210 Calorie Breakast Smoothie

My friend Karry told me about how she can't ever seem to get enough calories in during the morning, so that her metabolism stays on the run all day. A common enough woe in dieting. I make these smoothies in the morning and drink them on my way to work. That way, I've got a bunch of calories in me for my body to get working on, and I don't have to make extra time in my morning to sit down an eat breakfast.

Strawberry-Banana-Beach Smoothie

Ingredients

1 small-medium banana
1 80 calorie yogurt
1 cup frozen peaches
water

Necessities

Blender


Break banana into 1 or 2 inch pieces. Place in blender. Empty yogurt container into blender. Fill yogurt container with water once, swirl around to get yogurt stuck to the side of container and dump water and yogurt mixture into the blender. Put 1 cup frozen peaches into blender. Blend until smooth - put into cup. Best drank with a straw.

Calories 210, carbs 48g, fat 0g, protein 6g.

Suggestions

Wal-mart brand yogurt works great for these smoothies - but doesn't taste very good on its own. So if you plan on eating yogurts other than putting them in these smoothies, I would go with the Dannon brand, their light yogurts have 80 calories rather than YoPlait - who's lite yogurts have 100 calories.

Can't Live Without Guacamole?

I will admit, the peas idea is not original. I saw it in another diet cookbook once upon a time, and thought - what a fabulous idea for lower cal guac! But I wasn't the hugest fan of the outcome - so several tinkerings later, here is my version.

Guacamole

Ingredients
One 9 or 10 oz package steamable frozen baby sweet peas
1/2 cup avocado (about 1 medium-small avocado's worth), mashed
1/3 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsps fat-free sour cream
1 tbsp fresh lime juice (approx juice of 1 medium lime)
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Necessities
Potato masher
Bowl
Cling wrap

Cook peas according to directions. Let cool, draing, place in bowl & mash with potato masher. Add the avocado, lime juice, hot sauce & seasonings & continue to mash. When thoroughly blended, stire in sour cream. Stir in tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Add additional salt & pepper if you like. Cover tightly & refrigerate 20-30 mins to let flavors deepend.

For entire recipe calories 320, carbs 56g, fat 8g, protein 16g. I usually divide into 4 servings - whichs leaves you PER SERVING - calories 80, carbs 14g, fat 2g, protein 4g

Suggestions

You may want to up or down the amount of hot sauce, depending on your preference. I usually use Franks Red Hot, although I am also a fan of the chipotle version of Tabasco sauce.

Can't Live Without Quesadillas?

One of my favorite foods ever is a good quesadilla. And what makes me most unhappy about dieting is having to give up my favorite foods. So when I find a way that I can turn one of my favorite foods into an under 300 calorie meal, it's a good day.

Plain cheese quesadillas

Ingredients
2 - 80 calorie whole grain wraps
3/4 cups fat free shredded cheese (any kind, mozzerella, cheddar, etc.)

Necessities
Non stick frying pan

Bring frying pan to med - high heat, place wrap on pan. Heat one side for 20-25 seconds, flip. Spread half of cheese on one half of tortilla. Fold tortilla in half over cheese spread. Heat for 30-45 second on each side. Repeat with second quesadilla and other half of cheese mixture. If you don't have a good non-stick pan, you may wish to use some light cooking spray on any other pan.

Calories 295, carbs 42g, fat 6g, protein 43g.

Suggestions

I would get La Tortilla's Smart & Delicious Low Carb wraps. They are multi grain, but taste much better than some of the whole wheat 80 calorie alternatives. Plus, I find they're easier to fold, less cardboard-like than some of the alternatives. They're easy to find at any Hannaford or Price Chopper - but I usually can't find them at Walmart.

I usually get 2 varieties of shredded cheese to make a blend of cheese for my quesadilla, b/c I haven't been able to find the "mexican" or "fiesta" blends in fat free options.

Alternatives & Add Ons

For not a lot of extra calories - you can add things to this meal. I usually add some salsa - I get Newman's Mango Tango - 20 calories per serving, no fat calories!

- 2 oz shredded (baked or grilled) chicken, 1 oz per quesadilla = 62 calories
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes = 20 calories
- 1/2 cup chopped onions = 30 calories
- 2 tbsp salsa = 20 calories
- 2 tbsp guacamole = 45 calories