Texas Oven Brisket

 

Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, my family lived on a ranch and we loved our meat. My grandpa has always smoked brisket for get togethers (we have a huge family) and his was the best around. My uncle makes the best BBQ sauce to go with it, just so you know ;) but his recipe is top secret.

I know what great smoked brisket IS and what it SHOULD taste like. But I do not have a smoker, and now my grandparents live 6 hours away. So I have been fiddling with perfecting an oven roasted brisket that was almost as good as my Gramps makes.... it will never be his. Food made by someone else, with their love, ALWAYS tastes better!!!

Brisket with the fat trimmed off is low in calories and high in protein. And tasty too!

I usually pick up my brisket flat at Sam's Club, the whole packet cut is too much for our family to eat! And I use a store bought marinade, just easier ;)

 

Texas Oven Brisket

The Stuff

Marinade option 1 (Store bought. This stuff is fantastic- so is their fajita marinade!)

 

• 1/2 Bottle of Claude's Barbeque Brisket Marinade (I get mine HERE)

Marinade Option 2, mix the following together  (make your own, adapted from The Maine House)

• 2 t. meat tenderizer
• 1 (4- ounce bottle) of Liquid Smoke
• 1 t. celery salt
• 1 t. paprika
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1/4 t. onion salt
• 1 T. Brown Sugar

Meat

• 4-5 lbs brisket flat

What you do
Place your brisket in a roasting pan and cover with marinade of choice, seal it with foil or a lid. Allow it to marinate over night.

Place the brisket in a preheated 300 F oven for 2 hours with the undrained pan tightly covered in foil.
Loosen the foil a bit, and put it back in a 200F degree oven for 5 more hours.

Allow the meat to rest for 30 minutes at room temp. Drain the juices and place meat on a cutting board. Cut against the grain in thin slices. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Nutritional Stats

Per 4 oz serving

• Cals - 175
• Carbs- 0 g
• Fat- 8 g
• Protein- 23g

How to Not Blow it on Vacation

I just returned this week from a 1000 mile 5 day journey across the great state of Texas to see family.

When I left I was 8 weeks out from my next shoot, so I could not blow it!  Here is my plan and advice to anyone else traveling over the summer:

 

Continue reading the article over at VenusIndex.com HERE

Mango Chicken Avocado Cups

 

So my hubs has been on a paleo kick lately out of the blue and this recipe came from a place to serve his needs and my own lower calorie ones at the same time...

It was a hit with the whole family, so much so that I made it twice within a week. Which is unheard of around our place!

 

 

Mango Chicken Avocado Cups

(adapted from this recipe at The Paleo Mom blog)

Serves 4

The Stuff:

Crockpot shredded chicken

• 2 boneless chicken breasts or approx 1 lbs (or 1 pound leftover chicken, shredded)
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or diced finely
• 1 orange, halved and juiced
• 1 lemon, halved and juiced
• 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
• 1/2 tsp

Mango salsa

• 1 mango, diced into bite size pieces
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Avocado cups

• 2 avocados, halved and pitted

What you do:
In a small bowl, mix the garlic, orange juice, lemon juice, and oregano. Divide in half for later use. In a crockpot, combine the chicken with half the juice mixture, oregano, salt, and pepper on low heat for 8 hours. I also add in the rind halves of the orange and lemon for flavor.

After 8 hours, drain the chicken most of the way then shred using two forks. Top with the remaining juice mixture and toss.

For the mango salsa- In another bowl, combine the diced mango, lime juice, andd cilantro. Chill until ready for use.

On your presentation platter, arrange the 4 avocado halves. (I cut a thin slice off the back to allow for them to sit flat) Top with the chicken and then the mango salsa. Serve and enjoy :)

 

 

Nutrition Stats

Per serving

Cals- 305
Carbs- 18g
Fat- 18g
Prot- 23g
Fiber- 8g
Sodium- 258mg

How to Break the Weight Loss Stall or Plateau

Coach Liss and Coach Jenny are here to help you break a fat loss stall or plateau.

What is a fat loss plateau?

A stall or fat loss plateau happens when you have been “on plan” for at least 21 days and have not seen any movement in the tape measure or the scale.

Remember that a change in metrics or inches is just as much progress as a change in the body weight scale. Celebrate that and trust what you are doing.

If the time span has been less than 21 days, then you need to be patient and keep working. Fat loss is not linear. It does not directly correlate to our calorie expenditure; instead fat loss seems to come in chunks. We call it the “whoosh” in Venus. All we can focus on is nailing our calorie and workout goals. The fat loss will come in time if we nail those two things.

 

Fat Loss Troubleshooting

When things flat line and stall, be honest with yourself. Have you really been “on plan”? If you have followed the plan to a T, then here are 3 things you can do:

Continue reading the article HERE


If you have not picked on your copy of the Venus Factor system, you can right here
Click Here!

High Protein Banana Pudding

 

 

We have been having a lot of family get togethers lately, and I made regular southern-style (but always delicious) banana pudding for one a few weeks ago.

This week, it came to me in the night. I can REDO the old version, and make it lower calorie... and higher protein. And I bet nobody would know....

And here it is. Kid tested. Brother in law approved. (Who, by the way, has to specify no beans or sweet potatoes or chickpeas when I or my sis in law have dessert duty   LOL)

High Protein (and lower calorie) Banana Pudding

Serves 16 (approx 1 cup servings)

 

The stuff

32 oz container fat free greek yogurt
1 small box banana sugar free yogurt
1 small box cheesecake sugar free yogurt
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 bananas, ripe
1 small container lite Cool Whip, thawed
0.75 box Nilla wafers

What you do

In a bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients until smooth.

In your seving bowl, put 1/3rd of the nilla wafers across the bottom. Pour in half of the pudding, then slice 1 banana over the top. Spread half the Cool Whip. Repeat those layers, then top with remaining Nilla Wafers for added points in presentation.

And I think I like the full size Nilla Wafers better, they stay crispy longer. BTW, this is even better the next day or two ;)

 

Nutrition Stats

Per serving

 

 

Compare that to a serving of traditional southern banana pudding stats:

 

Calories 484.6 

Total Fat 16.4 g

Total Carbohydrate 81.2 g

Sugars 42.2 g

Protein 6.3 g

OUCH! Yep, mine is way better ;)