Easy Peasey: Vegetable Soup

It's cold and miserable out.

We want to feel cozy and warm.

What you need:

* Whatever veggies you've got

* 12 cups of water

* Any bouillon of your choice

* Cooking Spray

* Salt/Pepper/Herbs/Soy Sauce (any herbs and seasoning of your choice)

I used:

onion,

celery,

Brussel Sprouts - don't be hating, they're a great substitute for cabbage in soup,

frozen broccoli,

frozen peas,

a can of crushed tomatoes,

onion soup mix,

dill,

soy sauce,

pepper.

Here's How:

1. Take a large pot and spray 2-3 seconds worth of cooking spray into the bottom

2. Take all your veggies and dump them into the pot

3. Season and stir it up

4. Pour the can of tomatoes and fresh herbs (if you're so inclined), bouillon, and water in and leave to simmer with the lid on

5. Relax, read, or wii fit for about 30-60 minutes

6. ENJOY!

Calories: Depending on your vegetables MAXIMUM 250 for the POT. Enjoy all day any time, and don't feel guilty about cozying up on the couch!

Resolutions?

Rather than making resolutions which seem so daunting since you need to keep them for an ENTIRE year, I make myself goals.

I leave for Florida February 18th, so until then:

My Do List:

1. Drink WATER

2. Stretch every morning

3. Walk to school more often.

My Do NOT List:

1. No Diet Soda (or regular, I just never drank it in the first place)

2. No Candy/Chocolate

Not a long list, just a couple healthy choices, until AT LEAST then.

Making a short term goal, rather than a long one, will make keeping these new change a lot easier. Six weeks seems a lot more feasable than fifty-two. And who knows, maybe after that short period of time, you'll have the confidence to keep those changes for longer.

Goodness knows, chocolate will be a hard one.

Happy New Year,

- xo

*Tip: I bring a 1 Litre Nalgene of water with me to school or work that I drink throughout the day, ensuring I got at least that much water not including what I drink at meal times!

Back to Basics

Trying to get back on my grind (this exam season has led me to bad eating habits - hello late nights!), I found two more amazing sites.

Calorie Count (Free obviously!), is a similar to the daily plate, however, it is a bit more advanced. It will give you a healthy goal weight - based on your activity level and BMI, as well as give you a date reasonable for your goal. It won't let you try to lose more than 2 pounds a week, because hey! - that ain't healthy. The site also lets you log in your activity and food for the day, and charts your progress, as well as gives you a breakdown of what nutrition you got that day (ie: what percentage of your day was based on fat, etc.)

Another great site I found this week was World's Healthiest Foods.
Starting a diet and don't know what to eat? Have an idea of what you think is healthy but aren't sure? Check this out as well! It will help give a basis of foods you should be including in your daily intake! (But remember, everything in moderation!)

Happy Holidays, and Happy Eating! xo

THE DAILY PLATE

How is Weight Watchers Online still making money?

Attached to livestrong.com, they have a free food diary called the daily plate. You enter your height, weight, and activity level, in addition to your weekly goals, and it generates the calories you need per day.

There is also a database of food items so you can type "sushi spicy tuna roll" and it will tell you the amount of calories and fat and everything and log it in for you, telling you the remaining calories per day.

Check out this site now, you won't regret it!

New Discovery

So I was bumming around on my computer early this morning...

And I opened my Microsoft Word (for Mac), and made an interesting discovery.

In the project manager (what word opens to when it asks you what kind of blank document to open), there is a little menu on the side.

If you click Planners, there is a section called Meal/Diet Planners...
There is a daily food log and a meal planner that calculates everything for you at your disposal! Crazy!

I have to say I created my own version of the template, customizing colors and such!
I'm too excited! I can't wait to use it!

I wonder if they have it for PC too! Let me know!

Setting Goals

Rule Number One:
BE REALISTIC.
25 lbs in two months? As if.

Rule Number Two:
SET SMALLER GOALS TO REACH YOUR BIGGER GOAL.
By two weeks from now, I'd like to have dropped 2 lbs. That way, if you lost one more, you'd be stoked. If you lost one less, you'd be less let-down.

Rule Number Three:
DON'T LET A BAD WEIGH-IN MAKE YOU THINK YOU'RE BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.
You might have gained weight because you gained muscle, or maybe your body is being stubborn and has decided to plateau. Try to trick your body by trying a new exercise or some different foods in your diet.

Exploring Fruit

There comes a time when eating healthy gets kinda boring. You know what healthy foods you like and so you form a routine. Then all of a sudden, one day you just crack. And you want foods that aren't so good for you.

STOP. Variety is essential. Check out new things.
There is way more than just apples and oranges out there!

Ever cracked open your own pomegranate? It's very tasty and not nearly as complicated to eat as you'd think! They're messy but really fun! Available at Loblaws (2 for $5), check them out - they even come with instructions! Also, a fun snack to keep you busy while you're studying, since the fruit comes in seeds!

Last week there were kiwis on special. Previously I associated kiwis with bad store-bought fruit salad or a tacky topping on cheesecake, and rarely bought them for home. However, since Loblaws had made a tropical fruit section that week, I decided to turn my aversion around. Cutting them this week for breakfast I realized how beautiful and delicious kiwis were.

In the grocery store, try to pick one new fruit per week. You'll thank yourself that you are not getting tired of eating healthy!