Low-carb Recipes w/ High-carb taste :)

I would be telling a lie if I said we had a good weight-loss week this week. Our numbers were a little rough, but we are re-motivated and ready to get going again. :)

• I gained 1.2 lbs - I had a back injury all week and pretty much didn't burn any calories :(. Rather than cutting back on calories to compensate for this, I chose to emotionally eat... not a good idea! I'm feeling great now and am going to work hard to lose another 7 lbs this month!
• Rebecca gained 1.6 lbs after a long break without coming... not bad!
• Crystal gained 2.2 lbs

We are all going to work hard this week and have a loss next week!

I was in charge of recipes this month. I recently joined Pinterest and have seen so many healthier recipes that I want to try. So I tried some and they were great. However, being the person that I am, I can't leave a recipe alone... I always have to morph and tweak it until it's exactly what I want taste-wise and nutritionally. The recipes I'm about to give you are already tweaked, but I still may work with them a bit to get exactly what I want. I'm close, but not all the way there.

High Protein Pancakes

Puree and blend:

1/2 c. Low-fat cottage cheese

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use EAS whey)

3 T. flour

1/8 t. baking soda

Cinnamon (opt)

Cook just like pancakes. I've learned that the smaller you make them, the more they resemble the consistency of normal pancakes. If you make them too big, they can be a little dense and slimy. I make mine super small (just a spoonful at a time) and they turn out great! This recipe can feed 1-2 people. I like them totally plain, but they're good with whatever toppings, as well.

Whole recipe nutritional info: 358 calories, 8.5g fat, 42.9g protein, 24.3g carbs

Cauliflower Poppers

1 head cauliflower

1 T. oil

Salt or any other seasoning you might like

Cut up the head of cauliflower until most of the stems are gone. Put oil into a gallon baggie and smoosh around until the baggie is covered with oil. Put the cauliflower flowerets into the bag and mix around until the cauliflower is fairly coated with oil. Put onto a foil-lined pan, season however you want (salt, garlic salt, italian seasoning, etc.), and bake at 375 for 35-45 min, stirring every 15 min or so. They are best when they are crispy brown. If this isn't enough oil for you, you can add more, or I just spray a bit of pan spray over them to make sure they're coated.

The original recipe called for 2 heads cauliflower, 1/4 c. oil, and bake at 400 for 1 hour. This didn't work for me... mine were done in 35 minutes (at 375) and would have been over-done had I left them in any longer. They were also too greasy for my taste.

These are supposed to be a "replacement" for french fries. They taste nothing like french fries, but they're really good. They were a big hit at our meeting!

Whole recipe nutritional info: 186 calories, 13.8g fat, 5.2g protein, 14g carbs

Enjoy!