August 19, 2012

Breakfast
Protein Flakes
serves 2 ~ $1.22 per serving
3 ripe bananas ($.45)
2 cups strawberries ($1.29)
4 tablespoons nutiva hemp protein powder ($.60)
1/2 cup buckwheat, soaked for 2 hours and rinsed well ($.10)
I
have three product reviews that I’m going to cover in this post. Because
my calorie intake is generally at the lower end, I can also come up
slightly low in protein. The RDA for protein is about 50 gr per day; I
was regularly getting about 20 – 25 gr per day. So, I was really pleased
when I had the chance to try three different products … all of which
I’m going use in the recipes today.
These
flakes started out as crepes that I left in the dehydrator too long.
They were pretty crispy and made great “cereal” type flakes.
I’m a long time fan of Nutiva, and have used their coconut oil for many years. The Nutiva Hemp Protein Powder
has its own light and nutty taste which adds additional flavor
dimension to these flakes, and any other recipe. The Nutiva Hemp Protein
is just slightly grainy, but that actually worked well here and in some
other recipes. The nutritional information for this product comes out
to 120 calories per serving, with 11 grams of protein for a cost of
about $.60 per serving.
I
personally like this product so much I now get it in their 3 lb bulk
packages … This works out really well, with very little packaging
(excess packaging is one of my pet peeves) and the product is
exceptionally fresh. I open the package right away, transfer the powder
to quart canning jars and store in the freezer until needed.
To
make the flakes, in a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, puree
all ingredients until smooth. Spread out on dehydrator trays (teflex
works best for these) and dehydrate at about 115 degrees for about an
hour. Peel from the teflex sheet and flip onto regular dehydrator tray
and continue drying for several hours or overnight. Break apart and
serve with your favorite nut milk.
 

calories: 337
fat: 12 gr
carbs: 67 gr
protein: 12 gr
Lunch
Best Chocolate Shake
serves 1 ~ $1.70 per serving
 1 banana, sliced and frozen ($.15)
1 cup almond milk ($.30)
1 scoop Raw Protein Powder ($1.05)
1 tablespoon cacao or cocoa powder ($.20)
pinch salt
is
made from organic, sprouted brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat,
garbano bean and other sprouts, including sunflower seed sprouts.
So, the bad news is, I’m allergic to sunflower seeds and couldn’t try out the organic raw vegan Raw Protein Powder from Garden of Life.  
The
good news is, my taste testers have informed me this was the “best
chocolate shake ever.” The Raw Protein is very fine and has almost no
flavor or grittiness. It mixes into recipes like this one without
changing the taste or texture much.
The Raw Protein Powder is about  $1.05 per serving which contains 18 gram protein and has 80 calories per serving.
In a blender, puree all ingredients until very smooth and creamy.
.
calories: 315
fat: 5 gr
carbs: 42 gr
protein: 22 gr
Dinner
Tomato Raw Protein Soup
serves 2 ~  $1.35 per serving
4 ripe tomatoes ($2.00)
4 leaves kale or chard ($.20)
2 tablespoon olive oil ($.20)
2 carrots ($.10)
2 stalks celery ($.20)
 medium onion
3 tablespoons nutiva hemp seeds ($1.05)
2 teaspoons flavored oil for drizzling ($.10)
I
initially made some tomato soup with the Nutiva Hemp Protein powder. It
was pretty good but maybe just slightly gritty and the flavors didn’t
mesh well, so I made another soup with some hemp seeds on top. The nutty
flavor of the seeds goes really well with the creamy tomato soup. 
Nutiva’s Hemp Seeds are about $1.05 per serving with 11 grams of protein and 110 calories.
Set aside one tomato, half the
onion, and the hemp seeds. In a blender, puree all the rest of the
ingredients until smooth and creamy. Top with chopped tomatoes, onion,
hemp seeds, and a drizzle of flavored oil (see how-to below).
 ..
To
make a flavored oil, simply add the spices of your choice to some olive
oil and let sit to absorb the flavors for a few days. I like it pretty
intense, so I use about three tablespoons spices per every cup of olive
oil, but adjust this to your liking. And experiment … like most raw
food projects, it’s almost impossible to really mess this up.
Once the flavor has developed to your liking, strain the oil and put in a container and use within two weeks.
 
calories: 443
fat: 37 gr
carbs: 27 gr
protein: 9 gr
Dessert
Melon with Cream
serves 2 ~ $2.00 per serving
1 ripe cantaloupe ($2.00)
2 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen ($.30) 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
3 tablespoons nutiva hemp seeds ($1.05)
1 cup strawberries, sliced ($.65)

Open the cantaloupe and gently scrape out the seed cavity. In a
food processor fitted with an “S” blade, process the frozen bananas and
vanilla until smooth. If you like the hemp seeds more processed, add
them now. I waited and added them once the bananas were almost smooth.

The mix will be like soft serve ice cream and can be divided between the cantaloupe halves and topped with sliced strawberries.
 

calories: 221
fat: 10 gr
carbs:  50 gr
protein: 7 gr

Total cost for the day: $6.27
total calories: 1,316
total fat: 64 gr

total carb: 188 gr
total protein: 50 gr

Products used:


Nutiva Hemp Protein Poweder
Nutiva Hemp Seeds
and
Raw Protein from Garden of Life


1 Response

  1. Anonymous says:

    that melon with cream looks just divine! YUM!