Time for soup!

As the weather has turned, I have changed my lunches to more soup and sandwiches versus tortillia pizzas, etc. So when I saw on Skinnytaste a recipe for Pasta and Bean Soup, AKA Pasta Fagioli, I had to add it to the list to try. Anyone who goes to Olive Garden and has tried their Pasta Fagioli soup, knows how great it is. And OG's version is actually a great choice, if you do it without cheese!
For a large cup: 130 Calories 2.5 Fat  9 Protein 17 Carb 6 Fiber
Well this recipe was a great knock off and can be done vegetarian style, unlike OG's! Gina has out done herself once again.

From www.skinnytaste.com

 Pasta Fagioli (Pasta and Beans)
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 5 large bowls • Serving Size: about 2 cups • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 254.5 • Fat: 3.4 g • Protein: 10.3 g • Carb: 47.5 g • Fiber: 6.8 g

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
  
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
• 15 oz can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
  
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 (14 oz each) cans fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
• 2 cups water
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-1/2 cups (6 oz) dry Ditalini pasta or other small pasta
• Grated Parmigiano or Romano (optional)

In a deep pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.

Blend the can of beans with one can water in electric blender until almost smooth.

Add blended beans to pan then add the can of tomato sauce, celery, carrots, chicken broth, basil, bay leaf, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Add 1 cup water and bring to slow boil. Let simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add pasta and cook uncovered until pasta is al dente, according to pasta directions.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated cheese (extra pts).

*+*+My Notes*+*+

+You can use either Red or white kidney beans, or mix it up and do both, just adjust your nutirtion and liquids.
*I think you could add some hamburger (extra lean), which would raise calories/points.
+Try using 1 each of beef and chicken broth.
*Beans and pasta will soak up the liquid, so if you are having leftovers, plan to have extra broth handy, unless you like a more stew style soup. Both are delish though!
+Freezes well! I made a double batch and froze half in Ziploc bags.

Enjoy, I sure did, and so did Chandler! Score!!!

A goal hit!

A while ago, I made a goal to hit 40 lb. If I hadn't been a slacker in August, I would have hit it in September, but alas, I was. So I hit it today! I am down 40.8 lb since Jan 2! Sweet! I lost 3.4 lb this last week, which was great. I know I haven't really posted much, but I am working on it.

This week, Chandler & I will belt test in Taekwondo. I am hoping to try for a double belt promotion, but only if Chandler will be able to do the same. He's confident he's ready to try, so I let him lead (as well as Master Null). We just need to practice our Korean terminology and Q&A portion of the test. I had a goal (in addition to) to be able to Ax Kick at my head level by this week. I accomplished that goal two weeks ago! Who would have known a 290.4 lb woman could do that! I did! :)

I have been also working on eating more homemade food, less junk. I think I have been doing pretty good with that. A lot of soup and sandwiches for lunch. I will try and put some recipes up this week. I tried a Pasta Fegioli soup from Skinnytaste that was great! And I made some PB Banana Muffins that were good too-needed some mini chocolate chips, though.

Team Warriors 4 Alex, 2011

 The Brown family also participated in the Light the Night walk on Oct. 1. It was a great moment for the Warriors 4 Alex, even though Alex was still at the hospital recovering from his Bone Marrow Transplant.  We had over 60 Warriors walk with us and it was a very moving evening, even with a little bit of a sprinkle. So far our team has raised over $9,300! We have two more fundraisers coming up, Dutch Bros Beaverton on Monday Oct 24, and Zumba at Hardcore Training Studio on Nov 5! If you can come, check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/warriors4alex.

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The Browns

In the mean time, check out the pages below! More progress and notes!

Progress page
Taekwondo Diary

On track!

The last couple weeks have been tough to get back on track. But I did! Last week (post Labor Day) I was really ready to get back on track, and go figure I did! I was down 3.8 lb! So almost all the damage I did for the [whole] month of August was undone last week. I am now 1 lb up from my lowest point. So as of this week, I am down 36.0 lb total. I am still using my body bugg, but frankly their interface for entering food SUCKS! So I am now using My Fitness Pal for tracking and I am much happier. And the app for Android seems to be awesome! Woot!


As far as a brief update on the Taekwondo exercise! This is awesome! I am loving it. I cannot.get.enough! I am a yellow w/ green stripe belt. I plan on testing for my green belt in about a month, along with Chandler. We will also be going to Sisters, forr for a tournament! I think Chandler and I will both be competing in Forms, most likely doing Taeguek 3, Sam Jang. And I might compete in board breaking. We'll see about the latter. :)

Over the course of the summer though I have been doing some recipe exploring and plan on sharing with you soon! Until then, cheers!