I somehow thought that if I just walked my dog slow, he’d be happy making it to the river and back. Mind you, its probably only about the distance of two football fields to get to the river and back from our house, and while Ed loved it, by the time we got back I thought I was going to have to carry him up the back stairs. 
We walked for a slow 25 minutes. I think Tony said he slept until 2:30 in the afternoon!
It was a crisp 48 degrees – I loved the steam rising off of the river.
Leftovers to the rescue for breakfast! Mashed potato zucchini pancakes. This time I topped them with 2 ounces of diced leftover roast and 1 scrambled egg. Breakfast comes in at 428 calories, 20 fat, 32 carbs, 3.2 fiber and 28 protein. That may or may not be the new hot sauce I got drizzled over the top. 
I actually thought I’d be really sore after running my 5k on Saturday, but I wasn’t at all. My stamina has a ways to go, and I still am taking all my meds for bronchitis, so I don’t want to overdo it. I decided to do the elliptical for 40 minutes – I did the hill climb and I was pretty sweaty when I was done.
I don’t know if I believe in those calories though – any thoughts on how many real calories you burn?
When I was at church on Sunday with my Mom, they had grown a garden and said if anyone wanted to help themselves, take whatever you wanted. The basil was overflowing!
I decided to make a tomato basil soup. I only had one can of crushed tomatoes so I ended up adding a 10 ounce jar of drained roasted red peppers.
Tomato Basil Red Pepper Soup
makes 4 generous servings: 168 calories, 4.2 fat, 25 carbs, 4 fiber and 7.3 protein.
- 1, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 10 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup loosely packed basil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- pinches of crushed red pepper to taste (I probably had a heaping teaspoon – it had the perfect kick!)
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until the garlic starts to brown. Throw everything else in the pool, reduce the heat to low, put a top on and cook for 20 minutes. I used my stick blender to puree it. I once saw on the cover off Food Network magazine where they diced up a grilled cheese to make croutons on a soup.
I ended up making a grilled cheese from two slices of Brownberry double fiber wheat bread, 1 ounce of cheese and 1/2 cup baby spinach. I made the grilled cheese at home, then put it in the toaster oven at work to warm it up.
This is about two cups of soup – took me a while to eat and was actually really filling. Lunch comes in at 509 calories, 19 fat, 68 carbs, 16 fiber (thanks to the bread!) and 21 protein.
Even though the bread started to soften in the soup, it was still delicious.
Growing up I never liked sloppy joes because the sauce was just overly sweet. I am very happy with my own homemade version, but saw on Tastespotting that someone made a philly cheesesteak version.
I followed the recipe exactly (leaving out the onion, duh) and the results? Super bland. The provolone cheese sauce had no flavor and the meat was just, eh.
Dinner came in at 592 calories, 29 fat, 50 carbs, 6.2 fiber and 32 protein. After dinner I tweaked the provolone sauce by adding some dry mustard and a couple pinches of Montreal steak seasoning. For the beef mixture I ended up adding two tablespoons of Frank’s hot sauce and it came out a lot better. I am going to tweak with this one though!
I was doing great until 10:00, then the Bugles were calling my name. Like trumpets blaring from my pantry “Biz. . .. come eat me!” So I did – 208 calories worth – gah!
So my stats for the day?
- 25 minute slow walk with the dog
- 40 minutes elliptical
- 1738 caloires, 81 fat, 174 carbs, 25 fiber, 83 protein
I need to put a sign on my pantry that says: After 7:00 p.m., the kitchen is closed!
Alright peeps, time to put my crap together for the day – make it a great day!
For once in my life, I have all the ingredients to make that soup at home – it looks delicious! And the grilled cheese croutons on top is the icing on the cake!
First of all: congrats on a fantastic 5K. Well done Biz!
I use a heart rate monitor when I work out and those are the calories I count. If I let them calculate automatically on a website for example, it’s always higher.
food looks great as usual.
Thanks Fran! 😀
the sour cream and onion chips are doing the same thing to me RIGHT NOW. i should probably just go to bed, but they sound so good!
i LOVE the look of that soup, especially with the grilled cheese croutons. fresh basil is one of my favorite things in the world, i can’t get enough of it.
hope you’re having a good week!
those bugles can be so loud when they call! lol
I’ve gotta make that soup, now I’m craving that and a grilled cheese!
Love the pic of the river, so pretty!
I just had to comment again…I got my magazine today with the grilled cheese croutons! Awesome idea 🙂
Gimme that soup now! It sounds so good! I’m surprised you aren’t sore after your 5k but that’s great!
Your workout was cancelled out by the Bugles. :'( Don’t waste your workouts, Biz!
Holding my head down “you are right Jenn!” 😀
Your soup looks awesome! I need to do the same thing with my pantry.
I don’t know about calorie burn but I hope it’s enough to burn off the lemon bars I’ve been nibbling on all week. My neighbor brought over some with coconut in them. Of course, why didn’t I ever think of that?
Coconut on lemon bars? That’s interesting!
Biz,
did you see KERF named her kid Mazen??!!!
Yep, KERF HAS BERFED!!! I read on smugnom.com that she’s hoping by next week “our schedule will be in place.” Someone commented and said “your schedule isn’t going to be place for 18 years!”
she’s nuts!!! and also in for a rude awakening!
Awww…poor Ed. The river picture is beautiful! Your comment about the bugles was funny! Your line of “I need to put a sign on my pantry” when I first read it I thought it said, “I need to put a sign on my panties”…I was like what? Ha ha ha 😉
Ha – you are so funny Suzie!!
Grilled cheese croutons – wha?! AMAZING.
Love that photo of the steam rising off the river – so pretty!!
As far as the elliptical…I tend to estimate about 10 calories per minute if it’s high-moderate level of intensity (i.e. really getting my heart rate/breathing up) and more like 8-9 calories per minute if it’s less intensity because I’m having an off day. But no idea if that is really true!
Poor puppy. It is so hard to watch our pets age, isn’t it?
Treadmills are the most accurate as far as calories go because they are the most studies. I read that for other machines, input your weight 10 pounds less than it is to get a more accurate burn.
Get some Altoids for the evening munchies. When you get a craving, pop a mint to help keep your mouth busy. That helps me a ton.
That’s a great idea Lori!!
Love, love that photo of the river!
Biz, I love you, but why on earth do you even HAVE something like Bugles in the house? Clear that crap out, girlfriend!!!
The frugal side of me bought them – three bags for $3!! I didn’t eat any last night though! 😀
I agree with Kris’s comment about coming clean on the night time eats. That’s a huge step for you…I know you’ve brought it up in the past. It’s a big step in the right direction!
I also find the machines calculate higher calorie burns. Invest in a good HRM for a better idea of what you actually burn.
hey biz – I am really proud of you for coming clean about your night time eats. i know for me, writing everything down – the good, the bad, and the ugly – was the step that really kicked me in the ass and got me to change. at first, it was hard to admit it – to write it down, let alone share it with the world – and at times, i didn’t want to write it down, as if that would somehow mean it didn’t happen but in the end, it was my saving grace.
You are right Kris. I can’t ignore all the licks and tastes, unfortunately, they do add up!
I have an elliptical and I think it’s way off too. I get all sweaty and figure the calorie burn is similar to running for that amount of time – not what the machine says.
I adore the croutons on top of the soup! Nom nom nom! You know I’m a soup fanatic. Sorry the puppers struggled after the walk- poor guy. Calories on those machines are usually inaccurate. If you want a good calculation- use a HRM!
You know I have a HRM, I just need to figure out how to use it!
I’ve never made my own tomato basil soup, but it’s definitely something I like. I don’t know why soup intimidates me–I should make it more often–and this recipe looks pretty straight forward (which is what I need!).
A general way to measure calories burned is 10 calories for every minuet of moderate to high intensity exercise. Which is what that machine is probably measuring calories by. Machines typically have setting the user would set for their age, weight, and gender. Their base settings are 30-35years old and 160lbs male or female. So though the machine is not going to be righot on, it probably not horrabily off 🙂 But the most accurate way to measure calorie burn is based on a person weight, age, gender and heart rate. So that machine I probably not that accurate.
Love your blog Bizz 🙂
Ames
Thanks Ames!!
Most machines way overestimate calories burned. The only true way to know what you are burning exactly is to wear a heart rate monitor.
I made my first soup of the season over the weekend – Italian Sausage. It’s what’s for dinner tonight!
That soup sounds amazing – let me know how it turned out, you know I am a soup whore!
I’m sorry to say it, but I think the elliptical typically way over-estimates the calorie burn (most gym machines do, but the elliptical is bad offender). I don’t think you would burn that many calories running for that period of time.