I wore my way-too-cute new sweater dress and boots to my sister's baby shower this weekend. Can't tell you how much fun I had shopping. I never even made it to the mall but I tried on dozens of outfits which--believe it or not--is a really new expereinces. In the past, if I needed a dress for something, I had two options: Lane Bryant and CJ Banks. If I was lucky, each store would have one dress and a couple of skirts. If I didn't like them, I was out of luck.

After the shower, my sister and I went shopping for a bit after and then I met some friends for a glass of wine. What a great way to spend a Sunday.

Pam's Chai Recipe

At a bariatric group meeting last week, a couple of people asked about protein drink otptions. My first thought was Pam's protein chai recipe. It is a staple in my diet. I have it (or Click, a espresso protein shake) every morning. The recipe is found on Pam's blog (http://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2009/02/protein-hot-chai-mix.html). Pam has great recipes and wonderful nutrician information, so check out her site! But, for convenience, I'll paste the recipe here, too.

Pam T's Protein Hot Chai Mix

6 scoops vanilla protein powder
1.5 cups non-fat powdered milk
3/4 cup instant unsweet tea mix
3/4 cup Splenda
1T. chai spice mix (or use half cinnamon and half ground ginger)
1t. ground cloves
1t. cardamon (original recipe calls for this, but I don't have any, so skipped it)

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl until well blended. Add 1/2 cup of mixture to mug and add either splash of cold milk or water -- stir to create smooth paste (so you don't get lumpy protein powder). Add 8oz hot water and mix well. You can top with Light Redi Whip and a sprinkle of chai spice or drink it naked. (The drink is naked, not you.)

Recipe makes 7 half-cup servings. Calculation below is without the "splash of milk" when you're mixing the tea. If you use RediWhip -- it adds about 20 calories.


Calories: 146
Fat: 1g
Carbs: 9g
Protein: 27g

Calorie Increase

For the past couple of weeks, I've been eating a bit more each day. For the most part, I've been making good choices, just more of them. In fact, I've had several 1200-1400 calorie days despite my plan to eat around 850 calories. The weight has continued to come off but I've felt guilty about not sticking to my guidelines. Then, I realized, I can change my guidelines. So, as of today, I am upping my calories to 1000/day and readjusting my balance of carbs, proteins, and fats to 40%/40%/20%.

Here is what I'm eating today:

Breakfast: Click (a double espresso protein shake--Yummy!)
Snack: mini Luna bar (granola bar)
Lunch: Greek yogurt with granola
Snack: minestrone Soup
Dinner: pork chop, wild rice, asparagus, cranberries
Snack: reduced fat Wheat Thins