A snack that gets me through

My carnivore is a snorer.  Not your average, run-of-the-mill snorer...no sir-ee.  MY carnivore can raise the roof with his snoring.  There are some nights when I'm so tired that I just sleep right through.  Other nights, I can gently nudge (okay...it's a punch) him and he'll roll over to his right side and stop.  Then there are those nights when I wake up and realize he's already on his right side, but his snoring is so loud I expect a knock on the door from the neighbors (I exaggerate slightly).  A "nudge" is useless at that point, so I crawl out of bed and head for my comfy couch on the other side of the house.  Last night was one of those nights.  But there's more.  To add to the sleeplessness, my dog decided that there was SOMETHING in the house that she needed to protect us from.  I have no clue what it was...all I know is that she was perfecting her low growl...next to my comfy couch...for about 45 minutes.  This is why she's so exhausted today.  See?

So I've been up since 3:45 this morning.  And I actually feel pretty darn good!  I started my day with basic oatmeal, but the day is long when you get up before the birds, so I needed a little pick-me-up snack around 10:00 a.m.  If there are two things I love (besides sleep), it's (1) smoothies and (2) peanut butter.  A few months ago, I was turned on to RawMeal...an organic (and vegan) meal replacement powder.  Please don't send an email telling me that a powder is no way to get my nutrition...I am well aware.  I never ever use it as a meal replacement. For a healthy snack that keeps me satisfied until meal time I add things I love...like peanut butter and bananas and chia seeds.  The first time I tried this wonder powder, I just about gagged.  Some poor, misguided soul suggested I mix it with water.  It was disgusting.  So I doctored it up a bit!

The secret to success with RawMeal is almond milk.  Water + RawMeal = torture.  If you don't enjoy drinking cardboard, try this:

8 - 10 oz almond milk
1 scoop RawMeal
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 banana
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 squirt liquid Stevia (raw peanut butter isn't sweet enough for me)
1 ½ cups ice  

I simply throw everything in my blender (best gift my kids ever gave me), pour and enjoy.  I'm not even ashamed to admit that I sometimes drink this so fast that I get brain freeze!

One serving of RawMeal is LOADED with 26 superfoods, 34g of protein (that's almost half of my daily protein intake), 9g of fiber and only 2.5g of fat.  Don't even get me started on chia seeds!  I was a little late to jump on the chia seed bandwagon, but only because I COULD NOT for the life of me find them in the grocery store. My requests for help from the clerks in the store were met with blank stares, until one day I finally asked the right person, and they led me to the pharmacy section (who knew). I've been a fan ever since! One tablespoon gives you another 4g of Fiber (hello regularity), plus necessary Omega-3 and Fatty Acids.  An added benefit is that they swell up in my stomach like tiny litte blowfish...which keeps me satisfied longer.  You know...until I can get to my beautiful, fresh, organic salad that I'm TOTALLY going to scarf down as soon as I'm hungry again (just so you mother hens out there know I'm getting three squares a day).

There are a ton of other ways to make the RawMeal tasty.  Organic strawberries are fantastic and add the sweetness I need, so I can eliminate the Stevia.  The RawMeal comes in other flavors (vanilla and chocolate), but I prefer to add those flavors myself, keeping the base of the smoothie as generic as possible.

For those of you keeping count, I'm 4 days in and haven't compromised at all. I'm staying full, I feel great, and my carnivores are happy!  Time to start planning dinner...