Tag Archives: high protein

Steak Penne pasta with homemade tomato sauce

As I’ve been developing my cooking skills i have been wanting to try new techniques for prep and presesentation. For this dish i will be making full use of fresh tomatoes from start to finish. This is a fun twist to a simple penne pasta.

For this dish you will need the following:

3 petite sirloin steaks

4 large red tomatoes

1 box penne pasta (Alternatively you can use protein penne if available for extra protein)

Assorted seasonings of choice ( for this i used garlic powder, black pepper, basil, mrs dash salt free table blend, steak seasoning, italian seasoning and onion powder)

2 cups heavy whippng cream

1/4 stick of butter

First we will want to place our pot onto the stove with water and cut the bottoms of our tomatoes in an x shape and place into the water. Boil these for 60 seconds. This wi blanche the tomatoes making them easy to work with. Once blanched pour over cool water to stop the internal cooking and drain. Once drained, peel the tomatoes and retain the skins for later. Once peeled place into a blender and blend into a tomato juice.

Next we will place our pasta into water and cook until al dente and drain. While we are waiting for the pasta to cook, we can work on prepping our steak for cooking with our seasonings.  Once the pasta is done we can get to work on our steak. Cook and butter baste to your desired level of pink (or lack thereof if well done). For cooking the steak i utilized a family size forman grill to drain extra fat and once the steaks are done we can put our tomatoe skils in to char a little for presentation.

Once the steak is cooked,  cut it into small bite sized pieces and mix into the pasta. Afterward, heat your heavy whipping cream and add your tomato puree and stir in garlic and onion powder, itallialn seasoning, basil and pepper to add more flavor. Stir until color changes and to desired taste. Pour the sauce into the pasta and heat on a low simmer stirring the pot to blend it all together. Place onto a place and add some of the charred tomato skins and serve!

And there you have it, a simple flavorful dish using all of a tomato. This was a very good dish that has a lot of versatility to it in terms of how to make the sauce and pasta options. Until the next time dear readers. Excelsior!

Working on my presentation more

Simple Mason Jar Protein Ice Cream

Sometimes, you just want ice cream without the guilt or the sugar crash. That’s where this vanilla protein ice cream comes in. It’s creamy, sweet, and tastes like a real treat, but it’s made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Plus, it’s packed with protein, so it can double as a post-workout snack or late-night dessert that won’t derail your fitness goals. This ice cream is also very easy to make in 30 minutes. All that will be needed to make this is a simple mason jar.

For a simple single-serving batch you will need the following:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 cup heavy whippng cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1–2 tablespoons sugar substitute (like stevia adjust to taste)

1 pinch of pink Himalayan salt (balances flavor)

Let’s get to the fun part

1. Combine all ingredients into an 8 ox mason jar

2. Close and shake the jar for up to 5 minutes to mix (try not to over mix)

3. Freeze for 30 minutes (don’t freeze it too long as it could damage the jar)

4. Renove from the freezer and serve with your favorite toppings or straight from the container.

I ate the whole thing. Zero regrets

The best part about this treat is that you can customize your toppings (or protein powder if you want something like chocolate or strawberry). This is a beginner friendly recipe that can be enjoyed the same day. Until the next time dear readers. Excelsior!

Guilt Free Protein Muffins

When it comes to desserts, nothing is more satisfying than a good old-fashioned muffin. They are easy, quick, and tasty, but with the amount of sugar that can come in most muffins, it prompted me to see how i can make them less sugary and equally tasty.

For this recipe you will need the following: 3/4 sugar free sweetener,1 1/2 cup flour (or almond flour), 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2/3 cup almond milk, 2/3 cup olive oil, 1 cup of frozen fruit of your choice, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 3 cups of protein powder of your choice (i used the aldi brand which has 30 g of protein per scoop), and lastly avocado oil spray to lubricate the muffin tray with optional muffin cups.

While preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, take your dry ingredients and whisk together in a bowl and set aside. Next, combine all dry ingredients and pour over top of the dry ingredients and fold in the fruit as you stir into a batter. Once all the ingredients are together pour evenly into the muffin tray (my muffin tray made about 6 large muffins so can be spread out over at least 12 smaller muffins if you have a higher capacity tray). Once all the batter is in the tray, place the muffins into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until you can put in a toothpick and remove it from the muffin cleanly.

I left in in a little longer than anticipated, but it was still amazing.

These muffins were so delicious, and I didn’t feel guilty eating a single one. With the sugar free sweetener and protein powder this made it into a nice staple for a post workout treat with 15 grams of protein per serving (for large muffin tray at 30 grams of protein per scoop with the protein i used. Your protein might vary depending on the powder used). These can last up to about a week and, of course, can be frozen for later. Until the next time, dear readers excelsior!

Shepherds pie

5 simplest recipes are the best. This time, I tried my hand at a dish I tried a while back that absolutely blew my mind. I also added my own twist on this recipe to make it even more macro friendly with some liberties I took with a few substitutions and additions as I went along.

For this recipe variant I used the following: 3 large peeled and quartered potatoes, 1 stick of butter (salted /unsalted), 1 medium onion chopped, 1 to 2 cups mixed vegetables, 1/2 cup broccoli chopped, 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (i utilized 93% lean 7% fat in this instance), 1 teaspoon of Worcester sauce (Alternatively A1 steak sauce works surprisingly well as a substitute), 1/2 cup of beef broth (alternately i used beef bone broth) , and any seasonings of your choice.

First peel the potatoes and place them into a pot to boil until fork tender for about 20 minutes

While the potatoes cook sautee all the vegetables together until tender in a skillet over medium heat.

For the next step, cook the ground beef and proceed to drain any fat and add to the vegetables and simmer with the seasonings, broth, and worcester sauce for 10 minutes covered up.

Once the potatoes are done, cut up the potatoes and add the butter and sprinkle with garlic powder (optional) and mash until it is all the way mashed up.

After mashing the potatoes, put the meat into an oven safe container and spread the potatoes over the tip and spread it out, and score with a fork if desired.

After scoring the potatoes place in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until browned.

Once out of the oven feel free ro garnish with an optional green onion garnish and serve and enjoy.

This dish was so good I made it twice in the same two weeks. It makes for an excellent prepped meal through the week and a great comfort meal. The addition of bone broth and the broccoli in this version adds some extra macros to the mix. Until the next time dear readers, excelsior!

Buffalo chicken burritos

In the last few months, I have been on a low calorie high protein kick. There are several recipes I’ve come up with and seen that were absolutely mind-blowing. The latest recipe I came across was surprisingly filling and loaded with protein to meet my macros and was quite flavorful. That recipe would be buffalo chicken burritos. Bonus here. This is also a fun recipe one can make in a crock pot.

To start, you will need the following: 60 oz of chicken breast (about 4 large pieces), 2 cups of low or zero fat cream cheese, 4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese, 3 cups chicken Bone broth, 1/2 cup low calorie buffalo sauce  (I prefer franks red hot because it’s just that good so i cheated a little here, 1 1/2 cups white or jasmine rice ,2 cups of fat free cheddar cheese,10 low calorie tortillas (i used low cal high fiber wraps) and for seasoning I recommend a packet of ranch seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, tumeric, cumin, and a little salt free mrs. Dash seasoning.

First, mix in all the seasonings into the chicken until the color changes. Second, slow cook the chicken on high for about 3 hours or until it reaches recommended serving temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit

Might not look tasty yet but  it smells delightful

While the chicken is cooking, cook the rice in the bone broth to allow it to soak in for extra protein. While that is boiling, take your cottage cheese, cream cheese, and buffalo sauce and mix it in a mixer/blender until it has combined smoothly into a creamy sauce.

We’re getting there little by little

Once the meat is done, sprinkle the cheese and pour the sauce over top and give it a good mixing. Once mixed, prepare your tortilla with 1/10th of the meat and rice and evenly wrap the burritos until all the ingredients are gone. Once completed, these are ready for serving or can be wrapped in foil to store for up to 60 days to enjoy for a quick meal.

Ready for assembly

This was an excellent meal prep that kept me full and was really easy to make. I hope this recipe makes for a wonderful meal prep or family meal for anyone reading this. Until the next time, dear readers, excelsior!

My burrito wrapping skills could use a little more work