Homemade Vegetable Soup

Hey everyone!

Hope all has been well! I have been doing good! Just busy busy busy with work and my side gigs lol!

This week I changed things up with my meals.  I also up'd my cardio and workouts.  I am going for 6 days a week! Woop!

I added more veggies to my meals and kept it pretty standard.  I do get bored with having the same thing usually but this week has been actually pretty good with the food.  I have made green smoothies every morning for breakfast which are better than you think a "green" drink would be.  I always put in plain greek yogurt for protein, flaxseed and water but I have changed the greens up by doing only spinach or doing spinach and some kale with various fruits like bluberries, pineapples, kiwi with the skin on (don't know it until you try it plus many nutrients in the skin) and strawberries ( I only pick two fruits for each smoothie)! Furthermore, I have pretty much done a gallon of water a day which isn't easy but keep a large drink container at my desk so drink that and down some water bottles at the house.

For lunch, I have only had my veggie soup that I made with some fruit and it has been good everyday! Who would of thought, right? Not me but I am pretty happy with that.  It also made my prep really easy this week!  I actually added turkey sausage to up the protein and whole wheat pasta to give me those complex carbs that give me energy through the day. I am going to give you the recipe in just a minute!!!!!!

For dinner, I have only had salads and omitted carbs at night which helps with the sugar in your system late at night. My greens usually consist of spinach and romaine lettuce...THE GREENER THE BETTER! Plus I like making colorful salads because like my big sis and lots of healthy people say eat a RAINBOW because lots of nutrients in colorful foods! BREAKING NEWS..........I tried soy meat called MOCK Chicken Salad in regular and buffalo from WHOLE FOODS and it is a must get...find your local whole foods and give it a whirl! So awesome, OK back to regularly scheduled blogging lol.................I like to add things that are tangy or have a flavor because I haven't been putting any dressing so I used Tabasco spicy pickled okra, peppadew peppers (sweet and spicy), the mock chicken salad, banana peppers, kalmata olives and things like that.  It has been filling and yummy! You should try it.  My co-worker does Meatless Mondays so why not give it a try once a week!!!! You may like it!

My snacks were fruit, almonds, Buffalo jerky and coconut chips which were very light and tasty! I have been mainly shopping at Trader Joes but if you don't have one I know you can find these items at most stores, except for the Coconut flakes probably! If you really want some I would mail you some though! :) They are that good!

OK TO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR...............THE RECIPE...

I would like to call this dish Turkey Sausage and Veggie Pasta Soup lol! Long name huh??? Maybe I could call it Deliciousness! Yep that would be short and sweet!

Anyway here it is....

1 Can of 32 fl. oz Vegetable Broth (I had organic)
4 Cups Diced Tomatoes in Tomato Sauce or Juice
1/2 cup Diced Shallots
1/2 Cup Diced onions
3 Handfuls of Kale, chopped
1/4 Cup Diced Garlic
1 Cup Chopped String Green Beans
1 Cup Carrots, chopped
1 Cup Edamame (found frozen and de-shelled)
1 Cup Mushrooms, any kind, chopped
1 Cup Celery, chopped
1 and 1/2 t Sea Salt (or to taste)
1 Cup Turkey Sausage, cooked, drained and chopped up
2 Cups Whole Wheat Fusilli Pasta(not spaghetti though or thin noodles)
1 T Italian Seasoning
Pepper to taste


Directions:

Cook sausage and set aside.

Chop all the veggies and put in pot with the vegetable broth and diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce/juice it came in.  Cook on low until the veggies are tender.  For me that was about 45 minutes   If you use a crock pot on low it would probably take about 6 hours but I didn't do it that way since my crock pot was too small!  When the veggies were tender enough to how I would eat it, I added the pasta and the pasta was al dente in about 10 minutes.  Don't let them get mushy especially if you plan to eat it for the rest of the week like me, it is also a great family meal!

Modifications for next time...

I loved the pasta but wanted more sauce so I plan to only do 1 cup of pasta and probably add more vegetable broth and diced tomatoes to make it more soupy and not as thick and soupy.  Don't get me wrong, it came out good and was delicious.  It was enough broth for the first 4 days but towards me prepping it became more of a pasta dish since it wasn't too much broth left! Let me know if you try it and what you add or omit and how you liked it! My friend loved it so it wasn't just me!

Also try to portion it out nicely.  I had prepped for the whole work week with mine!

Have a good healthy rest of the week!

Prep Work..Planning4Success

Hey everyone!

Hope your year has been off to a good and HEALTHY start.  Whether you had a slow start or dived right into it, atleast you started! I have been doing well with my food and consistent with exercise but want to add more days.  I have lacked a little motivation when it comes to the workouts and have been about 3 times a week but I want to go atleast 5 and hopefully 6 days a week.  So luckily my bestie, Shakema, asked if I wanted to do a Jamie Eason workout plan with her for 12 weeks so that is the plan starting next week! Pretty excited!  I am still going to box atleast twice a week if not 3 times and I need to make myself work out in the morning because coming up with the energy after work and my other side gigs is tough!  I have done it before so if I have to I will!

Anyway, lets get to the good stuff! PREPPING!!!! Honestly, it is pretty fun.  Here are the steps you need to get your prep work done!

1. Plan your meals for the week

2. Write a grocery list to get the items needed for your meals.  Make sure you put money into your proteins and make sure they are quality.  Such as hormone free, free range, etc types of meat such as chicken, eggs or lean beef and turkey (I don't usually try to have lots of beef and sub it for turkey but if you do get beef try bison or extra lean beef). Fresh veggies and frozen veggies depending on what you like, fruit, dairy (2% cheeses, goat cheese (don't know it until you try it), feta reduced fat if you must have it in salads or other things), complex carbs such as sweet potatoes, whole grains products, brown rice, etc. There is a grocery list attached on this blog so check it out for more ideas. I like to add flax seed in oatmeal it is beneficial to your health and good source of fiber, chia seeds, multi-vitamin and fish oil pills are great additions to a healthy regime as well. Green tea is also great to have since it is known to speed up your metabolism and suppress your appetite.

3. Get out and head to the grocery store!!! I go to Trader Joe's and Market Street.  They have a wide range of good foods, fresh produce, lots of unprocessed food, etc!  So go to where you feel comfortable.  Whole foods can be on the expensive side but they are a great store! We do invest in lots of things from clothes, cars, homes, trips etc but why not spend a little extra to take care of what really matters in the end and that is our health! I do like a good deal though so check your ads and look for coupons, try farmers markets, find the best sales and what not to help you not break the bank when getting healthy. Try not to grab things that tempt you! For all you sweet tooth folks, I love sugar free Jello with low fat whipped cream or those JELLO pudding snacks that are only 60 calories and sugar free.  But I try not to do them often.  I do know that we are human, just do everything in moderation!

4. Make sure you have enough or go buy some Glad ware or nice tupperware to pack your meals in, if you have a container store they have really cool packaging but if you just want the basics and to stay cost effective try Walmart of Dollar General for a box of plastic storage containers.

5. Go home and cook it up! You don't have to cook like a Top Chef and have all these types of exquisite meals because keeping it simple is just fine as well.  I need variety or I may regress so I like to keep finding new recipes or make sure I cook enough to have options! Eating the same few things can get boring if you don't make sure you have enough of choices. I usually start off with seasoning items, chopping and doing things like that.  I cook my fish on a griddle which saves lots of time!!! You could bake items in foil or on a pan, use a foreman grill and all those types of things.  I cook my veggies ahead of time and put them in the container with my meat as well.  Boil rice, roast or saute veggies or even use the steamed veggies and portion them out into your containers.  For bulk or leftover items, you could put in a larger container and re pack food in the middle of the week if need be.  You have to find what works best for you! Put everything in the fridge and just grab and go! Such a great feeling to not have to go to the store every night. If it is for a family maybe make things that heat up easy in a pot like turkey spaghetti, crock pot meals or baked meals.  It can be done!

Dinner ready or lunch with swai, kale, sweet potato and mushrooms.  Breakfast is also shown with two egg muffins and an oatmeal muffin! Protein and a complex carb!

Lettuce wraps and Chicken Salad with an avocado

Find your favorite fruits and make fruit salad! Make in larger bowl and separate into small containers so you can grab and go! 

Look at all this greatness! You will be so happy when you do this!

The brands of goat cheese that I like

Prepped for the week! Lots of yummy things

Recipe below for these yummy things! Can be different than a regular muffin of course.  Great for breakfast, before a workout or after a workout!

The whole sha-bang!

RECIPES!!!

Here are a few of the recipes that people have been asking for or found to look pretty yummy!

Egg Muffins

6 eggs
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
Handful of spinach
1/4 cup of green onions, chopped
Tablespoon of 2% or less Milk
1 T Olive Oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste

1.Crack eggs into a bowl and set aside
2. Chop all veggies and and saute in olive oil until tender
3. Add the veggies to the egg mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.  Don't put too much salt. Don't go over a teaspoon.
4. Pour into muffin pan and cook on 350 for about 20 minutes of until they are cooked through

Egg Mixture with all the veggies

Veggies being sauteed , add spinach last for only a little bit of time until wilted

Banana Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

This recipe came from my friend Kamaria.  The only thing I really changed was adding a capful of vanilla!

Ingredients:

3 mashed bananas
3 Cups of Oats (not the quick one minute oats)
1 cup Original Almond Milk
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
2 eggs
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 T honey ( you can do this if you want, I did)
1 cap full of vanilla

1. Mash the bananas with a masher, blender, your hands whatever you have to help you mash them.
2.  Pour in the oats, milk, eggs, cinnamon, honey, vanilla and blueberries.  I will add slivered or sliced almonds next time to add some protein.
3. Pour into muffin pans lined with cupcake holder and cook for about 17 to 20 minutes on 325 degrees.

Everything is in here ready to go!

The finished product....yummy!

Delicious Chicken Salad

Eat on crackers or with an avocado or a sandwich thin!

1 and 1/2 cups of Chicken breast, cooked and chopped

1/4 cup Black beans, rinse and drain them

5 T Greek Yogurt Plain

1/3 cup Green onions, sliced and chopped

1/4 cup tomato, chopped

1/4  cup cilantro

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 T apple cider vinegar

Cracked black pepper and Salt to Taste 

Depending on what you like you can add more of the veggies or beans if you want or omit something and replace with cucumbers, red peppers, etc.

Finished product

some of the ingredients!

Thanks for reading today's blog! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please leave a comment on this page and I will get back with you!

If you have any blogs you would like to see please leave a comment and let me know! Be sure to check out several of my past blogs for more recipes, ideas and workouts!!!!

Until next time, start planning your meals and get to prepping!

Healthy Snacks to Keep Ya Going!

Hey everyone!

Long time no talk to!

It has been a long time since I posted but I am back and going to do my best to post once a week! Let me know some topics that you would like to see or search on my blog and my past posts should be quite helpful!

Long story short....Life got very busy and I had to focus on a test that would determine if I could keep my job or not.  I didn't want to work out in the morning because I would be too tired to study at night and at night I didn't want to take away anytime because I wouldn't forgive myself if I did not pass.  I failed the first time and took one more month to study and finally passed.  I began my old habits again of just eating whatever and not working out to working out a little bit! Ugh! I am disappointed in myself but I am back to get the results I had last year and make sure to maintain the lifestyle for LIFE!!!!

Life gets in the way but you have to get back on...mine is later than I wanted but atleast I am back in action!

So lets get to the point of this post............

Snacks can be all types of things but the important thing is to make sure it is something healthy...I am a strong believer in needing cheat days or meals once a week or do things in moderation but for the most part lets make some healthy decisions! I did it once I know I can do it again and this time I am more determined than the first time.  So going to do my best to work out harder and eat cleaner! My goal isn't to be a certain weight but to look and feel a certain way! BE healthy and be happy!!!!

Back to the snacks.....Check out these links for some great snacks 100 Calorie and Under Snacks and 25 SNACKS UNDER 100 calories.  I can't wait to try some of them.

For instance, they have laughing cow mini babybel cheese with an apple, sliced cucumbers with a mixture made of low fat cream cheese, red bell peppers and some pepper, adding one tablespoon of Grated parmesan, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

If you have health goals! Write them down and place them where you can see it daily and work hard and do your best!

Also, it is so important to plan! I have seen this time and time again.  I do my best when I take time to plan my meals, make them and plan my workouts. This link speaks to you about planning your meals for the week! Check it out PLAN YOUR MEALS AHEAD OF TIME

2013 is going to be a great year!

Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, blog ideas etc!

Love yall! Muah!