Chocolate Cherry Shake

This is an easy shake to make. It is almost as simple as the basic shake. Although I prefer 'real' flavors, this is ok for a winter time occasional break from the ordinary.

2 tablespoons cherry snow cone flavoring syrup

4 oz. water

1 scoop or envelope of chocolate shake powder

8 - 10 ice cubes

Make this the same way you make a basic chocolate shake, except add the flavoring syrup right away with the water. Add shake powder and ice cubes as usual.

Root Beer Float Shake

The second snow cone flavor I found was sugar-free root beer flavor. This makes a reasonably tasty root beer float flavor with the vanilla shake powder. I added a generous amount of flavoring, and it really was a root beer float flavor. I wonder if a half a can of diet root beer instead of the water and flavoring would give me the same result. I'll check that out, too, when the opportunity presents itself, and get back on that one.

2 tablespoons root beer flavoring

1 scoop vanilla shake powder

4 oz. water

8 - 10 ice cubes

Make the shake as usual, except, add the root beer flavoring with the water right at the beginning of the process.

Cherry Cheesecake Shake

This is the result of a shopping trip through the 'end of season' aisle at Shopko. Along with the snow cone and ice cream makers were the syrups that are used for making those things. There were 2 different kinds of sugar free syrups, including cherry flavor. They were half priced on clearance, so I decided to experiment. These syrups are pretty good. They aren't as strong or intense in flavor as the higher priced coffee syrups, but they are just fine for this type of shake. I used 2 tablespoons of this, rather than the 1 tablespoon or less I use of the Italian syrups.

1 scoop vanilla shake powder

4 oz. water

8 - 10 ice cubes

2 teaspoons jello cheesecake flavored SF, FF pudding powder

2 tablespoons cherry snow cone syrup

Add water and flavoring syrup to blender container. Start blending and add vanilla shake powder. Add cheesecake powder. Add ice cubes a couple at a time, and continue blending until the shake is the consistency you want.

Peach Melba, HMR Style

I am now moving into processed fruits and vegetable mode. Although I love fresh produce, I have to balance that with the cost to our family as well as the true cost of transporting fresh fruit and veggies from wherever it isn't snowing. I am using canned peaches and frozen raspberries for the fruit component of this Peach Melba dessert, and substituting the vanilla HMR shake for ice cream. This recipe makes two servings.

1 can of canned peaches in pear juice. Reserve 4 tablespoons of pear juice for making raspberry sauce

1/4 cup frozen raspberries (Fresh can also be used.)

1 teaspoon SF/FF raspberry jello mix. 

1 scoop vanilla HMR powder (I use the 120)

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

4 oz. cold water

10 - 12 ice cubes

2 teaspoons vanilla pudding powder, sugar & fat free (optional, for thicker texture)

Make the raspberry sauce first. Put the raspberries into a small saucepan, and crush them up. Add reserved juice from the canned peaches. Stir while heating. When they come to a light boil, add jello powder and stir to disolve.  Allow this mixture to cool while you make the rest of the dessert. Make the vanilla shake as usual, except add additional vanilla flavoring, and use less water and more ice cubes than usual. Add pudding mix if a thicker texture is preferred. Texture should be spoonable. Put about half of the vanilla shake into each small dessert bowl. Place 2 peach halves or 4 peach slices into the dessert bowl. Drizzle raspberry sauce over peaches and vanilla dessert, and eat immediately.

Legal Vegetable Soup

I really like soup. I especially like to find things that I think will go together well, and create my own homemade soup. In the past, that usually included doing things like sauteing onions in butter and adding cream, or oil or sausage. Well, I know I can't do THAT on this diet, so here's a cream, meat & butter free soup that is actually quite satisfying, but still fits into the guidelines of the 'at home' HMR diet. This makes a big pot of soup. I ate about two cups of soup, and figured out that it is between 120 & 140 calories for that size serving. It uses mostly canned and frozen ingredients, so it is fairly high in sodium, but that's not a terrible drawback for me, since my blood pressure is normal. I won't be eating this every day, and I think that's the balancing act everyone has to perform in healthy eating. If I had left out the garbanzo beans, it would have come in at about 100 calories per 2 cup serving, and if I'd eat the soup that way as an accompaniment to an entree, using 1 cup as my serving size, I could get it down to 45 - 50 calories. My family ate it with me, and even thought it was 'pretty good.'

1 Quart canned tomato juice (I thought about V8, but the tomato was on sale at the grocery store)

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables

1 cup frozen seasoning mix vegetables (onions, peppers, parsley, celery)

1 tablespoon 'Better than Bullion' seasoning OR two cups worth of vegetable bullion

2 small or 1 large potato, cut into bite size cubes

Additional seasoning greens- parsley & basil were used, but dill, oregano, cilantro sage or whatever you like could be added or substituted

1 can drained garbanzo beans (black beans can be substituted for a dash of color if you prefer.)

1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 to 2 cups additional water

Using a large soup pot, place the pot on medium high heat. Add and stir around the seasoning vegetables until they begin to brown, or until they begin to stick to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring between each addition. Bring to a gentle boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about an hour, or until potatoes are done.

Hot Chai, HMR Style

One of my favorite hot drinks is this vanilla chai. It's made quite simply with my Keurig brewer and the blender. It's also easy to make if you just wish to use a chai teabag, and hot water for the basic liquid. I use an 8 - 9 ounce cup of liquid for this and all of my hot drinks, since the ice cubes are not added to bring up the volume of liquid. I warm this for about 30 seconds in the microwave, but if you are using freshly brewed tea, it's not necessary unless you really like your tea piping hot.

1 cup (8 - 9 ounces) freshly brewed chai tea.

1 scoop vanilla HMR shake powder

Pour tea into blender. loosely cover, and run on low speed for a few seconds. Raise cover to add vanilla powder carefully. Add powder while still blending on low. Recover, and turn speed to medium or high. Pour into a tall mug and enjoy.

Success! Lemon Lime Shake

After several tries with jello and juice, I've finally gotten a good lemon lime shake. It's not yet a key lime pie flavor, but at least I'm past the curdled texture of previous attempts at citrus flavors.

1 or 2 envelopes of 'True Lime"

1 envelope of Truvia

1Tablespoon of lemon flavored pudding mix, sugar free & fat free

1 scoop vanilla shake powder

6 oz. water

8 - 10 ice cubes

Put water, Truvia and True Lime into blender. Stir on low speed. Add vanilla powder and lemon pudding mix. Add ice cubes one at a time until your desired consistency is reached. Since this has a pudding ingredient, it will thicken quite quickly. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.