Dashing Dish

I’m starting a new ‘addition’ to my site called the“Daily Dish”! The Daily Dish will consist of photos and recipes of foods that I ate that day.  I will be doing this about once a week to give people a general idea of what I eat on a typical day for meals, snacks, and dessert in order to provide inspiration for ‘real life’ healthy eating! I also hope to show that it can be easy, fun, and delicious to eat healthy on a daily basis! You will see that “eating healthy” doesn’t have to mean eating lettuce for every meal, or eating ‘like a bird or rabbit’ for that matter!

I eat quite a bit of food every day, (and mind you … i’m only 5’1), and generally eat every few hours to keep my metabolism revving! I truly enjoy every thing I eat, and I try to eat ‘lower’ calorie, “high protein/fiber” foods which allows me to eat ‘more’ while keeping me satisfied for longer! I have also found that balancing complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber keep my blood sugar levels stable, which allows me to have high energy throughout the day! I hope you can find inspiration from the “Daily Dish” and that you get find some helpful tips! :)

Since this is my first Daily Dish post, I thought I’d start with a few ‘extra’ pictures including a look inside my condo’s kitchen (where the magic happens), my hubby, puppy, and sister (the taste ‘testers’ of all my dishes), and the ingredients of my protein shakes! I hope you ENJOY!!!

Here’s the hubs and I in our condo’s kitchen…I LOVE my kitchen! :) It’s small..but the perfect size for now! Sean made sure that I found a kitchen I loved when we were looking for a place to live. :)

Here’s my 3 year old Pomeranian Zoey…She is the perfect ‘vacuum’ in the kitchen! She will eat almost anything!

My “protein shake station” (don’t worry I don’t leave this stuff out on my counter ha ha! It is usually in a cute little basket in my cupboard!)  I thought I’d pull it out to show what goes into my favorite shake~ my Peanut Butter Butterscotch Shake!…So here it is, my (super size) cottage cheese, maple extract (or sugar free butterscotch pudding, which i’m trying not to use as much due to aspartame),a few NuStevia packets, Designer Whey Vanilla Praline protein powder, Fitnutz, and something NEW i’m trying, xanthan gum (a thickener that makes my shakes the consistency of a Wendy’s Frosty! You can get it at Whole Foods, and only need a pinch in every shake!)

A TON OF ICE! :) And I barely use any water…that’s how I get the ‘thick’ shake consistency!

My FAVORITE topping! Kellogg’s Fiber Plus bars, (I only use half a bar for each shake). First I cut it in half (and put the other half in a ziplock for later), then I crumble it up, and then it’s ready to go in the shake! :) It’s like having a blizzard with ‘candy’ in every bite! It also adds fiber and a delicious chewy ‘cookie like’ texture!

Here’s half of the Fiber Plus bar…I just crumble it with my fingers before adding it to my shake! After I pour my shake in the cup, I swirl the ‘crumbles’  throughout the shake with my spoon so I get some ‘cookie’ in every bite! :)

Look at that ‘thick’ consistency!!! You can make it ‘thinner’ by using less ice/adding more water, but I personally like to eat mine with a spoon! :)

And last but not least…Peanut Butter Captain Crunch on top! (Only a few pieces) ..>This is optional…and only when I have time! :)

After my protein shake I’m always FREEZING :) Ha ha…So I always have a cup of coffee!  I use fat free or sugar free creamer, a few packs of NuStevia, and OF COURSE~ WHIP CREAM!!! :) Don’t hate… Everything in moderation!!! Whip cream is one of those things that I love, so I use it in  moderation (aka in my hot drinks!)

I love my coffee in my favorite extra large ‘I LOVE MY HUSBAND’ mug of course! :) (Thanks Dayna!)

For lunch I made something new…I got this recipe from April’s site, and modified it a bit to make a peanut butter version of her ‘protein cake’ It was DEEELISHHHH! :)

I cleaned a bit around the house while waiting for my  roasted sweet potato to cook up! You can find the recipe here!

I had them with a side of ketchup!

Just before leaving for my hair appointment, I was really thirsty and in the mood for chocolate, so I made some hot chocolate~ (Note: I only use 3 products that are ‘sugar free’ that I haven’t quite give up yet, which is this hot chocolate,a little pudding mix in my shakes, and a splash of sugar free coffee creamer. Also, I almost always use stevia instead of splenda when baking/and cooking, becauseI really don’t like putting all those chemicals in my body any more!)

Then, I went to get my hair done with my sister (an hour away!!! :)) But hey…we LOVE our stylist! I had a chocolate mint Zone Bar! They are a balanced all-natural protein bar that tastes pretty darn good! They are a great snack, and they hold me over until my next meal!

For dinner I was so hungry because I had got my hair done, then had to wait for my sister to get her hair done, (and we were far from home), so I had a Subway salad with chicken breast, TONS of veggies, Parmesan cheese, and a pack of ‘Lite’ Italian dressing, (only 25 cals/pack). (Note: This picture was from Subway’s website, I forgot to take a picture before eating I was so hungry!)

Some how that salad didn’t quite ‘hit the spot’ so my sister and I went to TCBY for some frozen yogurt! (This place is great! Too bad they don’t have one close to where we live!)

Here’s my beautiful sister (well one of them, the other was actually still in the hair salon…Yes…That’s right we ALL went to the salon together! Haha!) We each got a chocolate frozen yogurt “kiddie” cone (which really is the size of a small!) and we got Starbucks decaf Americano to go on the side ;)  (Hey it was a girl’s night…We went crazy ;)).

And finally I was back home after a LONG (but fun) Saturday to see my hubs and pup just in time to watch Avatar (my husbands favorite movie) and go to bed! (Church in the morning! Woo Hoo!) What an eventful day! :)

Hope you enjoyed the Daily Dish!

Be sure to watch out for my ‘Daily Dish’ post next week! :)