Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Cilantro Cream and a Tattoo?

I am so done with winter.  When I left the house yesterday morning, it was 4 degrees, with a windchill of -20.  The only saving grace was the snow that fell the night before was like powder and could be brushed off our cars with a broom, and the sun was shining.  About the only thing I like about February is that it is still light out when I leave work.  😀  One day closer to putting our gazebo up!

I normally don’t buy processed food, but this one isn’t too bad – and it was buy one/get one free and I had a coupon for a free one = so two for zero dollars.

My pre-workout fuel was an unpictured banana.  I decided to run a 5k.  I walked the first 5 minutes and told myself I could stop running whenever I felt like it.  Well, I felt like stopping a lot!  But I would tell myself, your breathing is fine, nothing hurts, just keep going.  I ended jogging a 5k in 41:06, which included the 5 minute warm up.  I think next time I am going to do a warm up, restart the machine to see what my actual 5k time is.

By the time I got back to the office, I was hungry!  On the menu – Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Cilantro Cream – 5 points for TWO CUPS!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Cilantro Cream (from http://mybizzykitchen.com)

• Adapted from http://goodlifeeats.com

Cilantro Cream

(4 servings: 2 PointsPlus – 62 calories, 6.2 fat, 2.0 carbs, 0 fiber and 1.2 protein)

• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Zest of half a lime
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

Whisk together and cover and refrigerate before serving.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup (printer friendly version here)

(5 servings of 2 cups each: 3 PointsPlus – 123 calories, 4.5 fat, 14.3 carbs, 4.5 fiber and 0 protein)

• 8 red bell peppers, roasted, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch pepper

Directions:

1. Using your broiler, roast the peppers until charred on all sides.  Let cool.  Don’t scrape off the charred bits, but slice open and scoop out the seeds.
2. Heat a dutch oven with the oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, careful not to let it brown.  Stir in the cumin and paprika and stir for 30 seconds.  Add tomato paste and flour, cook for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in the broth, smoothing out any lumps.  Add roasted peppers.
3. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook until the peppers are completely tender, about 15 minutes.  Using a stick blender, blend until smooth.
4. Serve with a dollop of cilantro cream.

The reason for this soup is that I got about 10+ peppers for $2 over the weekend:

Sadly, my blood sugar dropped to 43 in the afternoon, which happens when I have a tougher workout.  So I had 5 points of chocolate – thank goodness for flex points!

For dinner I defrosted two links of Christina’s dad sausage with the hopes of making an even lighter bolognese sauce.  My previous version is 5 points for 3/4 cup – this one comes in at 3 points for 2/3 cups.  While I don’t like mushrooms by themselves, I have been loving them as the base of sauces and stews – just have to puree them since I don’t like the chunks!   And since there is only six ounces of Italian sausage in the whole pot, you still get the great sausage taste without all the extra calories.

Italian Sausage Marinara  (printer friendly version here)

Makes 10, 2/3 cup servings:  3 WW PointsPlus (134 calories, 8.3 fat, 5.8 carbs, 1.4 fiber and 5.5 protein)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (I buy the one that has garlic and basil)
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 6 ounces Italian sausage, removed from casing and chopped fine

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, heat oil and butter.  Add carrot, celery, mushrooms and garlic, and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are tender.  Add red wine and cook an additional 5 minutes.
2. Add diced tomatoes and beef broth.  Using a stick blender, puree the mixture.  Add in the chopped Italian sausage, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and oregano.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through.

Tony actually has a procedure today where they tattoo his tumor for his surgery next week – apparently it helps the surgeon find the tumor faster for his surgery next week – isn’t that weird?  And here we’ve always told our kids not to get tattoos and he’s breaking the rules! 😀

Stats for Tuesday:

• 32 points, 41 flex points left, 23 activity points earned
• 5k on treadmill in 41:06
• average blood sugar 98

Gotta get ready for work – have a great day!