Apple Squash Soup

I never used to be one who liked soups like this, but I needed something simple to bring to my grandfather's house. I thought this would be easy on his stomach, and I knew I could make it the night before and bring it to his house after church. 

I admit, since this is the first time I have made a squash soup, it took awhile, maybe an hour and a half. But a majority of that time was letting the squash cook. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large butternut squash (original recipe says 4lbs, but I didn't pay attention to the weight of mine.)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion
• 5 tart apples (Granny smith or similar)
• 4 cups organic low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or nutmeg)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or ginger)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree. 
2. Cut squash in half, cover with aluminum foil, place on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or until tender. (I ended up quartering my squash toward the end, because it was taking too long to cook.
3. Chop onion.
4. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. 
5. Add onions and garlic, cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
6. While onion is cooking, peel, core, and chop apples.
7. Add apples, broth, and cinnamon to saucepan with onions. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until apples are tender. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when done.
8. Place apple mixture in blender, in multiple small batches (be careful as it may produce steam). Blend until smooth. 
9. Scoop out squash flesh. (Once tender it will peel off easily.) Place small batches of squash in blender with milk or some apple mixture. Blend until smooth. Repeat this process with all of the squash. 
10. Add squash to apple mixture. 
11. Add salt and pepper. (Stop here if you are reheating later.)
12. Bring soup to a gentle boil over low heat, stirring frequently.
13. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds and some red pepper flakes for a little kick. (Makes 8 servings.)

I have to tell you, when I told my husband I was going to make this soup, he asked what he was going to eat. It turns out everyone loved it. We had egg/tuna salad sandwiches to go with the soup. Delicious. For dinner, I added some chopped up chicken to the soup, and it was fantastic. Definitely making this again and freezing batches for a quick meal.

(Recipe adapted from www.teambeachbody.,com)

I admit, I used to hate going clothes shopping. It was a very depressing time for me. 

Typically j would try on a bunch of clothes and leave with none. But more importantly I left with a huge sense of self hatred, discouragement, and frustration. 

Yesterday I ran into Kohl's because I had a coupon. I went in to look at something for the kitchen, but glanced at some work pants. They were on sale, and they had a few sizes in long - this is huge as stores never carry longs. (On a positive note, none of my pants are currently fitting and are so baggy. I needed some new ones.) So, I grabbed two sizes and went into the dressing room, hoping for a positive experience. 

I was shocked, and so happy when the smaller of the two sizes I took in fit me really well. Yup, I now have a new pair of work pants that I absolutely love. (I also grabbed two pairs of spadexy crazy colored capri workout pants on clearance. I love buying workout clothes!)

Today I am heading to Old Navy to try on a new pair of jeans. The pair I bought a couple months ago are falling off me already - good thing I just bought one pair. 

Let me now if I can help you on your fitness and weight loss journey. I never would have thought I could lose all this weight, but with the support of challenge groups, easy at home fitness DVDs and a superfood packed meal replacement shake it has actually been easy! Join me today. 

3 Day Refresh

Next week I have a physical. Last time I had a physical was two years ago. At that time, my doctor was concerned about my weight.

I wasn't. So I did nothing. I kept gaining weight.

Before I knew it, I realized I was getting out of control with my weight. But I didn't know what to do. In actuality, although I was frustrated that nothing fit, and I was getting so big, I did nothing.

I didn't try to diet. I was never successful at that.

I did join a gym, and gave that a try. But that took too much time, and it was annoying showering in a gym. That didn't last long, and never gave me any results anyways.

Then one day I decided to try Shakeology and PiYO workouts. Since that start one year ago, I have lost 45 pounds.

Today I am 10 pounds lighter than I was two years ago. But that isn't good enough for me, so I decided to give myself another little push.

Last month when I did the 3 day refresh, I lost 7 pounds in 4 days. In the next couple days I lost 3 more pounds. I have kept those 10 pounds off for the past month, but ready to lose a few more.

In the past, I didn't have the will power to say no to certain foods, and could never have done something like this. But now I realize my will is stronger than my momentary desire. Most of the time during the 3 day refresh, I am not hungry. Each time I complete another 3 day refresh my strength to say no to foods that don't help my body increases.

I can't wait to see how much I lose in the next couple days.

My salad/dinner tonight - delicious and so big.

Monday eats

Here is a list of what I ate today. I am going to try to start sharing this more, to give more ideas about healthy meal ideas. 

Breakfast:

Coffee with 1/4 cup pumpkin coconut milk

2 banana oatmeal muffins

1/2c cottage cheese, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries

Snack:

Apple (usually with 1-2tbsp peanut butter, but not today since I am not in my office)

Lunch:

Salad with mixed greens, kale, brussel sprouts. 1tbsp dressing. Grilled chicken

Okay. I admit, I ate a piece of cake. And now I have a stomach ache. It was sugary sweet, but yummy. Gonna push a little harder in my workout tonight. 

Snack:

2 boiled eggs

2nd snack: chocolate shakeology with 1/2 banana

Workout: PiYO sculpt (I didn't want to work out. I was tired, but I knew I needed it - for myself and for the piece of cake I ate. Felt so much better once I finished. )

Dinner: grilled chicken, mixed greens, leftover thin crust pizza

I also drank lots of water. Lots and lots of water. That really helps me stay full (and keeps my skin looking better.)

Now it's time to do some research for my class and go to bed early. 

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (no flour)

I was in a nice habit of making my shakeology every morning and having that for breakfast. Its a nice protein source and fills me with many nutrients I need for the day. Well, then I started taking thyroid medicine, and now I have to drink my shakeology later in the day as there is too much calcium in it and that conflicts with the thyroid meds. So I was in need of a healthy alternative for a quick and easy grab and go breakfast. I have made egg cups before, but don't love them. I have even made egg McMuffins and froze them for an easy grab and go breakfast, but they just weren't cutting it for me. So I searched for a healthy muffin option, and I finally found it.

After many attempts at making the perfect banana oatmeal muffins, I have come to a final recipe, with options depending on your preference. The first time I made the recipe, I just hand mixed everything, and didn't use a blender. I didn't love them. The second time I used already blended oats, and the muffins really sank. The third time they were a nice consistency.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 ripe bananas (2 if large, 3 if small)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup yogurt (or 1 container of yogurt and 1/4 cup milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-4 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 2-4 tbsp natural peanut butter (optional)
• 2 cups oatmeal (instant or old fashion)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (preferably dark chocolate - its healthier) 

Add all wet ingredients to the blender, blend for 1-2 minutes on high. Then add everything else except the chocolate chips. Blend for 3-4 minutes on medium, stopping periodically to wipe down sides (depending on your blender). I found that the batter mixed better on medium speed than high speed. Add chocolate chips at end, mix with spatula.    

Either spray a muffin tin or use paper cups. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from tin. (Makes 12 muffins)

I then store some muffins in a Tupperware container, and put others in sandwich bags so they are easy to grab in the morning. I can't tell you how long these last in the fridge, as they don't last long in my house. Even my husband loves these.

On the 21 day fix, I consider two muffins equal to 1 yellow, 1/2 purple, 1/2 red, and a couple spoons (I used peanut butter protein powder instead of peanut butter to give it an extra kick of protein.)