Lemon, Orzo & Chickpea Soup

I've been meaning to make this soup all week and haven't had the chance.  Tonight was the perfect excuse as it is bitter cold here in Boston, setting records actually.  In fact, tomorrow they cancelled schools in the area due to the cold.  That doesn't happen too often!  I also woke up this morning with a touch of a sore throat and earache.  So yeah, I was in need of some soup.  Plus, lemon of course is packed full of vitamin C so this was the perfect recipe.  All in, maybe it took me 45 min. from start to finish even with the slicing and dicing.  Not bad.  I feel like a lot of soups take me a long time because there are so many vegetables to work with.

Also, as I've mentioned before, I really try to limit my animal product intake, so this is a great spin on the traditional Lemon, Chicken & Orzo soup!

Ingredients:

- 1 onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, halved and sliced
- 3 celery sticks, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water (optional)
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 small sprig rosemary
- 1 cup orzo
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 fresh squeezed lemon

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil over low - medium heat, add carrots celery, onions until soft (a few mins).  Then add the garlic, cook for another few minutes.

2. Add thyme, pinch of salt and pepper and mix in.

3. Add vegetable broth and water, bring to a boil.

4. Add in chickpeas, orzo, rosemary and bay leaf and cook for 10 minutes until orzo is cooked through.

5. Reduce heat to low and stir in lemon juice.

Recipe from delishknowledge.com

Great, easy week night recipe!  I plan on using the leftovers for lunch the next few days.

Enjoy and be sure to eat real food!

Love, Lizzie

Filling Foods - Get Fuller With Less Calories

I first heard of this concept of "filling foods" years ago when I did Weight Watchers. Actually, when I first started doing WW, that wasn't a formal practice or idea of theirs it was just points - black and white.  The filling foods idea came along later when I think the folks at WW realized people were focusing so much on the points and not necessarily eating foods that are healthy, nutritious and filling.

It's funny to look back on it now because I was practicing the idea of filling foods before I knew it was a "thing".  I did WW maybe around 9 or so years ago and successfully lost 20 lbs.  I could go off on a whole tangent about WW, but that's a story for another day and yes, I gained all the weight back (and lost it again!).  I will say though one of the great outcomes of doing WW is it forces you to make decisions about your food.  We all need to do that everyday and I think ultimately that's where I started to learn how to balance what I ate.  Anyway, I thought eating a WW frozen dinner was what I should be eating at that time.  Problem is, a WW dinner alone didn't fill me.  So, I started adding frozen broccoli or spinach to my frozen box of pasta.  It definitely helped fill me up more, which was beneficial so I didn't want to eat more AND kept my points down.

All calories are not created equal!

Now I don't count points... I really don't even count calories, though I have a general idea of what I'm eating after years of doing both.  The real goal with filling foods is to eat foods that take up more space in your stomach with little caloric impact (see above diagram).

Here's some real life examples...

You can eat a 100 calorie pack of cookies OR you can have 2T of hummus with a giant bowl of veggies and a couple of crackers.  One of course has ZERO health benefits, won't fill you up and you'll likely be eating another 100 calorie pack in an hour.  Or the other not only has protein (hummus) but the veggies are loaded with vitamins and nutrients AND will keep you fuller longer.  This food is bigger so taking up more space on your stomach leaving you less hungry - genius, right?

Not filling, no nutritional value

Filling AND nutritious!

Another example, breakfast version... one donut vs. a plateful of eggs, toast, avocado (healthy fat) and fruit. Guarantee you, the eggs will fill you up more and keep you fuller longer.

1 chocolate glazed donut = 370 calories, 24 g fat, 390 mg sodium, 17 g sugar

Approx 300 calories with protein, carbs, greens and fruit! YUM

Other filling foods:

• green vegetables - broccoli, zucchini, celery, asparagus, cucumbers
• fruit - especially, apples - add them to salads and sandwiches too
• beans
• soup
• greek yogurt
• eggs
• whole grains - barley, quinoa, whole wheat cous cous, buckwheat, bulger

Once you start thinking in a filling foods mindset, you'll be amazed at the way your eating can change. I try to sneak fruits and veggies into everything I eat. Usually half my plate a dinner is filled with greens - I just grab whatever is in my fridge and add it onto the plate with whatever else I'm eating. The bottom line is, we want to set ourselves up for success... if you're not eating enough, you're not going to feel satisfied, then you'll feel defeated and probably just give up and eat junk because you're telling yourself you're a big fat failure. Yes, I've been there, done that. So, let's not do that and instead be realistic, eat real food and make good decisions and remind ourselves health and wellbeing is not all or nothing, it's taking small steps everyday in the right direction.

What are some ways that you bulk up your plate?

As always, don't forget to treat yourself well and eat good food!

Love, Lizzie

Checking In - New Years Intentions

There's always a lot of hope and hype with the start of the new year - we're excited, we vow to have the best year ever... and then we go back to work, reality sets in. We're dealing with the same nonsense, the same crazy schedules and it's still winter. For awhile.  It's dark and cold.  Given all this, it's so easy to forget about the excitement and the new years intentions/resolutions.  So, I thought this was a good time to check in on my own list of intentions... you know, in the dead of winter when summer seems so far away.  Sigh.

If you recall from my post, It's a Whole New Year, these were my intentions:

1. Continue to experiment with vegan eating.  I am by no means totally vegan, but I am trying to keep my animal product intake down.

Update:  I've been doing good!  And I've tried some new recipes, some of which I've shared here on the blog.  I had significantly cut down on my animal product intake, but I am not looking to cut it out completely.  A little animal fat is actually good for you!

2. When I do eat meat, it will only be wild and/or organic.  I have no intention of eating factory farmed meat or fish.  I love seafood and a good steak, so I am not giving them up completely, but I really want to be thoughtful about where it is coming from.

Update:  This hasn't been perfect, but close!  I struggle mostly with eating out, of course.  While I do ask restaurants where they get their meat from, sometimes it's just a random supplier, and really, what does that tell me?  So, I try to go to better quality restaurants and make thoughtful selections.  Again, not perfect, but that's not what I'm striving for.

3. Buy more organic fruits and veggies.  I'm doing a post soon on pesticides in our regular fruits and veggies, that will hopefully help you when making your purchases.  That being said, consuming any fruits and veggies is better than nothing.

Update:  Again, pretty good here!  I make the best choices I can at the time.  I love to shop at Whole Foods where they have more organic options, but I can't always get there.  At the end of the day, eating fruits and veggies is the most important thing - I can't obsess of it being organic or I'd miss out on great nutrients.  And if you missed my post on the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen, check them out.

4. Live a little harder... or more passionately, however you want to see it.  Just do more, see more, cook more, laugh more and love more.

Update:  This has probably been the hardest for me.  Mostly because it's a little undefined, but also because it takes a little more subconscious thought.   I think my intent of this goal was to force myself to come out of my shell a little bit.  Not that I'm a shy person, but we all fall into habits.  I want to shake those up a bit.  I need to make time to cook more and try new things - it's hard to do when I work like a dog Monday - Friday.  Ok, officially going to work on this one more!  Hopefully in a few months I'll have some good examples of "living harder" (in a good way, not a dangerous way!)

I've long lost the desire to be perfect.  Perfect is boring.  Having imperfections makes us interesting, gives us character and that's way more fun than being "perfect".

Good luck with your own progress!  I hope you feel good and eat real food for the rest of 2104!

Love, Lizzie

Morning Quick Oats

After making the Overnight Oats recently, I've had oats on my mind.  I didn't get my act together to do the overnight version this weekend, but then I thought, wait, they're quick oats - I can make them right now!  I love foods that have a lot of flexibility, basically you can dump in whatever you want into oats and not mess them up.  Here is my recipe, but really, play around with different ingredients - use what you have.

• 1/2 cup quick oats (prepared as directed)
• 1/2 cup mixed berries (I used blueberries and strawberries)
• 1 Tbs nuts (I used chopped pecans, but almonds would be good too)
• 1 Tbs almond butter
• 1/2 Tbs shredded coconut flakes
• Couple dashes of cinnamon

* If you overcook the oats, just add in splash of almond milk or water

Oats are not only a filling food, but they have great health benefits too.  Oats are shown to lower cholesterol and are a great source of fiber.  Actually, oats can be considered gluten free... depending on the type of sensitivity you have to gluten. Where the issues come in is that oats are usually processed near wheat and end up being cross-contaminated.  So, if you do have celiac disease, just be cautious.

Again, this is a great option for me when I'm trying to stay away from dairy.  It's quick, easy and can be used with pretty much anything you have in your drawers and fridge.

Do yourself a favor and grab some oats the next time you're at the store.  You'll be happy you did when you want a hot breakfast on a cold day - or - you didn't go to the store and phew, you just saw those oats hiding in your cabinet.

Enjoy and don't forget to eat real food!

Love, Lizzie

Eggplant Un-Parmesan

Fresh ingredients

I've had such good luck with the Mark Bittman VB6 book, why not try another one of his recipes?  This time I went for the Eggplant Un-Parmesan - vegan and delicious.  It almost ends up being an eggplant casserole topped with breadcrumbs, if you wanted to top with cheese of course, you could.  The recipe took a lot longer to make than I anticipated - lots of roasting and what not.  So, if you don't have 2 hours to spare, I would probably save it for another day.  I'm glad I made it and loved the leftovers the next few days.

Unfortunately, I was too busy cooking, roasting, slicing and dicing to take too many pictures, but I have a few.

Easy, clean sauce with onions, garlic and tomatoes simmered for awhile

I didn't follow the directions and cut the eggplant the short way - ooops!

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs eggplant
• 5 Tbs olive oil
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs minced garlic
• 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with their juice
• 1 cup chopped basil 
• 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs, preferably course-ground (I used whole wheat panko)

Note:  I didn't have enough basil, so I just used what I could.  Would probably even be better with more basil though!

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees and postion two racks so that they've got at least 4 inches between them.  Cut eggplant crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices, arrange them on two rimmed baking sheets.
2. Use 2 Tbs of olive oil to brush the tops of each eggplant slice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast the eggplant until the slices brown on the bottom and sides, 10 to 15 minutes; turn and cook other sides until crisp in places and golden, another 5 to 10 minutes.  When they finish cooking, remove from the oven and lower hear to 400 degrees.
3. Meanwhile, put 2 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When it's hot, add the onion, sprinkle with another 1/2 tsp of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and the mixture comes together and thickens, 20 to 25 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with about 1/2 inch of the tomato sauce.  Layer the eggplant on top with some basil.  Cover with a thin layer of sauce and repeat until all the eggplant is used up; reserve some of the basil for serving.  Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt and lots of pepper, and drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Simmer remaining sauce while eggplant bakes.
5. Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; let rest for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, garnished with remaining basil.

This really came out so good, very flavorful and I love the breadcrumbs as a sub for cheese.  I did feel like I needed a little more to my plate to make it a full meal, so I served it with salad and pesto toasts.  

Pesto toasts:

• Real whole grain english muffins, halved
• Topped with fresh pesto
• Sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if you so choose
• Broil on low for no more than 2 minutes

Looks pretty good, right?  Patting myself on the back...

Even though this took a while to cook, I ate it for 2 days after and wasn't sick of it! Play around with the recipe as you want though - add cheese, other veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, etc) whatever you think works.

Happy cooking, enjoy!

Love, Lizzie

Self Care - Acupuncture

Being healthy is more than just eating right, it's taking care of ourselves in a holistic way, also referred to as self-care.  As basic as this concept of self-care seems, I know we can often become our own lowest priorities. Self-care includes, working out, eating healthy, avoiding dangerous habits like smoking but also it could be little things like taking a hot bath, getting a good night sleep or relaxing with a cup of tea.  These things aren't just important for our physical health, but our mental health as well.  That's what makes us feel calm, grounded and happy.  Acupuncture also falls in the self-care category.  Though it's an additional cost for me, I want to be my top priority, so I'm willing to spend a little money to make sure I'm the healthiest I can be.

My sister has been getting acupuncture for awhile now and raved about it.  I never really thought much about it and I also questioned whether it worked or what I would get out of it.  Well, things are about to get personal... because after talking to my sister, I realized I do have a few things that could possibly be helped.

When I went onto the website for Copley Acupuncture, I was blown away at all the conditions Marcy White can cater to.  I mean really, check it out.  So, in reviewing the list, I realized there are a couple of health issues that are ongoing for me, even after much work on my own.

• My skin - I definitely have problem/acne-prone skin.  It's much better now than it was years ago, thankfully. That may be due my diet being much better, drinking tons of water and being really diligent about washing my face every night before bed (even after a few drinks!).  I also use quality products, so generally speaking I fare well.  But, I can always get some help in that area.
• Digestion - do you even want me to go into this?  Let's just say it's been an issue for years.  It's really the main reason I got into nutrition and was motivated to change my eating/lifestyle habits.  Again, much, much better than even a year ago, but not totally there yet.
• Depression - womp, womp - I know, but I do definitely get the winter blues like clock work every February.  By March I have my whole life-change-plan in place with a new state to move to, then come April I forget all about it and skip off to the Cape for the summer.  So, why not try to stay ahead of it and attempt to avoid the February misery.  

One huge factor I will really emphasize here is do your research!  Only go to a licensed acupuncturist.  Do you really want someone not licensed sticking you with needles??  I hope your answer is hell-to-the-no.  With any doctor, practitioner, provider, etc. be SMART and absolutely do not take any chances.

Well, let me just say right now - I loved my session with Marcy.  Not only did she genuinely want to hear about why brought me there,  but she was enthusiastic to tell me about the history and evolution of acupuncture, which is extensive.  Beyond that, we soul-mated about nutrition, the healing powers of natural foods and remedies - basically we couldn't stop talking.  She explained to me that the end-all-be-all of acupuncuture is to bring the body into balance.  BALANCE.  I love that idea.  Much of what I live for and strive for is balance.

So far, I've only had one session with Marcy but I'm going back again this week.  She explained to me that at first it helps to go back regularly to kick start the treatment.  Once you've been doing it for awhile you can spread out your appointments.  So, for now I'm aiming for once a week.  I plan to see how I feel after a month and then figure out how to move forward.  I will keep you all posted on my experience.

How do you all take care of yourselves?

I hope you do a little something just for YOU today!

Love, Lizzie

Inspiring Today TGIF

TGIF my little Whole Hearts!  Don't you love this quote?  It's so perfectly true.  Well, I hope you all do something fun this weekend!  I am off to an overnight myself, should be great to get out of town and do something different.  A break from the norm is always rejuvenating and healthy.  I will get some new posts up next week.  Thank you all for checking out my little blog.  I am still juggling work and my Health Coach certification with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, so my free time is a bit limited.  Once my course is done this June I hope to be able to blog more.  Thanks for the support and feedback in the meantime.

Happy Friday!  Eat something good this weekend!

Love, Lizzie