Currently Browsing: lunch
Jan 28, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Jan 28, 2011 in lunch, soup, vegetables | 10 comments
The first time I made this soup was May of 2009! I sometimes forget to go back to recipes I’ve made that are worth making again. This is one of those recipes.
I printed out a recipe from Spark People for what I thought was tortellini soup, but it turned out to be a recipe for a side dish that was just called “tortellini with vegetables.” Since I still had soup on my brain, I read the recipe a few times, thinking they missed an ingredient. “Where’s the broth?” Then I read the instructions and found out it wasn’t soup!
BUT, I wanted to make it soup, so this is my version:
Ingredients:
1 medium red pepper, sliced
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup snow peas, sugar snap peas, or green beans (I used pea pods)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 banana pepper, sliced (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
5 or 6 fresh basil leaves (didn’t have that!)
salt and pepper to taste
2 quarts of chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, boneless, cubed and cooked
1 package frozen cheese tortellini
In a big blender, I chopped up the veggies and added some of the chicken broth and pureed all the veggies.
I do not like chunks of veggies 
In a big stock pot, I added the oil, the pureed veggies, and the rest of the chicken broth. Heat on low, stirring for about 10 minutes. Then in a separate skillet I cooked 2 chicken breasts, which I cut into small pieces until they were almost cooked through and added that to the pot. Then I added the frozen cheese tortellini (1 bag) and put the heat on high until it came to a boil, then reduced the heat and cooked for about 6-8 minutes until the tortellini was cooked. If you are using the fresh basil, after the soup is done, add the basil to the soup and stir it in.
It turned out so great!
It was a little spicy, but the flavors of all the peppers was wonderful. For my bowl, I picked out 1 serving of tortellini (which was 12 tortellini for only 290 calories!) and I took about 1 1/2 cups of broth and picked out the pea pods and a little chicken. So I am thinking its about 340 calories or so for a nice big bowl. If you wanted to have it less calories, then you could reduce the amount of tortellini.
Have a great Friday, any good weekend plans??
Jan 20, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Jan 20, 2011 in breakfast, general ideas, lunch, Successes!!, vegetables | 5 comments
Happy Thursday! This week is flying by so far! I made the most of yesterday by power walking at lunch for 30 minutes, and then walking home as fast as I could for 30 minutes, so I felt really good about that!
AND, another day sticking to my calories!!! Wahoo!!!!!
I decided to walk to Whole Foods to use yet another gift card I got for Christmas there. It was a $20.00 gift card. I thought I would get something from the salad bar, some chia seeds, and a bag of quinoa. Guess what the total was for just those 3 items: $16.99!!!
But once I got back to my office, I decided to eat half of the salad I made and save the rest for today.
I got red quinoa, some farro, shredded carrots, green onions, edamame, peas, garbanzo beans, cauliflower and celery. I had my favorite Thai peanut sauce at work, so I add the sauce and then cooked it in the microwave for a few minutes to warm everything up. It was awesome!
And, I had some more of the Oatmeal for breakfast. This time I put a banana and dried cranberries in it. I let it sit for a while, and the cranberries really plumped up. They were so good!
So, my goal for today? No food from a luncheon at work today. I don’t go to the luncheon, but there will be leftovers I’m sure. I ordered the food for the rep, so it’s pizza, pasta, garlic bread and pop. Wish me luck!
Have a fantastic day – make it count
Jan 18, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Jan 18, 2011 in chicken, lunch, restaurant review | 10 comments
99% of the time I bring my own lunch to work, but yesterday I wasn’t really digging what I brought and I remembered I had a gift card to Panera Bread in my wallet, so I decided on getting that for lunch. It’s about a 15 minute walk from my office, so I took that as an opportunity to get in some exercise at the same time.
The great thing about Panera is that the nutritional information is on-line helping you make a better choice. What did I pick? I chose their new Thai Chicken salad with peanut sauce. The total calories WITH the dressing was only 380 calories and 15 grams of fat! The verdict? It was awesome! It was a little spicy, had roasted veggies, with a light vinaigrette dressing.
This salad was so good!
This is the description of the salad:
It’s layered with tender, all-natural chicken, Thai spiced cashews and fire-roasted vegetables, with hints of lime and cilantro. Tossed in our Thai Chili Vinaigrette and finished with a peanut sauce, it’s like heading to Thailand for lunch, without the passport.
Now on to my 2nd week weigh in…… -2.4!!!
So, with my 1st week weigh in at -5.6. that’s 8 pounds in 2 weeks!!!
What have I been doing? Tracking my food every day at www.myfitnesspal.com, the calories I’ve been eating are between 1,250 and 1,500 calories a day and I’ve done some form of exercise every day. I’ve done Taebo, Exercise on Demand, walking, and elliptical.
Needless to say I am SUPER excited!!! I hope I can keep it going!!!
Have a super day!!
Jan 5, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Jan 5, 2011 in a day in the life of me!, breakfast, lunch, salad | 9 comments
Did anyone watch the new Biggest Loser last night? I thought it was a good one. I didn’t start watching it until late, so I fast forwarded through the workouts, but I like these contestants. There are a few of them who are my favorite so far. I thought of course, that Dan and Don, the twin cops were right up there, I think being there together, they will do great. And of course, I feel sorry for the guy who is 507 pounds. Did you catch the part that he’s already lost 150 pounds!
Did they show the other trainers? I kind of went through the middle part, but it didn’t seem like they showed who they were.
On the eating front, I had another great day. I am loving www.myfitnesspal.com. It takes just a minute to enter in what I am eating. Shelley said she used that tool while losing 100 pounds, so that sounds like the route I will take. I also decided to briskly walk home from work last night (in 20 degree weather!). I pretty much talked to my sister on the phone the whole way while she was driving home from work, so it didn’t seem that bad.
So for breakfast I had a deluxe quessadilla
I had 2 low carb tortillas, 1 egg, 2 egg white “fried” egg, 1 green onion chopped, 1 slice of swiss cheese and 2.5 ounces of deli ham. It took me a long time to eat and kept me full until lunch.
And, I did something I haven’t done in a while. Fill up my big mug of water as soon as I get to work!
The other great thing about yesterday, is that a few co-workers and I brought back salad club! We took a break over the holidays, so it was nice to get together. Everyone brings a veggie or fruit to share with some greens and we lay it all out and everyone gets to build their own salad. We also keep a few bottles of low cal dressing to go with it.
The other downfall I usually have is eating late night. So I just told myself after dinner, this is the last thing for today until tomorrow. I felt like I wanted something, but I kept telling myself, “you’re not hungry!” It worked!
So here was my day:
Have a great day everyone!
Nov 16, 2010
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 16, 2010 in Dinner Idea, general ideas, lunch, soup, vegetables | 9 comments
I had some leftover orange cauliflower, a few potatoes, a few carrots, some red onion and fat free half and half, so I made a go at turning that into soup!
First I cut up the cauliflower, peeled and cut the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces, grated and sliced the carrot, and put ½ a red onion into a big pot with 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the veggies are soft.
Transfer that to a blender (take the middle insert out to let the steam escape) and puree until smooth. Return that to the pot. Add 1 cup fat free half and half and 2 oz. of cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. I also wanted it a little spicier, so I added about a tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes.
The taste was really good, I loved the flavors, but it was a little on the thin side. I think next time I would add a few more potatoes to thicken it up. But other than that, it’s a great way to clean out your fridge!
This is what it looks like when it’s cooking:
And after being blended together.
Makes 6 servings 1 1/4 cup per serving. Calories are 114, 3.4 fat, and 2.5 grams of fiber. It also has 69% of your Vitamin A for the day, so that’s cool!
What’s your go-to easy soup you make?
