More Recipes with Tomato & Basil

So, after my delicious tomato-basil grilled cheese on wheat, I had some tomato and basil left over, which I didn't want to go to waste. (I unfortunately have a bad habit of 'forgetting' about the veggies and things that are only good for a few days-week, which wastes a lot of $$) For breakfast, I made myself a tomato-basil omelette. Yum yum. No pictures, but here's the recipe:

Tomato-Basil Omelette

*1/2 cup chopped tomato (the actual recipe calls for tomato sauce, but I used leftover tomato)

*chopped fresh basil (you can also use dried basil)

*egg whites (or 2 eggs)--I use the kind that comes pre-packaged in little containers because they're perfect for omelette making (I'll put the brand name down later, I forget what it is at the moment)

*a pinch of salt and pepper if you want

* 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella 

Heat a tsp of butter on a skillet over medium heat (or spray with pam, a healthier option); Wait until a drop of water sizzles on the skillet and then slowly pour the egg whites into the skillet. Wait  a few minutes for the bottom to settle; Gently lift the edges all the way around the skillet using one of those spatulas (but not the soft kind you use to scrape brownie mix out of the bowl, use the harder kind) *disclaimer: just starting to cook-i have no idea what you call a lot of things--like, I had no idea what a saucepan was for a very, very long time. sad i know, it's ok-you can laugh*  Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella; Add your tomatoes and basil to one side; Carefully fold over the side that doesn't have the stuff on it and push down a little; let the omelette sit for a few seconds, then flip over the other side; Let it side there for a few more minutes and then you're done! YAY! YUMMY :)

Balsamic Tomatoes

*leftover tomatoes (I used a total of two for the grilled cheese, omelette, and this)

*1/2 of small onion

*rest of fresh basil (if you don't have any, you can use dried or dried oregano, or anything you think would taste good on tomatoes)

* balsamic vinaigrette (i like the spray kind; 20 sprays is only 20 calories and it saturates nicely)

*optional: cut up low-fat, part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks, or if you want to by fresh mozzarella balls or cut up regular mozzarella, that'd work too

Chop up the leftover tomato into bite-size pieces; chop onion, basil, and cheese ( and any other ingredients you might want) into small pieces; Put everything into a container (I use the smaller Gladware containers); Spray (or drizzle) balsamic vinaigrette, cover, and shake; Let marinade for at least 5 minutes and then eat.

Both of these were absolutely delicious and I'll definitely be making them a lot! The Balsamic Tomatoes were so easy to make, took me about 5 minutes, and would be perfect to make the night before and take to school for lunch or something. Word of advice: use less onions if you don't like the onion taste/smell...a 1/2 of a small onion is a lot, believe it or not.

For dinner, I broke out the food processor and made something that sounds not so appetizing, but actually tastes really good: Broccoli-Zucchini Soup.

Broccoli-Zucchini Soup

* 1 bag microwaveable steam broccoli (I forget the brand, but they have a ton of commercials about dinners you can throw in the microwave for 5 minutes, they steam, and they're done)

* 2 medium zucchinis 

* 1/2 tsp minced garlic

* 2 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes

*pepper to taste

*food processor or blender

Steam the zucchinis in 1-1/3 cup of water until soft; Simultaneously make the broccoli-in-a-bag in your microwave; Once the zucchini and broccoli are done steaming, put both in a food processor, leaving ALL the water in the saucepan/pot that you used to steam the zucchini. Once all of the zucchini is out of the saucepan, drop in the 2 bouillon cubes and stir until dissolved. Add the bouillon water to the food processor, add pepper to taste, put on the lid, and then start pureeing the mixture until it is smooth. aaannnd, you're done!

There's only 23 calories per serving! And the recipe makes a little over 4 servings and is very filling :) 

I haven't been able to workout a lot this week, which is annoying. As my little Nike+ wiki says, I've turned into a couch potato! (well not really, grad school tends to get in the way) I can honestly say I feel completely different when I work out a lot versus not working out as much. I have a harder time falling asleep and a much harder time waking up in the morning. I guess the experts are right--Exercise really does make a world of difference! Hopefully I'll be able to get cracking this weekend on the physical part so that I can accelerate my weight-loss. Plus, there's only 2 weeks until I'll be lounging in Florida by the pool, in a bathing suit. Yikes!