Hearty Lentil Soup

I will be cooking this lentil soup recipe tonight. I found it in Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone."

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
2 cups onions, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves
Salt and freshly milled pepper
3 tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1-1/2 cups French green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
Celery leaves and parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over high heat.
   
2. Add the onion and saute until it begins to color around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, mince or pound the garlic in a mortar with 1 teaspoon salt.
   
3. Work the tomato paste into the onion, then add the garlic, celery and carrot, bay leaves, and parsley and cook for 3 minutes.
   
4. Add the lentils, 2 quarts water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil.
   
5. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
6. Stir in the mustard and vinegar. Taste and add more of either as needed.
   
7. Check the salt, season with plenty of pepper, remove the bay leaves, and serve, garnished with the celery leaves and parsley. The longer the soup sits before serving, the better it will taste.

Wednesday

I'm glad I opted out of ordering a beer while at the local brewery and that I completed a long yoga practice after such a long sabbatical.

Breakfast
Ezekiel Raisin Bread
Small hot oatmeal with a tiny scoopful of raisins and cranberries

Lunch
Black Eyed Pea Soup with Red Peppers
*I omitted the standard slice of Ezekiel bread

Snack
Think Think bar: Creamy Peanut Butter
*High protein, low carb and no sugar.

Dinner
Half order of Baja Quesadilla at Flatlander's
2 vodka sodas
*Instead of ordering a high calorie/high carb beer, I ordered vodka & soda. And since I didn't order a beer, I decided to get something less healthy like the quesadillas which I split. I was going to order a salad, but that wouldn't have filled me until yoga time.

Fitness
90 min personal yoga practice
Sinus Headache Sequence

Greek Yogurt & Fruit Shake

I found this recipe online on Health.com. Since I'm always crunched for time in the morning (and I bought a new blender), I'm hoping to start incorporating shakes before heading off to work.

8 almonds
1/4 cup Greek yogurt, Fage
1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1/2 cup frozen fruit, pineapples or mango
Dash of cinnamon

Tuesday, Workouts Begin

Breakfast
Egg White Omelet with Spinach & Fresh Cilantro
Slice of Ezekiel Sesame Bread and Earth Balance Butter

Lunch
Black Eyed Pea and Red Pepper Soup
Slice of Ezekiel Sesame Bread and Earth Balance Butter

Snack
Petite (5 bite) Mozzarella Tomato and Basil Sandwich
Bag of Kettle Cooked Chips

Snack
6 Whole Grain Crackers
2 tbs Peanut Butter & Jelly

Dinner
Protein Shake and Almond Milk
1/2 Veggie Burger with Whole Grain Sandwich Thins
1/2 Broccoli (Lemon, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper)
1/2 Sweet Potato Fries & Ketchup

Workout
P90X: 52 min Chest & Back + 16 min Ab Ripper X

*Notes: I'm definitely noticing a lot of carbs in my daily diet. I don't believe in a carb-free diet, but I do think I should decrease my carb intake.

A New Start

I started this blog to document delicious and healthy recipes I've cooked. It was a great way to incorporate cooking into my life and refine my recipe following technique since I'm eager to start learning how to cook without recipes. But today I found a really great and inspiring website called: "Carrots 'n' Cake" in which the author documents her healthy food choices and lifestyle. As I read the posts, I thought to myself, I should totally write a blog like that. I would like to consolidate one place to document my meals, cooking, workouts, and attempts at living a healthy lifestyle. I found that writing a food/workout journal was educational and resourceful: I started to pay attention to my daily food choices and encourage me to workout more. With this new addition to my blog, I want to start photographing my meals and such since I recently bought a new Canon S95. I’m excited. I need routine, documentation and encouragement. This is definitely a step in the right direction. Cheers to health and writing!
*I still write in my yoga/spirituality blog, AnotherTreeWorld, too!

Monday
I came back from a week long trip to southern California. I tried to eat healthy, but since I was in Austria and Germany just a few weeks before, I wasn’t really sticking to my original strict health plan. It’s ok though, I’ll start today. Oh, I also stopped working out and practicing my yoga. Yesterday, I was just too tired to cook, exercise or practice yoga; I slept instead. I did however eat healthy meals I cooked myself.

• For pre-breakfast I ate Ezekiel Raisin Bread with Earth Balance Butter. Both are great; Ezekiel bread is made from sprouted whole grains and no added sugars and Earth Balance Butter is 100% vegan.
• When I got to work I ate my Healthy Greek Yogurt with Fruit and Almonds that I brought using strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries instead.
• For lunch I brought some leftovers from the Kung Pao Tofu with Vegetables I made over the weekend with a slice of Ezekiel sesame bread.
  
• For dinner Kris grabbed me a vegetarian sandwich from Jason’s Deli. Jason's Deli is probably the healthiest fast food choice out there. Their food has no High Fructose Corn Syrup, trans fat or MSG. They serve healthy, fresh and mostly organic food. Vegetarian friendly, too!
  
• No workouts, but I'll start on Tuesday (today). I'm thinking of P90x strength training days with my personal yoga practice...
  

Black-Eyed Pea and Red Pepper Soup

A simple and nutritious recipe from Ann Gentry's, "Vegan Family Meals: Real Food for Everyone." Ann is the owner of Real Food Daily in Los Angeles which happens to be one of my favorite restaurants.

Ingredients
1 cup dried black-eyed peas
2 small bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups of water
1 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 can (15oz) whole tomatoes, with juices
3 ounces collard greens, stemmed and cut into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine the black-eyed peas, bay leaves, and garlic in a heavy saucepan. Add enough water to cover the peas by about 2 inches., then bring the water to a boil over high heat.
   
2. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, until the peas are par-cooked; they should be soft but still hold their shape.
   
3. Add the 1 tsp of salt and cook 5 minutes longer.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 7 minutes.
   
5. Add the celery and bell pepper, then cover and cook until the pepper begins to soften, about 4 minutes.
   
6. Break the tomatoes by squeezing them in your hands over the pot, then add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot.
   
7. Stir in the collard greens and corn to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes.
   
8. Add the thyme, the 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and the cayenne pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
9. Add the black eyed peas and their cooking liquid and 3 cups of water to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a simmer.
   
10. Decrease the heat to medium-low and gently simmer until the peas and greens and tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.
11. Add more water, if needed, to thin the soup to the desired consistency. Stir in the cilantro, and season to taste with more salt and black pepper.
12. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.