Yesterday morning I was up at 6:45 – wide awake on my day off. What the what? So I got up, posted my blog, had a cup of tea, did some stuff on the computer and around 8:00 I felt like I needed more sleep. So I did. And didn’t wake up until 10!
I must have needed it, and truth be told, as the day progressed I could feel my chest start to tighten. I coughed a bit. I’ve been vaccinated for everything but bronchitis, so hopefully it turns into nothing. Since it was raining all.day.long I declared it a Bizzy in my Kitchen day and rest day from working out. Best.Day.Evah!
I seriously think I can meal plan this week from what I have on hand. It’s something I like to call “throw shit in a bag” but it does make you think outside the box. Take my lunch for later today. I had leftover veggie chili in my freezer, and I cooked up some zucchini and plan on having chili zucchini boats for lunch – doesn’t that sound good? I have Timehop to thank for that. I made it for my lunch three years ago. But Timehop also reminded me that three years ago last night, Tony made me his famous fried rice. I’ll have to look back on the blog archives, but that may have been the last time he made that for me. 
When I worked at The Chopping Block on Sunday, I made a drink that called for macerated strawberries, basil, lime and a bit of sugar. It was made to go into a wine spritzer, but after I saw what the berries looked like after 15 minutes, immediately thought “this would be great for a parfait!” And I was correct. Don’t let the basil sway you – you will barely notice it’s there and then all of a sudden get a bit with the strawberry, basil and Chobani, and it’s the perfect combo. This is for four servings – each serving comes out to 1 WW smart point. Simply take 16 strawberries, dice them, throw them in a mason jar. Add in 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar. That’s it. It’s magical! And yes, that is a tablespoon of fat free whip cream on top. I used a small mason jar for this breakfast since it was nearly 11:00 by the time I ate breakfast. All this for only 3 smart points.
As I was looking through the fridge/pantry and freezer, I realized I had a chicken carcass that needed to be eaten. Jacob LOVES rotisserie chicken and he can eat a whole one in a few days for lunch or a snack. I got all of 5 ounces of chicken off it it, but it was plenty for my copycat Panera bread chicken lemon orzo soup. This made 4 servings of 1.5 cups each for 5 smart points.
Panera Copycat Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup
2017-01-17 05:46:03
A light and bright soup.
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668 calories
56 g
126 g
17 g
77 g
4 g
2132 g
3957 g
9 g
0 g
11 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
2132g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 668
Calories from Fat 154
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 17g
27%
Saturated Fat 4g
20%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 7g
Cholesterol 126mg
42%
Sodium 3957mg
165%
Total Carbohydrates 56g
19%
Dietary Fiber 12g
48%
Sugars 9g
Protein 77g
Vitamin A
649%
Vitamin C
211%
Calcium
58%
Iron
91%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup thinly sliced celery
6 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup orzo, dried
2-4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried oregano
5 ounces chopped cooked chicken
chopped baby spinach for garnish
Instructions
In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the garlic and celery and cook for a few minutes. Pour the chicken stock and orzo, and cook for 9-10 minutes, or according to package directions. When the orzo is cooked, add in the rest of the gang: lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried oregano and the chicken. Remove from heat, and put a lid on, just to cook the chicken through. I added my soup to my bowl and then added the chopped spinach.
I used Meyer lemons, and since they were small, I used two of them for the juice – so start out with 2 tablespoons and add more for a stronger lemony flavor, which is what I did.
By Biz
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calories
668
fat
17g
protein
77g
carbs
56g
more
My Bizzy Kitchen http://www.mybizzykitchen.com/
I also add one of of the cut lemons to the broth while the orzo is cooking – I think it leaches out some of the lemon oil in the skin to give it that extra zing, but leave that part out if you like. Just remove before storing any leftovers.
After Hannah tried the Keto diet for the first two weeks of January, and realizing that is not a lifestyle she can live with for more than two weeks, she’s going to do Weight Watchers with me! I thought for sure she’d be all over this soup for lunch, which is why I seriously almost chopped the chicken to bits, because she’s particular about her chicken. She ate half a bowl, but declared if I made it again, she’d appreciate it without so much chicken. Or any chicken at all. I’ll have enough for two lunches this week, so I am totally fine with that.
So having ditched my grocery shop for the week, I realized I would have to make everything from scratch for dinner. I made a batch of naan. I made tzatziki sauce with the last bit of Chobani I had left. And I made my mini falafel to have sort of a street food dinner. On the side I had 4 ounces of homemade fries, meaning this whole plate came in at 11 smart points. And it was fricken delicious. I ate every single bite.
With a new year, I have a new header here at MBK – it’s a work in progress. It’s funny because it was on my list of things to change this month, and my sister said “you should change your header, the salsa picture is confusing.” Since I had time, I made one, but hopefully she (or my brother) can make it look as nice as this picture below: I just have that gap on the left hand side I can’t seem to get rid of.
And I also updated my Facebook page and photo – and while that photo is 3 1/2 years old, that’s when I was in full Insanity mode and I felt really good about how those pictures came out (thanks to A.J. Kane Photography!) and figured it would be a nice bit of motivation when I log onto Facebook to see that picture. What’s weird is that I was 156 pounds in that picture, which is only 14 pounds from where I am today. I am taking this weight loss one short goal at a time, so no matter how long it takes me, 156 is the first goal. Oh, and to also eat really delicious food while losing the weight!
Back to work today, let’s hope this little cough I have going on doesn’t turn into something. But I’ve got a Tuesday Tip for you before I sign off:
When you focus on your problems, you’ll have more problems. When you focus on your possibilities, you’ll have more opportunities. – Steve Weatherford
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