Now, don't you go off and worry about me. I'm not going to be too silly when it comes to my new diet and exercise program. I know my limits, and I know my boundaries. I also know that you can overdo something and burn out, then you don't have the umpf to keep it going so you can meet your health goals. For me, eating correctly starts with the breakfast choices, and as everyone is quick to tell me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I have another thought about it. It's the one meal I can't really take the time to prepare and clean up before going to work, so I have decided that during the week when I'm working, I'll do a protein hemp shake and take all of my vitamins. On the weekends I can do a more hearty breakfast. I have this thing about cleaning as I go, and I don't want to end up being late for work! I can be late for the weekend!
For lunch and actually supper or dinner, I've been having fun making soups. It's almost winter and since we have had a rather mild Autumn with only a few colder days, I didn't pull out my soup recipe book until about a week ago. I bought the book online when I thought I would buy myself an Instapot last year either for my birthday or for Christmas. I didn't actually end up buying the Instapot, but the recipe book has been amazing! There are too many books out there to give total credence to just one; you can easily find them on Amazon and do yourself a favor, get the one with photos so you can experience the colors, the textures, and judge for yourself if what you end up creating is the same thing you saw on the pages! I didn't get the Instapot because I think I rather like the time it takes to make a good soup. If I had more people to cook for maybe, but right now it's not worth the effort. I'm good with the stew pot!
Today, I decided to go through the kitchen and do a bit of a cleaning out of the fridge to see what I could throw into a stew pot and make for the next several days. When I do that I am just as likely to have a stew or soup with meat as I am to have one without meat. To my surprise, there were no pieces of meat that needed to be cooked immediately, so the winner ended up being a squash-based veggie soup with carrots, mushrooms, onions, and yes, squash pieces. After pureeing three yellow summer squash to make the base I realized it seemed a bit thin for what I wanted, so I threw in a few potatoes that were actually just purchased, and did not in any way need to be cooked immediately. They made a difference! So good.
The multitude of spices seemed to go on for a minute as I poured in ginger, pepper, salt, garlic, rosemary, turmeric, and basil. I decided chives would be a good color and be so pretty as they spread out and left themselves to lounge on various chunks of tubers. I was correct. The deliciousness could be smelt from downstairs, and two neighbors commented on how they wished they were my dogs. I think they think I give soup to my dogs, and they'd be correct. My dogs were quite happy, not going to lie. I did, however, because they are dogs, mix their soup with a bit of dry kibble and yeah, they ate it all in one standing. They don't sit to eat.
I have soup for the next three days and where I will end up taking some to work with me on both Monday and Tuesday, I know I will be eating and/or consuming fair fewer calories than I would have if I had made a bigger meal for each setting. I am hoping that by choosing to eat soup more often, I can cut my calorie intake by at least half and maybe more! That's always a good way to lose the extra pounds and stay incredibly satisfied and full. I can put a little coconut oil in the mix and make that really happen. You just never know with me. I could be 100 pounds lighter in 3 months if I keep this up; well, no, that wouldn't be good. I'll settle for 30 pounds. We'll see what happens.
I would write out the recipe but I didn't really use one. I just pureed the squash, added water, threw in some Greek yogurt, corn starch, and potatoes for making it thicker, then I added carrots, chopped onions, squash chunks, and the nearly-too-dead-to-eat mushrooms which, by the way, did not kill me. I wondered about it. I had to make a quick decision about the mushrooms. I really wanted them in the soup, but you also have to gauge whether or not dying for the cause is truly worth it. I know in hindsight, I made the right decision. This is good. I let the soup simmer on medium heat for an hour, then lowered it, and let it cook until the potatoes were done. I add cheese when I spoon it out, and Laura added sour cream to her bowl. That was interesting. I'll do that later tonight. Ohhhhh....soup.
Photo Credit: Me
No comments:
Post a Comment