beef paprika

As part of my high-protein experiment, I made beef paprika today based on a recipe I found online.  Although it takes a while to simmer, the actual prep is really easy.  The taste is good: a sweetness that reminds me of BBQ, but with the genuineness of a hardy goulash.

stuffed chicken breast

A body is like a long-term science experiment.  We can change it for the better, or completely f it up.  So, in an effort to motivate myself to eat better, I started using my calorie tracker again (it's free and gives you a really detailed analysis of your food intake).  Well, among a lot of mistakes I'm making is my lack of protein, which I need to complement my beachbody workout for this summer.

Anyway, all of this led me to try out a some high-protein recipes.  This recipe for cheese and spinach stuffed chicken breast was really good and pretty easy. 

I deviated from the recipe a little.  First of all, I used feta cheese instead of pepper Jack because I like it better and that's what I had in the fridge.  Secondly, I didn't roll it, but bunched it up and wrapped the bacon around the edges.  I pressed them a little flat to look like steaks or pork wheels.  I'm not a big garlic fan, so I left that out, but added some butter ontop before baking.  Made it with rice and salad with honey mustard vinaigrette.

honey mustard vinaigrette

When weeks are long and busy, you have to make sure there are things to look forward to.  For example, every week we have TNBLTC (Tuesday night bacon-lettuce-tomato club) after classes.  Health-conscious as we are, however, we decided to switch it up with hot dogs one week.  Now, something that actually has to do with this recipe, is that from hot dog night we had some honey mustard left over and I decided to try it out as salad dressing.

Most recipes tell you to use honey and mustard, but pre-made honey mustard is almost better (but let's not get into processed foods...).  As usual, I didn't measure, but if I had to pull some numbers out of my... imagination, I would say: 1-2 tablespoons prepared honey mustard, 2-3 tablespoons (olive) oil, 1-2 tablespoons (apple cider) vinegar, and a good amount of salt and pepper.  It's strong, but if it turns out too sour for your liking, add a teaspoon or so of water.

For the salad itself, you can go wild.  I really like it with chopped up apples and strawberries.  Tip: I always add a little lemon juice to cut apples to keep them from turning brown and because I like the flavor.  In the picture I also sliced up a hot dog (a Leitmotiv, one might say).  You could use any protein, really.  Ham, pepperoni, garbanzo beans*, chicken breast...

* Did you know garbanzo beans are the same as chickpeas?  I didn't.  Also, one cup covers 25% of your daily protein.