Cake Batter Protein Shake

This was an interesting recipe to come across.  I made some minor alterations to the original, and there are some notes I have to add.  First, don't add the recommended Splenda til you've made and tasted the shake.  This thing is SWEET!  I added the Splenda in the recipe and I think I'll choose to leave it out next time.  For those of you that like the heavy dessert flavor, you might opt to add it.  This really does have a great cake-batter flavor to it, and I've not had a "diet" dessert that I could indulge this much in that tasted so authentic.

2nd, don't be turned off by the ingredients here.  The cottage cheese really gives this milk-shakey texture to this.

Lastly, after you blend, if you think the shake is too thin, put it in the fridge for 5 minutes.  The pudding mix will thicken it up a bit.  If it's still too thin for you, add a little more cottage cheese or a few more ice cubes.


Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup	Low fat cottage cheese
1	Scoop vanilla protein powder
3-5	Drops vanilla
1 tbs	Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding Mix (I used Jello brand)
1-2tsp	Splenda
1/2 cup	Water (Alter this according to desired consistency)
5-10	Ice Cubes (Depending on how thick you like it, use less for a thinner consistency)

Put the ice cubes in first, then add the rest.  You'll have to scrape the sides of the blender once or twice depending on how good your blender is.  You don't want any lumps.  Check consistency and alter to suit your tastes.  There is plenty here to split with someone if you don't want a huge dessert.  This can be stored in the fridge overnight!

Nutrition Info:

1	Shake
187	Calories
2 g	Fat
5 g	Carbohydrate
3 g	Sugar
35 g	Protein

Here are some pictures. I just added about a cup of shake to my glass, since this is such a sweet treat.

Diet

Crazy Aunt Angel is going on a diet in preparation for possible lap-band surgery.  I'm going the high protein/low carb route with a heavy lean toward fresh produce.  I'm going to start putting up some recipes that I've tried with pictures of my finished product.  I'm researching low carb versions of holiday treats too!  Keep a watch and see how it goes.

There are some criteria as I look for recipes that I can alter, or just good ones that I can use right off the page.  So if you plan on borrowing some of these from my blog (or my pinterest page), know these things.

Rules:

1.  It has to (mostly) contain things I'd have around the house anyway.  No complicated ingredients.  I have to caveat that the ingredients are normal - to someone on a high protein/low carb diet.  Protein powder, Splenda (or other substitutes), etc. are being considered normal here.

2.  It has to be easy to make.  I have two kids and don't have time for 37 step recipes that dirty up half my pots, pans, and appliances.

3.  They have to be nutritionally sound.  That means that they have to fit into my diet.  I'll try to post nutritional information if I can.

4.  It has to be a verified and tested recipe AND it has to taste good!  That means that I won't post a recipe til I try it, and the picture will be of MY finished product.  No mystery recipes or things I wish to make.

RecycleBank

I'm pretty skeptical about some of the points sites.  If I join, I want to know that I have a hope of earning enough points to get something... even a little something, but preferably a decent reward.

I just joined Recyclebank.  It's a site that lets you earn points by taking green actions in your home or by just learning about ways to be green on their site.  Watch a video, get some points.  Take a quiz or click on pictures in EcoSchool, earn some points.  It's pretty freakin' simple.  The first day I joined, I ended up with over 1,000 points in about an hour!  That many points is plenty to get me a reward.  It's good enough to pick up 2 or 3 decent rewards. 

Rewards include magazine subscriptions (Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and a bunch of others), restaurant coupons, and even gift cards.  Obviously gift cards are more points, but having only been on the site a few days, I'm half way to a $10 gift card.

Join through a link on this blog and start earning rewards fast!

New ink for Aunt Angel

New ink for me, courtesy of my favorite tattoo artist. 

Freegan values (also known as anti-waste opportunism)

We're not fully freegan, meaning that we don't operate under all the stated principals of the freegan community.  We do find that some of the freegan principles mesh well with our philosophy of village living.

Today, we scored well over $300 in free groceries (based on retail value).  We had some groceries in our pantry and freezer because we keep long term food storage (and had scored some other free goods recently).

To be clear, we are pretty indiscriminate about the type of products we'll receive for free.  The big rule is safety.  We're received free electronics, toys, clothes, food, entertainment, and household items, as well as some miscellaneous blessings.

Below are some illustrative pictures.  This haul was thanks to a family who is moving and didn't want to take their many groceries with them.  We got meat, toddler food, boxed meals, breakfast food, frozen veggies, canned goods, sweets, condiments, and more.  Free, for us, happens because we are open to people who do not wish to waste things, so they give them away.  We are members of freecycle, swap groups, and we check the Craigslist free section about 10 times a day on average.

We've had people tell us that they would be ashamed to take something being offered, and we've run into people that turn up their nose at receiving free things.  As for us, we feed ourselves AND are able to give bags and baskets of food to our neighbors regularly.  When you get in a big haul where you don't get to choose each thing, there is a small percentage of items that do not fit the family due to allergy, handicap, or strong aversion to taste or texture.  For example, one person in our family can't eat spaghetti due to her handicap.  Another member of the family has acid reflux and bell peppers aggravate it.  The same family member hates the texture and taste of whole wheat pasta.  So if we get bell peppers, we may keep a few for salads, but we bag them up and give them to the neighbors.  Spaghetti, whole wheat rice and pasta, and a few other things will go too.  Our neighbors are always happy to take the overflow.

The same goes when we go handpick fresh fruit or veggies because someone's fruit trees produce more than they can handle or they get a big harvest they cannot eat or store.  We take as much as we can eat, can, and freeze, plus a little extra for our neighbors.  Even the crankiest neighbor becomes extra friendly when presented with random baskets of fresh produce and staple groceries!

Not all of the pictures are our free haul, though everything on the table is!  The freezer pics are just a result of several combined free hauls and a little actual grocery shopping (for a few of the meat pieces in the freezer).  Meat is the hardest thing to get free, though we scored an easy $70 of free meat in this haul.

Freeganism

Before I start, let me say that I'm writing this from a certain level and would prefer not to do the definition roundup. If you don't know what freeganism is, then hit up freegan.info to learn a bit, then come back and read. Please then note that I do not espouse every single idea of the freegan standard. I mean, my family owns an SUV, and an SUV is required to get us all around. Carpooling would be economical if our vehicle had any excess space. I am also a proponent of capitalism and entrepreneurship. This is not limited to the acceptable market, but also the sub (or black) market economy that keeps smaller countries and larger families alive.

The Denver/Boulder area does not seem to have a cohesive group of freegans, through it obviously has plenty of them. The site Meetup wants me to pay to start a group, but I wonder if they'd get me for spam if I started a yahoo group then emailed everyone on the Meetup waiting list to advertise it? I might find out. I looked up a dumpster diving yahoo group for the area, but its 75% sex ads easily and had no discernible moderation system. Look people, even hippie freegans need rules and free stuff shouldn't come at the cost of wading through bots looking for money.

As a part-time freegan, I tend to look for housewares, kids stuff, anything I can sell, anything I can use, and in the right cases... food. Freegans aren't just dumpster divers though. The movement espouses charity, friendship, and sensible amounts of eco-responsibility.

So I have some goals, assuming I start feeling better medically. My goals are pretty achievable, seeing as the bulk of their work relies on my ability to use the internet, speak coherently to people, and give/receive free items. Not too hard, huh?


1. Start a cohesive online freegan group for the Denver/Boulder area
2. Start a monthly dumpster dive club and foster others to do the same in their areas
3. Begin a mobile free market or swap meet (probably at the park, but the location varies).
4. Compile a dumpster map of my area to include both locations and best foraging times.
5. Eventually purchase land where my family might live relatively sustainably

Aunt Angel Is...

For this post, I'm making you a list because they work well in my head. Why you ask? Maybe you're a stranger reading this blog and wondering who I am. Maybe you want to know where I get my perspective. Maybe you're just some nozy-ass that likes personal details.

Aunt Angel is...

• well... an aunt, of course, to two little girls
• a slave
• a masochist
• a plus sized adult model
• a phone sex actress
• an entrepreneur
• one of the many who suffer from PCOS
• a writer
• fat
• cuddly
• someone who likes to be alone sometimes
• someone who hates being alone sometimes
• a huge fan of music
• a part-time freegan
• a full-time bargain hunter
• a shutterbug and coordinator of family events
• someone with more hair color choices than pairs of underwear
• an exhibitionist
• kinkier than a cheap garden hose
• surprisingly reserved and shy
• a little nutty
• a graphics geek
• a little gothic, a little pinup, a little classic, a little dirty rocker, a little colorful, a little romantic, a little hippie, and a little strange
• more comfortable in an unmade bed than a made one