olive garden — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

i told Sonny to get me outta bed when my alarm went off this morning no matter what. he didn't, haha, but i got on up anyway and hit it early so i could use the rest of the day cooking for Thanksgiving! speaking of, we have a Thanksgiving Damage Control Challenge going on right now by the way for 1 buck!! check out the details and sign up to keep yourself in check for the big day tomorrow. i did a little arc trainer for my cardio and then one of our 6 Pack USA upper body workouts which targeted chest, biceps, triceps, and a little back. then i went into the group fitness studio for core and stretching and did a few of these:

[wpvideo 1CFeeUoN]

i admit- i love this Beyoncé video and song. i just do! not a Yonce stan, but definitely a fan.

then i got home and got the boys up and fed before i got cracking on this soup again. yesterday went terribly wrong. bad pics, bad soup color cause i burned the sausage...it was just...wrong. sometimes i want to post anyway and get it off my chest but something kept telling me to WAIT and be still. today turned out loads better. loads.

while i was cooking away, the doorbell rang. i immediately heard a truck engine start which means it was UPS and i had a package, haha! they never wait. ever.

knock, knock...

IT'S BACON!!!!!!

not just any bacon though. uncured, Applegate Good Morning Bacon.

skinny bacon! what? yes please! when it comes to natural and organic meats, Applegate is top-notch. you get what you pay for, guaranteed. Chiso looooved the hot dogs from our welcome-home-from-the-hospital lunch a few months ago! and if you're a dear reader of mine then you know how picky that guy is. we cracked the bacon open right away for breakfast. it's:

applewood smoked
60% less fat than regular bacon
uncured
antibiotic, gluten, casein, hormone, and nitrate-FREE
heaven-sent

it's no coincidence the soup calls for *drum roll* bacooooon. i told ya, perfect timing. His timing! anyway, it tastes just like pork belly bacon without all the excess grease and/or oil. let's give it up for Applegate!

*round of applause*

without further adieu, i present to you, healthified, dairy-free, Zuppa Toscana soup! it's 2nd place to Olive Garden's chicken & gnocchi soup in my book. maybe i'll healthify that one next ;) . the longer you let it sit, the creamier it will become, fyi. i hurriedly took these pics a few minutes after i finished cooking while i still had some good natural light left and it was still a tad thin. a few hours have passed since and the flavors have made their presence known and the texture is just right.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup - Healthified

the stuff:

1 lb sausage of your choice (see mine below), sliced
2 medium red potatoes
1/4 cup Applegate uncured Good Morning Bacon, roughly chopped
1 can light OR full-fat coconut milk
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 medium shallot, diced
32 oz low sodium chicken broth
2 big handfuls of raw, fresh kale
sea salt and black pepper to taste

couple things: i used light coconut milk. full fat would yield an even thicker, creamier soup of course! i also used spinach & garlic chicken sausage that i found at HEB, but you can use whatever you fancy.

do this:

coat a very large pot with no-stick cooking spray and set it to med-high heat
brown sliced sausage in pot (3-4 minutes)
add onion, shallot, potatoes to pot and stir
add chicken broth ensuring the water cover the top of the veggies/meat
cook on medium heat until the potatoes are done (about 10-12 minutes...watch it closely)
add bacon
add salt & pepper and let simmer for 10 min; taste
season again if needed then turn heat to low
add coconut milk and kale (make sure you push the kale into and under the liquid) and stir until well combined
serve warm and top it with more bacon!

using the My Fitness Pal recipe nutrition calculator i estimate 4 big bowls of soup from this pot. for one 12 oz serving:

285 cals, 10g fat, 28g carbs, 4g sugar and 1299mg sodium

(high sodium because of my sausage choice but that can be altered.)

pure YUMMINESS! make this and tag me! @fitfoodiele

omg. i'm running a 10k tomorrow morning. it's not like i don't know how to train for a run, i just don't want to. lol. and the temperature has dipped early this year at that! man. this time last year i was preggo and complaining about the cold. only difference is i still want to workout (indoors) and no first trimester woes. welp, if you're out there getting your trot on in Houston, holla at meeeeee! for now...

back to cooking my mom's famous cornbread dressing! happy TG eve!

i ate out the ENTIRE weekend. i rarely do that, but i still made some pretty good choices and didn't go overboard. after resting for a while saturday afternoon after the 10k (my little guy wouldn't let me sleep but we still did some lounging and took it easy), we headed over to olive garden with my cousin and bro. Sonny had some work to finish up. alas, the life of a business man.

OG peach tea! the frozen peach slices are a nice touch.

countless rounds of their caesar salad.

had to get my chicken and gnocchi fix...can't get enough of this soup. unlimited refills. only had 2 bowls there, but i ordered another round and took it to go. this soup actually has the most cals out of them all, and the stats are still reasonable and low @ 250 per bowl. i googled the copy cat recipe and i def. plan to make this at home!

i'm SO feeling the mini desserts- fun to eat and look at. and hello, portion controll!!! a lot of restaurants are doing them these days and i appreciate it as does my waistline. we got a trio- two chocolate mousse and one lemon.

i really wanted a slice of lemon cream cake!! but this did the trick. 230 cals vs. 610 cals and 35 grams of fat.

limoncello mousse with a vanilla cookie crust.

such a perfect, satisfying size.

started sunday morning off with and early church service as usual. i had my bowl of oatmeal before we left this time because i had to teach a weights class immediately afterwards. i always eat a little something before hitting the gym and rarely go on an empty stomach...especially to lift weights. i just can't get enough of taking or teaching classes- if your gym offers them, TRY THEM. the class environment provides camaraderie, support, accountability, and hopefully some music you like! i tend to push myself more when taking a class which makes for a tougher workout.

after class i went to join Sonny in the cafe. what was he doing? what else?!

he needed a few more minutes to finish, so i grabbed a snack and fed the little one before his hunger attitude kicked in. yeah i know who he got that from. there were 3 boiled eggs in there... i emptied out the yolks and added ketchup. it tasted better than it looked. added a stick of string cheese for a small protein filled snack. i also had a hot tea. they had several natural sweeteners to choose from. that totally motivated me to do a future post on the best sweetener to use..there are just SO many these days. i went with this one though:

ok enough of that, on to explore city centre. again.

that lululemon is just too close for comfort.

did some shopping, walking, and playing before lunch.

so serene.

INDEED!!

hey hubs!!!! *waving*

on to lunch- almost did Ruggles Green, but decided on Lubys, SMH.

mmmm...meat. i normally go with their grilled tilapia, but im trying to break my habit of getting the same thing.

'what can i get for you? ' *blank stare*

i ended up with a green salad, grilled basil chicken breast, cabbage, yams, and only the best mac n cheese ever. they were a little skimpy with my mac n cheese portion size this time! hmph. but it's all good...they definitely did me a favor.

good-bye february, helloooooooo march. new month, new race! the Bayou City Classic 10K is in 12 days. SIGN UP AND COME RUN!!!! (and then eat cause HEB sponsors this race too, hahaha)

http://www.bayoucityclassic.org/