All posts in category Recipes

WIAW: Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

I stated on Monday that I was going back to a plant-based diet and I am now on day 4 and going strong.  I am already feeling lighter with more energy, and lets just say that last night was a whopper, yet I am not feeling tired at all (we’ll see how I feel come this afternoon!).  On a side note, I can’t wait until we get our third room finished for our new daughter.  She is the NOISIEST sleeper ever!  She grunts and makes all sorts of weird noises and when I get up to check on her she is totally asleep!  The first 3 months are the hardest, right?

Anyway, onto my Tuesday eats!  Thank you to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this blogger get together every Wednesday!

Breakfast was eaten before I could snap a picture, but it was Oatmeal with ground flax-seed, vanilla soy milk, and frozen berries.  Not anything too exciting.

Lunch was leftovers from the night before and they were delicious:

IMG_0443Homemade veggie burgers dipped in BBQ sauce and a salad with mixed greens, cucumbers, avocado, and spicy hummus.  The recipe I used for the veggie burgers came from Oh She Glows and it is her Spicy BBQ Chickpea Burgers

I love the crunch that the sunflower seeds added, although, these would have been better on a bun (I forgot to get some from the store).  But I mus say they held together really well and it was a lot better than buying sketchy frozen veggie patties from the store with an ingredient list a mile long!

In the afternoon I saw that I had a banana and a zucchini that was on their last legs so I decided to make Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Happy Herbivore. I love this recipe because my daughter calls them “cupcakes” and she will polish off 2 before I can blink my eyes.  She has no idea that is she is getting some fruits and veggies in each muffin.  My second pregnancy caused my first daughter to become a picky eater.  Too much eating out will do that to someone, so now I’m trying to get her back on the healthy eating band wagon a little at a time.

IMG_0445I added in some mixed fresh berries and it was a filling snack that held me over til dinner.

Dinner was something unexpected.  This week I meal planned and told myself that no matter what, I was going to stick to it.  Well, last night I realized that I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients I needed for at least two of the meals I was planning so I went in search of a recipe for something that I had the ingredients on hand for.

After a quick check of my Google Reader I found a recipe that looked easy and delicious: Coconut Ginger Curry Rice Bowl From PB Fingers.  Who doesn’t love a one pot meal?  The only problem is that I had run out of brown rice and had to sub with white.  The great thing was that it was done and on the table in less than 30 minutes.

IMG_0447I wish that I had fresh broccoli instead of frozen, but it works in a pinch.  I will be having leftovers of this for lunch.

After getting back on the plant-based bandwagon I am feeling great.  My cravings are going away and the scale even gave me some motivation this morning by showing me a lighter number.  My only concern is that I feel like my breast milk supply has gone down a bit.  I can’t tell if I am just being paranoid or if my little babe is eating more than normal.  I’m monitoring it for the next few days and it is probably in my head.  Other than that I’m feeling great, and only T-4 days until I can start exercising again (hopefully I will get the clear at my 6 week postpartum appointment next Monday).

Have a happy Wednesday!

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by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Breast Feeding, Challenges, Commitment, Diet, Energy, Goals, Good Food, Health, Health Benefits, Link Love, Making It Happen, Meal Planning, Plant Based Diet, Postpartum, Recipes, Weight Watchers, WIAW

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2013

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2013/05/15/wiaw-whole-foods-plant-based-diet/

Nice and Fatty

Sweat it Out:
50 minute hilly walk
15 minutes of stretching

I have something for you that I don’t normally share on my blog.

A recipe.

A fatty, fat, fat recipe.

This is definitely not a recipe that I made up nor do I make it very often (the last time I made this it was approximately 7 years ago).  My mom use to make it every now and again, but only if she knew that it would be devoured in full by the end of Sunday dinner.

After looking online for this recipe (so I could just link you guys up to it), I couldn’t find this exact recipe.  I figured that since my mom got this Hershey’s cookbook for free in 1979 when she purchased some of their baking cocoa, the fine people over at Hershey wouldn’t mind if I shared the recipe with all of you wonderful folks.

But be warned.  This is not a health food, and it is delicious.

No Bake Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake

Cocoa Crumb Crust (see below)
1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1/2 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Granules (optional, I left these out because I don’t drink coffee and it still tasted fabulous)
1 Can (14 ounces) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla
2 Packages (8 ounces each) Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Container (9 ounces) frozen non-dairy shipped topping thawed

Prepare Cocoa Crumb Crust (below). Mix gelatin and 1/2 cup water in small saucepan; heat and stir until dissolved.  Combine cocoa and coffee granules in small bowl.  Gradually add gelatine mixture is smooth. Stir in condensed milk and vanilla.  Beat cream cheese until fluffy in large mixer bowl; gradually blend in cocoa mixture.  Fold in whipped topping; pour into prepared crust.  Freeze 3 to 4 hours or until firm.  Garnish with sliced strawberries, sliced peaches or canned cherry pie filling, if desired.  10 servings.

Cocoa Crumb Crust:
1 1/4 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (about 9 crackers)
1/4 Cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter or Margarine, Melted

Combine graham cracker crumbs, cocoa, and sugar in a small bowl.  Add melted butter; mix well.  Press firmly onto bottom of a 9-inch springform or square pan; chill.

I will say that after stepping on the scale this morning, the one piece I allowed myself of this cheesecake didn’t seem to hurt me much, but we’ll have to see if it sticks to my official weigh in day tomorrow.

It really is a shame that I’ll have to wait another 7 years to make this recipe again, but I guess with the fat content that will have to be the tradition.

Enjoy!

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 19, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Recipes

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 19, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/07/19/nice-and-fatty/

WIAW: Recipe Round-up

I have been trying some fun recipes this past week, so instead of showing you essentially the same foods that I eat almost everyday here are some of the recipes I have tried and what I thought of them.

Thanks to Jenn over at Peas & Crayons for hosting this fun event every week!

I know it isn’t April anymore, but I just loved the Button for that month!

Mushroom Risotto with Carmelized Onions from Oh She Glows

On Monday I decided to try out a recipe that I have had on my meal plan for the last 6 weeks… Mushroom Risotto with Carmelized Onions!

Pic from Oh She Glows, click on pic to be taken to recipe

I used Oh She Glows photo because my photo did not do this recipe justice.  The verdict: Delicious!  I don’t think I have mentioned before that my hub’s has a serious love affair with mushrooms and he used to cook them in teriyaki sauce and eat them plain.  I am not actually a huge fan of mushrooms, they definitely need to be cooked into something and these were perfect!  I have also never tired barley before.  A little chewy for my liking.

After plugging in the recipe to Livestrong.com I found that this recipe had WAY more calories than I thought it would have.  It was around 850 per serving!  The next time I make this recipe there will be a few changes:

  • Use water instead of oil to cook the onions in the first step.
  • Change the grain to brown rice.  Barley has somewhere around 700 calories per cup (lesson learned, barley in small doses).
  • I switched the vegetable stock to chicken stock.  I know this makes it not vegan, but switching over to vegetable stock could be a long process for me since I think it tastes like a**.
  • No Earth Balance.  I have a feeling I wouldn’t even miss it.
  • Take the carmelized onions out all together.  I know this is a part of the recipe title, but you have to use 3 tablespoons of oil and a lot of salt to make these and although they were yummy, they were not necessary, to me at least.
  • Two cartons of mushrooms.  I thought one would be enough, but I was wrong.

This recipe would also make an amazing side dish for meat eaters.  Has anyone ever heard of Consomme Rice?  It is a healthier alternative to that recipe.

Smashed Chickpeas and Avocado Sandwich from Two Peas and Their Pod

Pic courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod. Click pic to be taken to recipe

We had this for dinner last night.  I know this is more of a lunch food (which I will be having the leftovers today for that very meal), but yesterday was pretty hot and the house was so warm that it was nice not to have to turn the oven or stove on.  I am a big fan of tuna/chicken salad, and this hit the spot for that craving.  I did add a large diced celery stalk to give it a little snap, and next time I would even go as far as to add a diced purple onion.  This sandwich will definitely be making it into my lunch rotation.

I ate this salad with toasted wheat bread, and a side of baby carrots.  The meal in total was 409 calories, and left me feeling very satisfied.  Although the baby did eat one bite and turned her nose up at it.  Can’t win ‘em all I guess.

Crazy Woman Chocolate Blender Pudding from Oh She Glows

I saved the best recipe for last.  Let’s just say that I will ALWAYS have a frozen banana and avocado in the freezer from no on in case I get a craving.

Click pic to be taken to recipe

 

I have yet to make a vegan dessert, but I finally  rectified that last night.  I never know what to expect when I make some recipes.  Pudding?  Does it really taste like pudding?  Because I really want something creamy and cold that doesn’t have any grit to it.

This recipe totally delivered.

It was amazing.

I embarrassingly admit that I licked my bowl clean.

Go. Run.  Make. this. recipe. now.

I’d bet that you could even add some Pea Protein Powder for a kick of protein.  And did I mention that it is good for you?  One serving is 191 calories and I could easily pick it over ice cream, or use it for an ice cream craving.  One serving is about 1 1/2 cups. ONE AND A HALF CUPS!  If you ate 1 1/2 cups of Hagen Daaz it would put you somewhere in the range of 600-700 calories, and around 45 grams of fat.  This recipe has 5 grams of fat, and they are from the delicious frozen avocado that makes this pudding oh. so.creamy.

So do yourself a favor.  Make this recipe.  As soon as humanly possible.

I hope you give these recipes a try!  Happy Wednesday!

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on May 9, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Addiction, Awesomeness, Good Food, Indulgence, Link Love, Recipes, WIAW

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 9, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/05/09/wiaw-recipe-round-up/

Friday Night Pizza…A Possible Comeback

Sweat it Out:
Spin Class 45 Minutes

When I was young one of our family night traditions was Friday night pizza night.  My mom would make homemade pizza and we would rent a few movies to watch.  It was a total couch fest, and some good quality bonding time with the fam.

One of the things I have noticed while I have been eating my plant based diet is that there is not a lot of room for indulgence (this is not necessarily a bad thing).  I have been craving pizza like crazy lately, and of course because of the cheese and some of the pizza toppings I couldn’t indulge in one of my favorite foods.

Until last night.

I have found a lot of joy in finding new recipe’s online to try, and I have found a kindred spirit (in regards to tastebuds) in the blog world.  Oh She Glows has become my go-to for delicious plant based recipes.

Back to this amazing pizza…

I’m not going to lie, there was an actual PDF attachment for this recipe and it was almost 4 pages long.  After not watching tv ALL DAY, I was up for a cooking challenge and so I got my appliances ready to make something amazing.

I had actually pre-made the dough in the morning and let it rise most of the day.  I found the secret to good dough is 2 teaspoons italian blend spice (to die for!).  And olive oil, lots and lots of olive oil.  Side note:  I have used almost an entire half gallon of olive oil in the past couple of months (crazy!).

This recipe was called: Roasted Tomato, Onion, Basil, Pesto Pizza, with Vegan Parmesan Cheese (and then I added some roasted artichokes and black olives).  There was a separate recipe for each step, the dough, the roasted vegetables, vegan parmesan cheese, and pesto sauce.  I have never really tried pesto, so I didn’t know what to expect.  I am glad that I tried it, for I don’t want to know a world without pesto again.

I won’t go into too much more detail since this is not MY recipe, but if you want to try out this seriously delicious and guilt-free recipe head on over to ohsheglows.com and print out the recipe, you will not be sorry (and please don’t compare how perfect looking her pizza is and how NOT perfect mine is)!

Finished Product!

I underestimated the vegetables and would have put a LOT more on in the future!  Also, this recipe makes a lot of pesto. If you are serving 2, you could definitely split this into 2 dinners.  Tonight we will be having pesto pasta with what is left over.

Now I am off to have leftovers for lunch, yum!

Do you have a weekly family tradition that you have fond memories of?

Do you like Pesto?

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 28, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Good Food, Indulgence, Plant Based Diet, Recipes, Tradition, Vegan, Vegetables

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 28, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/01/28/friday-night-pizza-a-possible-comeback/

It’s All About the Plan

Here is what my kitchen table looks like right now:

For me Sunday is meal planning for the upcoming week.  I know a lot of people do Meal Planning Monday’s, but let’s face it, if I wait till Monday it ain’t gettin done, and we’ll be eating beans and rice for the next week (I’m sure the hub’s would just LOVE that).  Side note:  My hub’s spent 2 years in Brazil from the ages of 19-21 and LIVED on beans and rice.  Needless to say, he came home about 60 pounds lighter than when he left.  Whenever I suggest rice and beans for dinner he says, “too soon”.

I’ve got my bodybugg charging, and have been burning out my google search looking for some fun recipe’s that will tickle my fancy (and the hub’s taste buds).  Dustin has so far eaten everything I’ve made, but he confessed to me the other night that every time he tries something new he thinks “this would taste a lot better with chicken”.  last night I even made some fish sticks for him so he could have fish taco’s, and I just ate taco’s with black bean corn salsa (awesome), refried beans, and brown rice.

Another side note:  I have always been afraid of carbs (pasta, bread, etc.), and things with a lot of fat like Peanut Butter (which I LOVE).  Let’s just say I have weighed myself recently and I don’t want to reveal the number until tomorrow’s weigh in, but I will be afraid no more!  In fact, one day I ate oatmeal, leftover pasta, and another pasta dish for dinner, and the next day I woke up with no sausage fingers and I had actually LOST WEIGHT.  I am learning so much about how my body works eating vegan, everyday holds a different surprise.

I digress…

Back to meal planning…

I have found that eating vegan can be money consuming……if I let it be.  The first week of January I spent about $200 on my grocery excursion’s, possibly more if I really went through my bank account and added it all up.  I went to the grocery FIVE times that week!  I didn’t plan very well and it cost me more than just money, but my time as well.  I hate having to go to the store more than twice a week, especially if it’s just to pick up a couple of things.  Then you add the trips to the health foods store, and it just gets to be too much.

Last week I tried something different and collected all of my recipe’s on Sunday and made a plan for the week.  I made out a grocery list and I got only the item’s on the list.  I walked out of Wal-mart only having spent $57 on necessities, and only ended up having to make 1 unexpected trip back to the store. My total grocery trip from Wal-mart was around $90, and the health food’s store was about $20.  Much better than the previous week, so we all see why its good to plan, right?  Right.

I am also finding some really fun recipe’s to try, hoping that I will strike gold and my hub’s will finally say “make that again”.  Most of the recipe’s I find I pin to pintrest.  If you want to follow me click here.

Here is this weeks meal plan (I will be rating these recipes at the end of the week to let you know how they turn out):

  • Monday: Thai Peanut Noodles with Roasted Broccoli (The only recipe is the Thai Peanut Sauce)
  • Tuesday: Stuffed Chili Peppers
  • Wednesday: Homemade Tomato Soup
  • Thursday: Rice & Beans (Dustin will be working so I’m on my own for dinner)
  • Friday:  Mac & Cheeze
  • Saturday: Meatless Fajita’s.  I just sautee green peppers and purple onion in Fajita seasoning, and eat them on tortilla’s with beans and homemade guac.
  • Sunday: Bestest Pesto

Have I mentioned how much easier it is to cook now that I don’t have to prepare meat?  Well it is.

What is your go-to dinner?

Do you have a favorite recipe website?  What is it?

2 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Meal Planning, Planning, Recipes, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 15, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/01/15/its-all-about-the-plan/

Syncing Up

Sweat it Out:
Weights 30 Minutes
Elliptical 45 Minutes

Yesterday was the first day since I bought my Bodybugg in October that I actually synced my calories burned with my calories consumed.  I had a great day yesterday, and the scale is showing some results.

I can testify to food journaling and why it needs to be done.  My track record in the past was that I stayed on track with calories most of the day until I hit dinner.  Dinner is usually when I have meat products and eat the bulk of my food.  For example, on Wednesday I made chicken fajitas and my total calories consumed during dinner were 827 calories.  That is with using healthy alternatives!

Last night I made a Butternut Squash soup and steamed broccoli, and had strawberries and 2 cuties for dessert.  The total calories consumed for last nights dinner were 483.  Quite a difference, and I felt like I ate a LOT!

I ended up eating a total of 1547 calories yesterday, which is actually lower than I would have liked, but I felt like I was eating ALL DAY!  It just shows how much you can eat when you are filling up on healthy foods.  Here is how the day ended according to Bodybugg:

I ended with a deficit of 1757 calories!  I am shooting for more like 1800 calories a day, because this morning when I woke up I felt fatigued like I didn’t eat enough yesterday, but I keep it to 1800 calories a day and continue burning like I have been, there should be some serious results in the future.

One more success is that I made a butternut squash soup that my hub’s liked so much, he finished of the ENTIRE pot!  I was planning on having some left over for lunch today, but…..oh well.

Butternut Squash Soup
1 small onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
handful of baby carrots chopped
2 medium red potatoes cubed
medium butternut squash cubed
32 oz. water
6 Chicken Bouillon cubes

Combine butter, onion, celery, carrots, red potatoes, and butternut squash into pot and cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add water and chicken bouillon cubes and simmer for 40 minutes.

Once vegetables are soft, transfer to blender and blend on high until smooth.  Transfer back to pot and add salt and pepper to desired taste.  I added a lot of pepper because I like it spicy!  I also think that you could experiment with other things like adding curry or other spices, if you like that sort of thing.

My husband will eat anything once, so I have to ask him if he would eat it again, and he reluctantly admitted that he LOVED this soup.  I think it is because it is healthy and low-calorie that it is hard for him to admit that he like it.  I will be working this soup into the meal rotation.

And here are the nutritional stat’s:

Are you a picky eater?

Weights:  I don’t know if I can really say that this workout was from NROLFW I modified it so much!  I am having a hard time with this phase because some of the moves are awkward and I can’t feel them working anything.  Normally I would just add more weight, but then my form is all off.  This has been a frustrating phase for me.  I only have two more workouts left for this phase and then I can move on.  Phase 6 is a lot different from the rest of the phases and I am eager to move on!

  • Deadlift: 4 sets of 10, 60 pounds
  • Bent over Row: 4 sets of 4, 60 pounds
  • Lat Pull down:  sets of 8, 80 pounds
  • Single leg squat: 4 sets of 8
  • Push-ups: 4 sets of 10
  • Seated row: 4 sets of 6, 80 pounds
  • Plank: 4 60 second holds

1 Comment
by Shrinking Carrie on December 30, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Body Bugg, Daily Stats, Dustin, Recipes, The New Rules of Lifting for Women

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on December 30, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/12/30/syncing-up/

Lazy Sunday Mornings

I love being able to just lounge around the house on a Sunday morning.  Take my time getting ready, not having to run off to the gym.  Especially after the ROUGH night I had.  Little miss Hanna Bear threw up all over her crib and so I had to strip her crib down and redress it.  Then I had to change her jammies and clean her off.  By the time I was done she was pretty awake and I had to sit and rock her for an hour so she would get drowsy.  I think it was just a case of over feeding because she seems fine today, thank goodness.

The other thing I LOVE about Sunday mornings is a HEARTY breakfast.  I go to church for 3 hours, so I have to make sure that whatever I eat in the morning lasts me until 2:30 when I get home.  This morning I decided to finally try a recipe I’d been eying for a while on the Carrot’s ‘n’ Cake blog.  The recipe is for Protein Pancakes.  I made sure to plug all of the information into the Daily Plate to find out all of the nutrition facts so that it would stay within my alloted points.  I was very surprised to see how they weighed in:

Low in fat and high in protein.  A little carby, but I think that will be a great sustainer for the next few hours.

This recipe yields 2 pancakes, but my batter made 3 HUGE pancakes, and they were a pretty sight:

I topped them with some sliced strawberries and light maple syrup and the point value was 12 Weight Watchers Points+ for the entire meal, but there was so much food that I couldn’t finish the entire meal:

The banana and protein powder made the batter sweet.  They were fluffy and dense, a great combo.  I will definitely be making this recipe again in the future!

What do you love about Sunday’s?  

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on September 25, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Good Food, Recipes, Weight Watchers

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on September 25, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/09/25/lazy-sunday-mornings/

Bigfoot Sighting

My last indulgence before the budget crunch down came in the mail today (bought while we were still in financial ignorant bliss).

My new Nike Running shoes!

So stinking comfortable, which is good because this will be the last pair of workout shoes that I get for a long time.  I probably should get the gym thing going considering that it has been on my goal list and it would definitely speed up the weight loss process.

I looked at 4 different stores and 2 different online stores to find these shoes in my size.  See, I have something called big foot issues.  I am a size 12 in gym shoes 11 in regular shoes.  Check out these bad boys:

Yes, my toes are like fingers.  Anyway, I’m so excited to get back to the gym next week and put some miles on them!

Made an interesting recipe concoction last night.  Turned out really good, but ate it so fast that I didn’t get to snap a photo.  Here is the recipe:

Chicken Peanut Noodles
6 Servings
10 oz Chicken Breast
3 T Creamy Peanut Butter
2 tsp Sugar
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
2 T Reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T Water
1 1/4 tsp Rice-wine vinegar
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 c Brussel Sprouts
1/1/2 c Barilla Plus protein noodles

In small bowl combine the peanut butter, sugar, and garlic until smooth.  Add the soy sauce, water, vinegar, and cilantro and stir until combined

Cook noodles, grill chicken breast,  Steam brussel sprouts.  Throw brussel sprouts in food processor until chopped.

Combine noodles, peanut sauce and brussel sprouts.  Spread chicken on top.

Nutrition Facts
Calories: 316
Fat: 6
Carb: 43
Fiber: 5
Protein: 22

Weight Watchers Points: 8

It was delish!

What kind of running shoes do you have?


What was your last big spend item?

4 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 16, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Recipes, Running Shoes

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 16, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/16/bigfoot-sighting/

New Recipe & Antibiotics

No, its not a recipe that requires antibiotics silly!  But unfortunately, Hanna requires the antibiotics because she has another ear infection.  Poor little thing has had a rough few days with seeing Dr.’s and being poked and prodded.  At least this time they gave me ear drops to help relieve the pain.

Still have been totally stressed, still haven’t binged. Yay.  I did find a total indulge recipe, that is actually healthy!  Mac & Cheese, yum yum!  If you haven’t tried any of Jessica Seinfeld’s recipe’s you need to get on that.  I have her cookbook and so far I have loved ever recipe that I have made from it.

Macaroni & Cheese from “Deceptively Delicious” by Jessica Seinfeld

1 1/2 Whole Wheat Elbow Macaroni
1 Cup non-fat (skim) Milk
1/2 Cup Canned navy beans or chickpeas or white beans, rinsed, drained, and pureed
Nonstick Cooking Spray
1 1/2 Cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/8 Teaspoon Paprika
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to package directions until al dente.  Drain in a colander
While the macaroni is cooking, combine the milk and beans in a food processor and process until pureed.
Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set it over medium heat.  Add the bean mixture to the pan and cook, stirring until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the cheese and cook until melted and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes longer.  Stir in salt, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper.  Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

I added 2 Tablespoons corn starch because the milk and bean mixture seemed a little runny, and it gave it the perfect consistency of regular mac & cheese.  I also used the Barilla Plus protein Elbow Macaroni and I couldn’t tell the difference between that or regular pasta.

Check out the nutrition facts on this bad boy:
Calories: 250
Fat: 6g
Carb: 33
Fiber: 4
Protein: 16

Weight Watchers Points: 6 per serving/8 servings

I suggest using this as a side dish and not the main dish or you may want to eat too much, its that good.  I paired it with a 4 oz piece of chicken.  Here’s what it looked like:

It was sooooooo good.  I know my plate is missing a veggie, but I got distracted by a sad baby and had to eat fast.  The seasoning on top of the chicken is chipotle seasoning, which is a staple in my seasoning cupboard.  One of the best things about this recipe is that I had pretty much every ingredient in my house already so I didn’t have to spend anymore than I already had.  That’s a good meal to me!

Me and my husband are really cracking down on our budget and because of that I  have to find budget friendly recipe’s that aren’t gong to break the bank.

Do you find eating healthier is more expensive?


Do you have a food budget, or just go willy nilly?

4 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 14, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Budget, Recipes

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 14, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/14/new-recipe-antibiotics/

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