I am proud to say that I got up to go to the gym yesterday morning – I had every intention of doing laps, but the pool was full – and I don’t share lanes. So I ended up getting the aqua dumbbells and ended up doing 40 minutes of upper body in the water – it was really hard to keep those floaty dumbbells under water – I did biceps, triceps and back. š
I had all my food packed to take for the day, so when I got home from the gym, all I had to do was put my work clothes on. I had breakfast nachos on the menu. Only one problem, the egg beaters I brought were frozen, but I put them in the fridge the night before, and they were still frozen when I got to work.
So I had eggless breakfast nachos – 1 serving tortilla chips, 1/3 cup refried beans, 3/4 ounce mozzarella cheese, baby spinach and taco sauce – my whole plate was 8 points.
As I was planning me and my SIL’s lunches over the weekend (Helen, I am positive the grammer is wrong in that last sentence!), I stumbled upon Kaylyn Kitchen’s Italian Sausage soup. Mine is a knock off of hers, I used regular Italian sausage and ended up adding more veggies. š
When I had it for lunch it tasted like a grown up version of Spaghettios! I am 43 years old, and still love spaghettios – served with toasted white bread and butter to dip in the spaghettios. š I am positive my brother and sister would still eat spaghettios to this day too!
Grown Up Spaghettios (based on Kaylyn Kitchen’s Italian Soup) 1.5 cups = 8 points
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 29 ounce can tomato puree
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup dry macaroni
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 large zucchini, diced
Take the sausage out of the casing and cook up with the Italian seasoning and garlic. In a large stock pot, add chicken broth and tomato puree. Once the sausage is cooked, drain fat and add to broth pot. Bring to a poil and add macaroni and cook about 9 minutes, until the macaroni is tender.
Add zucchini and cook for 5 minutes on low. Remove from heat and add baby spinach – as it cools the spinach will wilt.
This was delicious, although I thought it needed a bit of heat, so I added about 1 teaspoon of Tabasco to my bowl.
I know its crazy to eat soup when its 98 degrees outside, but I can eat soup all year no problem. And I was hot on my walk/run yesterday – I probably walked 60% and ran 40% – it took me 50 minutes to go 3.5 miles.
Since my soup was only 8 points – I was hangry by the time I got home. I did have a peach later in the afternoon, but that didn’t hold me very well.
I made chicken parmesan – no real recipe, just dipped in egg/milk mixture, then Parmesan/bread crumb mixture – and fried with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. On the side I had new potatoes and green beans – to tell you the truth I was too lazy to put my dinner into eTools, but with 13 points to spend for dinner, I think I did okay!
See, you don’t need a lot of oil to get a crunchy crust. š
Stats for Tuesday:
- not more than 29 points š
- 40 minutes upper body in the pool with aqua dumbbells
- 50 minute 3.5 mile walk/run
- average blood sugar 104 (my blood sugar was 55 when I got back from my run at lunch!)
It’s going to be another scortcher today – off to walk my neighborhood before work, not sure I can handle another outing at lunch, but we’ll see.
And it’s Hanging with Hannah tonight – I haven’t seen much of her since Sunday – we might go see Mean Bosses – I heard it was funny.
Questions of the Day: Can you soup in the summer? Do you love spaghettios?
yup, id definitely take this grown up version!! š
oooo i really need to try my hand at some BREAKFAST NACHOS!! <3
xoxo <3
The soup looks delicious and I’ve clipped it to Evernote for the winter because I just can’t do soup right now. It has been in the 90s all week. Even with the AC on I have no energy to cook. Tonight it will be a big salad and some previously made veggie burgers.
You’ve been killing the workouts lately. I’ve been running in the morning which makes me happy right now at 7:30 pm! Off to lounge. Have a good night.
I still like spaghettios as long as it isn’t too often. I want to make this soup, it looks awesome. I can eat soup three days a week year round, but DH isn’t much in to soup. Thanks for the recipe!
Nope, can’t eat hot soup in the summer..but I would bet that soup would be delicious served cold That I could do!
Have fun with Hannah tonight…that movie does look funny. I haven’t seen my daughter since we got home from vaca. She’s working and living at her house now.
and hey….I made a version of your peach salsa you posted yesterday! Check out my blog! it was delicious, thank you for the inspiration!
http://mykitchenadventures1.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-fresh-peach-salsa-with-grilled.html
I have never had spaghettios….we were a canned lasagne family growing up. (yup…I LOVED it…now? No desire to have it EVER) If I was in an air conditioned place, soup in the summer would be good. AND…I just made some gazpacho last night, cold soup in the summer is REALLY good. I’m going to experiment with a few different kinds over the next couple of months. Have a great day Vat, happy Hangin’ with Hannah!!!
I loved spaghettios as a child, and still snuck tastes when I served it to my children! Although I wonder how I would like it now, that I’ve been eating not processed food for so long?
Be sure to stay for the credits at Horrible Bosses! š
Soup in the summer must be consumed in a highly air conditioned room/ office/ house š I especially like doing crockpot soups if I’m going to make some so I don’t have to heat up the kitchen.
Yes I would still eat spaghettios! Although it’s been years since I’ve eaten it. I will make that soup.
Since its freezing at my desk at work, I can eat soup year round too! Love it!
I usually don’t eat soup in the summer, but I’ve been seeing some really tempting ones, including this one, and am considering it. I deplore any canned pasta product, though for a few years I really liked canned ravioli. Can’t stand any of it now–way too processed. I think b/c I wasn’t raised on it, I never developed a taste for it. I’ll take the grown up version any day, though!
That grammar was pretty effed up, Biz. But I’ll let Helen be your grammar nazi.
I already printed that recipe, because I cooked up a pack of turkey italian sausage yesterday and hadn’t decided what to do with it. I like that you used different pasta – the cork screw shape appeals more than the more bourgeouis macaroni.
And Holy Crap! A whole teaspoon of tabasco in one bowl? I’d have to have my tongue removed with that amount of heat!
Sign me up for the grown up Spaghetti-O’s! I can do soup in the summer, but only if I’m eating it at work – it’s freezing in here!
You are cracking me up re the grammar. Yes, it’s wrong. How to fix? Take out the other person and use the correct word, i.e., it would be “my” lunches not “me” lunches – but that would also be awkward. In this case it would have been better to say, “As I was planning lunches for my sister in law and me.” Make sense?
I love soup but rarely eat it in the summer other than maybe Clam Chowder or Lobster Bisque. Sort of how I rarely eat ice cream in the winter, I guess.
Have fun with Hannah tonight, no matter what you do!
Thank you Helen – I knew you would know!
Have a fun night with Hannah, love that you do that each week. I saw Horrible Bosses last night, hilarious (though a bit raunchy)! Enjoy.
No spaghetti-os for me and I don’t really LOVE soup any time of the year, but I can eat hot oats during the summer!
Biz, you gotta learn how to share lanes! I’ve just learned in the last year. I just hug the divider or wall and I’m fine.
And P.S. Chicken Parm is on our menu for tonight! Funny š
Have fun with Hannah! I’ve never even heard of that movie – I need to get with the program! I’ve heard lots of good about Harry Potter, though š
The soup looks awesome! It is REALLY hot in the Midwest, like you said, and this still looks delicious š
Yep, I still like Spaghettios! This soup looks awesome, but it is supposed to be in the hundreds this week – so I’ll be saving it for a cooler day! I can eat soup occasionally in the summer, but I still drink hot coffee everyday, which my husband does not understand! I have been a terrible slacker in the exercise department š Gotta get back to it.
Mean Bosses is awesome! It gets a little long- but the ending more than makes up for it. So good. And I’m a soup/stew/chili girl all year long! Kaylyn has so many awesome recipes!!
I was rarely allowed Spaghettios as a child, which made me like them all the more. This soup, however, looks like it definitely tops them.