The first week of the new whole foods diet came and went. I'm
happy to report that no major catastrophes occurred. Preparing food
was a bit more challenging from the aspect of condiments or
toppings and such, yet these things are typically not necessary if
food is prepared properly and spiced up nicely.
The first whole foods week started with a trip to the grocery
store. Finding products in the store with less than five
ingredients and no chemicals is super challenging! I kept saying to
myself "Why not bend a little and say eight ingredients," or
"Polysorbate 80 isn't so bad, is it?" Yet, when all was said and
done I was able to walk out of the store with the components for
some tasty and healthy eating. I found my trip was a bit heavy on
the meat, fish and nut side this time and not as varied in the
veggie department with mostly greens and root vegetables (we are in
winter here in Illinois though). I will balance out the veggies and
work toward a much more vegetable-centered diet as this thing
progresses. This is a positive move both from a resource
utilization and healthy benefit from the food source to the table
through digestion.
Here's the recipe for a chicken soup I made for a friend who was
under the weather this past week. I made enough for plenty of
people in retrospect, as this was a huge batch! I'm not much of a
recipe writer so please forgive any "recipe grammar errors." :)
Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3 quarts organic chicken stock
- 6 organic carrots
- 2 organic onions
- 2 pounds organic boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons organic butter
- 3 tablespoons thyme (roughly)
- 2 tablespoons parsley (roughly)
- Salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any salt)
Instructions
- Cook the chicken in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400º prior
to adding to soup.
- Dice the carrots and onions into cubes.
- In a BIG stockpot: Add the butter and melt. Add the carrots and
onions, sauté for just a few minutes (no more than 10
minutes).
- Add the 3 quarts of chicken stock and bring up to temperature
(yet not to a boil).
- Once the chicken has finished in the oven, dice the chicken and
add to the stock.
- Add the spices. Simmer the soup for about 30-45 minutes (again
without allowing it to heat to the boiling point). Season with salt
and pepper to taste.
- (Add some baby spinach just a few minutes prior to serving if
you like. The spinach will cook up nicely and a bit more texture to
the soup.)
Enjoy!
Kenosha Trip
Also this past weekend on the spur of the moment, a friend and I
took a day trip up to Kenosha to see the sunrise over Lake Michigan
and the old Kenosha Southport lighthouse, built in 1866. We decided
over coffee to enjoy a rare super bright Midwest winter's day and
take in the sun! The sun is beautiful rising over the water; it was
mighty cold though! I'm the tiny person next to the
lighthouse in the pic.
I will talk a bit more about school in the coming weeks.
Fortunately, we are still in the lecturing phase and I'm certain
the quizzes are coming this week in the majority of our classes.
Back to studying and talk to you all again in a week!