Hey Reader!
In the 123rd issue of The MF Kitchen, you'll slice into the details of:
- Recipes for my Queso Beef Chalupas and 75 Cal Whole Pint Vanilla Ice Cream!
- If you're trying to lose weight, how much protein should you be eating?
- The strange history of marshmallows (and how they were always in my lunch)...
- 3 new protein products (and my unbiased reviews)...
Preheat your ovens…
Weekly Recipe Roundup 🍽️
Queso Beef Chalupas
If you are looking for an easy meal prep salad recipe for the week, this is a must-try!
Just note if you want this for meal prep, keep the dressing on the side!
Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself:
Queso Beef Chalupas.pdf
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75 Cal Whole Pint Vanilla Ice Cream
Yes, ONLY 75 Cals for the WHOLE Pint!
Click below to download the recipe and make it easy yourself:
WHOLE Pint Vanilla Ice Cream.pdf
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Recipe Recreations Of The Week 🤌
Chalupa Gang is STRONG! Buffalo Chicken, Queso Beef & BBQ Chicken to name a few!
Buffalo Chicken
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/C4djELtrrQv/
Queso Beef
👉 Queso Beef Chalupas.pdf
BBQ Chicken
👉 https://www.instagram.com/p/C897d9jOdc4/
This Week's Flavor 🎥
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172 Cal Biscoff Protein Cheesecake
I'm just going to say it...
This is the BEST Protein Cheesecake on the INTERNET!
Here's the recipe and video.
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Zach's Beats 🎧
One FAQ ❓
Question of the Week:
If you're 202 lbs and trying to lose weight, how much protein do you think I should be eating?
Answer: I might surprise you here.
Most people would say 200g.
Because that's what everyone on the internet tells you:
"1 gram per pound of bodyweight."
But that advice is actually slightly wrong.
And once you hear the correct version, you're going to feel a LOT less overwhelmed about hitting your protein goal.
The real version:
1 gram of protein per pound of GOAL bodyweight.
Big difference.
If you weigh 200 lbs but your goal weight is 150 lbs, you don't need 200g of protein a day. You need 150g.
Trying to hit 200g when your goal is 150 is going to leave you feeling so stuffed and miserable that you'll want to quit by day 4.
That's like an entire extra chicken breast's worth of protein you're choking down every day for no reason.
Which brings me to the part nobody talks about enough.
Most people don't struggle to hit their protein because they don't know the number.
They struggle because hitting that number makes them feel like they swallowed a brick.
So here's how I think about it in 3 simple steps.
1.) Make protein the base of the meal.
Don't build a meal and then scramble to add protein on top.
Start with the protein and build around it.
What's the chicken, turkey, beef, eggs, fish situation?
Figure that out first.
Then add the carbs and the flavor.
2.) Make your protein actually delicious.
This is the step nobody wants to hear but it changes everything.
If your protein tastes like cardboard, you're going to dread eating it.
If it tastes incredible, hitting 150g feels easy.
I've got a million ways to make protein taste insane on the FDL app and on my IG.
No excuse for dry chicken in 2026 lol.
Step 3: Sneak protein into the stuff you're already eating.
This is my favorite trick.
Sauces, dips, dressings, smoothies, baked goods, all of these can quietly carry protein without you feeling like you're adding another chicken breast to your plate 😆
Greek yogurt in your ranch.
Cottage cheese in your pizza.
Protein powder in your tiramisu.
Now you're making the food you already love do more for you.
That's the macro friendly way 😎
To wrap up.
When you're trying to lose weight, it's about having awareness of where the sneaky calories are hiding (oil, dressings, drinks).
When you're trying to eat better in general, the game flips.
It's all about where you can sneak MORE protein in without it feeling like a chore.
Both are the same skill (just pointed in different directions).
Figure out your real protein number (goal weight, not current weight).
Then work it in using those three steps.
Weird Food Fact 🤓
If you were to ask me, “What's a sandwich that you think is underrated that most people have not tried?”
I'd have one answer…
The Fluffernutter Sandwich.
I am the only kid in my whole family who grew up outside of New England but instead of PB&Js growing up, my Mom made me these lol.
AND sheesh were they good 🤌🏻
Except when she'd prep 30 of them and then freeze them to throw into my school lunches.
And it'd still be frozen at lunchtime 😭
Anyways, I was telling a friend of mine about a new creami flavor I was going to be working on and it was the infamous fluffernutter.
And she said she'd never had one before!
So if you've had one, let me know!
But then I started thinking about why and how marshmallows were ever created…
And now we are here where I explain it all haha.
But first marshmallow meme 🤣
Let’s hop in our food time machine, all the way back over 4000 years ago to ancient Egypt.
Around 2000 BC, that’s when the marshmallow got its start.
BUT not in the sweet, gooey when heated up form we know and love today.
Instead, it started as a medicine…
Back then, Egyptians used the sap from the Althaea officinalis plant (better known as the marshmallow plant) as a natural remedy for sore throats and coughs.
They’d mix the sap with honey and nuts to make a special treat.
Doesn't sound too bad!
The crazy thing is, only the Pharaohs and Gods could have these treats.
Marshmallows were basically ancient royalty’s cough drops.
Fast forward to the 1800s in France, and that’s where marshmallows really started to take shape (literally).
French candy makers began whipping the sap with egg whites and sugar to create a fluffy confection that was way more dessert than medicine.
Problem was, getting sap from the marshmallow plant was a serious pain.
So, the candy world made a little swap. Out with the plant sap, in with gelatin.
That’s food capitalism at its finest haha.
“Let’s just take out the thing that makes it ‘the thing’ but it’s close enough so we’ll still call it ‘the thing.’” 😅
So this new version was way easier to make, and just like that, marshmallows went from being an exclusive luxury to a campfire classic!
Serving Surprise 😮
Every time I go grocery shopping, I like to pick one new “protein” product to try.
Most suck lol.
AND most don’t really have that great of macros.
They are usually higher in calories than the real/better thing with just more added protein.
So it pretty much just defeats the purpose.
*Takes deep breath so doesn’t go into a long rant 😅
Here are the latest 3 I’ve tried for the first time and whether they did indeed suck...
1.) Drumroll Donuts
Protein Donuts are usually boring as hell cake donuts that are dryer than the Sahara.
So I had super low expectations for them.
Macros per package of 3 donuts:
190 Calories, 13g Fat, 27g Carbs, 10g Protein.
So pretty much a donut with a smidge of protein.
And it’s a plant-based protein so I already know it’s going to be more dense than light/fluffy.
I’m already making this review longer than I’d like but there are sooo many caveats and details 😭
Was it any good, worth the macros, and worth the price?
The taste and texture were better on the chocolate than on the vanilla.
Definitely more of a cake pop-type consistency than an actual donut.
I didn’t hate the taste but didn’t LOVE it. I’m indifferent.
The price was $3.41 for 3 donuts so not awful, but definitely not cheap for 3 tiny donuts.
All in all, would I buy them again?
Probably not.
BUT were they a terrible product?
Nope! You might like them, but for me, it’s just not worth the price, macros, taste/texture.
Alright so here are the next two and these are going to be rapid-fire because I don’t want this section to be incredibly long.
2.) Protein Moon Pie’s from Redefine Foods
Might be a controversial take (shouldn’t be because it’s obvious) but Moon Pies are one of the most overrated dessert snacks in history.
So taking a mid dessert and making it into a protein snack is a recipe for a mediocre product 😐
Macros:
270 Calories, 16g Fat, 31g Carbs, 14g Protein
Aka really really bad which means this better be really good.
Cost:
$3.99
The taste was not bad! The texture of the filling was definitely pretty weird.
More dense than an actual moon pie consistency.
If this was 150 calories with 14g protein, I’d buy this again.
But given the current macros, nahhhh.
3.) Legendary Foods Frosted Strawberry Protein Pop Tart
These get RAVING reviews from people.
I’d honestly never tried one.
Macros:
180 Calories, 8g Fat, 22g Carbs, 20g Protein
So macros are actually really good.
Cost:
$3.10 so not terrible.
I got shafted with the frosting haha.
The taste and texture weren't bad.
Think of a fluffier pop tart that is not flaky.
More of a drier cake pop tart.
BUT I can see how people can really like this product.
It’s got incredible macros.
And the taste/texture are good enough for those macros.
Would eat again but my tummy can’t handle erythritol so I sacrificed myself so I could review this for you lol 🫠
Let me know some products you want me to review next.
That's it for this week.
Hit reply and tell me what you cooked this week that you were proud of.
Doesn't have to be fancy.
I just love hearing what you guys are making.
Much love and happy cooking,
Zach