A Gift to Myself

Spring is around the corner! 6 days to go and boy am I yearning for it! We barely got snow this Winter and I know the temps didn't dip nearly as cold as last year, pero el mono chiflo more than once! I tell you that I have been making a variation of my bean stew at least once per week! Thankfully, it seems like the worst is over. We've had relatively warm days this past week, even hitting the 70s on Monday.  I know I have an extra Spring (pun totally intended) to my step!

I decided when I began my weight loss journey to give myself little goals and reward myself once I reached them. In the past, if I had a goal to lose weight, the prize would be food of some sort.  It's sounds absolutely crazy to me now, but even nine months ago I rewarded a hike with ice-cream. I've rewired this old noodle and I gift myself in other ways. I've rewarded myself with a pixie haircut once my face had thinned out. I've also bought some jewelry & good make-up and excellent bath & body products to show myself some love!  On the day of surgery, I told Mi Gringito that once I reached my goal of getting to under 200 pounds, I'd go for something substantial.  It was between a handbag, a pair of aviator sunglasses or a pair of shoes.

I can happily announced that I met my goal last month!

So what to choose? I own at least a dozen handbags, mostly all COACH. I have two perfectly good pairs of sunglasses, COACH and Ray Ban.  Shoes? Well, since I got a new job and am back in school, I had been in the market for a pair I could wear all day and hope to not have blisters or achy feet. It was decided and I began the shoe hunt.  My work uniform is a black top and blue jeans, so I wanted something that could stand out -- I was searching for something with some color, style and of course, comfort.  I got these:

Yes, I'm very loyal to my brands so I did not hesitate when these came on sale.  I've had them for two days and have not taken them off, except to shower and sleep.  They have a great fit and my feet don't hurt in them.  The true test will be at work this weekend, though.

You know what's another test? Making sure I get all my water and protein in by the end of the day. It seems like its a full-time job. I have to get a minimum of 48oz of water and 60g of protein. I have no problem with the liquid - since decaffeinated coffee counts as a liquid, I'm drinking the stuff almost exclusively.  Yes, I said decaf.  I haven't had anything caffeinated since October.  I'm a much calmer person and sleep like a baby, but I digress...

Protein is a bit harder to get.  In the beginning, I used to drink a protein shake daily which would give me 42g in a serving.  I soon got very disgusted with it and just shudder when I even think about it.  Pero que pasa? I forgot to inform La Suegra that protein shakes saben a rayo to me and she bought me an entire case the day after I completely swore them off. They have sat there now for over three months and I feel so bad.  I decided I needed to do something with them and came up with a recipe.  I figured that if the recipe came out decent, I'd be able to use up the shakes and get some protein in; if it came out bad, no one was drinking the shakes anyway so it wasn't a total loss.

D's Cake Batter Protein Pops
Ingredients:
1 17oz container of Myoplex French Vanilla Protein Shake (or any other pre-made protein shake)
1 box of Sugar-Free Butterscotch Instant Pudding

Directions

• Pour protein shake into a large mixing bowl

• Add instant pudding

• With an electric hand mixer, mix on Low for approximately 2 minutes or until well blended

• Pour mix into ice-cube trays and place in freezer until set (about 2 hours)

• Pop them out and keep in a freezer bag for storage

Makes approximately 24-28 depending how much you fill the trays. I tell you, as I mixed this it gave out an aroma like vanilla cake batter and I hoped it would taste like that once they were done...Yep! I don't know about you, but I used to love to lick the bowl clean when I was younger so this is an awesome treat for me. The nutritional stats will depend on how many pops you end up with.  This batch yielded 27 pops which came out to 15 cal and 1.5g of protein each. I also think you can also play with other flavors of pudding, but bear in mind that the vanilla flavor is very strong in this protein shake so you will always have it lingering.

I can't wait until the pretty flowers of Spring start popping everywhere! How about you? Did you feel Winter's sadness and welcome the joy of Spring?

Hasta la proxima!