This morning I left the house earlier than usual to meet a new-found friend for a walk before heading to work. Living in the wine country north of San Francisco has many advantages. I love being close enough to enjoy all the trappings of a spectacular city yet able to take a stroll and feel like I am in the middle of an old country farm complete with chickens, cows and sheep. The vineyards, forests, hillsides, and coastal cliffs are not bad either.
Starting my day off strolling in the countryside rejuvenated my spirit and rekindled my desire to live a healthier lifestyle. Walking among the gardens and apple orchards while seeing horses, sheep, and other wildlife reconnects me to all the important things in my life and forces me to drop all of the stresses that a busy life can cause me to hang on to needlessly.
I had so much fun this weekend that I failed to prep my lunch last night and was too focused on meeting my friend to make it this morning. I decided to throw some bananas, strawberries, and ginger into a bag so I could make a smoothie for breakfast and planned on just picking something up for lunch vowing that I would do a better job tomorrow.
As I started driving to work after my walk I felt so energized that I decided to pick up a few items at the store so I could make a quickie soup for lunch later in the day. This way I would not be tempted by the assortment of 1000 calorie lunches that surround my office. Over the weekend I had purchased a new magic bullet blender for my kitchen and had placed my old one in my car to take to the office. At the store I simply picked up some roma tomatoes, bell peppers, kale and some small single serve cans of spicy V-8 juice and found it surprisingly easy to resist all of the temptations that were before me.
My fruit smoothie was delicious but did not compare to the heavenly flavor achieved in my simply delightful soup. I blended the tomatoes, peppers, and V-8 juice together then added a bit of kale that I pulsed until smooth but not thoroughly blended. I knew the soup would be tasty but I had relatively low expectations because I did not take the time to break out the George Foreman grill I keep tucked in my cabinet at work. I poured my soup into a microwave safe bowl and zapped it until warm.
Now I must confess I make an awesome roasted red pepper soup but this quickie soup was every bit as flavorful. Using the spicy V-8 juice added a wonderful flavor dimension that made up for the non-roasted veggies.
Usually, I take pictures of my food to include in my blogs but since I did not anticipate writing this blog all I can post a picture of is a bowl and spoon that have been licked clean! Maybe tomorrow I will be able to snap a few pictures to add and post the precise recipe too. For now, I am so happy that I went for a walk and am still on track to live a healthy lifestyle that will motivate and encourage me to repeat my good choices tomorrow.
Starting my day off strolling in the countryside rejuvenated my spirit and rekindled my desire to live a healthier lifestyle. Walking among the gardens and apple orchards while seeing horses, sheep, and other wildlife reconnects me to all the important things in my life and forces me to drop all of the stresses that a busy life can cause me to hang on to needlessly.
I had so much fun this weekend that I failed to prep my lunch last night and was too focused on meeting my friend to make it this morning. I decided to throw some bananas, strawberries, and ginger into a bag so I could make a smoothie for breakfast and planned on just picking something up for lunch vowing that I would do a better job tomorrow.
As I started driving to work after my walk I felt so energized that I decided to pick up a few items at the store so I could make a quickie soup for lunch later in the day. This way I would not be tempted by the assortment of 1000 calorie lunches that surround my office. Over the weekend I had purchased a new magic bullet blender for my kitchen and had placed my old one in my car to take to the office. At the store I simply picked up some roma tomatoes, bell peppers, kale and some small single serve cans of spicy V-8 juice and found it surprisingly easy to resist all of the temptations that were before me.
My fruit smoothie was delicious but did not compare to the heavenly flavor achieved in my simply delightful soup. I blended the tomatoes, peppers, and V-8 juice together then added a bit of kale that I pulsed until smooth but not thoroughly blended. I knew the soup would be tasty but I had relatively low expectations because I did not take the time to break out the George Foreman grill I keep tucked in my cabinet at work. I poured my soup into a microwave safe bowl and zapped it until warm.
Now I must confess I make an awesome roasted red pepper soup but this quickie soup was every bit as flavorful. Using the spicy V-8 juice added a wonderful flavor dimension that made up for the non-roasted veggies.
Usually, I take pictures of my food to include in my blogs but since I did not anticipate writing this blog all I can post a picture of is a bowl and spoon that have been licked clean! Maybe tomorrow I will be able to snap a few pictures to add and post the precise recipe too. For now, I am so happy that I went for a walk and am still on track to live a healthy lifestyle that will motivate and encourage me to repeat my good choices tomorrow.
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