Year 2012, Week 3, Day 20

How is your New Year’s Resolution going?  Have you started yet?  Are you getting weary yet?  OR are you forging ahead, on fire, ready for change?  Ready for a NEW YOU!  Let 2012 be your year of Jubilee!

They say it takes 21 days to make a new habit! You can move from conscious non-compliance to conscious compliance and eventually to unconscious compliance.  It actually becomes PART OF YOU!  The down side is it takes only 3 days to break a good habit and go back to the path of least resistance.  So each day you can accomplish your nutrition and fitness goals you get further down the path to sustainability.

Change is not easy.  Just like water, we take the path of least resistance.  I think of it as a river, a mighty force of nature that is going to chart its own course.  Unless, of course, we build a damn.  Changing behavior is like building a damn, one sand bag, and one stone at a time, until the water is re-routed.  Re-route yourself, one decision, one food choice, one workout at a time, until the path of least resistance is your path of unconscious compliance.

There are three key factors to staying on track as you re-route your journey to Optimal Health.

#1 – Mindful Eating – Eat food that supports your health vision.  Be conscious of not only what you put in your mouth but also why you are eating it.  Be aware of the quality and quantity of the food choices you make.  Plan, plan, plan on the front end so you are not stuck eating from the window of your car.

#2 – Find something you LIKE to do for movement and exercise.  Schedule it in your day just as you would schedule a dentist appointment or a haircut.  It is non-negotiable!

#3 – Prioritize your rest and relaxation.  When you are not on a racetrack, then planning and scheduling healthy living becomes more realistic.  Learn to discern the difference between the important and the urgent.

I purchase my beans in bulk at my
local health food store
(Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op). 

One of the ways I plan for healthy eating is to make homemade soup or stew every weekend.  This provides at least one evening meal and a few lunch heat-ups.  Legumes are a perfect food, high in plant-based protein, good fat, and high in fiber.  The low glycemic index gives you long lasting energy and helps stabilize blood sugar, which helps stabilize your mood.  The high fiber content keeps you fuller longer and helps lower cholesterol and regulates elimination.  What’s not to love about beans?

If you grew up in the North like me, you never had beans.  If you grew up in the South you had plenty of them, the Southern way – cooked in fat back with lots of salt and sugar.  Here are a few healthy ways to use legumes in hearty winter soup recipes.  Serve with fresh bread and a green salad and you have my all time favorite meal!!

It is important to soak the beans…  Overnight if possible, but at least for several hours.  Rinse them before you soak them and after you soak them to get all the dirt off.  Soaking also helps cut down on the cooking time, and since beans take so long to cook, up to 3 hours without a pressure cooker, we are all about saving time.  Finally, soaking the beans cuts down on gas, which are the main reason people complain about why they don’t like beans. The indigestible complex sugars on the outer coating of the bean, which is responsible for the gas, is removed through soaking.  So get a strainer and rinse and soak and rinse and soak and learn to appreciate Mother Nature’s gift to you.  Inexpensive, fiber rich, high protein, plant based complex carbohydrate that comes in a variety of colors, shapes, and tastes.

Bon appetite!

Lentil Stew

Every great soup starts with fresh onions!

Eat For Life - Jeanie Redick, CN

2-3 Tbls olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp marjoram

1 tsp basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (or fresh)
2 TBLS vegetarian soup blend dissolved in 2 quarts of water

2 cups dry lentils rinsed and drained

Garnish with: (optional)

A squirt of soy sauce

2 tbsp Nutritional cheesy yeast

Heat the oil in a large soup pan.

Saute onion and garlic, add celery and carrots and herbs.

Next add the tomatoes, water, lentils and soup blend.

Simmer 45 minutes until the lentils are tender.

White Cannellini Bean Soup
EAT FOR LIFE - Jeanie Redick, CN

2-3 TBLS olive oil
1 large onion diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh rosemary sprigs –  1 TBLS fresh – 1 tsp dried

Salt and pepper to taste
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale leaves (6-8 leaves)
2 TBLS veggie soup blend dissolved in 2 quart of water
3 cans white cannellini beans (or 2 cups of dried beans soaked and cooked)
½ cup bulgar

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil
Add the rosemary and salt and pepper
Add the soup blend to the water & add to pot
Add the beans, washed and drained
Add the tomatoes
Add the diced kale leaves
Add the bulgar and heat thoroughly for
20 to 30 minutes

Optional:
Partially blend by pulsing with an immersion blended
OR add part of the soup to a blender and pulse and add back to pot 

Split Pea Soup
EAT FOR LIFE - Jeanie Redick, CN

2-3 TBLS olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 carrots diced
2-3 celery stalks diced
1 tsp dried rosemary, 1TBLS fresh
2 quart water
2 TBLS veggie soup blend
3 white potatoes diced
2 cups dried split peas rinsed and soaked
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic on olive oil
Add carrots and celery
Add rosemary and sauté
Add soup blend to water and add to pot
Add potatoes and dried split peas

Bring to boil and simmer uncovered for 1 - 2 hours until peas are tender
Garnish with nutritional yeast and Bragg’s liquid aminos
Serve with corn bread and salad!