Recipe: Harvest Soup

In autumn, try out some delicious soup, perfect for the warm days and cool evenings of fall. I love this recipe because it is highly adaptable for any vegetable you have that may be getting past its prime. In this recipe, I'm using potatoes, carrots and squash (starred ingredients *); substitute your favorite veggies in their place if you'd like! Adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.

Yield: 6 to 8 cups
Prep time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter, coconut oil or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried dill
5 new potatoes, cut into 1/4" to 1/2" cubes *
2 carrots, sliced or chopped *
2 yellow squash or zucchini, chopped *
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup sour cream, at end (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil in a 4-quart pot. Add onion, celery, hard veggies like potatoes and carrots (if using), cumin, and dill until veggies are soft. Add squash and/or additional veggies and cook till soft. Add stock, water, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer 15 minutes or until all veggies are soft (check those potatoes!).

Remove bay leaf. At this point, serve the soup in bowls, or puree in a blender or with a handheld blender if you prefer a creamy soup. Add a dollop of sour cream to the bowl just before serving.

Note: for those experimental types, try adding different veggies, greens like kale, chard or cabbage, asparagus,  peppers, more onions, and other herbs and flavor combinations you enjoy. Throw 1/2 cup chopped, cooked chicken in there as well to add protein.

A Wellness Challenge

I stumbled upon a great quote this week:
"If you don't have time to be sick, make time to be well."
Does this resonate with you? It surely does with me! As a busy mom, entrepreneur, part-time research assistant at a local university (betcha didn't know that), volunteer co-leader of a local nutrition group, among other roles, staying well is key to maintaining harmony in my life. I just returned from a lovely beach vacation where I was blessed with great food, wonderful company, relaxing days, and plenty of sleep! Refreshed and recharged, I'm excited to be back home to my busy life. It felt really GOOD to make the time to be well. Self-care is so important, and if you are overdue for a vacation, as I was, be sure to incorporate activities that invigorate you into your daily life. Activities such as

• exercise
• time spent in nature
• prayer and meditation
• read a book
• take short breaks for deep breathing throughout the day
• yoga
• massage

Personalize this list with your own favorites!

Another aspect of wellness is looking at your satisfaction in your relationships. Does your career drain the life from you? Have you misplaced the chemistry with your partner that attracted you to begin with? If these are not healthy, you may find yourself battling stress and succumb to illness, weight gain, insomnia, indigestion, or other physical ailments.

Last, and certainly not least, is keeping yourself nourished through healthy and nutrient-dense foods. Take stock of your pantry and refrigerator. Read the labels on those packages. If a food has more than 5 ingredients or contains something you cannot pronounce, chances are it is not very healthy for you! What do I mean? Foods with a slew of ingredients are highly processed. The processing of foods takes something good from the earth, removes natural enzymes and nutrients, adds chemicals, preservatives, time-stable partially hydrogenated fats, and other additives to prolong its shelf life, and you end up with a box of "food" lacking nutrition. Foods labeled as low-fat often make up for the lack of fat (and therefore taste) by including flavorings such as MSG, refined salt, and refined sugar from corn, or completely fake sugars, to trick your body into thinking it's getting real nutrients. The body wants natural fats and flavors found in whole foods, when instead these processed foods contain nothing but fillers and toxins like MSG and trans-fats that interfere with your body's brain function and metabolism. Your body was designed to eat REAL foods. You truly are what you eat!

I challenge you this month to spend some time reviewing three things: how often you care for yourself, what your interactions with others are like, and what fills your pantry (and your belly!). All of these aspects make up the full picture of wellness. Your health is your best investment. Rather than rely on the pharmaceutical industry and medical establishment to fix problems, take action and empower yourself to be fit, well, and enjoy a healthy long life. Make time NOW to be well!


(Excerpted from FITR Wellness June 2011 newsletter. Want to receive monthly inspiration, recipes, and healthy tips? Sign up for my newsletter!)