Thursday, September 30, 2010

Healthy Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

  • 4 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter, cubed
  • 1 can (49 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth or 6 cups vegetable broth, divided
  • 1 can (29 ounces) tomato puree
  • 5 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 can (12 ounces) fat-free evaporated milk

Directions

  • In a Dutch oven, cook carrots and onion in butter over medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
  • In a blender, place 1/2 broth and the cooled vegetables; cover and process until blended. Return to the Dutch oven. Stir in the tomato puree, basil sugar, salt, pepper and remaining broth.
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Gradually stir in evaporated milk; heat through (do not boil). Yield: 6 servings (2-1/4 quarts).

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1-1/2 cups) equals 201 calories, 8 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 23 mg cholesterol, 1,004 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 vegetable, 1-1/2 fat, 1/2 fat-free milk.

This is my version of the recipe, which cut out about 40 more calories.

Ingredients

  • 4 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter, cubed
  • 1 can (49 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth or 6 cups vegetable broth, divided
  • 29oz. Fresh Tomotoes pureed
  • 1 cup Fresh Basil
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Directions

  • In a Dutch oven, cook carrots and onion in butter over medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
  • In a blender, place 1/2 broth and the cooled vegetables; cover and process until blended. Return to the Dutch oven. Stir in the tomato puree, basil, sugar, salt, pepper and remaining broth.
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Gradually stir in evaporated milk; heat through (do not boil). Yield: 6 servings (2-1/4 quarts).

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1-1/2 cups) Calories 162, Fat, 8g,  Carbs, 18.



My Weightloss Journey Day 8

Well this sure was an interesting week.  I encountered a little of everything, I was super homesick a good chunk of the week.  Which doesn't help.  Then frustration over my children be naughty, then getting sick.  I tell ya, it would have been easier to just chuck this week.  However, I plowed through, I worked out 4 days this week, and I feel it, wow, I feel it.  And drum roll please, the verdict is 3.4lbs for the week.  Yay, it was a tough week,  I would rate my diet a B+ and I would rate an A- for exercise.  Definitely, room for improvement.  Well, we will see how next week goes.  I do look slightly stunned, however, I had have my picture take by Tristen and well he is a really good photographer.


 

Thursday, September 23, 2010

My Weightloss Journey

Day 1

Ok, so this is going to be day one of my weightloss blog, I weighed in at, well it doesn't matter lol.  Tomorrow, I will be attending the 8 am aerobic class at the YMCA.  I plan to eat right and keep a food journal.  My goal is to blog once a week, and include a photo to document progress.  

 Ok, so not the best picture, but we all have to start somewhere.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Freezer Cooking

My sister and I came across a great idea to pre-prepare our meals, and do to our current living situation (no dishwasher, remodeling, homeschooling, working part time, and not unpacked) it really works out wonderfully.  We didn't really want to stress ourselves out with trying to cook alot at once since we are relatively new at it and not a ton of freezer space.  So we decided to cook two extra meals a week, we made them large meals so we could eat them several times for example.  I made 6 batches of chili.  Which equaled 3 meals for my sister large family and 6 meals for my smaller family.  So the ending is, I now have 25 meals ready to go in my freezer, and I will not be cooking at all this week.  YIPEE!!!!  This works out great since I will be working alot this week.  It really didn't seem stressful on us at all to cook like this, and the result is really helpful.  The meals we have made and in our freezer is.  Chicken and Rice, Turkey Chili, Pepper Steak, Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Beef Stew, Chicken Stew, Manicotti, Tator Tot Casserole and Shepherds Pie.  We will be taking this week off, and then hopefully soon we will have it that we only cook two meals a week, to keep the inventory up, and add more variety.  All of it is oven ready, or Crock Pot Ready.




A Picture of my small freezer very full at the moment.  I couldn't fit it all in, however it is a very small refrigerator.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Our Great Journey West

"Go West Young Man" he had heard God's call.  His wife not so sure.  I didn't really want to leave my family, friends, beautiful home, and church.  I had a really great life, two beautiful children, a wonderful husband, and a sweet little puppy.  Yet here I was packing up my belongings leaving all the things I love, heading for the dreaded Oregon, I mean really they didn't even have an outlet mall with in an hour drive.  Seriously, this isn't even civilization. (Those of you who know me, know I kind of like to shop).  So I packed and packed with a rather grumbling attitude.  I mean really we didn't even know what we were gonna do when we got here, but Jerry felt a calling and had a good job waiting for him here.  I knew in my heart this was God's plan, but no my foolish pride didn't want to admit it.  Packing the moving truck was so traumatic I cried all the way to the Michigan border, I had never been so happy to be stuck for three days in a vehicle, because at least I didn't have to ride with Jerry.  Never mind that he is the love of my life and really does a good job of taking care of me and giving me almost anything I have ever wanted, he was the enemy and he must pay.  I made sure he paid, I made him miserable.  I whined and cried and yelled and said mean things anything to let him know what he had done to me, and how it was all his fault.  He bent over backward (at times) to try to make me happy, but it was a deeper issue.  I didn't want to be happy.  Every bump in the road was a huge deal and more reason for me to let him have it.  My brother in law had been preaching in church about dealing with conflict.  I of course had no conflicts, I didn't know anyone in Oregon.  I didn't want to acknowledge that perhaps I had a conflict with Jerry.  I sat through a revival about dealing with a biblical family, I felt bad about how I treated Jerry.  I just wanted to be the spoiled child who threw a tantrum and not try to fix the issue.  Well the end of the story is, I decided to just get over it and realize that God has us here for a purpose.  I need to do my best to be a blessing instead of a burden.  I can't believe the difference in getting that right.  It made so much of a difference.  I could look around and see God's blessings instead of what I was labeling a nightmare.  I guess the moral of the story is Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  Or Romans 8:28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.