Maple-Pumpkin Cheesecake Protein "Milkshake"----CHEERS to the NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  Right now, here in Indy it is about 6:30pm.  So, just a few more hours and we will be ringing in the new year!!!  If I am to be honest...it's more than likely that I will be well into the REM cycle by then!!  I am not much of a party girl, I don't really drink much at all (like, by that I mean I'm under ten drinks---in my LIFE), I am still nursing my knee back to health so I walk REALLY funny, and I am super sleepy because my 17 1/2 year old shih tzu poodle decided to start yapping at 2:30am wanting to go out...& after that I couldn't get back to sleep.  Sigh (rubbing eyes...).  LOL.

I have been thinking a lot today and pondering if I will make any resolutions.  For the past few years I have just done general, non specific resolutions like "take care of myself".  Today, I have noticed that many of my friends on my FB page are putting up lots of positive status' and it has inspired me to make that my resolution.  I tend to be a bit negative or pessimistic at times and about certain things in life, even as a person who is known for being more of a positive person (does that even make sense?!?!).  I think a better way of saying it is that I am easily able to be positive for and about other people, but I am more likely to be negative about myself and the stuff that happens in my life.  Well, going into 2012...I resolve to be more uplifting, positive, happy, thankful, and joyful about ME, MYSELF, and I.  I resolve to turn negativity into positivity about myself, my day to day life, and ALL that it includes & I resolve to be genuine about those feelings!  I am excited to see what 2012 brings for my life.  I know it will bring me the Master's degree I am working on (THANK GOD FOR THAT) and I hope it will bring me continued success in taking care of myself, mentally, physically, and emotionally.  As always, I am a never-ending work in progress.  :-) 

So, what are your resolutions folks?  I'd love to hear from you!!!

As I have been sitting at home today relaxing and resting my knee (boy, was it upset with me after I went to Wal-mart earlier....that walking made it swell up HUGE!  But, were okay now...I've been icing it and giving it a rest the last few hours!!) I took the time to watch the documentary Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead.  It is eye-opening and nothing short of AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, & INSPIRING...to say the least.  If you have not watched it, I encourage you to do so...ASAP.  As a person who used to weigh 412 pounds I know the pain, physically, emotionally, and mentally, that comes with being a morbidly obese person.  So, when I saw Phil appear in the documentary, I related to his pain.  It's not a good place to be.  When I saw him RUNNING at the end of the documentary, wearing a 2x shirt (down from 6x), having lost 202 lbs...down from 429lbs to 227lbs in TEN months... I SMILED OUT LOUD!  So inspirational and touching!  This documentary is seriously a MUST SEE!  I see myself watching it again...just to really absorb it.  I have already been thinking of investing in a juicer machine after stumbling across a few blogs about juicing over the past few days...now, I am REALLY considering buying one and doing a juice fast.  There seem to be ASTOUNDINGLY GREAT benefits from juicing.  I need to ponder and pray on it a while longer and educate myself more about it so I can make sure it's right for me (also need to talk to my doc and dietitian about it!).

So, any hoo...moving right along.  I did buy myself a new blender today...my old one was shot.  I am trying to get back to having a protein shake everyday so that I know my body is getting plenty of protein.  Lately, I have been using the "milkshake" method that I learned from the www.dashingdish.com website.  It is AWESOME because I feel like I am actually eating something rather than just drinking it.  Since eating is something that I turn to to ease my anxiety (I am NOT saying this as a good thing---b/c it's not, but this is part of my struggle with emotional eating--working on it) this is a great new discovery for me!  The only downfall to it right now...is that...baby, it's cold outside!  My bones ache for something warm to be taken in to warm me from the inside out when it's cold outside.  This "milkshake" protein method definitely provides the exact opposite of that.  BUT, have no fears...once I finish this awesome shake I am about to share with you, I plan on have a nice warm cup of diet hot cocoa to offset it and warm my bones right up!!  WIN!!  :-)

So, here's the shake.  I didn't have a recipe for this prior to making it...part of how I get down in the kitchen is just experimenting and rolling with it and seeing how things turn out.  This is shake is no different!

Ingredients:
2-3 heaping cups of ice (or 1-1/2 trays)  NOTE:  the more ice, the thicker your shake!!
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup fiber one cottage cheese (or whatever kind you prefer)
1 tblsp sugar free cheesecake pudding powder
1 cup water
1/8 cup Libby's pumpkin
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or whatever kind your prefer)
1/2 cap full (a few drops) of maple extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
3-6 packets of sweetener (whatever kind your prefer)

I found this cottage cheese today at Walmart.  For 1/2 cup serving it has 5 grams of fiber...and 10 grams of protein!  Not too shabby!

Start by putting 1/2 cup of cottage cheese into the blender:

Then, add in the ice.  For this shake I used two heaping one cup servings of ice.  It turned out to be not quite as thick as I'd like it to be...so next time I'll go for 3 heaping cups of ice!

Then, add 1/3 cup of almond milk (or whatever type of milk you like)

Then, 1/3 cup (heaping) of pumpkin...

Then, add 1/2 cap full (a few drops) of maple extract, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, 1 tablespoon of sugar free cheesecake pudding powder, and 3-6 packets of sweetener (I used 6--I like sweet!)...

Okay, now that all ingredients except the water are added, PULSE the ingredients several times, giving the ice a chance to start breaking up.  Once you hear your blender NOT pulsing the ice anymore, begin to stream in the water through the spout.  Continue pulsing until all of the ice is broken down (you will be able to hear when this happens).  Then, continue mixing on high speed for a couple of minutes until everything is well combined.

This makes A LOT of shake people... a whole lotta shake!  I poured myself this cup....

...and I still have about half of it left in the blender!

Hopefully I will get to the rest later.  If not, I will give it a shot tomorrow and see how it goes. 

This shake is really good.  So creamy and sweet!  Perfect wake up for the ol' taste buds & super filling---Protein LOADED!!

So...in celebration of New Years Eve and ringing in the NEW YEAR of 2012...I say CHEERS to you all~!  I hope 2012 brings you lots of happy blessings and continued successes!!!

Till next time...

Lots of Love,
Autumn