Souperific

So, yesterday I was MIA from the blog scene. Reasons being my skin is on fire yet again. I'm trying to figure out if I'm still sick, stressed out, a combination, or if God just doesn't like me very much right now. Not that I should bring God in to this, its probably just my immune system, the poor thing, but seriously! Why, why, why. While I ponder why and wait for my doctors appointment tomorrow morning, there really is nothing to do but lay around and watch tv, read blogs, read twitter, facebook stalk, creep on my neighbors in the creepy very sookie stackhouse house beside us, get creeped out by last weeks Grey's Anatomy episode (seriously, Shonda Rhimes, what were you thinking!?), and have Gilmore Girl marathons. Also, since I am legit feeling under the weather, what with a crazy fever, sore throat, burning skin, and unrelenting fatigue, I also have 0 appetite for anything but soup and toast. Since I hate canned soups, which are usually laden with high amounts of sodium, sugar, the devil gluten, as well as god knows what else they stuff in to the huge vats of liquid in their gigantic power plant like soup making places (I have no idea what I'm talking about I'm just picturing things in my mind), I make my own soup. I've made homemade soup for years. Ever since the emergence of the "Sacred Heart Diet," which, for lack of a better explanation, is another one of those fad 7 day soup diets. Don't get me wrong, it works, but its also not so good for you in terms of nutrition and/or keeping the weight off. Last summer, I had a pretty bad summer flu and I lost about 5 kilos by just eating soup for two weeks, so, the soup diet works, its just not sustainable. Then again, what is? Atkins has problems up the wazoo and if you aren't severely dehydrated after about 6 weeks, you are probably not able to add 2 + 2 due to the severe lack of glucose and brain fog. High carb low fat diets dont give you enough protein and they are great if you sit around all day (much like I am doing right now) but if you intend on having any sort of active lifestyle, have fun fainting midday (or mid gym session). There are so many issues with all of these diets. They work quick but they never last, unless you are a depraved masochist or possibly have an eating disorder, in which case you should definitely speak to your doctor. Eating disorders are no joking matter and should be taken seriously. Regardless, I digress (it must be the lack of protein from my soup only diet). I don't know what diet is the best but as far as I can tell, I've been through them all, except for maybe Fruitarianism. I don't believe the carrots I put in my salad have been murdered, unlike the girl in Notting Hill who Hugh Grant rejects for Julia Roberts (who wouldn't be rejected for Julia Robers anyways?). Bottom line: eat clean. I would love to tell everyone to never eat dairy again on top of that, but I'll save my dairy rant for another blog post. Until then, skip the processed foods, pre-packaged foods, canned foods, sugar, sodium, excess salt, bad oils, bad fats, don't over indulge and eat healthily. If you desire something like a piece of cake, make it! Find a great/healthy recipe (not a box in the grocery store or can of frosting a la Ms. Crocker), substitute honey or agave nectar for sugar (fi it calls for sugar), try to make it non-dairy (you can substitute flax for eggs and soy/rice/almond milk for cow milk, etc.), have a small amount, shut down your craving, be fulfilled. Life isn't about suffering and depriving yourself of things that make you happy and taste good like desserts, but its also not about stuffing your face silly and over eating or over indulging on things that aren't good for you. The most important part about weight loss that everyone should understand is HEALTH. Looking like a model or being the skinniest or most jacked in the room is not the most important part. The reason we health professionals want to help you get rid of that abdominal fat is because it can lead to heart disease, heart attack, stroke, or diabetes, to name a few things. Being healthy and being at a healthy weight should be important to you because you want to feel good, look good, have energy, less stress, better sleep patters, and live a long and great life. So, ditch the crazy diets that not only make you go insane, fuel body image issues, eating disorders, starvation, etc. and just be healthy, make good choices, read educational literature on nutrition, do research, experiment, find out what keeps your body going and keeps it healthy. What can you eat that get rid of your cravings for bad food altogether? Because I guarantee somewhere out there, an amazing piece of salmon and some steamed broccoli are going to totally trump all feelings directed towards that quart of ice cream in the freezer.
As for me, I'm going to give you my super simple recipe for super great soup that's easy peasy and something you can eat if A. you are craving soup or B. you are sick and that canned stuff, which will probably just make you worse.



Super Soup

3 large carrots, peeled and cut in to thirds
3 large parsnips, peeled and cut in to thirds (these are great for flavor and taste delicious!)
4 celery stalks, cut in to quarters
1-2 yellow onions chopped
5-6 garlic cloves (these are super important for fighting illness garlic is a proven anti-bacterial and anti-viral)
Himalayan sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
paprika to taste (I'm Hungarian, I put paprika in everything, but so can you! Its delicious and great for your digestive system)
Any herbs you want to add is also good, my guy loves cumin and coriander, you can also add turmeric which is a great anti inflammatory.
2 bay leaves (remember to remove before eating, these are not edible)
1-2 cubes Vegeta chicken bouillon cubes
gluten free spaghetti noodles

All of the vegetable choices are what I have on hand right now, but you can definitely add more, I would stay away from tomatoes and red peppers though, as they are acidic and hard on the immune system. Tomatoes are part of the night shade family and red peppers are an inflammatory (more on these things later). When I am in Europe I always include Kholrabi, which can be found all over Europe and North America, as well as celery root, and yellow peppers. You could also include, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. Cabbage gives a really distinct taste and is very, very good. There's a reason the cabbage soup diet was such a craze! Also, remember not to put TOO MUCH garlic in to the soup as this can cause digestive system overload and possibly have you on the toilet or very bloated and gassy for the next 24 hours. Garlic is great, but in moderate amounts.
Now, if you are my mother, you will probably make the stock from an actual whole chicken, which is great, I love her soup it tastes amazing. But, I live about a zillion miles from her (I miss her a lot as well as her cooking skills) and if I am sick, I am not about to start putting whole chickens in to pots. Not to mention we just moved here and I definitely don't have a pot that's big enough for that. That being said, I use Vegeta stock chicken cubes for chicken-y flavor. These are gluten free, lactose free, fat free, low sodium, no enhancers, and no MSG and they taste darn good! You can get them at the grocery store and if this brand isn't available I am sure another one is. At Whole Foods they have great chicken, beef, and vegetable stock available that I used to use before moving here. Its convenient and healthy.

I chop up all the vegetables and put them in to a pot of water and turn up the stove top to the highest then I add the herbs and spices and cubes and I let it cook, I watch it carefully and I don't let it boil for more than 10 minutes because mushy soup is never good. Also, I don't like how the vegetables taste when they are over-boiled. So, be careful, only let it boil for a max of 10 minutes and then let the soup simmer the rest of the time.

In the meantime, I cook the noodles in a different pot (because I am sure you see the water after the noodles are done cooking and you don't want that in your soup). When I am finished the noodles I transfer them in to the soup pot when the soup is finished cooking OR if I am going to keep the soup a few days I keep the noodles in a separate dish and put them in to the bowl I am eating out of along with the soup. This is very meticulous but I think its healthier and this way the noodles don't go mushy if the soup is kept all day or overnight and don't have be re-cooked (because re-cooked noodles are gross). Voila! My chicken/veggie sick soup slash soup for everyday soup eaters. I am off now to watch Wedding Crashers, because its a favorite and eat some soup! xJ