Daily Tip #10 - You Make Me Wanna Soup

So you've probably noticed that my daily tips aren't exactly daily. For example, I've been away for a week getting my wisdom teeth extracted. The pain wasn't so bad - I had a good stash of some pretty strong drugs. The worst thing about it was only being able to eat soft food. No seeds, grains, raw veges... just ice cream, yoghurt, baby food...eventually some pasta (which, with all the sitting/lying around I was doing felt way too heavy). It made me realise how important good food is for my general wellbeing! Thank God for soup.

I have recently discovered the wonders of soups. I would highly recommend getting a stick blender - it makes life a whole lot easier.

Soups are really easy. Start with the holy trinity (chopped celery, onion and carrot). I like to include a lot of garlic too. Fry off in a lightly oiled saucepan until they start to soften. Then, include whatever vegetables you like. My favourites recently has been my friend Kate's broccoli soup (so add 1 floret broccoli and 2 florets cauli - trust me it's delish) and my friend Kylie's roast tomato soup (add about 10 roasted tomatoes). Roasting vegetables before you put them in soups can give them that great caramel flavour. Include potato or sweet potato if you want your soup to be thick and creamy (but remember this is energy dense so it's probably not good to have lots of potatoes before bed). Cook off your veges in the pan until they soften (if they're not already roasted), add a litre of stock (and tinned tomato if you want an extra tomato flavour) and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for about 30-40 mins. Take it off the heat and let it cool for 10 mins or so, then use your stick blender and blend it right there in the saucepan. Season with cracked pepper and sea salt and stir in some light cream if you wish. If you're feeling fancy, serve and garnish with a light circular drizzle of the cream and a leaf or two of continental parsley. Ooh aren't we all posh!

So this is dinner. Not the entree, like our restaurant culture would have us believe. If you're having it for lunch, have a small bread roll (wholemeal or grain) with it. But for dinner, right before you're about lie down for an extended period of time, this is plenty. Having smaller dinners is so important, not just to lose weight but it makes so much sense physiologically. You'll come across having to retrain your brain counter to society norms and values - it's quite an eye-opening journey!

PS Soup freezes really well, so have it for a couple of meals then freeze (so you don't get sick of it), and one night when you just couldn't be bothered making anything, it will be shining in the freezer like a beacon of salvation!