As of today, I have reached my goal of losing 20 pounds and have even exceeded it by almost an additional pound. I am down by 20.8 pounds since mid-August. I am now going to eat very lightly for the next week and continue to focus on low starch, low fat veggies, fruits and plant based proteins so that I can lose a bit more or at least hold it steady before the Christmas feast and other tempting goodies start to appear. I have been avoiding doing a lot of baking before Christmas this year so that I can keep the temptations from derailing my progress. I haven't been doing any rigorous exercise routines lately; as I mentioned in my last post, my main source of exercise right now is walking (mostly while Christmas shopping). After the holidays I plan to get back to some more aerobic forms of exercise and light weight lifting.
For the past two days it has been chilly and damp with some big rainstorms moving through. This kind of weather draws me toward nice big bowls of soup, stew or chowder. Recently I made a big pot of veggie soup using things I had on hand. I started with vegetable broth (a 32 oz. container) and added 1 can of tomato sauce (14 oz.), a can of diced tomatoes (14 oz.), and a can of cooked lentils, same size. Then I put in one medium diced onion, a few teaspoons of minced garlic, some shredded carrots and cabbage and some frozen turnip greens with diced turnips. I also had some fresh kale in the fridge so I chopped a few cups of that and threw it in. For seasonings I added some onion salt, crushed chili peppers, some blackened Cajun seasoning and some Caribbean jerk seasoning. It sounds a little bit weird to mix all of those spices, but it turned out super delicious, for my taste buds anyway. I like a lot of spices in my soup, and it's fun to just get creative and see what happens.
Here is a great quote I just saw on Facebook as a reminder of the importance of a lifestyle that is compassionate toward all creatures:
"As the crisis of feeding the world's population grows, breeding of animals for human consumption becomes less acceptable out of compassion for the suffering of animals and the awareness that it is a grossly inefficient use of water and grain. A new relationship with the animal kingdom is part of our changing perception of the Earth.... Animals are part of us, and part of our practice." --Allan Hunt Badiner
For the past two days it has been chilly and damp with some big rainstorms moving through. This kind of weather draws me toward nice big bowls of soup, stew or chowder. Recently I made a big pot of veggie soup using things I had on hand. I started with vegetable broth (a 32 oz. container) and added 1 can of tomato sauce (14 oz.), a can of diced tomatoes (14 oz.), and a can of cooked lentils, same size. Then I put in one medium diced onion, a few teaspoons of minced garlic, some shredded carrots and cabbage and some frozen turnip greens with diced turnips. I also had some fresh kale in the fridge so I chopped a few cups of that and threw it in. For seasonings I added some onion salt, crushed chili peppers, some blackened Cajun seasoning and some Caribbean jerk seasoning. It sounds a little bit weird to mix all of those spices, but it turned out super delicious, for my taste buds anyway. I like a lot of spices in my soup, and it's fun to just get creative and see what happens.
Congratulations on reaching your weight goal.
ReplyDeleteRe food, I need to keep my eyes out for some Caribbean and Casjun seasoning. Ingredients that are not so easy to come by in Scotland.
Dear mangocheeks,
ReplyDeleteEven if you can't find those seasonings locally you can order them from amazon.com. I just looked them up and there are several different varieties available. Some are in bulk packages but others can be ordered in individual jars or bags. Have fun experimenting!