Enhanced Medifast Meals: Shamrock Shake and Green Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who needs a little Luck o' the Irish? With St. Patrick's Day coming up tomorrow, I'm sure many of you are feeling like you are missing out on classics like the Shamrock Shake or other green goodies.

Wait no more! I have put together recipes to make a Shamrock Shake (with vanilla shake packet) and green mint chocolate chip cookies (chocolate chip packet). So now you can have your goodies and still be fully compliant on the 5&1!

And if you are like me, I LOVE ice cream sandwiches, so there will be an option with the cookies to make it into an ice cream sandwich.

SHAMROCK SHAKE

Ingredients:

Medifast Vanilla Shake Packet
6 oz unsweetened Silk Almond Milk
Peppermint Extract
Green food coloring
1 cup crushed ice

Directions:

1) Add crushed ice, shake packet, 2-4 drops of peppermint extract and a few drops of food coloring to blender.

2) When ready to blend, add the almond milk.

3) Blend until a milkshake consistency.

4) Pour into a glass and ENJOY YOUR SHAMROCK SHAKE!


GREEN MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

Medifast Chocolate Chip Packet
Peppermint extract
Green food coloring
2 Tbsp water
OPTIONAL: parchment paper
                      1 Tbsp lite cool whip

Directions:

1) Blend packet mix, extract, food coloring and water in a bowl.

2) You can either make it in the provided tray for one cookie OR make 2 cookies and place on parchment paper.

3) If you are making in tray, spread out in tray and microwave for 1:15 then let cool for 3-5 minutes.

4) If you are making 2 cookies, place equal blobs on parchment paper and spread with fingers to make cookie shape. Microwave for 1:15 and let cool for 3-5 minutes.

5) If you want to make an ice cream sandwich, add 1 Tbsp LITE Cool Whip to the bottom of a cooled cookie. Then place the other on top and voila! A delicious ice cream sandwich!

Wishing you all a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully this will provide you with great ideas to get into the spirit and still stick with your health goals!

Enhance Medifast Meals: Toast and PB&J sandwiches

One of my clients came up with a great idea and shared with me. She loves toast in the morning or for lunch and decided to make pancakes and pop them in the toaster afterwards. I came up with my own take and divided the mix into 2 different containers, microwave them and then stick in the toaster oven. Voila! Toast! Or if you are like me, you can make it into an awesome PB&J sandwich.

Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 Medifast Pancake Packet
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp water

optional add-ons:

-1 Tbsp PB2 (mixed according to package)
-1 Tbsp Walden Farms fruit spread
-cinnamon and stevia
-I can't believe it's not butter (spray or spread)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Mix the packet, baking powder and water in separate container.

2) Divide up mix equally into 2 ramekins or paper trays.

3) Microwave for 1:15. Pull out and remove from trays.

4) Put in toaster at a medium toast. Watch the first few times so you don't burn. (Everyone likes their toast a little different!)

5) When toasted to your taste, remove from toaster and either eat plain or with additives. As I said before, I like to use half of my optional snack (1 Tbsp of PB2) and Walden Farms Fruit Spread to make myself a PB&J. But you can put whatever you like on there! Another great option is either some light butter spread or a cinnamon and stevia mixture.

That's it! Enjoy your toast!

Enhanced Medifast Meal: Pumpkin Spice Donuts

It is officially fall and that means....Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING!!!

I found a recipe for a pumpkin spice mix that you can add to anything like lattes, tea, dessert, etc. I'd recommend mixing up these ingredients and keep in a spice jar for future use.

1/3 cup cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp nutmeg
1.5 tsp ground clove
1.5 tsp ground allspice

Shake this up well with each use and you have a healthy and on plan pumpkin spice flavoring.

I've made donuts with various Medifast Meals before, but never with this awesome flavor and topping. You can use Oatmeal, Brownie or Blueberry Muffin for this.

Ingredients: 

DONUTS
1 packet Oatmeal, Brownie or Blueberry Muffin (I used Oatmeal)
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix
1 Tbsp egg beaters
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 stevia packet
Up to 1/4 cup water (needs to be thick mixture)

FROSTING
1 Tbsp light cream cheese
1 stevia packet
1/4 tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix

Directions:

1) Mix dry donut ingredients, then add wet ingredients

2) Blend well and put in preheated donut maker (or cake pops)

3) Bake for approx 3-5 minutes

4) While baking, mix together frosting ingredients and place in microwave for 15-20 seconds, or until very soft. Mix again.

5) Take out donuts and spread on frosting.

No need to wait for a cool down. ENJOY!

Enhanced Medifast Meals: Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich

Are you missing your PB & J sandwiches while on TSFL? I have found a way for you to still have your sandwiches and stay right on plan!

My lunch at work. Perfect alternative to the hearty meals!

All you need is the Vanilla Shake Medifast meal, some Walden Farms goodies and a few condiments. Total calories: 134. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

Sandwich:
1 Vanilla Shake packet
1 Tbsp egg beaters
1 Tbsp sugar free Torani syrup
1 Tbsp Walden Farms Peanut Butter Spread
1/2 tsp baking powder
enough water to make thick mixture

Topping:
2 tsp Walden Farms Fruit Spread (any flavor)
2 tsp PB2 (or other powdered peanut butter)
~1 tsp water or syrup

Directions:

- Mix together Shake and baking powder in small bowl. Add egg beaters, syrup, and spread.

-Add water slowly as needed to get a thick mixture. You don't want this too runny as it needs to form a shape in the pan.

- Using medium heat, spray a saucepan with oil and add mixture. Make a rectangular shape.

- Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked enough to flip.

-Once cooked, remove from pan, cut in half and add your toppings!

    **TIPS:- For fruit spread, heat in microwave for 15 or so seconds to soften.
                 -  For PB2, you can add either water or syrup. Stevia packet is optional if you want sweeter
                 -  If you don't know where to buy Walden Farms, go to www.waldenfarms.com and use
                   store locator.
ENJOY!!

Enhanced Medifast Meals: Waffles!!

Did you know that you can make several Medifast meals into waffles? After following the Paleo diet for years, I hadn't had a waffle in so long. I've never really been much of a pancake fan, but waffles have always been amazingly good to me. At first, I had only found recipes to do waffles with the pancake or oatmeal meals. I tried one with the pancakes when I visited my parents a few weeks ago and it was delicious! My mom traded me for some oatmeal so that I could try it with that. Loved that too and started making them more often. Then I started running out of oatmeal and wondered what other meals I might be able to use. So I tried the blueberry muffin, brownies and then the shakes. Wow. Blueberry was definitely the best by far!

So now I'm totally obsessed with making waffles. My next order of meals definitely reflects that. I bought oatmeal, shakes and muffins in addition to my normal goodies.

Here are a couple recipes that you can use to make your waffles. It really depends whether or not you have a meal that rises on it's own, such as the blueberry muffin or brownie. If not, you will need to add egg beaters.

Ingredients:

Waffles made from: Pancakes, Oatmeal, or shakes (I used both vanilla and strawberry)

1 packet meal replacement
1 tsp Torani sugar-free syrup** (I have use both vanilla* and cinnamon and brown sugar)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp egg beaters
1 Stevia packet
1 tsp cinnamon (for all except strawberry shake)
Enough water to make thick batter (probably about 2-4 Tbsp)

*For vanilla shake, I added 1/4 tsp of vanilla as well
**The syrup is optional. I add it to decrease the dryness of the waffle - especially with the pancake


Waffles made from: Blueberry muffin or brownies

1 packet meal replacement

1 tsp Torani sugar-free syrup (I have use both vanilla and cinnamon and brown sugar)

1/4 tsp baking powder

Enough water to make thick batter (probably about 2-4 Tbsp)

Directions:

Heat up waffle maker while you are making batter. Pour batter into middle and spread out slightly until it is a thick even layer. Let sit with lid open for 30-45 seconds. Then close lid and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes (check at one minute for doneness). It should feel like a normal waffle when finished. 

When it is done, take off the waffle out and add your fixings. You can use up to 2 Tbsp of powdered PB (1 snack) and/or you can do what I do and add some Walden Farms Pancake Syrup (zero calories). Now go and enjoy that delicious waffle!

Enhanced Medifast Meals: Chocolate Pudding and Cookie Dough Blizzard!

Obviously I have a sweet tooth. While my parents were in town visiting this last weekend, I decided to see if I could make the Chocolate Pudding into a Wendy's frosty-type drink. Found a link online that just added ice and water, so decided to try it out. It worked great! Then I had seen a cookie dough ice cream recipe using the Chocolate Chip Soft Bake and PB Soft Serve. That got me thinking I might be able to make a blizzard with the Pudding and Soft Bake. So I tried it and it came out perfectly! This does not freeze well, so you will want to half the pudding prior to making the shake, then reuse the other half another meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 Chocolate Pudding package

1/2 Chocolate Chip Cookie Soft Bake

1/2 Tbsp Powdered Peanut Butter (optional - 1/4 snack)

1/2 cup ice

3 oz water for shake

2 Tbsp water for Cookie Dough

Directions:

Mix ENTIRE Chocolate Chip Soft bake as directed on package - add 2 Tbsp water to package and mix well.

On parchment paper, place an even number of small bits of dough.

Freeze dough for 30-40 minutes. 

Once dough is frozen, it is time to start the shake. As I said earlier, you need to half the pudding. I separated it out evenly into 2 cups, put 1/2 Tbsp of PB in each one and set one aside for later.

Add the pudding, ice and 3 oz water to blender and blend for 20-30 seconds or until thoroughly blended. 

Take only HALF of the cookie dough bits out of the freezer. Save the rest for the next batch.

Add cookie dough to the shake, mix together and Voila! You now have a delicious Blizzard. Enjoy! 

Easter goodies! Peanut butter cups and meringue cookies!

With Easter tomorrow, you will most likely be surrounded by yummy looking candies, cookies and chocolates. Fear not! I have delicious goodies that you can make to bring with you. One consists of a meal and a snack and the other will take barely any condiments and like 1/16 of a lean. So tomorrow, make sure you bring your PB cups for before or after dinner and then some meringue cookies to have anytime!

Peanut butter cups would be the first. I used the hot cocoa and packet of Stevia instead of Splenda (0 cal and natural sweetener). I also used small dixie cups to make them a bit smaller and got 4 PB cups out of the recipe. You can find the recipe at Sandy's Kitchen, but here is the recipe:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

Ingredients:

1 package Hot Cocoa or brownie mix (1 Meal)

2 tablespoon PB2  or other powdered peanut butter (1 Snack)

1 packet of Splenda (optional)

Directions:

Mix 2 tablespoon of PB2 and Splenda with 1 1/2 tablespoon of water (until creamy but not watery). Set aside. In another container, mix hot cocoa with 3 tablespoons of water. Spread half over the bottom of a ramekin or silicone baking cup. Spread PB2 over the chocolate bottom layer. Spread the rest of the hot cocoa mixture over the top of the PB2. Place in freezer for at least one hour.

Servings: 1 Meal, 1 Snack and 1 Condiment (if you used Splenda)

The next goodie is a meringue cookie. I tried this today and definitely need to work on it, but it still tasted delicious. I divided mine into 12 cookies, which I decided would be 3 servings of 4 cookies each. That way you have 1 egg white per serving, which is the bulk of the calories. The teeny amounts of white vinegar, stevia and vanilla extract are negligible. I have changed the ingredients to reflect what I used, but you can find the original recipe here: https://nunaturals.com/recipe/294

Ingredients

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/16 tsp white vinegar
• Squirt of lemon juice
• 4 tbs White Stevia Powder or 1/4 tsp Pure White Stevia Extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon sheet.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the NuStevia, a tablespoon at a time (or if you use Pure White Stevia Extract add all at once), and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.
3. Spoon mounds of meringue onto the prepared sheets.
4. Bake the meringues for approximately 40 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking (if you have a convection oven, this is not necessary). The meringues are done when they are fairly firm and fairly crisp. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying.

Enhanced Medifast Meal - Cookie Stuffed Brownies

Amazingly delicious. That is all that I can say about these cookie stuffed brownies. I had pinned this recipe a couple weeks ago and had been waiting for my chocolate chip cookie soft bakes to arrive...with more brownies, of course. If you don't know by now, brownies are my absolute favorite Medifast meal. But this just steps them up to a whole new level. And it makes 2 meals, so I get 2 different meals of delicious goodness. I really can't recommend this recipe enough. Enjoy!!

**Baking times may vary. It took me a few more minutes to get this completely cooked in the middle.

The recipe is from The Best Blog Recipes:

MEDIFAST COOKIE STUFFED BROWNIES RECIPE

SAVE PRINT

Author: Shauna | The Best Blog Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Medifast Brownie Packet + 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 Medifast Cookie Packet + 2 tablespoons of water
• Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the Brownie per packet instructions in the square container that comes with the brownies.
2. Mix the Cookie per packet instructions in the square container that comes with the cookies.
3. Pre-heat your oven to 350°. Spray cooking spray in 2 spots on your muffin tin. Add ¼ of the brownie mixture to each of your muffin spots. Divide the cookie in half and drop it onto the brownie mixture and press down just a bit. Top with the divided remaining brownie mixture.
4. Cook for about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (watch it so it doesn't over cook). Let cool completely on the counter. Eat 1 now and save one for later :)
5. Makes 2 Cookie Stuffed Brownies --> each one counts as 1 Medifast Meal

Enhanced Medifast Meal - Chicken Noodle Soup Chips

I just tried a delicious new recipe today. In my last order, I ordered way too many soups and hearty meals and not enough on the go foods. So, I found this recipe for chips made from the Chicken Noodle Soup packet. I made mine a bit thicker than the photo and used my own seasoning, but they tasted really good and I will definitely make them again! Enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here: Sandy's Kitchen: Chicken Noodle Soup Chips

Chicken Noodle Soup Chips

Ingredients:

1 pk MF Chicken Noodle Soup or any cream soup (1 Meal)

3 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp Rotisserie Chicken seasoning (optional - 1 condiment)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chicken noodle soup mix and seasoning in Magic Bullet. Using the grinder blade, pulse until it's a fine powder. Add water to form ball of dough. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper & lightly spray with Pam. Mix all ingredients. Place the ball of dough in the center of one side. Fold parchment over and roll it just as flat as you can get it. Bake 10 minutes and remove from oven. Using either a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut into chips and spread across cookie sheet. Return to oven for an additional 5-8 minutes for crispy chips. The darker brown they are, the crispier they will be. Makes a whole bowl full of tasty snacks!

*You can also microwave these chips by spreading the mixture thin on a flat plate. Microwave 2 minutes. Flip and then microwave an additional 30 seconds or until crispy.

Enhanced Medifast Meals - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Snickerdoodle Cookies

Yesterday, I found a couple of recipes to spruce up the Medifast meals. I will keep adding to the blog as I try them out.

The first was the Snickerdoodle cookies. I made them last night for my last meal of the day and they were incredible! You just need the Vanilla Shake powder and a few more ingredients. I added an Organic Stevia packet instead of Splenda, so that took off a few calories for a total of 114. For only 4 more calories, you can turn your shake into 2 delicious cookies!

This recipe can be found at: Slim Kicker

Ingredients Needed

1. French Vanilla Shake (2.0 packet)
2. Splenda with Fiber (1.0 packet)
3. Baking Powder (1.0 tsp)
4. Ground Cinnamon (0.25 tsp)
5. Vanilla Extract (1.0 tsp)
6. Water (0.25 cup (8 fl oz))

Instructions

These wonderful cinnamon-sugar cookies are "sinfully delicious". Crispy edges and chewy centers low in carbs and fats for your Medifast diet.

• Mix dry ingredients with a whisk, then slowly add the water.
• When the mixture thickens like a paste, spoon the cookies by tablespoonful on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
• You should get about 4 cookies then bake at 350 degress for 8 minutes. Two cookies each serving. Enjoy!

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Now for the Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Are you ready for this? It's made of the Tomato Basil Soup packet. That's right. A soup packet is going to be turned into a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. I ended up having to make mine a bit differently because I couldn't seem to find my sandwich maker anywhere. I have a feeling it never got unpacked from my last move and is at the bottom of a box somewhere. 

My modification was to use diced tomatoes instead of salsa and then make this in a pan. I blended the ingredients as I heated up the pan on medium heat. Make sure to not get it too hot as the mixture can burn. When the pan was hot, I made 2 circles with the mixture. As soon as one side was crisp enough (a couple minutes or so), I flipped the circle to get the other side. After I flipped, I put a slice of low fat cheese on top and let it melt for about two minutes before making the "sandwich". As soon as the sandwich was made, I let it sit another 30 seconds or so and placed it on my plate. Overall time to make - about 5 minutes. 

The original recipe using a sandwich maker and salsa is from: New Beautiful Me blog.

1 packet Medifast Cream of Tomato Soup
1/4 cup egg beaters
2 TB salsa
1 oz moderate fat cheese 3-6 grams fat/oz


This counts as 1 Medifast meal, 1/3 lean, 2 condiments.


Mix soup, egg beaters and salsa together.

Pour evenly among the 4 squares. Cook for 3 minutes.

Fold in half and add cheese in the middle.  Enjoy!