I am so ready for Google to be able to read my mind and put together an organized to do list of my thoughts...seriously. Much of my family is afraid of the power of the internet and the evil plots that it manifests against their identities and credit scores. I, on the other hand, am too trusting of its power to do good and ready, and willing, to hand myself over, thoughts and all.
Wouldn't that be great, to be able to mentally picture your to do list at any time and have it documented for you to revisit whenever you're ready. Of course, you would still have to manually check items off when you finish them, because no one will be taking that self gratifying activity away from me anytime soon [or ever].
While we wait for this to do list tool of the future, in our house, we are trying to get better at our weekly meal planning. Specifically, we have been preparing large dishes on Sundays that can be portioned for packed lunches throughout the work week. Over the last few weeks, we have focused on soups because they are great to make in large quantities, keep well for several days, and it is cold outside! The trick has been finding a balance between healthy and hearty enough to keep us going each afternoon.
Last week, we tried a creamy zucchini spinach soup. This is a no meat, no dairy recipe that uses almonds to build its rich texture. The recipe was based on an idea from Healthy Girl's Kitchen, that uses cashews to add creaminess to its brothy soup.
Here's what you'll need...
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons garlic
~5 medium zucchinis, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)
1/4 cup almonds
4 cups baby spinach
2 cups corn kernels (canned)
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon (Michael's addition to the recipe)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
This recipe will use a food processor, but you can use a blender instead.
Let's get started...
Wouldn't that be great, to be able to mentally picture your to do list at any time and have it documented for you to revisit whenever you're ready. Of course, you would still have to manually check items off when you finish them, because no one will be taking that self gratifying activity away from me anytime soon [or ever].
While we wait for this to do list tool of the future, in our house, we are trying to get better at our weekly meal planning. Specifically, we have been preparing large dishes on Sundays that can be portioned for packed lunches throughout the work week. Over the last few weeks, we have focused on soups because they are great to make in large quantities, keep well for several days, and it is cold outside! The trick has been finding a balance between healthy and hearty enough to keep us going each afternoon.
Last week, we tried a creamy zucchini spinach soup. This is a no meat, no dairy recipe that uses almonds to build its rich texture. The recipe was based on an idea from Healthy Girl's Kitchen, that uses cashews to add creaminess to its brothy soup.
Here's what you'll need...
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons garlic
~5 medium zucchinis, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)
1/4 cup almonds
4 cups baby spinach
2 cups corn kernels (canned)
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon (Michael's addition to the recipe)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
This recipe will use a food processor, but you can use a blender instead.
Let's get started...
1. Chop your onion and zucchini liberally. Toss with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, basil, and oregano in oil over medium high heat until the onions are transparent.
2. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil for about 10 or 15 minutes.
3. In the meantime, use your food processor, chopper, or blender to bring the almonds to a paste. Add 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the nuts if necessary to produce creamy texture.
4. Remove almonds from processor and set aside.
4. Remove almonds from processor and set aside.
5. In small batches, process the zucchini broth mixture, with about 1/2 tablespoon of almond paste each time.
6. Return blended soup to the pot and simmer over medium low heat.
7. After all the batches have been blended and returned to the pot, add corn and spinach leaves. The spinach will wilt into the soup after a few moments.
8. Add cinnamon to soup for sweetness. Simmer for about 25-30 minutes.
8. Add cinnamon to soup for sweetness. Simmer for about 25-30 minutes.
9. Portion to small (well seal-able) containers or enjoy right away.
The reaction to the soup was better than expected! Seeing as it was meat and bean-free., it is still very filling without these usually key ingredients.
Putting this recipe together doesn't take very long, but I know what you're thinking, "I don't have time to prepare meals on Sundays. What do I do, sit at home every weekend?!" The not so secret, secret of my life is that I do spend most of my Sundays at home, working on my thesis, so this works with my schedules. But, today is Sunday, as I type, and I have plans today, so...this week we are trying a "get out of the house and still cook," crockpot recipe.
If you find yourself too busy to cook on Sundays, you probably are busy with something that will provide you the twenty bucks you need to grab a crockpot at Target and get cooking with it. We are trying a southwestern chicken dish -- that's cooking right now (look no hands) -- and we hope you will join us.
The reaction to the soup was better than expected! Seeing as it was meat and bean-free., it is still very filling without these usually key ingredients.
Putting this recipe together doesn't take very long, but I know what you're thinking, "I don't have time to prepare meals on Sundays. What do I do, sit at home every weekend?!" The not so secret, secret of my life is that I do spend most of my Sundays at home, working on my thesis, so this works with my schedules. But, today is Sunday, as I type, and I have plans today, so...this week we are trying a "get out of the house and still cook," crockpot recipe.
If you find yourself too busy to cook on Sundays, you probably are busy with something that will provide you the twenty bucks you need to grab a crockpot at Target and get cooking with it. We are trying a southwestern chicken dish -- that's cooking right now (look no hands) -- and we hope you will join us.
