This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

The continuing quest for the perfect energy drink

As you can tell by my enhanced water and energy tea drink reviews, I'm on the lookout for the perfect energy drink. Here are my requirements:

• Not too expensive. This is a big one since the low-carb canned energy drink I now buy is $30 a case at Costco or about $1.50 a can.
• Low calorie. I don't mind sugar substitutes too much if they're not too sweet.
• Healthy. I want B vitamins for energy and anti-oxidants (C or E), too. I also like added fiber, real juice, and green tea.
• Caffeine. The more the merrier I am.
• Fat burning. L-carnitine, chromium, guarana, hoodia, ginseng, etc. I'm not really sure that any of this stuff works, but I'd like to think so. And if I'm paying a premium for an energy drink that supposedly boosts your metabolism (like a bunch of them claim) then bring it on!
• Convenient. Cans or bottles are fine as long as they are recyclable. But I really like the single servings of powders available in the drink mix/iced tea aisle, too. Less waste and cheaper.

The latest energy drink I tried comes from a trusted fruit juice source.

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Aquafina's new enhanced water drink, Aquafina Alive

Pepsi has recently spruced up its Aquafina water line with Aquafina Alive, another contender in the "health and energy" water product arena. The water comes with ingredients like caffeine, electrolytes, antioxidants, fiber and vitamins.

Always interested in satisfying my desire for the perfect energy drink - and a cheaper alternative to the $1.50 a can stuff I buy by the case at Costco - I told Aquafina's social marketing person to send me some samples.

First I tried Aquafina Alive Satisfy (10-calorie peach mango flavor with 3g of fiber or 10% DV). They claim that this is one of the only waters on the market with a significant amount of fiber to help lightly fill you up. However, I have seen drink powders from Kellogg's that contain 10g of fiber. Still, I thought it tasted pretty good and there was no noticeable "grittiness" from the fiber.

Aquafina Alive Energize (calorie-free orange lime with caffeine, and 10% DV of Vitamin B) is enhanced with about as much caffeine as an average cup of coffee and is a good source of B vitamins. LOVED THIS. It was tasty and not too sweet. Plus, I did get a little caffeine lift. I'd buy this again. However, my local store doesn't carry it at this time, darn it.

Staying slim on Cinco de Mayo

I've done a healthy Cinco de Mayo recipe roundup at the FoodieView blog. So stop on by for some great tips on eating healthy during this food holiday.

Since I wrote the post, I've come across some other terrific, healthy Mexican dishes. The first recipe comes from the April 2008 issue of Sunset magazine.

Crab Tacos
Makes 8 tacos

Ingredients:

• 4 Roma tomatoes, halved, seeded, and sliced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 large jalapeño chiles, halved, seeded, and sliced, divided (or use canned instead)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 8 ounces shelled cooked crab (used canned to save time)
• 8 taco shells or tortillas (corn tortillas are the healthiest choice)
• 1 cup Iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced (cabbage is a good alternative)
• 1 cup shredded jack or cheddar cheese (leave out the cheese to cut back on POINTS, fats and calories)
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced (yes, they're high in calories, but oh so good for you)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Put tomatoes, garlic, half of the jalapeño, 1/4 cup cilantro, and the lime juice in a food processor and pulse a few times to chop. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set salsa aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and remaining jalapeño until soft, 4 minutes. Add crab and cook just until crab is warm, about 2 minutes.
3. Put tortillas on a baking pan and warm in oven, about 3 minutes. (I like to use my double burner skillet to do this. My husband puts the tortilla right on a low burner - we have an electric stove - a trick he learned from his hunting buddy, Jose. When I do this, I burn them, so be careful.)
4. Arrange on a platter and fill with crab mixture, dividing evenly. Top crab with lettuce, cheese, and avocado. Sprinkle tacos with green onion and remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Serve immediately, with salsa on the side or on top.

Nutritional information for one taco:
Calories: 200
Fat:  12g
Protein: 11g
Fiber 1.7g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 5

Putting on the feedbag in San Diego

As you noticed, I've been too busy to blog here at This Mama Cooks! lately. The reason? I went to San Diego for a blogger event. I have a theory that if you spend X days away from home you spend twice that time packing, unpacking, and making up for all the work you missed. I did work while on the road - from the hotel, the library, Starbucks, and the airport - but not as much as I usually do. That's because I spent most of my time eating.

Here's the slide show:

 

On the search for healthy Mexican recipes

I recently wrote a Recipe Roundup for Foodie Review on Swiss Family Recipes. If you have a soft spot for fondue, you may want to check it out. On the other hand, you may want to avoid it if it's too tempting.

My next assignment from my FoodieView Blog editor is healthy Mexican recipes. I have a few dishes and tips in mind but would love to get some recipes and pictures from my fellow food bloggers.

If you have a post on a low calorie/low Weight Watchers POINTS Mexican food recipe or show a way to make your favorite Mexican dishes healthier, email me at mama at thismamacooks dot com or leave a comment below with your name, email, your blog's name URL, and the URL of the post.

I'd love to feature your post, your picture(s) and of course will link back to your blog and give you full credit.

Not your average energy drink

I'm addicted to energy drinks. I'm thinking about contacting my current favorite energy drink company for a sponsorship. You know, "This mommy blogger brought to you by X Energy Drink." Or "Motherhood made possible by X Energy Drink." Honestly, with my schedule and my bad sleep habits, I rely heavily on them.

They're expensive, but cheaper than getting a latte at Starbucks, especially when you buy them by the case at Costco. Still, it does bother me that I drink them. Except for vitamins and herbs, most energy drinks are full of crap and a lot of things I cannot even guess to pronounce.

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Healthy freezer meals for busy dieters and their families

I recently attended a meal making cooking class with a group of friends. Basically, it was a Once a Month-Freezer Cooking session combined with a Prepare Your Own Meals store. Our hostess (this was in a private home with a very large kitchen) shopped for the food, chopped the veggies, browned the ground meat, and prepared the prep stations.

Our group made eight meals. There was one dish per station with two to four people working on putting together the meals. Using printed instructions, we measured out the ingredients, and put them into labeled freezer bags or aluminum casserole dishes. When then loaded our pre-made meals into coolers and placed them in the freezer when we got home.

For $95, I walked away with eight dishes. This may seem like a lot of money, but I only spent a couple of hours making them, and I didn't have to drive all over town to buy the ingredients. I didn't have to do the prep work or clean up. And I have healthy meals in the freezer for those nights when I'm too busy to cook or out of town. The time savings alone made it a bargain.

So now I'm trying to figure out how to do a similar party with friends and not do all the work as the hostess. I'm thinking that each person could shop and prepare the ingredients for one dish for X amount of people. Then we could get together, assemble the meals, and help each other with the clean up and cost.