Chocolate Pudding Protein Smoothie

This morning I woke up definitely feeling better than yesterday, but still a little “bleh.” I started my day off with a hard-boiled egg and another Strawberry-Watermelon Protein smoothie for lunch, which seriously hit the spot! I’ll probably have another one tomorrow because I’m almost done with the watermelon I bought last week at the grocery store.

I just love how full this smoothie makes me. I’ve recently switched to using a full scoop of protein powder instead of just half, so that’s probably why!

 

I had a little bit of shopping to do at Walmart, so I packed up my smoothie to-go and headed out the door. While I was there, I picked up some eggs (a dollar cheaper than at Stop & Shop), envelopes, gum, instant chocolate pudding (recipe down below for an awesome smoothie!), and a few other things.

By the time I got home it was just about time to start getting supper ready, so I spent a little while watching a re-run of The Big Bang Theory (love that show!) and catching up on my Google Reader.

 

Dinner was risotto, which is one of Brent’s and my favorite meals. He’s even cooked it for me a few times! Tonight I made my awesome Butternut Squash Risotto with Spinach and Goat Cheese. Usually I add a little bit of rosé wine to it too, but we were out. I thought it tasted just as great without it, though!

I actually did something else a little differently with the recipe, besides foregoing the wine. My original recipe calls to boil and mash the butternut squash, adding the goat cheese in separately. Instead, I roasted the butternut squash (at 400˚ for about a 1/2 hour with salt, pepper, and cayenne), then blended it with a little bit of chicken stock and the goat cheese to make a sauce. Right before the risotto was done, I stirred the sauce in and let it cook for another minute or two. Brent and I both thought it was even better that way!

I could not get enough of dinner. I did make sure to savor my food, but it was very hard to control myself! I really wish that I had made a little more, because it was delicious, but portion size is important and this was just the right amount for dinner.

For dessert, I came up with this delicious protein smoothie recipe using pudding! I couldn’t wait to try this and it completely lived up to my expectations. Lately, I’ve been dying for a healthy recipe that will satisfy my chocolate cravings, and I think I finally found it! The calories aren’t the best, but the huge amount of protein makes up for it (especially for how tasty it is!).

Chocolate Pudding Protein Shake (inspired by Katie Moves’ recipe)

(Recipe by Miranda Mowbray, Biting Life)

Ingredients:

1 package instant sugar-free Jello chocolate pudding

2 1/2 cups fat-free milk

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Directions:

Prepare pudding according to package directions with 2 cups of milk.

Let pudding sit in fridge for a few hours.

Blend about 3/4 of the pudding, 1/2 cup milk, and protein powder together. Texture should be thick.

Enjoy!

(1 shake = 345 calories, 39g protein)

Healthy Goals Checklist

1. At least 100g of protein. No check. Almost, though… I got 92.5 today.
2. At least 4 servings fruits/veggies. Check! I got 4 servings today.
3. No more than one treat. Check! I had the chocolate pudding protein shake, although not sure if that’s totally a dessert, even though it tastes like one. I’m torn because the calories are only from the milk and the protein powder (the pudding mix only contributed 70 calories to the total). What do you think, is it a dessert or just a healthy snack?
4. Exercise and/or stretch. Check! I stretched before bed. Gotta get on that exercising this weekend! My tummy was just not up to it today, still.