Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream

Ice cream: I like it, but I can really take it or leave it.   The only time I tend to over indulge in it is during the summer months, on a hot night...when I want a little something sweet to eat.  I've never been one of those people who keep a carton of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer all year round...I'd much rather have a box of chocolate chip cookies or red velvet cupcakes. Now that Memorial Day is a just few weeks away I know I'll be craving something cold and sweet on those hot summer nights.  So, I  experimented with some of my favorite ingredients (spinach, banana, almond milk, dark chocolate) to come up with a relatively healthy alternative to one of my favorite ice cream flavors: mint chocolate chip.

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There's just something about kale

I love veggies!  I love them so much that I have something green at almost every meal...including breakfast.  In fact, my favorite breakfast veggie is kale. Every single morning, I have my homemade turkey sausage, black eyed peas, and some kale.  It is the absolute BEST way to start my mornings.  There's just something about the hearty, leafy-ness of it...it's so filling and delicious. Even though kale is a winter vegetable, you can buy it in the stores all year round.  You can sautee it, braise it, and bake it in the oven to make kale chips, but my favorite way to cook it is by quickly boiling it on the stove with some onions, garlic, and chicken broth.  Once you cook your kale,  enjoy it as a side dish, mix it with proteins like ground beef, chicken, and turkey or grains like quinoa and barley.  There's NO END to the magic you can create a bunch of kale...

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Herb Roasted Chicken Wings with Tzatziki Sauce

Chicken isn't my favorite protein (especially the breast), but I absolutely LOVE chicken wings, especially when they're fried and/or covered in buffalo wing sauce.  Who doesn't, right?  The problem is that deep fried buffalo wings dipped in ranch or blue cheese dressing, aren't the healthiest things you can eat and most of us like to eat more than our fair share.  I've been known to eat about 15 to 20 wings in one sitting when left to my own devices, but I'm digressing. You'll be happy to know that you don't have to give up wings completely if you're trying to make the switch to a cleaner, healthier way of eating.  In fact, I'm about 6 weeks away from my first Figure competition of the season and I made this recipe as a "clean cheat" over the weekend and it was ridiculously amazing...it almost made me forget about deep fried wings.  Besides being a quick and tasty recipe, you don't have to worry about your house smelling like fried chicken for 2 days (which is always a plus).

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Sauteed garlic shrimp with basil and red hot chilies

 A few weeks ago, I heard about The Flavor Bible immediately knew that I had to have it!  At first, it was a bit overwhelming because it is a treasure trove of flavor combinations.  I didn't even know where to start, so I actually had to put the book down for a few days.

Then, when I had some free time, I immersed myself into it completely and was inspired by the flavor combination of shrimp, basil, garlic, and chilies.  This combination of ingredients is used A LOT, so I realize that this is not a unique recipe.  I was just excited that I was able to whip up a semi-gourmet meal in just a few minutes.

[yumprint-recipe id='7']This was so unbelievably quick to make and so delicious that I scarfed it down in record time.  I started cooking at 8:15 and I was finished eating at 8:30!!

Happy eating!!

[signature]Melissa[/signature]