There is nothing more warming or comforting than a big bowl of soup. As the days get colder you can find me in my kitchen cooking up big pots of soup to enjoy with a slice (or three) of crusty bread. This hearty recipe is low in fat and calories while still being warming, comforting and of course filling!
Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large red bliss potatoes, washed and diced
2 cups dried split peas, rinsed
5 cups vegetable or vegetarian “chicken” broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Heat the 4-quart stock pot over medium-high heat; add 1/4 cup of water, carrots and onion. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, stir to coat the veggies. Add the split peas and broth. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 30-35 or split peas are tender.
I absolutely love brown rice. I could eat it for every meal and I often will cook up a big batch at the beginning of the week to enjoy with a variety of meals throughout the week. One of my favorite ways to use my pre-cooked rice is stir-fried up with a variety of veggies. The combination of the veggies, sweet and salty flavors and the hearty rice makes the perfect one pot meal.
Ingredients:
8oz tempeh, diced
1/2 bunch of kale, shredded
6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons shoyu, divided
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon ume vinegar
Directions:
Heat the 5 tablespoons of water over medium-high heat in the saute pan over medium heat for 30 seconds.
Add the onions and tempeh to the pan and cook until onions are soft and water has evaporated.
Stir in the mirin, 1 tablespoon of the shoyu, and garlic.
Add the carrots, bell pepper, mushooms and kale; cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until kale is wilted.
Stir in the remaining shoyu, sesame oil, ume vinegar and rice; stir until evenly combined. Reduce to medium and cook for 7-10 minutes
While I am cleansing I am dreaming of making this recipe….
Ooey, Gooey, Creamy. When I am craving something comforting it better be all three and most of all it better be vegan mac and cheese. The problem with most mac and cheese is that they are high in calories and cholesterol, usually aren’t vegan and aren’t so healthy for you.
In an effort to change all of that I decided to make an ooey, gooey, creamy, non-dairy mac and cheese with an added twist- butternut squash! The pureed squash is a sneaky way to add a vegetable to your mac and cheese and help provides that bright orange color of the mac and cheese of your childhood but in a healthy way.
Additionally, Silk PureAlmond unsweetened original makes this mac and cheese nice and creamy without all the added calories and cholesterol of dairy products. The curry adds a nice little twist to this mac and cheese and goes so well with the sweet butternut squash. This recipe is so delicious your family won’t even realize that it’s vegan (or healthy).
Creamy Curry Butternut Squash Vegan Mac & Cheese
Serves 8 Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, seeded, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon coconut or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup vegetable broth
1 cup Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Original
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 lb cooked small pasta (penne, macaroni, goblietti, fusilli)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 425F.
Toss butternut squash with the coconut oil, salt and pepper and pour into a roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender. While the squash is baking cook the pasta.
In a blender or food processor combine the vegetable broth, almond milk, curry powder, nutritional yeast, and the roasted squash. Toss the squash “cheese” sauce with the pasta and return to the roasting. Toss the panko with the olive oil and sprinkle over the pasta. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until brown and bubbly.
Tip: Rather than serving family style, portion out into individual oven safe dishes, top with a little of the panko breadcrumbs, bake and serve.
I know I have been talking about goals, New Years Resolutions and getting back in shape for the new year and I promise (but not really) that this is my last post. I usually don’t make specific New Years Resolutions but rather goals for the new year and ways that I can accomplish those goals. This year I decided that if I really want to lose the baby weight I need to find a method that works well for me.
In the past I have found calorie counting to work really well for me and I was able to lose 50lbs over about 18 months and maintain that weight loss for 5 years. So my thought is if it worked back then maybe it will work for me again.
Now I’m not nitpicking when it comes to every little thing I eat and I’m not on a super calorie restricting “diet” but rather I have been using My Fitness Pal to record my daily eats and workouts so I can actually take a look at what I am REALLY eating and how often I am working out. It is so easy to overlook the things that we eat and by recording everything that I am eating I am able to figure out if am getting enough of the nutrients I need and also where I might need to cut back. Since I am still breastfeeding I really can’t restrict my calories too much so more of my focus is on making sure I am getting enough healthy calories and that I am making time to workout.
So far My Fitness Pal has been a such a help for me to really jump start my New Years resolution. It really is true what they say “If it’s not broken why fix it” aka recording my daily eats worked before and it’s working now. The only thing I really don’t like about My Fitness Pal is that it points out my flaws. I mean really it’s not very nice to point out that I went about a billion calories over budget on Saturday because I ate one or three too many Voodoo Doughnuts.
Okay I guess My Fitness Pal can’t be held responsible for my short comings and honestly I guess it’s doing it’s job – making me aware of where and when I need to make improvements so that I can be the healthiest and happiest I have ever been. Although daily meal and fitness recording is time consuming and I honestly probably forget things here and there I have found that it is really helping me. I also love that I am able to follow the progress friends who are also using My Fitness Pal and we are able to really support each other. I haven’t noticed a weight loss yet but I can tell you I am really starting to feel better and fit back into clothes that I wasn’t able to wear a few weeks ago.
Q: Do you calorie count? How are you making your New Years Resolutions achievable?
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Every year on January 1st people around the world declare their New Year’s Resolution(s). Although declared with good intention most of people end up never accomplishing the goal that they set out to do and by February the resolution is forgotten about (or at least ignored). This year why not make your resolution a priority?
Tips for sticking to New Year’s Resolutions
Make sure it is S.M.A.R.T. That’s right SMART! Specific, Meaningful, Attainable, Relevant (or Realistic) and Timely. If you focus on making S.M.A.R.T. goals you will be sure to follow through and accomplish your goals.
Find a buddy. Whether it is someone who has the same goal as your or just someone who you can check in with ever week find someone who can SUPPORT you and your goals. If you want to accomplish something fitness related it is great to have a friend to workout with and keep you accountable.
Be Specific. This is one of the S.M.A.R.T. goals but I wanted to point it out again because the more specific with your goal that you can be the better chance that you will be able to accomplish said goal. In other words rather than saying I want to be more active in the new year a more specific goal would be “I want to run 3x per week” or “I want to go to cross fit 4x per week”.
Create Action Steps. I would say this is one of the most important tips to accomplishing your goals. If you can actually take the time to consider what steps you need to take to meet your goals and create a plan the more likely your goals will be met. So if you want to lose 10lbs then your action steps may be to increase the whole foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc) in your diet, run 2x per week, practice yoga at home or in the studio once per week and spend more time reading than watching TV.
My New Year’s Resolutions/Goals:
This year I am really focusing on the goals that I set out for myself back in November. So far I have been doing really well with my resolutions and have really made time to focus on them and create action steps to accomplish them. I have been turning this blog, social media and my husband for support and accountability. It is amazing how much (self) pressure there is to follow through with things when you tweet a goal! One of my goals is to increase the intensity of my workouts in hopes that it will get me closer to being back in my pre-pregnancy shape. To help accomplish this goal I have put the pressure on to run my first postpartum race in May and have created a training schedule to help me accomplish this goal.
In addition to the goals I have already set out to accomplish I would like to run three races, practice yoga once per week, read 12 books and re-learn Spanish.
What are you goals/resolutions for 2013? How are you planning to accomplish them?
While pregnant with Edith I developed a sweet tooth and an addiction to bagels with tofutti. Now 4 months postpartum and although I have kicked the two…err sometimes four bagels a week and I am only having coconut ice cream every 4-6 weeks rather than once per week. That being said I’m still far off from where I used to be and after thinking things through I came to an important conclusion.
For the last four months I have been completely focused on E and a little less focused on myself (diet and exercise included). Now that we have a little bit more of a routine (although still ever changing) I am ready to create goals to help improve my diet, fitness and energy levels. A few things I need to consider are making sure I am eating enough calories for nursing and increasing the foods that help my milk production (that’s a whole other blog post).
Okay so first things first I decided to fill out my very own health history just like I would ask prospective clients to do. So lets take a look at the first part.
As you can see my weight is quite a bit higher than I would like and that I put on a good amount of weight while I was pregnant and although I have lost a bit I am far from my pre-pregnancy weight. Goal #1: Lose Weight. I’d like to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by October 2013.
Another notable thing to point out is that my energy levels are lower than desired. I know you’re probably saying umm yeah you have four month old of course you are lacking energy and while that is true I know that I could improve upon this. Goal #2: Increase my Energy.
As I noted above I am a bread and sweets addict. The funny thing is although I have always been a lover of all things bread related I was never a huge sweets fan until my pregnancy. I too often gave into this craving during pregnancy and it has stuck with me. Goal #3:Break my sugar craving.
May 2011
Okay so lets evaluate the section above, as you can see starting at the top I need to get more sleep. E who was a good sleeper is suddenly sleeping from about 7pm-10pm, 11pm-1 or 2am, 2:30a-4a and then she wants to be up. Honestly I don’t know where I am going to get more sleep because I usually have dinner around 7/7:30pm and then I don’t want to go to bed immediately after so I usually stay up until 9:15-10pm. Napping during the day is difficult to do as well so really until we can get E back on a better schedule this is going to be a challenging goal but alas it’s still my Goal #4.
Next lets talk about the gluten sensitivity….yes I am addicted to bread and have a minor gluten sensitivity. I say minor because a small amount doesn’t bother me but there is a fine line between feeling fine and feeling bloated. So Goal #5 eat less gluten.
Goal #6 is to increase the intensity of my workouts. I have actually already started working on this my participating in the Best Body Boot Camp. I have been making an effort to increase the intensity, duration and get back to running. I’ll discuss this goal more as well as my others in follow up posts.
39 Weeks 3 Days (the day I went into labor)
Okay so here we are the last section and my final goal to improve my diet. During my pregnancy I ate really well with the exception of the first trimester when all I wanted were bagels and citrus. Then the baby arrived and if you’re a new mom you know how challenging it can be to make a good meal when you are home alone with a baby. I also hate that we end up eating dinner about 2 hours later than we used to because of Neil’s busy work schedule and E’s desire to go to bed at 6:30. That being said Goal #7 eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and raw meals and make an effort to eat dinner earlier.
3.5 Months Postpartum
Even though I’m a health coach and I know all the things I am “doing wrong” sometimes you just have to sit down and really practice what you preach. I plan to follow this post up with a more in-depth look at my goals and the action steps I need to take to accomplish these goals.
What are your health goals? How do you plan to accomplish them?
I know that I said I would do the Crazy Sexy 21-Day Cleanse but after the first 5 days I failed it. I am finding that life with a new baby doesn’t always allow you to do everything that you plan and that at times you just have to go with the flow. Now this may all sound like I am blaming it on the baby (which I am a little) but honestly it was hard to stick with reading the various affirmations, daily goals and ect. As for the food part I only have had a few minor fails and plan to continue to follow the 60/40 plan.
Okay so things really aren’t as dramatic as they might seem, overall Neil and I both have stuck with the Crazy Sexy Diet/Cleanse with a few minor fails which include:
I had Thai takeout that my parents got for dinner after a crazy day out.
I have had coffee which honestly I’m not sorry about. I have had no more than one cup per day and most days I don’t have a cup and I’m okay with that. Neil has also had coffee.
We gave into our hunger and desire for our favorite dumplings from the dumpling cart Saturday (which we now regret- too much gluten!).
I had a gluten free beer. Neil had beer this week too at home and at a work dinner.
We stopped following the cleanse in the book. Tending to a fussy baby, nursing, sleeping and focusing on eating as well as possible took priority.
What I like to call the Crazy Sexy Diet Wins:
We have successfully reduced the amount of gluten that we have been eating. With the exception of beer, dumplings and today Neil had Field Roast deli slices for lunch we have not eaten any other glutenous foods in 8 days. We are both feeling a lot better and our digestion has improved. We will not be eliminating gluten completely from our diet (we both enjoy beer too much and Neil is a homebrewer) because a little gluten doesn’t bother us but we will be limiting our intake because we both feel better.
We have increased raw foods. We have been enjoying lots of green juices, green smoothies and extra large salads. We feel great since increasing all of these and I am so glad to get back to juicing! Also to be honest one of our favorite meals now are extra large salads with tons of veggies, a little cooked protein and sometimes a little whole grain added in <– so good.
We have maintained our caffeine reduction. Back when I got pregnant I pretty much stopped drinking coffee in my first trimester with the exception of a few small decaf coffees and in my second and third trimesters I had decaf 3-4 times per week and once in awhile a half caf. During this time Neil decided to reduce his coffee intake from 2-4 cups per day to one cup per day (sometimes two on the weekends).
We have reduced our sweets. When I was pregnant I developed this crazy sweet tooth and was always wanting coconut ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. Well the craving for chocolate chip cookies didn’t go away once Edie was born and the first week home Neil must have made at least three small batches. I’m happy to say that as much as I want a chocolate chip cookie right now we won’t be heading to the kitchen to bake any for awhile and that both of our sweet tooth’s have been satisfied lately with a small piece of dark chocolate.
We increased our workouts. I went for a walk 5 out of 7 days last week and Neil got back on track with his training schedule, biked to work and also ran a 5k. I am happy to say it feels amazing to be back on a more regular workout out schedule and I plan to keep it up!
Okay so it wasn’t a total failure. We didn’t stay on track like we had wanted to but we are keeping up the principles of the 60/40 plan of the Crazy Sexy Diet and will be maintaining our workouts. One day I hope to really be able to commit the necessary time and focus to do the Crazy Sexy Cleanse.
