Feast or Famine

I'm either blogging up a storm or not at all for months on end. That's kind of how I roll in real life too...I'm currently trying to lose a few pounds, which of course makes me OBSESSED with food. The more I have to diet, the more compulsive I become in finding the very best recipes and freshest ingredients and how much of something I can eat for the most amount of food...well, you get the idea.

I've been stalking this blog Can You Stay for Dinner? for a few weeks and recently read her 400 calorie salad ideas. I loved the thought of throwing all your leftovers into a salad (in an organized fashion). Today for lunch I made myself a super yummy salad with lettuce (duh...), onions, black beans, corn, tortilla crisps, and light ranch. I understand this isn't exactly a salad revolution or anything but it was slightly more out of the box for me than my normal.

http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/12/14/how-to-make-a-delicious-400-calorie-salad/

Tonight for dinner, I made gazpacho. Our friend, Nate, used to make this often but we live 5000 miles away from him and for some reason I've had a mega craving for it lately. CRH isn't supposed to eat a lot of tomato stuff right now, so I had put it off for a little bit but I decided today was the day. I just blended it all (I may have slightly over-blended...live and learn) and gave Eve a taste. She spit it out, so that's my measure that it's yummy goodness and the best part is that it's only 39 calories...yes, 39. I'm having it with a grilled cheese.

Here's the recipe from Allrecipes!

Prep Time:
20 Min

Ready In:
2 Hrs 20 Min

Servings (Help)

USMetricCalculate

Original Recipe Yield 10 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups tomato juice
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, minced
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, combine tomato juice, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, tarragon, basil, parsley, sugar, salt, and pepper. Blend until well-combined but still slightly chunky. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 39 | Total Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 0mg