Tag: High Protein

Ranch Seasoning Mix/Ranch Chicken Salad
Recipes

Ranch Seasoning Mix/Ranch Chicken Salad

Sarah

We eat salad greens topped with chicken salad quite often for lunches. It is an easy lunch, so I can add whatever I want to it. Usually, I mix canned chicken with Greek yogurt and use that as the “salad dressing” for the greens. I decided the yogurt needed more flavor, and this easy, dry mix quickly pulled together. Just enough to remind you of ranch dressing without the negatives. While one can buy ranch dressing mix at most stores, the ingredients are not your friend.

Hidden Valley dry mix:

Maltodextrin, buttermilk, salt, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, dried garlic, dried onion, spices, citric acid, less than 1% of: calcium stearate, artificial flavor, xanthan gum, carboxymethylcellulose, guar gum, natural flavor (milk, soy)

You can skip the maltodextrin, MSG, lactic acid, citric acid, calcium stearate, artificial flavor, xantham gum, carboxymethylcellulose, guar gum, and natural flavor (milk, soy). You don’t need the dried buttermilk (which is fine) because you don’t need it if using Greek yogurt. The fewer ingredients you use that are heavily processed, so much the better. For you, your GO tract, and your health.

Pulling the herbs together.

Ranch Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried chives
  • 1 tsp dried dill weed
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp granulated onion
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients, add to a blender, and process until finely powdered.

Store in a sealed jar, such as a 4-ounce mason jar.

Makes 3 portions of about 1½ tsp each.

Powdered seasoning mix.

Ranch Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1½ tsp dry ranch seasoning mix
  • 12-ounce can of chicken breast, drained
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt*

Directions:

Break the chicken up with a fork, then mix the seasoning and Greek yogurt in. Cover and chill for an hour for the best taste.

Use up within 2 days.

Serves 2.

*When buying Greek yogurt, read the ingredient list. It should only contain dairy and live cultures. Avoid those with pectin, gelatin, or gums added.

~Sarah

Smoked Salmon Egg Bites
Recipes

Smoked Salmon Egg Bites

Sarah

Expanding on the daily high-protein/low-carb egg bites I make for Kirk to grab when he is ready to break his fast, this time, I used smoked salmon for the protein. It turns out our 12-year-old son loves these. I cannot keep him out of them. No complaints about that; he needs the protein for growth.

Be wary when you buy smoked salmon, as every type but one has added sugar (be it sugar or honey), and the amount of added sugar is very high. Any smoked fish, including smoked trout, would work. Aim for 4 to 6 ounces of fish. But do read the ingredient list before you buy.

There are about 9 grams of protein per bite. Kirk is supposed to eat 6 of these as a serving, but that is a LOT of food. The boy and I eat 2 and are pretty satisfied.

Whether for breakfast, lunch or even as a protein snack, they can be eaten cold or warmed up for a minute in the microwave.

Smoked Salmon Egg Bites

Ingredients:

  • 10 large eggs
  • 1 cup egg whites
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ tsp granulated garlic
  • 4-6 ounces smoked salmon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a 12-count muffin tin with parchment paper liners.

Whisk the eggs and egg whites well in a mixing bowl, then add salt and garlic.

Remove any skin from the salmon, discard, and then evenly break the salmon up between the tins.

Pour the egg mixture over the salmon, gently rapping the muffin tin to settle the eggs.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove, let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Once cooled, transfer to a glass storage container and keep chilled.

Reheat for a minute or so to warm up.

Makes 12 egg bites.

~Sarah

Protein Mini Cheesecakes
Recipes

Protein Mini Cheesecakes

Sarah

These protein-rich mini cheesecakes will help keep you full and satisfy a craving for dessert. It also works as a breakfast choice when you crave something creamy.

I used Choc Zero’s sugar-free maple syrup. Not only does it have no sugar added (it uses pure monk fruit sweetener), it is an excellent source of fiber, with 16 grams of it per serving.

Protein Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

  •  2 cups 4% cottage cheese
  • 5.3-ounce 5% unsweetened plain Greek yogurt*
  • ¼ cup sugar-free maple syrup
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, and place four 8-ounce ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.

Place all ingredients, except for blueberries, in a blender. Process until smooth.

Divide equally between the four ramekins. I found it was about ¾ cup per ramekin.

Divide the blueberries between the bowls and gently stir in.

Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until just starting to turn golden and pulling back from the side of the ramekin.

Let cool on a rack, then chill in the refrigerator.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional stats per serving:

236 calories / 9 grams fat / 16.5 grams protein / 16 grams fiber / 8 grams sugar* / 28 grams carbohydrate

Notes:

For best results, use Greek yogurt that has no thickeners added. Fage is usually a good choice for a brand. Thickeners can break down in the baking and not work as well.

Use only fresh berries, not frozen, as they produce too much water while baking. You can leave the berries out if you wish. I had picked a big basket an hour before I got cooking, and the eggs, laid last night by my hens. Summer can be a good time on the homestead.

You can use real maple syrup; I did this for our sugar-free goals.

The sugar in the nutritional stats naturally occurs in dairy and blueberries. There is no additional added sugar.

~Sarah