Leah Lunch: Fruity chicken wrap and my signature salad

The following is for 1 meal (1 serving). Adjust recipes accordingly. The salad always gets rave reviews. (Sorry, no pictures today)


Wrap ingredients:

• 1 low calorie wrap, like la tortilla factory ones (I used a small one because I was going to have salad with it)
• 6 large black grapes, sliced in half
• 1 wedge of The Laughing Cow Light Cheese (I used Swiss)
• 1/2 of a Cuttie (Clementine), pealed and segmented
• 1 Tablespoon Kraft Light Raspberry Vinaigrette
• 1.5 ounces of deli chicken or baked chicken breast, cut into strips

Directions: Spread cheese on wrap then add other ingredients. Fold bottom of wrap up about 1/4th of the way over toppings. Holding the bottom of the wrap in place, fold one side of the wrap over the other toppings. I use some of the cheese to keep the wrap together once its finished.


Salad Ingredients

• 1- 2 Tablespoons (or less) of Seasoned Rice Vinegar, a little goes a long way
• Olive oil cooking spray, just enough to coat the top of the lettuce. Do not drowned your lettuce!
• 1-2 cups Romain lettuce
• 1/4 cup Raw tomatoes, diced OR 2 tablespoons dried cranberries (Higher calorie choice, 1/3 cup is 130 calories)
• 10 grams (about 2-3 tablespoons) Fiber One Original cereal (about 20 calories) OR 1/2 ounce sliced almonds ( around 80-100 calories )
• 1 Tablespoons of red onion, finely diced. Even if you don't like onion, you really need it in this salad for the full flavor.
• 2 Tablespoons Fat Free Feta Cheese (Presidents brand is best)
• Dash garlic powder, oregano, and pepper
• Optional: 1/8th of a Slimacado (1/3 the calories of a regular avocado, at HyVee by the regular avocados)

Directions: Throw it all together!

Last Minute Leah Lunch: Spicey Turkey Chili Mac

Today I threw together a few things we had sitting in the pantry at work and made a Spicey Turkey Chili Pasta Bake.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 can turkey chili (such as 98% fat free or lean)
• Onion, sliced or diced
• 3.5 cups penne noodles, uncooked (about 6.5 servings cooked)
• Creole seasoning to taste, you could also use a packet of taco seasoning
• 1 cup of 2% milk cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Cook pasta and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. While pasta cooks, mix tomato soup, chili, 1/2 cup cheese, onions, and seasoning in a large bowl.
3. When pasta is done cooking, mix pasta into the above mixture.
4. Add mixture to an oven safe casserole dish and cover with tinfoil. Bake for 30-45 minutes.
5. Remove tinfoil and add remaining 1/2 cup cheese to top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.  

Voila!

To create your own pasta bake, try mixing and matching your favorite condensed soups and or pasta sauces, lean meats, low fat cheeses (portion control is important), and veggies (frozen, fresh, or no salt added canned).   

Find this recipe on livestrong.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1/8 pasta bake

Amount per Serving

Calories 317

Calories from Fat 51.5

Total Fat 5.72g

Saturated Fat 2.25g

Cholesterol 17.5mg

Sodium 462.94mg

Total Carbohydrate 52.53g

Dietary Fiber 8.4g

Sugars 7.59g 

Protein 14.87g

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/leah-newmark-rds-turkey-chili-pasta-bake/#ixzz15Z06mxnR

Leah Lunch: Chicken Fajitas

This dish serves 4-5 people for around $3.00-$4.00 per person!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb raw chicken breast, cut into strips (You could use lean steak instead of chicken if you wish.)
• 1 Taco Seasoning packet + 2/3 cup water (add water as stated on seasoning packet instructions)
• Iceburg lettuce, shredded
• 1 bag Kroger Frozen pepper mix blend or 1 fresh green pepper
• 1/2 cup red or white onion, sliced
• 1 medium tomato, cut into about 8 slices
• Pam cooking spray
• 1 package of small sized wraps, (low calorie options include Mama Lupe Low Carb found in Gerbes or La tortilla factory found in the health food section of HyVee)
• 1 small container (3/4 cup) Non-fat plain yogurt, optional
• 3/4 cup Fat-free refried beans, optional

Ingredients For Pico De Gallo:

• 2 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice
• 1 cup tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup red or white onion, diced
• 1/4 bunch of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• Tip: To save time, buy store-made "Fresh Salsa" (or regular salsa) and add diced onion and cilantro. It is more expensive than making it yourself but it still tastes great.  

Directions

1. Cut up peppers and onion into slices and add them to the same bowl
2. Cut up tomato into slices and set aside, they will be added last. 
3. Cut up another tomato (diced), small amount of onion (diced), and cilantro (roughly chopped), and add to bowl. Add lime or lemon juice to bowl. Set aside for later.
4. Cut up chicken into strips.
5. In a very large pan or wok cook (spray with pam first) vegetables on medium to high heat until onions caramelize and peppers are very tender. Takes about 15-20 minutes. Dont let them burn!
6. Meanwhile, in another pan (spray with pam first), cook chicken completely. Once finished cooking either set aside or add to vegetables if the vegetables are cooked as described in step 5.
7. Once chicken is added to veggie pan, add taco seasoning (usually 1/4 cup of seasoning and 2/3 cup of water is added, follow directions on taco seasoning packet). Mix until seasoning is evenly distributed then add tomato slices. Reduce heat to low, stir occasionally until all of the water is absorbed.
8. Heat up refried beans in a small bowl.
9. Heat up tortillas in microwave for 15-20 seconds

Fajitas are ready to eat!

Serve with pic de gallo, refried beans, tortillas, and plain yogurt.

Nutrition Info (each serving includes plain yogurt, refried beans, and 1 tortilla): Makes 4 large servings, Calories 345, Fat 3.5g , Cholesterol 73.75mg, Sodium 1554.59mg (high!), Total Carbohydrate 41.37g, Dietary Fiber 13.55g (Excellent!), Sugars 9.99g, Protein 35.46g (Amazing!) 

Search for this recipe on livestrong.com! "Leah Newmark, RD's Chicken Fajitas"

Leah Lunch: Easy Orange Chicken with Cranberry Couscous

Today's Leah Lunch was one of the top rated dishes yet!
It contains simple ingredients that are packed with nutrition and are typical to most households.


Serves: 4 people, prep time: less than 10 minutes, cook time: 40-60 minutes.

Nutritional benefits of this meal:

• The couscous is a good source of protein and a good source of fiber.  
• At 8g of protein per serving it is a great option for vegetarians. It has more protein per calorie than peanut butter and many other grain options. 
• Contains 2g of fiber per serving, this is a lower amount of iron per calorie than many other grain options that I have talked about in the past.  
• It does contain gluten. A good substitute for couscous is quinoa which is gluten free.
• The chicken breast is a good source of iron and protein. It is low in fat and sodium.
• It is a naturally gluten free food.
• The OJ that I bought is enriched with vitamin D.
• Many people do not get enough vitamin D because the primary source is the sun but if we use sunscreen we block vitamin D from being able to enter our skin.
• There are very few food sources of vitamin D. Examples are milk, yogurt, and mushrooms.
• OJ and vitamin C typically go hand in hand but not in this dish. By heating the orange juice we will lose most of the vitamin C, which breaks down upon heating.
• You will have to check the ingredients list to make sure that it is gluten free.
• Dried fruit is naturally fat free. Even though it is high in sugar, it is a better option than most other sweets and snacks.  
• Carrots are high in vitamin A, which doesn't break down during cooking. 

Ingredients:

• 2 large Chicken breast, cubed
• 4 cups orange juice, Tropicana 50% reduced sugar (Kroger has their own brand for a lot less money than Tropicana).
• This is 50 calories instead of 100 calories
• 2 teaspoons rosemary
• 1 small bag baby carrots
• Couscous
• Found in the isle with rices and pastas
• 1/2 cup dried fruit such as cranberries
• Nuts such as almonds, cashews, or peanuts. (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the chicken cubes in a skillet using cooking spray to keep if from sticking to the pan
2. Remove the chicken from the pan and save for later
3. Add the orange juice to a large pot or skillet. Cooking time decreases if you use a larger pot with more surface area. Heat the pot on medium-high heat. Stir occasionally.
• The juice will start to reduce (the water evaporates) and will yield about 1 cup of sauce.
• This may take about 30- 40 minutes depending on the level of heat you use.
• You may be able to reduce cooking time by using condensed OJ but I have never tried it and it may contain more sugar.
• Small bubbles are ok but violent boiling is not recommended because it will burn the sugars in the OJ.
• The OJ is fully reduced when it forms a syrup-like coating around your spoon. See below.

4. Mean while cook the baby carrots in a microwave safe dish with a small amount of water until tender and fully cooked (about 6-8 minutes). Set aside for later.
5. Once you notice the OJ thickening you can slowly sprinkle a small amount of flour (like 1 teaspoon) while stirring. If you add it all at once it will clump.
6. Stir for another minute or 2 then add the chicken and carrots and continue to cook until they are reheated.
7. Add the rosemary to the chicken mixture.
8. Cook the couscous according to the directions on the box it will take less than 10 minutes, you can omit the oil or butter.
9. Add the dried cranberries and nuts to the couscous.

Other Tips:

This dish goes well with steamed broccoli or a side salad.

The above method of mixing the reducing OJ with cooked carrots makes a great side dish.

Follow the plate method when serving this dish!

(1/4th plate is the orange chicken, 1/4th plate is couscous, and 1/2 plate is veggies which includes the carrots)



Enjoy!!!





Leah Lunch: Healthy Halloween Party!

Drinks:

Witches Brew 

Ingredients:

• Seltzer water or diet 7up
• Orange juice, No Added Sugar (50 calories per cup, half the calories of regular orange juice)
• 1 small package frozen blue berries, thawed 
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries, thawed
• 2 1/2 cups light or diet cranberry juice
• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1 Rubber glove

Directions: 

1. To make the frozen hand: Wash and rinse the outside of a rubber glove. Turn glove inside out and set aside. In a bowl, combine the thawed raspberries and cranberry juice.
2. Pour 2 cups of the raspberry mixture into a small saucepan (do not heat yet). Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand 2 minutes. Warm over low heat, stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves. Mix back into the reserved raspberry mixture in the bowl.
3. Pour raspberry mixture into the inverted glove. Gather up the top of the glove and tie securely. Freeze until solid, or several days if possible.
4. To serve: Carefully cut glove away from frozen hand. Place frozen hand, palm side up, leaning against side of a large punch bowl. Pour in diet soda and orange juice. Add thawed blueberries, they will float at the top and look like eyes.

Pumpkin Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 cup fat free vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tsp. brown sugar (or Splenda bown sugar mix)
• 4 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Pour the smoothies into small glasses (this drink is rich) and garnish each with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or whipped topping. For a fun touch, add a pinch of cinnamon or a few colored sprinkles. Serves 2.

Makes 2 servings. Nutrition Facts for 1 serving: Total Calories 80; Calories from Fat 13.5, Total fat 1.5g, saturated fat0.04g, cholesterol 1.88mg, sodium 40.02mg, total carbs 17g, Dietary fiber  2.5g, sugar 12g, protein 3.5g

Appetizers and snacks:

Grave yard layer bean dip

I made the above dip grave yard as a tribute to Cynergy's recently deceased fish friends

Ingredients:

1. 1 can refried beans, fat free (acts as dirt)
2. 1/2 cup salsa (acts as blood)
3. 1 Avocado, mashed
4. 1 small (single serving) container of fat free plain yogurt 
5. 1 package shredded lettuce (acts as grass)
6. pretzel sticks, cut in half (lay 3 halves in a row by tombs--see below-- to resemble freshly dug graves)
7. broccoli, cut into small sections (acts like bushes and trees)
8. Low calorie wraps or whole wheat pitas, cut into tomb stones and ghosts-- see below recipe for chips

To make tomb stones and ghosts:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Using a few Halloween-inspired cookie cutters, cut shapes from tortillas or pitas.
3. Arrange as many shapes as can fit in a single layer on oiled sheet.
4. Coat tortillas with cooking spray.
5. Bake until slightly darkened and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6. Repeat with remaining tortilla shapes, using a clean, cooled baking sheet.

To make layered dip

1. First layer should be the refried beans followed by salsa.
2. In a small bowl mash the avocado and mix in plain yogurt. (If desired can add slices of red onion which could be snakes)
3. Layer the avocado mixture over the salsa layer. 
4. Add the shredded lettuce over the avocado layer. 
5. Add the pretzels, tomb stone and ghost chips, and broccoli on top of the dip. 

Fingers

Ingredients:

• baby carrots
• sliced almonds
• Hummus

Directions:

1. Use hummus to adhere wider end of the almonds to the narrow part of baby carrots.
2. Fill a small bowl with more hummus and stick the bottom part of 5 finished carrots into it so that it looks like fingers sticking up out of the ground.

Eye ball crackers

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat crackers ("whole" is the first word on the ingredients list)
• Reduced sugar strawberry jelly
• Reduced fat cream cheese
• Dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Coat a cracker with the red jelly, then a small circular shaped amount of cream cheese, and top with a chocolate chip

Goblin Grins:

Ingredients:

• Pea pods
• 1 red bell pepper
• few slivered almonds

Directions:

1. For each one, use the tip of a paring knife to cut a slit centered in one side of an edible pea pod (a parent's job).
2. Cut out a tongue shape from red bell pepper and insert the top of it through the opening in the pea pod (it looks best if the inside of the pepper faces up).
3. For the finishing touch, insert a few slivered almonds for teeth.

Snack-O-Lanterns

Ingredients:

• Navel orange
• Canned or fresh fruit salad

Directions:

1. To make one lantern, use a small knife to slice the top off a navel orange and cut around its interior to hollow it out. Scoop out the orange segments, chop them, and mix them with canned or fresh fruit salad.
2. Carve small facial features in one side of the orange, then cut a slit in the lid to accommodate the handle of a green plastic spoon. Fill the lantern with fruit salad. Insert the spoon and set the lid in place.

Entrees:

Spooky Eye Ball Tacos:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1 pkg.  (1-1/4 oz.) Taco Seasoning Mix 
• 12 Taco Shells 
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 bag shredded lettuce
• 3/4 cup Salsa 
• 3/4 cup light or reduced fat Sour Cream 
• 1 can  (2-1/4 oz.) sliced black olives, drained 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Mix the meat and seasoning mix; shape into 1 inch balls. Place in 15x10x1 inch pan.
3. Bake 15-20 minutes or until done (180 degrees according to meat thermometerFill each taco shell with tomatoes, onions, salsa, and lettuce. 
4. Top with 2 meatballs dipped in sour cream. Garnish with olives to resemble eyeballs.

Spooky Mini Pizzas:

Ingredients:

Wheat Pizza Dough:

If you don't want to make your pizza dough, than you can buy pizza mix from the store for about 70 cents per box. I have not found whole wheat pizza mix though.

• 1 package highly active yeast
• 1.5 cups white flour
• 1 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup water, warm
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Teaspoon sugar
• More white flour for rolling out dough
• Halloween cookie cutters

Toppings:

• Pizza sauce
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
• cheddar cheese, shredded
• sliced black olives
• green peppers, sliced into strips
• red peppers, sliced into strips
• onions, sliced or diced
• Canadian bacon
• pineapple

Directions:

1. Pour yeast, sugar, and warm water in a bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Add flour and oil and mix. 
3. Let dough rise for about 15 minutes. In the mean time preheat the oven to 350 and cut up your toppings. 
• Good toppings include veggies like green peppers, onions, black olives (look like eyes).
• mozzarella cheese (good for ghost shaped pizzas) 
• orange cheese (good for pumpkin shaped pizzas).
• Meats that are healthy include turkey pepperoni or turkey sausage, Canadian bacon (Often paired with pineapple).
4. Roll out the dough. You will need to add more flour to rolling pin and top of dough if it is too sticky. 
5. Use Halloween cookie cutters to cut the dough into Halloween shapes.
6. Spray a cookie sheet and place Halloween shaped dough on it. Bake without toppings for about 5-7 minutes. 
7. Add toppings and bake another 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and vegetables look done

Dessert:

All Bran Baked Apples

Ingredients:

• 6 baking apples
• 1/2 cup Kellogg's® All-Bran® Original cereal
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
• 2 tablespoons butter or unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup apple cider

Directions:

1. Core apples. Peel 1-inch-wide strip from top of each.
2. Stir together KELLOGG'S ALL-BRAN Original cereal, raisins, apricots, pecans, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Firmly pack cereal mixture into apple cavities. Place in 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour cider over top. Bake, uncovered, at 375°F about 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

　
Popcorn Balls

These are less calories than the traditional popcorn balls made with corn syrup however they are still dessert so moderation will go a long way.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag marshmallows
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Microwavable bag of reduced fat/ fat-free popcorn
• 1/2 cup candy corn
• 1/4 cup peanuts or other nuts

Directions:

1. Pop popcorn and pour into a large bowl. Gently shake the bowl so that the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom. (No one wants to chip a tooth on an unpopped kernel!) 
2. Prepare a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
3. Melt butter in a large pot and add marshmallows. Melt marshmallows and stir often to prevent burning.
4. Gradually add popcorn (watch for the kernels), then add candy corn and peanuts last, and mix until combined.
5. Pour mixture onto the greased cookie sheet and spread it out as much as possible. Let mixture cool completely for about 30 minutes. If mixture is not completely cool, than you will be very frustrated during the next step.
6. Spray hands and the top of the mixture with cooking spray to help prevent sticking. Form 12 balls and let sit on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes to make sure they keep their form.
7. Put popcorn balls in decorative Halloween bags and give to guests as party favors. 　

These recipes were created by myself or found on familyfun.go.com, Kelloggs.com,  allrecipes.com or delish.com/

Leah Lunch: Italian can be healthy!

Chicken Parmesan with garlic bread, pasta, and Italian salad:

Chicken Parmesan:

Ingredients 

• 4 Chicken breasts
• 1 Jar Classico "Tomato Basil" pasta sauce
• 50 calories per serving instead of 100 calories per serving of traditional pasta sauce 
• 4 White cheese slices, 2% milk
• Cheese slices help with portion control.
• Feel free to measure out shredded mozzarella cheese. Just know that 2% cheese slices tend to be less calories (~45 calories) than 1 serving of shredded mozzarella cheese (~80 calories).  

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Add half the jar of pasta to a oven safe container.
3. Add the chicken breasts
4. Add the rest of the pasta sauce
5. Cook covered for 45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked inside
6. Add 1 slice of cheese over each chicken breast and put back in the oven for 15 more minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown on top.
7. Enjoy!

Garlic Bread:

Ingredients

• Wheat bread
• Use slices of 45 calorie Sara Lee bread for portion control
• "Light" or "Lite" butter spread like Promise or Smart Balance. 
• These are half the calories of the regular Promise or Smart Balance spreads. 
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced or 2 teaspoons canned minced garlic 

Directions

1. Use only 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of light butter spread per piece of bread, spread on the bread.
2. Add garlic on top of each piece of buttered bread
3. Toast bread in oven or toaster oven for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Pasta

Ingredients

• Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta
• This is white pasta with the benefits of wholegrain pasta. It has 5g of fiber, 6g protein, plus Calcium and vitamin D. 
• There is also 0mg of sodium and 0mg of cholesterol.

Directions:

1. Cook according to instructions on package. Serve with Chicken Parmesan.

Italian Salad

Ingredients

• Romain and iceberg mix lettuce
• Artichokes, canned
• Black olives, canned
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Onions, sliced
• Parmesan cheese
• Kraft fat free Italian dressing

Directions

1. Combine the following in a salad bowl and toss
• Romain and iceberg mix lettuce
• Artichokes, canned- drained
• Black olives, canned- drained
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Onions, sliced
2. Distribute salad in separate containers then add 1 serving of Parmesan cheese and 1 serving of salad dressing.

Enjoy your light Italian meal. We all loved it here!

Leah Lunch: Smoothie Day!

Many studies have shown that eating protein at breakfast can help you feel less hungry throughout the day.

It is important to know that just because a smoothie contains seemingly healthy ingredients, they can still be up to 300 calories or more depending on what you add and how much you drink.

Smoothies from restaurants can be deceptively high in calories.

Chocolate, peanut butter, and banana smoothie: Makes 1 large serving

• 1 packet of "No sugar added" hot chocolate powder
• OR substitute the hot chocolate for chocolate protein powder
• 1 banana, Peeled then frozen
• 1/2-1C Skim milk plus
• Optional- 2 tablespoons of "P2" Powdered peanut butter

Directions: Add the frozen bananas and the milk to a blender. Blend until smooth. Use a spoon to stir in the hot chocolate powder and the powdered peanut butter. Blend again until combined.

Nutrition Facts:  ~230 calories without powdered peanut butter and protein powder.

About the Ingredients:

• "No sugar added" hot chocolate- At 50 calories per serving, this is half the calories of regular hot chocolate mix.
• I find that the "diet" hot chocolate mix, at only 25 calories per serving, does not taste as good and is less satisfying when you are craving chocolate. 
•  "P2" powdered peanut butter- At only 45 calories per serving (2 Tablespoons), it has less than 1/4th of the calories as regular peanut butter which contains 200 calories per serving (2 Tablespoons).
• P2 contains 5g of protein, which is the same amount of protein in regular peanut butter
• It is lower in calories because it doesn't contain all the fat that regular peanut butter has.
• Just add water to the powder and it becomes spreadable
• P2 can be found in the health food section at HyVee (this is the ONLY place to get it).
• It costs $5.00 for a 14 serving bottle
• It comes in 2 flavors: original and chocolate
• Skim milk plus- At only 80 calories, it is the same as skim milk but has the consistency of 2% milk.
• This is found at Gerbes.
• It has an orange cap and an orange label (be careful not to pick up the 1% milk which has a yellow cap).

Strawberry-banana orange juice smoothie: Makes 3 servings

• 1 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries, NO SUGAR ADDED!
• 1 banana, peeled then frozen
• 1-2 cups Orange Juice, "Light/ no sugar added"
• Optional- vanilla protein powder
• Optional- Fat free vanilla yogurt. (Dannon fit and active has the least amount of added sugar)

Directions: Add the above at once. Add additional orange juice if needed.

Nutrition Facts: ~130-150 calories without optional ingredients

About the ingredients:

• "Light/ no sugar added" orange juice- At 50 calories per cup, this orange juice is half as many calories as regular orange juice but still tastes great.

A word about protein powders:

To make the above smoothies into a breakfast meal, add a scoop of protein powder. Not all protein powders are created equal.

Protein powders are commonly known for coming in vanilla and chocolate flavors but there are also flavorless options.

When looking for a protein powder make sure it fits the following criteria:

• Less than 150 calories per serving or scoop
• Less than 5 grams of fat per serving
• Less than 5 grams of sugar per serving
• At least 20 grams pf protein per serving
• MUST be made from whey protein isolates because whey has a complete source of protein.
•  A complete protein is one that provides the essential (meaning must come from foods) amino acids.

Where to buy protein powders:

• Complete Nutrition in the Columbia mall has a good selection and they will even let you taste them.
• GNC in the Columbia mall
• Some grocery stores and Walmart have protein powders
• Wherever you go, you must check for the above criteria

In summary:

When adding protein powders to your smoothie you are making them a meal because you are adding at least 130 calories (good calories are still calories).

When making as a dessert I strongly suggest leaving out the protein powders.

You can use what ever ingredients you want in these smoothies, you do not have to add all of the ones i have suggested.

If you try these smoothies, let me know what you think! 

Leah Lunch: Low Calorie Wraps

How many calories are in the wraps I usually buy?

• Chipotle's wraps are 300 calories each
• Taco bell's soft taco's are 200 calories each (for the small tortilla) 
• Many Mexican restaurants fry their tortillas (you could be getting 500 calories from tortillas alone when you order fajitas)
• At the grocery store, the wraps that look "healthy" (the green spinach wraps, whole grain/ fiber wraps) are between 150- 250 calories each.

Since an average meal for someone watching their weight (if they don't eat any snacks) should be about 350-500 calories, you can see that this does not leave very much room for nutritious stuff to fill these wraps with.

The solution...

• Flat Out wraps- 90 calories and 9g of fiber. These are my FAVORITE wraps because they are large and delicious. You can find these at HyVee by the deli counter. Its random, I know. They can be some what expensive and there are only about 6 per package, but they are worth it. 
• These are great sandwich wraps
• Aldi's has their own version of this for cheaper. (Located near the deli meats.)

• Mame Lupe Low Carb wraps- 60 calories each. These are smaller but more dense than the Flat Out wraps. These can be found at Gerbes.
• These are great for Mexican meals. 

• Smart and delicious, multi grain, soft wraps- 100 calories each and packed with 12g of fiber and 9g of protein.
• THESE WERE THE COMPANY FAVORITE!!!
• These and others like these can be found in the health food section of HyVee

The Recipe we made today:

1. One healthy wrap
2. 1 ounce of mozzarella cheese
3. 3 ounces Oven roasted deli chicken (less sodium than smoked or cured deli meats)
4. Fresh basil, to taste (courtesy of Dr. Hayes's and Nurse Abbey Old's gardens)
5. Fresh tomatoes, to taste (thanks again Abbey)

• Combine the first 4 ingredients and microwave for 30-45 seconds until cheese is melted.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Wrap it up!

We accompanied our lunch with some fat free yogurt and strawberries.

Each meal cost less than 5 dollars.


More Recipe Ideas:

• Use these wraps to make personal pizzas (regular pizza crust has a lot of calories). 
• Cook on broil and keep an eye on them because they will cook fast.
• Alternate to sandwich bread.
• Use these wraps when you make fajitas, tacos, or burritos
• Make tortilla chips with them by spraying them with some olive oil cooking spray and baking at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until crisp.