yeast as the leavening agent. I was TICKLED PINK at the prospect of making low sodium pancakes because every mix and recipe I have seen has baking soda and/or baking powder. YAY!! Note: Using yeast requires some time for the fermentation process, so you have to give it at least 4-8 hours to rise, I let mine sit overnight in the fridge.

I decided to make mine into protein pancakes by adding in some Polly-O fat free ricotta cheese.

My yeast pancake recipe:

• 1/2 cup (60g) white whole wheat flour (200 cal)
• 1/2 cup (128g) Polly-O fat free ricotta cheese (100 cal)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (6 cal)
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters liquid egg whites (25 cal)
• 2 packets Truvia zero calorie sweetener
• ~half a packet of yeast (5 cal?)

1 serving, 336 calories, 33g protein

1. Mix all ingredients together in blender or food processor; could even do it by hand if you want to burn a few extra calories hehe
2. Let sit in covered bowl or container in fridge for at least 4 hours or until mixture rises, I let mine sit overnight. Note: Iit will puff up, so I suggest keeping a tight lid on it to avoid spillage!

I gave it a quick stir with a spoon in the container it was in, then poured 3 circles into a hot nonstick frying pan that I sprayed with Pam olive oil cooking spray (20 cal). I poked in some fresh blueberries after I poured the batter in the pan. While the pancakes cooked, I microwaved 2 Applegate Farms chicken & apple breakfast sausages (90 cal). When the pancakes were done, I added a few extra blueberries on top, plus 2 TBSP Fifty50 fructose maple syrup (35 cal) and dug in!

Ok, a little warning. I think I may have used a little too much yeast and/or not even sweetener, because I could definitely taste the yeast BUT it wasn’t unpleasant, in fact, it was delicious! Being I could taste the yeast, it tasted a little like bread, but with more sweetener or just 2 tsp of regular sugar, and a little less yeast, I’m sure that will solve that problem. I really, REALLY liked them a LOT! This recipe is a keeper for sure!!

With the sausage and 8oz skim milk (90 cal), this was a delightful post-workout pancake palooza for just around 586 calories and over 40g protein! Yumm Yumm! Thank you, Mikey and VeganYumYum.

Ok, I am EXHAUSTED! We’re up super late! It’s after 2:00PM! Oh noooo! We’re almost on a regular schedule. Noooooooooooooo! lol These 2 meals were the only things I ate today, so I think I’m going to have a bedtime snack and then call it a day. My body is achy all over. My arms still hurt from strength training the day before. Geesh.

Nite nite

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