Try soup...it couldn't hurt!

Now that I'm the "jewish mother" I've always longed to be, I'm going to nag you a little. Just a little, I promise. If you're working on your weight loss or simply trying to maintain your weight, trust me on this one. Have a cup of soup at least once a day. I have mine before my main meal, which for me is lunchtime. First of all, you can't stand up and eat soup. Though I'm sure many have tried. Instead, you'll find yourself sitting down and taking your time to savor the flavors. Soup forces you to eat slowly and enjoy your meal. I think eating slowly gives you an opportunity for your belly to tell the brain it's full. These natural cues for hunger and feeling satiated are half the battle when it comes to practicing portion control.


In a pinch, I've tried low sodium canned options like Amy's Organic soups - which are pretty darn tasty, but nothing really compares to the homemade variety. Here's one of my recent favorites. Picture & recipe by Weight Watchers.


Creamy Mushroom Soup


Ingredients

1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 cup(s) leek(s), chopped
2 medium stalk(s) celery, chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 pound(s) button mushrooms, sliced
3 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth, reduced-sodium
3/4 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste


Instructions

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add leeks, celery and garlic; sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté until they release juice, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add broth to pan and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and puree soup in saucepan using an immersion blender. Or puree soup in batches in a blender until smooth (be careful not to splatter the hot liquid) and then return to saucepan. Add milk to pan and simmer 1 minute to heat through. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.


Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving. Points value is 2 per serving.

Stew & the slooooow cooker

Got ten minutes? Great. Then, you've got time to make a fabulous stew. I'm totally serious. All you need is a slow cooker and the confidence to let the cooker do the work for you. And if you've got nerves of steel, leave the house while it's on. I know, I know. That's what they're built for, but I'm a nervous nellie and I don't even leave lights on when I'm heading out the door. But I know YOU can do it. You're probably a lot less anxious than me.

Anyhoo, getting back to this fantastic stew from Weight Watchers. All you need is this:

Middle Eastern Lamb Stew (for the slow cooker) from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

1 pound(s) lean leg of lamb, stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup(s) canned beef broth
1 large onion(s), chopped
1 large garlic clove(s), minced
14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz canned chickpeas
2 tsp ginger root, freshly grated
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions
Place lamb in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients (add a pinch of saffron threads to tint stew orange & enhance taste), except lemon juice; stir well. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 7 to 8 hours. Stir in lemon juice and let stand for 5 minutes for flavors to blend.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving. Each serving is 6 WW points.

• Seriously, the hardest part of this recipe was finding the stew meat. And that wasn't even so bad. I didn't see it out with the rest of the meat at the grocery store, so I just rang the bell for the butcher (insert visual of "Sam the Butcher" from the Brady Bunch) and he brought out a package from the back of the kitchen. He pointed out to me that some stew meat is "marbelized" with fat and that I should use meat that I can trim. Because getting fat out of marbelized meat is impossible. So pick wisely when you have choices.
• If you don't have a microplane like me, then you easily pick up minced ginger (near the jars of minced garlic) in the produce section.
• When you have a moment, check out http://www.penzeys.com/. I buy most of my spices there and I'm lucky to have a store nearby. But the majority of their customers buy online or through their catalog. I mention this because I truly believe that their cinnamon is superior to anything I've ever had before. And believe me, the scent of that cinnamon through the house while your cooking this stew is worth the price of admission.
• For those of you following the Weight Watchers program, 1 1/2 cups of this stew is incredibly filling for 6 points. And the flavor is to die for. I can't wait for you to try it and let me know what you think.

2009: A return to blogging!

Hello friends,

It's been six months since I've become a mom and so much change has happened in my life. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be Ryan's mom. Happiness & peace have been the baseline of my life since his arrival. These feelings have affected every part of my life. Including how I view my own health and vitality.

Full disclosure now: the first three months of adjustment were not easy. I pretty much gave up on cooking and exercise due to throwing my entire energy into caring for our newborn son. This lack of caring for my own self caused me to drag from lack of energy. As happy as I was to finally be a mom, I wasn't enjoying it fully because I felt...well, crappy. So after the inevitable weight gain, my husband and I made a plan. We would put "me" back on the map and schedule in time for him to take care of Ryan and for me to focus on healthy cooking and moderate exercise. Also I took charge of my own destiny on November 4 and started a food diary which took the form of a wipe off board on my fridge. I'm still cooking with whole grains, lean meats, veggies and fruits, but I'm careful to eat the appropriate portion for my 5'3 stature. All these changes did not happen overnight, but they've been easy to maintain because I didn't go overboard. My mantra is slow and steady wins the race.

The last three months have been infinitely better. First, I lost 20 lbs (Yay!!!) but more importantly, I'm relishing every single moment of being a mom because I have a skip in my step again. It's not over yet, though. You'll start to see some changes in this blog due to my efforts. I'll start to share more about portion control, exercise and finding balance in life. I'm working on learning habits that are realistic and sustainable...I'm definitely not trying to be a perfect person when it comes to food. Just to be more accountable to myself.

I've missed this blog and all of my friends online. I'm looking forward to sharing with you again the adventures of Test Drive Kitchen.

All the best,

Karen