What's Shaking?

The road to YUM!

In my past diet modifications I've tried to cut out carbs, which worked until I could not stand it anymore and then committed pasta-cide. As my only foray into the diet craze Atkins worked for the purpose intended, but it wasn't sustainable.
Now I have focused on calories in/out. My diet is much like my personality - if I find something that fits I use it, all the time, locking me into a pattern. I am a habitual creature, and habits are their own addiction. Being able to stick to a schedule and having a plan make my day boring, but easily navigable. Hence when I find something to eat which is easy to make, I tend to fixate on it as a habit. Anything that is reasonably cheap, somewhat palatable, and quickly prepared can be a source of daily nutrition.

STRAWBERRIES!

I love strawberries, they are the most yummy of all berries. I have loved them all my life. Even as a child when my grandma would take the whole family to the fields outside of Salem Oregon (Kaiser, actually) the owners joked that they would need to weigh me coming in and leaving and charge my parents for the difference.

SMOOTHIES!

I have found that my love of strawberries has not dimmed with age, and I started making "shakes" during atkins I would make "protien shakes" and not worry about calories - the protien was strawberry-flavored throw in heavycream and ice and boom a shake that resembles strawberry but packs massive calories.
Since Atkins was not a long term solution to my issues with mass. I decided to work on the calorie balance, this is where strawberries shine. A cup of frozen strawberries contains 50 calories, thats not a lot for such a sweet food! I do like big shakes and my mug that I usually drink water from is 32 oz - so how can we get that full of strawberry goodness without breaking the caloric bank? well, a quart of strawberries is 200 calories (a 1/10th of my suggested intake) but if we can't use a whole quart in the shake so lets say 1.5 pints leaving 8 oz for water, additional flavors, and protein powder. The protien powder that I use is 100 calories per serving, so now we are at 250 calories My wife introduced me to the wonderful world of "sugar-free espresso flavors" and with no calories you can sweeten to taste without guilt. even adding a banana for 100 (reduce strawberries by a cup) pumps it up to 300 calories for a thick, rich quart - yes a QUART of strawberry goodness. My mouth is watering even now as we speak! So here's the recipe:


[Light Smoothy of Much Gut Busting] <--notice "epic" WoW reference

15 large frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar free espresso flavors (straw, ras, or kiwi, etc)
1/2 cup of water
1 scoop protein powder (whey is my fav)
*optional sub 1 medium banana for 1 cup strawberries

Add ingredients to blender and puree (I never thought I would use that word in a blog!)
Makes 1 really large quart serving (burp!)