Soup Is Good For You

In these hard economic times, soup is a great way to both help your diet and conserve your money.

Refrigerator Soup

Open the refrigerator.

Pull out all the leftovers.

Hmmm, leftover chicken or steak or hamburger or sausage or ham, chop it up and put it into the post.
Potatoes, dice up, or if mashed, add all to pot.
Vegetables, add to pot, with juice.
Beans of any kind, add to the pot.
Tomatoes, chop fresh, canned, just add to the pot.
Add onions, lemon pepper, garlic, seasoned salt to taste.
1 teaspoon sugar
Wilted celery? Chop and add to the pot.
Add water to cover.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 15 minutes.
Taste and adjust spices to taste.

Eat.

Basically, you're making the leftovers into a new meal, so your family that won't touch a leftover will think it's something new and different.

And by making it a bit brothy, you save calories. Yummy!

Not Even In Plus Sizes!

I was whining about my weight again.

I used to be a hottie, now I'm middle aged and things have "settled".

I was going on about it and my daughter stopped me in my tracks.

"Mom, you're not hardly fat! You aren't even in plus sizes!!"

OM freaking Goodness!

SCREEEEEEECH!!!!

The child is right.

I've fallen into the fat mentality, not seeing myself as she does, as others do, as God does.

I've been letting the scales rule my life.

I'm still the hottie I was back then, I've just matured and my body has matured with me.

So while I still need to lose some pounds, I need to do it for myself. Not for my past, but for my future.

Because my knees like it when I'm a little lighter. Because I need to exercise and tighten up so it's easier to complete my projects around the house. Because my asthma doesn't act up when I'm following the plan and drinking lots of water. Because my fat ass needs to get busy and DO something.

Oh, yes, I'm on the right track, I can feel that inner donkey going "eeh haw, eeh haw" even as I type.

I can't get side-tracked by the day-to-day temptations.

I'm not even a plus size!

Oh my, it's really a epiphany! Not even a plus size!

Wow.

Moderation Is The Key

Moderation.

I can eat anything I want. But I can only have one piece of cake, two cookies, one piece of pie, two slices of pizza. And so on.

Moderation is the mantra that I should follow every day.

Yummm, Lentil and Ham Soup

I made Lentil and Ham Soup last night.

Lentil and Ham Soup

1 pound red lentils
plenty of water to cover
Bring to a boil and simmer at least 30 minutes.

Add:
Chopped ham (or sausage, or whatever meat you have left over)
2 cubes chicken bouillon
Chopped or dried minced onions
Garlic
Lemon pepper
about 2 heaping tablespoons of sugar
1/2 bag frozen collard greens
chopped carrots
1 can diced tomatoes with juice

Simmer together for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Eat.

The great thing is that this is low fat and high fiber. The bit of ham you add really doesn't add much in the way of calories or fat, since it makes a big pot of soup. You can also make it in a large crock pot if you want.

There was enough to pig out, and still pack some into freezer containers to take to work next week.