Juicy Soup

Today is Day 4 of my Reboot, and I almost screwed up. I got home at 7pm which is way, way past my usual dinner time. Everything was calling out to me. Normally, I would totally give in to cravings, but this time I was able to pull myself together and come out of it OK.

The problem with cravings is that I never really know what I'm actually craving. This usually leads to a lot of trial and error eating. As I search for that perfectly-hits-the-spot food, I end up eating everything I find along the way. I usually end up making myself sick. Ugghh! I hate it when I do that. It reminds of me of the old Droopy cartoon where the sheep graze through entire fields of grass, lol.

Anyway, tonight, I actually was able to identify what I was craving...sort of. I knew I really wanted to have something savory and warm. So, instead of eating whatever I found along the way, I started  looking through the fridge for vegetables that I thought might go well together AND satisfy my craving. I haven't done groceries yet, so I had to use whatever I had on hand. After rummaging through my refrigerator, I realized that I could either make a savory soup or make mashed potatoes. The soup sounded good, but I had red potatoes, boniatos (it's a sweet white potato), and parsnips, which I though would be great mashed, too. When I'm hungry everything sounds good, so, of course, I started preparing both.

The soup came out DELICIOUS. I ran the vegetables through the juicer and then poured the juice into a pot where I added other seasonings. I played with the flavors and seasonings until I liked the end result. I was able to stay true to the reboot-approved foods, which makes me feel great.

Here's the recipe:

tomato

carrots

radishes

kale

cilantro

onions

green bell pepper

jalapeno

Juice the first five ingredients. In a pot, use water to saute onions, bell peppers, and jalapeno.  (I like soup to be chunky, so I also added some of the pulp from the juice to the pot and cooked it down before adding the juice). Add the juice to the pot, as well as black pepper, thyme, rosemary, and a very little bit of sea salt. Cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley

I loved eating/drinking this soup. It was tasty and very satisfying. It felt like comfort food, AND I got the satisfaction of know that it was all healthy. It was pretty, too. Here's a pic

As the soup was cooking, I boiled the potatoes, boniato, and parsnips. Once I ate the soup, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to eat both dishes, so I saved the mash for tomorrow. I'll write more about that dish when I actually eat it. Hopefully, it will be just as good as the soup was today.

All in all, today was a growing up experience for me. Giving in to eating like a maniac because of stupid cravings is unacceptable. It felt good to be in control. Preparing the second dish was unnecessary, but it made me feel busy. And, in the end, knowing that I was able to put it away for tomorrow is GREAT!