Wellness Journey with Joe

Week 3 - Soup For More Vegetables

8/15/2015

So, I've given you a week each on the subjects of breads and salads.  Hopefully you've come a long way in diminishing your bread intake and included a large colorful salad everyday.  If you have, then you've already seen some pounds being shed.

Along with restoring and maintaining your health this journey is designed to help you become more aware of who you really are and discover more of what it means to be human.  We humans are complicated animals and there is no magic bullet that can bring you vitality, happiness, and creative satisfaction.  Our journey is a step by step process, and for now it is imperative that you get your diet under control.  A poor diet will only sabotage any growth in all other areas of human develovement.

This may seem like we're moving slowly but the idea is to take each week, address each issue serioulsy, and create habits that will last.  The advice and work will add up soon enough so be diligent in your efforts.  I've mentioned how we will be covering nutrition, stress management, and exercise.  But this journey is so much more.  So what if we eat well, are fit, and manage our stress?  Then what?!  We live longer?  Ok, I guess that's a good goal, but is that all their is?  Below is my definition of health.  See if this is something you agree with.  If so, then that is what you look forward to achieving in this year of discovery:

Dr. Dockery’s
Definition of Health

A physical and emotional state in which
purpose in life is recognized, along with
enough desire, vitality, and energy
available to pursue it.

 Health, Happiness & Personal Fulfillment Require:

 Physical Wellness
Proper Nutrition
Adequate Exercise

 Intellectual Wellness
The desire, enjoyment and practice
of lifelong learning about yourself, your world,
and your purpose and role in it.

 Emotional Wellness
Choosing belief systems based on innate values of
unconditional love, forgiveness of self and others, optimism,
and the desire to strive to achieve a life purpose.

 Spiritual Wellness
Having motivations that enrich both
your own life and the lives of others.

 ALL these factors DIRECTLY affect your physiology!

Now, back to vegetables.  You'll want to be taking every opportunity you can to add vegetables to your diet.  Veggies in omelets or scrambled eggs in the morning is one way.  Salads at lunch and dinner is another.  Even ordering a side of mixed vegetables IN ADDITION to your salad when you eat out.  That is a habit I've developed.

Another great way to get vegetables in your diet is in SOUPS.  Soups are fabulous in that you make a large pot and you have leftovers for the next few days, minmizing the work involved in eating healthy.  We have a saying, "Lunch is for leftovers."  With thaqt in mind we'll always make more of whatever we plan to eat for dinner so there is always healthy fast food available in the refridgerator.  A great habit to get into.

Below are soup recipes that we make for ourselves but you can find multiple soup recipes in various heathy cook books and on many healthy web sites.  The ideas this week are, first, to incorporate as many vegetables as you can in your soups, and, second is to make a large pot of soup in order to have left overs for the week.  You can even freeze the leftover soup for down the road.

I will be adding more recipes below as the weeks go by so check back to this blog page often.

Chicken Vegetable Soup                                                                        

• Boil whole chicken cut up, with stalk of celery and ¼ chopped onion in enough water to cover chicken.
• De-bone cooked chicken and strain broth.
• Return strained broth to pot.
• Add chicken pieces.
• Add 8 oz. can stewed tomatoes.
• Add chopped vegetables (as much of each as you’d like) - carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, turnips, peas, and any other vegetables you’d like.  This is a vegetable free-for-all.
• Add cilantro, thyme, parsley, pepper, sea salt to taste.  Or add your favorite herbs.
• Simmer 30 minutes until vegetables are soft.
• Add chopped kale or collard greens for final 10 minutes.

 Vegetable Soup with Coconut Milk 

• Chop Vegetables - carrots, broccoli, peppers (red and yellow), 1 sweet potato, mushrooms, onion, celery – these are the veggies shown, however you can use any other you’d like.
• Add pepper, cilantro, parsley, basil to taste.  Add any other preferred herb.
• Add Bragg brand Liquid Aminos All Purpose Seasoning to taste.  This is vegetable protein from soy (optional).
  
• Simmer vegetables in enough water to cover the vegetables until soft.  You may need to add more water as vegetables cook.
• Add chopped kale or collard greens for final 10 minutes. 
• Remove from heat, add one 13.5 oz. can unsweetened organic coconut milk.                                                                     
  
• Stir and serve.