Healthy Twists

Hey all! I’m waiting for my salad maker to finish prepping before dinner (I made an attempt to “Healthy Twist”-ify pulled pork again, and I think the meat still going to be dry but at least we have Mitch’s amazing homemade BBQ sauce to compensate) so I thought I’d  show you some highlights from last week.

Highlight #1 Awesome friends and coworkers

I’ve been kind of a grumpy monkey lately, and my friend at work knew this, so when I got in one day (Wednesday? The days blur together) I saw this on my desk.

So pretty, huh? And next to it…a tiny bottle of beer. Well, technically, a tiny bottle of root-beer flavored lip balm with BEER written on it. The lip balm was the contribution of another coworker who heard I was in a bad mood. Of course, I hate beer, but the gesture was very sweet. Nice coworkers are the best, no?

Highlight 2: German candy

In continuation of the “my work brings together cool people” theme, remember Clare from her guest post? Well, I won a giveaway on her blog and when I got the package and saw the customs declaration, I knew good things were ahead.

Boo-yeah. It’s a known fact that European candy > American candy. I heard it’s because they put some evil cancer-causing ingredients that we don’t allow in our super-healthy processed treats (trans fat…what?). All I know is, it’s GOOD.

Sister hooked us UP! Thanks, Clare! And I say us because I was nice (or more accurately, I know better than to have all this candy at my desk) and shared with the other gals who also miss Clare terribly. That “Hanuta” thing was like a wafer cookie with Nutella-type filling and it came with stickers of German soccer players. Can it get any better? And those gummy fruits were AMAZING. I guess you can buy “good European candy” at Cost Plus…info I probably didn’t need.

Highlight 3: Soup experiment = success!

Lastly, I wanted to prove that sometimes, I cook. Fancy that. I had some veggies that I knew I wouldn’t eat before they went bad since I was getting even MORE produce from my CSA, and I’ve been craving soup (in summertime. Yes.) but I don’t like canned soup that high and sodium and expensive, which most of the good kinds are. So, I made my own! Solved two problems.

I sauteed chopped onion and carrot with some garlic in a little oive oil.

Then, I threw the mixture into my trusty crock pot along with:

• 2 large zucchini, sliced
• 1 medium-small sweet potato, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
• spices (garlic salt, pepper, bay leaf, oregano, hot sauce)

I think that was it? And I thought I had low-sodium veggie broth but all I had was regular beef broth, so I just used half a can for some flavor and added about 4 or 5 cups of water. I must say, the beef broth was really good in the soup. Good to know.

I cooked it all day on low, then I turned the crockpot off and added one bunch of chopped kale (I told you this was a “use it all up” soup!). Of course, at this point, I decided I didn’t want soup for dinner anymore, so I packed it all up for the fridge/freezer.

So it wasn’t exactly pretty (and/or my presentation skills are clearly a bit lacking) but when I finally did try the soup the next day, it was SO good! Lots of fiber and vitamins and all that good stuff, too. And now I have soup in my freezer for the next time the craving hits (which I’m sure will be next week when it’s 80 degrees.

Ok…I think my dinner is ready…so I’m off! I’m going to a bridal shower brunch and then tomorrow evening, running 6 miles. Since the Rock and Roll marathon is tomorrow, we decided on a PM run to avoid the cluster-you-know-what that will be any area that is popular for runners in San Diego. I’m not sure how 6 miles with a belly full of shower-food will go, but there’s only one way to tell, I suppose. Wish me luck!

What was the highlight of your week?

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