Today's Lunch

With the summer heat on, I'm finding it difficult to prepare some of the foods that I came to rely on in less oppressive weather. In particular, I miss my homemade soup. Like many people, I'm going with what is cold and salads work pretty well in that regard.

When it comes to salad, I won't sacrifice flavor or textural improvements for calories. I won't do without full fat dressing nor will I exclude croutons. I love crunchy food, and I'll add in what I want and deal with the extra calories by cutting out a salty snack later if necessary. I'm sure many dieters who are more serious than me would be all over how this could be healthier or lower calorie, but I need to be satisfied with how my food tastes. I enjoy this salad immensely as is. That makes it easy to choose to have it rather than something I choke down because I think it's "good" for me to have vegetables.

Today's lunch came in two parts, both inspired by high humidity and temperatures over 90 degrees. First, I had this salad.

I always have croutons on the side so I can eat them proportionally with each bite. 

• 2 cups red leaf lettuce (9 calories)
• 1 whole small-medium tomato (22 calories)
• 2 thin slices onion (7 calories)
• 1 small hard-boiled egg (53 calories)
• 1 tsp. Parmesan cheese (7 calories)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Caesar salad dressing (102 calories)
• 2 servings garlic butter croutons (70 calories)
• salt and pepper

total: 270 calories

I followed this up with a banana frappe drink. This is the sort of thing that you find recipes for all over the web. I don't think my preparation is in any way unique, but I'll include it anyway for those who haven't come across these recipes before or just don't want to look them up. The consistency of this is halfway between soft serve ice cream and a thick milk shake. In hot weather though, it melts fast so you have to eat in an air conditioned room or eat it a little fast.

Note that I tend to eyeball these measurements, but these are pretty close to what they are. This makes an immensely large drink, but a portion of it is essentially water.

Banana frappe

• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1 medium banana, cut into medium slices and frozen (flat, not stacked) (105 calories)
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• sweetener (to taste - I use two packets of Splenda - I like it sweet)
• 1/2 cup skim milk (40 calories)

total: 145 calories

Add all ingredients to your blender and frappe or mix on the highest setting for one and a half to two minutes. It should start to expand in size as air gets whipped into it. It's ready when it's light and evenly mixed and quite creamy. Garnish by sprinkling a little more cinnamon on top.

Cinnamon is supposed to aid in the metabolizing of sugars, so I like to include it where I can. It has the benefit of being very tasty with the banana and vanilla as well!

Today's lunch:
salad: 270 calories
banana frappe: 145 calories
total: 415 calories

Today's Dinner

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love burritos, and I have them despite needing to make some adjustments to the day's eating to accommodate them. After the latest round of burritos for dinner, I discovered that there was only one tortilla left hanging around and about 6-8 oz. of filling. I wanted to use everything up so I decided to try something which gave me all of the goodies of a burrito, but only required a lone tortilla.

"Deep Dish Burrito"

• 1 large flour tortilla (180 calories)
• 1 can refried beans (420 calories)
• *8 oz. prepared taco meat (ground turkey or chicken w/powdered seasoning mix) (~550 calories)
• 4 tbsp. Picante sauce or salsa (18 calories)
• green onions, chopped (to taste, at least 1/2 cup) (~20 calories)
• 4 oz. cheddar, Colby Jack or cheese of your choice (440 calories)
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved (~40 calories) - regular tomatoes are better, but I was out of them and used cherry ones
• salt and pepper to taste

total calories: 1668
4 servings: 417 calories per serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a pie tin with cooking spray or oil. Center the flour tortilla in the pan and press into the corners. Spread the beans evenly over the tortilla. Sprinkle the seasoned taco meat over the beans and press down into the bean mixture. Spoon the salsa over the meat and spread evenly. Sprinkle green onions (I like to use a lot) over the salsa and top with cheese. Arrange tomato slices or cherry tomato halves over the cheese. Press into the cheese mixture slightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes until the tomatoes are wilted and the cheese is bubbling.

This dish was born of a particular circumstance, but it's going to stick around for other reasons. The protein to carbohydrate ratio of this is better than my standard burrito, and I can cram in more vegetables because I don't have to worry about wrapping the tortilla. Frankly, it's also nice not to have to split a burrito and eat it twice because of it's massive calorie value. This is a much more conservative meal to fit into a 1500 calorie day. This can be served "as is", or you can have it with a handful of baked tortilla chips. I've had it both ways depending on my mood. 

1 serving "deep dish burrito" = 417 calories

.7 oz. baked tortilla chips = 86 calories

total: 503 calories

*Note that this recipe includes only the meat and seasoning, but I actually mix vegetables with the meat so the calorie count is likely a little lower since I measure by weight and the vegetables (tomato, green pepper, onion) are lower in calories than the ground meat. It's almost certainly an incidental difference. The recipe for the filling with vegetables included is in my post on making burritos. Mainly, I just like to get a few more vegetables into the mix by incorporating them with the filling.

Today's Dinner

This is one of my favorite meals, though it does take some adjusting of the rest of the day's eating to have it. This is essentially a big burrito which I split into two and have both as dinner and as a big snack between lunch and dinner. Eating it all at once would be too much food, and eating just half of it without a substantial side (like a salad and soup) would be too little. I usually plan the day such that I have a small breakfast, snack, lunch, and then this burrito in two parts with a low calorie vegetable accompaniment. That being said, half of it would probably do if you have something else on the side, but I prefer to have the whole thing in the manner I've described.

Burrito filling:

1 tsp. oil (for frying) (40 calories)
1 small onion, diced (28 calories)
1 small green pepper (or any color pepper), diced (37 calories)
1 large tomato, diced (32 calories)
1 lb. ground turkey or chicken (1075 calories)
taco seasoning (either a packet or your own spices) (90 calories for whole packet)
total for all of the filling: 1302 calories

Heat a non-stick skillet and then add the oil. Swirl to coat or use a spatula to push it around. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until semi-translucent. Add the green pepper and cook until shiny and still crisp (about 5-10 minutes). Finally, add the tomato and cook the entire mixture over medium-low heat until the vegetables are about 50% of their original size. If they start to burn, lower the heat. When the vegetables have shrunk, add the ground meat and cook until very lightly browned and most of the residual juices have evaporated. Prepare the taco seasoning as directed. This amount of filling will make a great many burritos so you'll want to freeze the meat in small portions.

Burrito preparation:

1/4 can Rosarita refried beans (105 calories)
2 tbsp. salsa (10 calories)
2 oz. cheese (220 calories)
2 oz. burrito filling as prepared above (approx. 125 calories)*
1 large tortilla (180 calories)
chopped green onions (to taste) (negligible calories)
total: 640 calories

Place the refried beans, cheese, and burrito filling in a bowl and mix completely. Spread the filling onto the tortilla, sprinkle with salsa and green onions. Fold and seal the seam shut with a little warm water. Cut in half and wrap each half firmly in foil (this is essentially to keep the filling from spilling out of the cut end when you heat the burrito). Keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat. Place a foil wrapped burrito half in your toaster oven and heat for about 10 minutes.

half burrito: 320 calories
carrot sticks: 25 calories
total: 345 calories

I like having the ground meat and refried beans mixed together in this way for their respective textural properties. It's also nice to have both types of protein. On my 1600 calorie diet, it isn't too hard to fit the entire burrito into my day, but it does require some care in timing when I eat and how much I eat. Frankly though, I find that it is worth it because I'm actually less hungry when I eat half of this around 4:00 pm and the other half around 8:00 pm.

*Note that I have to guess the calories on the filling because it's impossible to measure exactly how much of 2 oz. of the filling is vegetable and how much is meat. I am making my best guess, but I doubt it is off by much more than 10 calories either way.

Today's Breakfast

More often than not, I feel better if I have something with a lot of carbohydrates for breakfast. I've tried oatmeal, and it gives me an upset stomach. I've had yogurt and fruit, and they leave me starving in under two hours. Having a whole grain piece of toast or quick bread does a much better job of tiding me over for about 3-4 hours until I can have an early snack (usually some fruit or vegetable-based soup) or lunch. I know that this doesn't work very well for many people, but my body chemistry just likes having something with a lot of carbs in the morning.

In my limited repertoire of sugar-free, whole grain quick breads, this is actually my favorite. It's immensely flavorful and full of fruit. I can have it either plain or toasted, though I rather like it toasted for the crispy edges and the added fat of the spread improves satiety.

Blueberry bread:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (79 calories)
• 1 medium egg (63 calories)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (77 calories)
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice (5 calories)
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil (120 calories)
• 1 1/2 cups regular (not pastry) whole wheat flour (742 calories)
• 1 cup granular Splenda
• 1 tbsp. baking powder (15 calories)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened frozen blueberries (119 calories)

Total for entire loaf: 1220 calories

Whisk the applesauce, yogurt, egg, oil, lemon juice, salt and Splenda together until thoroughly mixed. Add the whole wheat flour and gently moisten it by pressing it down into the liquid with a spoon. Do not overmix it or the bread will be tough. Allow the flour to rest for 30 minutes and absorb moisture. While the dough is resting, spray a loaf pan with baking spray (or grease and flour it). After the 30 minutes is up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the baking powder over the flour and mix it well, but only as much as necessary to incorporate it. Gently fold in the frozen blueberries. You want to add the blueberries at the last minute so the bread doesn't turn purple from thawing juices. Bake for 45-60 minutes until a tester comes out without any unbaked batter. There may be blueberry juice on the skewer so it won't come out dry.

In this recipe, one could conceivably leave out the Splenda and just make this as an actual fruit bread, though obviously it wouldn't be very sweet. If you try it as toast, it would certainly work without the Splenda.

tea with skim milk and Splenda = 5 calories
blueberry bread (1/8 of loaf) = 152 calories
total: 157 calories

Today's Lunch

I love grilled cheese, as do most people, I imagine. Even when I successfully lost weight in college so long ago, I never stopped eating things like grilled cheese. The only difference was that I ate it on whole wheat in college and now I eat it on whole wheat and eat about half as much as I did back then. I had tuna salad around from earlier in the week, so I made this into a tuna-melt-style sandwich instead of straight grilled cheese, though it's common for me to make a cheese sandwich with 2 ounces of cheese. The soup and the pickle help make this more filling, though it is a small meal. Ironically, I've found that reduced calorie margarine actually grills whole wheat sandwiches better than real butter, so I get lower calories and a nicely browned sandwich.

This tomato soup is one of my absolute favorite things to have around to snack on  or accompany meals because it is warm, filling, savory, and low in calories. It's also cheap to make. Note that not all bouillon cubes are the same so you may have to experiment with the number and type that you use. You may need more or fewer depending on the size and flavor intensity of the cubes and your tastes. I prefer to use chicken-flavored cubes, but beef is okay as well. Generally speaking, I use cubes intended for making soup by dissolving one cube in 8 oz. of water. I usually use Knorr brand.

tomato soup:

• 1 tsp. oil (40 calories)
• 1 medium onion, diced (44 calories)
• 2 small garlic cloves, cut into quarters lengthwise (9 calories)
• 1/3 large carrot sliced, chopped (10 calories)
• 1 large tomato, roughly chopped (33 calories)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (77 calories)
• 2 chicken (or beef) bouillon cubes (20 calories)
• dried parsley, salt, coarse black pepper to taste (I use 3/4 tsp. parsley, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt)
• 3 cups water

total for entire batch: 233 calories

Heat a medium-size soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Warming the pan first then adding the oil allows you to get more coverage with less oil. Add the onions and garlic clove pieces to the oil and cook until the onion is softened. If it starts to brown too quickly, lower the heat to medium-low. Stir in carrot pieces, parsley, pepper, and salt and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped fresh tomato and cook for a further 5 minutes. Finally, add the canned tomato, bouillon cubes, and water. Cover and cook at a vigorous simmer for 30 minutes or at a normal simmer for an hour. The soup is done when the carrots are tender. Cooking it longer just develops the flavors more, but isn't absolutely necessary. Puree the soup with an immersion blender and taste to see if it needs more seasoning (usually, you'll need to adjust the salt). This makes about five 8-ounce (1 cup) servings at 47 calories per serving.

grilled sandwich of (1/2 serving) tuna salad, 1 oz. Colby Jack cheese on (1 slice) whole wheat bread: (71 + 110 + 80) = 261
1 cup tomato soup = 47 calories
reduced fat margarine (for grilling) = 30 calories
pickle = 0
total = 338

This was obviously a very tiny meal, and is not really an uncommon choice for me. Later, I had a banana and full fat yogurt (with sugar) as a snack. This is a fairly classic example of my meal splitting to eat my calories spread out throughout the day more in order to not feel as hungry.

Today's Lunch

It may seem from these lunches that I eat a lot of bagels, but that's not true most of the time. I just happened to buy one of those big bags with 12 bagels at Costco and it takes me a long time to eat them since I only eat half at a time. Usually, I have whole wheat bread, and later lunches should reflect this. Using bagels means that these lunches are about 80 calories more than my usual, but that's okay. I enjoy the bagels and they're more filling than thin slices of wheat bread. I simply have to adjust later snacks so that I eat a bit less on days when I'm having these bagels.

Today, I had one of my more filling lunches. Tuna always keeps me full longer than any other type of protein. I also had a bit of avocado, which is often hard to squeeze in because it's so high in calories. Finally, I had the last of some carrot soup I had lying around. I had this with half of a bottle of Coke Zero.

Tuna salad (2 servings):

• 1 can of water-packed Albacore tuna, drained (210 calories)
• 2 tbsp. reduced calorie mayonnaise (60 calories) or 1 tbsp. regular mayonnaise with 1 tbsp. yogurt (100 calories)
• 1 tbsp. plain, low-fat yogurt (10 calories)
• 1 thin slice large onion, finely chopped (4 calories)
• seasoning to taste - garlic powder, celery salt, pepper are my favorites

total for all: 284 calories

If you like moister tuna salad, it's not going to cost much in calories just to put more yogurt in it and I can't taste it much. If you're sensitive to yogurt flavors, it may be best to go with reduced calorie mayo and add more of it.

1/2 bagel = 160 calories
tuna salad (1/2 the above) = 142 calories (add 20 more if you use full fat mayo and yogurt)
tomato (1 small) and avocado salad (1 thin slice) = 16 + 32 = 48 calories
10 oz. carrot soup = 100 calories
total: 450 calories

Today's Lunch

Today's lunch was super simple because I was in a hurry. I was also in the mood for cheese so I took half of an onion poppy seed bagel from the freezer, thawed it a bit in the microwave (but left it still a bit cold), topped with Colby Jack cheese, and stuck it in the toaster oven just enough to soften the cheese. It's amazing how something so simple can be so good when you really crave it. I had it with carrot soup that I had already made and just a few strawberries. I had more strawberries later as a snack, but wanted a few as a sweet finish to this small lunch.

carrot soup:

• 1 tsp. oil (40 calories)
• 1 tsp. fennel seed (7 calories)
• 1 medium onion, diced (44 calories)
• 1 semi-heaping tsp. curry powder (9 calories)
• 2 small whole garlic cloves, peeled (9 calories)
• 3 large carrots, scrubbed with tips removed, sliced (90 calories)
• 1 can (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock (20 calories for chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups low fat milk (135 calories)
• 1/2-1 cup water
• salt and coarse black pepper to taste (I use 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper)

total (entire batch): 354 calories

Heat a medium soup pot (that you have a lid for) under low heat. Add the oil to the hot pan and tip it around to coat the bottom evenly. Add the fennel seeds and allow them to cook for about a minute. Add the diced onion and garlic cloves and stir it around in the oil and fennel. Cook the onions over low or medium heat until they become translucent. If they start to stick or brown too quickly, lower the heat and stir more frequently. It should take 5-10 minutes to cook the onions. It's important to do this to remove the "raw" or harsh flavors from the onion.

Add the curry powder to the onions and stir it around. Cook the curry powder for 2-3 minutes with the onions. Add the carrots and stir around to coat with seasonings. Add the soup stock, salt, pepper, water and milk. Note that the amount of water you use depends on how thin you want the soup to be. I prefer mine thick, so I use a half cup, but the size of the vegetables plays into this as well. Stir to mix, cover with a lid, and allow to cook over low to medium-low heat at a vigorous simmer. A vigorous simmer means it is boiling a little, but not at a point where the pot might boil over. Stir the soup occasionally (about every 10 minutes or so).

Cook until the carrots are tender. The time this takes depends on how you slice or cut up your carrots. Smaller pieces take less time. Generally speaking, between 30-45 minutes is good. It's okay to overcook the soup, but not to cook too little as the carrots need to be very tender. Test the carrots with a fork to see if they are done. If you can cut one of the thicker or larger pieces in half easily with a fork, it is cooked well enough. When the carrots are thoroughly cooked, use an immersion blender to puree it well. Serve hot or cold.

This makes between 4-5 one-cup (8 oz.) servings of soup. The volume varies slightly depending on the size of your vegetables and whether or not you make the soup thinner or thicker. For my FitDay logging, I just place one serving at 80 calories which I believe is going to be within 10 calories one way or another if I have a one cup serving.

bagel = 160 calories
1.6 oz. cheese = 174 calories
8 oz. carrot soup = 80 calories
4 strawberries = 16 calories
total = 430

Because of the low amount of protein, I was hungry about 2 hours later, but I rather expected that. I had a half cup of (full fat, with sugar) yogurt with the second serving of strawberries about two hours after this.

Today's Dinner

I love chicken eaten over glutinous rice. The combination is very good in terms of the contrasting textures, and you don't have to add gravy or butter to the rice because it will take on the flavor of the meat that you make with it if you eat them both together.

The ground chicken was seasoned only with salt and pepper and was cooked in a cast iron skillet. Using cast iron lends meat a nicer flavor than using a non-stick pan. I also threw in some garlic cloves and fried them up with the burger, though I used a very scant amount of oil in the process. One other nice aspect of cast iron pans is that they can work with little oil after they are seasoned.

The burger was perfectly cooked (still juicy) and the texture of the ground meat went very well with the rice. I mashed and cut up the garlic with the side of my fork and ate it with bites of chicken and rice. It may be a bit strong for some people, but I really enjoyed it. The garlic was softer and mellower because of slow cooking in the cast iron skillet.

I had hot tea and water with this, and the chocolate was "dessert". I usually don't eat sweets right after dinner, but I had had a low calorie day and was in the mood for it. The chocolate was two small squares of a large bar of hazelnut milk chocolate (chocolate with whole nuts in it) that I bought a long time ago and have slowly been eating over a period of months. It has been in a Ziploc bag my refrigerator, buffeted around as other food is shifted around it, for quite awhile so it looks a little bruised. It was delicious though. You can compare the squares to the size of the grapes to see just how small they were.

I took a multivitamin with this meal, as I try to do every night with dinner.

carrot salad (1 serving):

• 1 carrot, peeled and grated (25 calories)
• 1 tsp. oil (any type you like) (40 calories)
• 1-2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. whole grain mustard
• salt, pepper, parsley to taste
  total calories: 65 calories
  

Add the lemon juice, oil, mustard, and spices to a bowl and whisk together. Stir in the grated carrot with a fork, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for an hour or so. You can eat it fresh, but it's nicer is you let it sit for a bit. The flavors combine much more smoothly and the carrot gets a little softer.

chicken burger (4 oz.) = 142 calories
garlic cloves = 14 calories
1 cup glutinous rice = 168 calories
grated carrot salad = 65 calories
3.4 oz. red grapes = 66 calories
hazelnut chocolate = 90
total = 545

Today's Breakfast

I don't generally eat a big breakfast. I wake up hungry, but not ravenous. Something small usually does it for me, and since I often have stiffness and pain in the morning, it's all the nicer to have something simple.

One of my favorites when I don't happen to have whole wheat bread on hand (which I make myself) is banana toast. That's not toast with bananas on it, but rather sugar-free (and whole wheat) banana bread which has been toasted and spread with 50% calorie-reduced fat spread. I love this with 8 or 10 oz. of coffee with 1/3 of a cup of whole milk and one packet of Splenda. Toasting this makes it slightly crispy on the edges and tender in the center.

I adapted this recipe from a link I was given on Tea at Dusk.

Bread for Banana Toast:

• 3 medium bananas (315 calories)
• 1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt (77 calories)
  
• 1 medium egg (63 calories)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (52 calories)
  
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil (120 calories)
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla (12 calories)
• 3/4 cup granular Splenda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups of (regular, not pastry) whole wheat flour (742 calories)
  
• 1 tbsp. baking powder (12 calories)

total for entire loaf: 1393 calories

Place the bananas in a food processor or blender and blend them until liquefied. If you don't have either of these appliances, mash the bananas well with a fork. Add the yogurt, egg, vanilla, oil, and vegetable oil and blend again (or mix with a whisk) until everything is evenly mixed. Transfer the liquid ingredients to a large bowl and whisk in the Splenda granular, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Add the whole wheat flour and gently moisten it with a spoon. Do not mix it well at this point. You only want to get it wet and then allow it to rest for 15 minutes to a half hour. You want to allow the flour to absorb the moisture more fully before baking. This is not essential, but it improves the texture of whole wheat baked goods made with relatively coarse flour.

While the batter is resting, prepare a loaf pan by spraying it with non-stick spray or greasing and flouring it. After the batter has rested, add the baking powder and stir sufficiently to mix it in. Don't stir more than necessary as you will work the gluten in the flour too much and the bread will be tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for between 45 minutes and an hour. When a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, it is done. Remove it from the oven and allow it to sit for 15 minutes in the pan. It will easily flip out of the loaf pan after this rest.

I also recommend allowing the bread to sit uncut overnight. This will make it easier to slice evenly as well as improve the texture. Whole wheat baked goods are often better after the moisture settles overnight.

The number of calories per serving depends on how many pieces you cut it into. I usually cut it into 10 (146 calories per slice), but some may find 8 to be a more satisfying serving size (183 calories per slice). I tend to decide based on how big the overall loaf seems to come out. If it feels small, I'll go for 8 slices. If it feels big, I'll go for 10.

coffee with whole milk = 44 calories
banana toast (8 cut) = 174 calories
fat spread = 20 calories
total: 238 calories

I took a Vitamin C supplement with this breakfast because I've been feeling tired. When I suddenly start to feel more tired than usual, it's generally because my body is trying to fight off a cold or virus. I don't take Vitamin C (in the morning) in addition to my daily multivitamin (at night) unless I'm feeling more fatigued than usual because I don't want to overload on C (as it can cause diarrhea and is a water-soluble vitamin that is wasted if you body can't use it).

Today's Lunch

I have no plans to become a blogger who posts every meal I eat as I don't need that sort of motivation to be accountable at this time. I also do not have the time, but I will occasionally post a meal and the recipes involved in case anyone is interested.

Today's lunch was egg salad on half a toasted onion and poppy seed bagel, 8 oz. homemade tomato soup, half a 500 ml. bottle of Coke Zero and an orange. This was quite a bit too much food for me to eat all at once though so I ate about 3 orange wedges and had to set the rest aside for later. I also took a Calcium supplement with the meal.

Here are the recipes and calorie breakdowns for this meal:

egg salad (this makes enough for 2 meals)

• 3 medium eggs, hard-boiled (188 calories)
• 2 tbsp. reduced calorie mayonnaise (60 calories) or use 1 tbsp. full fat mayonnaise and 1 tbsp. non-fat unsweetened yogurt (100 calories)
• 1 thin slice onion, finely chopped (4 calories)
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste (any other spices you like, I sometimes use dill or add in a little yellow or whole grain mustard)
  

Place the diced onion in a bowl. Peel the eggs and pop the yolks into the bowl with the onions. Add the mayonnaise and sprinkle on the spices. Mash the yolks and mix until the yolks and mayonnaise are well incorporated into a paste-like mixture. Chop the egg whites and stir into the yolk mixture. Spoon half of this onto a toasted bagel and refrigerate the rest for tomorrow.

I will provide the recipe for the tomato soup later when I have more time to write it up and offer all of the calorie information. The soup is mainly pureed vegetables (tomato, onion, and carrot), spices, and water so it is not densely caloric and is nutritious. Of course, preparation is a big part of what makes it so delicious and much better than anything you could buy in a can.

1/2 bagel = 160 calories
egg salad (1/2 of above) = 126 calories (add 20 more if you use full fat mayo and yogurt)
soup = 50 calories
orange = 86 calories
total: 422

This was such a satisfying lunch. The bagel (from Costco) was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The egg salad was creamy and perfectly spiced and the soup was tangy, warming, and just salty enough. I'm not a huge fan of oranges, but I was in the mood for them today and the juicy wedges were really lovely when I slowly squeezed them in my mouth. :-)

I deal with the bagels by slicing them in half and wrapping each half in plastic and freezing them. When I want them, I can just take out a half and toast it in the toaster oven while still frozen.