I talked to Charlie!  Every time I had called he was sleeping.  I called my Mom and started to talk to her and I heard my brother in the background say “I have cancer.”  You have to know Charlie personally, but he was saying it in a funny voice and it made me laugh.

He sounded tired.  His main complaints are the awful, constant bad taste in his mouth, and not getting a full nights sleep yet.  But he sounded . . . like Charlie.  His next round of chemo doesn’t start until the first week of May.  My Mom is still there too, which I am sure is a big help to his family. Open-mouthed smile

Are you stick of seeing my breakfast parfaits yet?  I can’t help it – they are delicious and so filling.  This one comes in at 386 calories, 2.5 fat, 74 carbs, 7.7 fiber and 23 protein.

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Remember a couple weeks ago when I posted the Bang Bang dipping sauce?  (thanks again Jacky for that link!).   I was talking with Jacky about making the bang bang shrimp and asked her if I should use the dipping sauce as a marinade or just toss the cooked shrimp in the sauce.  Her response?  Why not both!  This time I added sriracha to the sauce too.

Bang Bang Dipping Sauce

(four servings – 1 heaping tablespoon each: 50 calories, 0 fat, 11 carbs, .5 fiber and 1.5 protein)

  • 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha

I mixed the sauce together and using half the sauce, marinated 1 pound of shrimp for about an hour.  I simply pan fried the shrimp until they were cooked through.  Then tossed the shrimp in the remaining sauce.  I served mine over 3/4 cup brown rice and zucchini.

On my walk yesterday I stopped at a Chinese restaurant and ordered a container of brown rice – it ended up being about 3 cups of rice for $1.65 – nice!

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I swear if I had Bonefish Grill’s bang bang shrimp and that dish, I am not sure I could tell the difference. Best part?  That whole bowl (4 oz. shrimp, marinade, zucchini, brown rice) comes in at 369 calories, 5 fat, 50 carbs, 4.3 fiber and 29 protein.

We had a birthday celebration yesterday – more snacks!  This time I had some grapes, some cheese, salami and unphotographed – a few tortilla chips and garlic crisps – my snacks set me back 289 calories, 14 fat, 23 carbs, 1 fiber and 15 protein.

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When I got home from work I picked up the mail from my mailbox – my Saveur magazine in the mail . . . check out all this bread!

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One of the first breads I am going to make from this issue is an Italian loaf of bread that has a biga, or starter you make the night before.  It doesn’t seem too complicated, but there is a lot of resting, so I’ll tackle it over the weekend.

Guess what Tony wanted for dinner?  Pizza!  But about one of the few times I didn’t actually have everything to make one at home.  A quick phone call and 45 minutes later, dinner was served.  I have to admit, it was kinda nice to sit back and read my magazine and relax. Open-mouthed smile

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I had that plate, plus one more just like it – I like the ends and middle pieces equally.  Dinner comes in at 576 calories, 33 fat, 44 carbs, 2.4 fiber and 24 protein.

Stats for Yesterday:

  • 1620 calories, 56 fat, 192 carbs, 15.4 fiber and 91 protein
  • 48% of calories from fat, 31% from fat and 21% protein
  • 30 minute walk at lunch
  • 30 minute Classical Stretch

Hooray for Friday!  Although I wish it was 5:00 already.  Hopefully my work day will go by fast.  Make it a great day!