One time, when we were broke...

Have you ever had a drastic change in your income? Not to get all awkward with finances, but holy crap, it's an adjustment to go down to one income. My sweet carb-loving husband is in an accelerated nursing program so I am the breadwinner! I'm barely winning any bread though. I work for a non-profit university and I am so grateful for my job, but we are REALLY having to tighten up our spending if we're going to survive my husband being in nursing school.

1 month down, 15 left to go! We can do it.

I've also been in a food blog rut. I am afraid that no one will want to eat the food I'm eating, so...why post about it? I have drastically cut back on treats, desserts, and eat your feelings food. I don't even really make food that masses of people would want to eat.

I am giving myself one year to let go of as much excess weight as possible. In order for that to happen, I need to eat CLEAN and LEAN. (Secret- I actually hate the term "clean eating"...)

Here's the deal. I will spend the next few months sharing what foods work for me and how to eat CLEAN and LEAN and SIMPLY on a budget. Can we still be blog friends if I do that? I hope so :)

I make this at least twice a week. As long as I remember to put my cashews in a bowl of water before I'm ready for lunch, it comes together in about 3 minutes! That's less time than it takes to open up a can of soup and cook it. It's very flavorful and creamy not to mention VERY good for you and your budget. Enjoy!

Decadent Zucchini Soup, serves 1. Taken from "The Good Life Coalition" Lighten Up! recipe book.

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini or 2 small zucchini, unpeeled
1/4 C cashews, soaked in water for 20 minutes
1 Tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Dash of salt

1. Chop the zucchini. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until it is steaming. Add all ingredients including cashews (drain water first) to a blender and blend until smooth.

 

Curried Cauliflower Zucchini Soup

Do you have Zucchini taking over your kitchen? I have a zucchini the size of a baseball bat and I'm not sure what to do with it. Another problem I have is buying produce when I know full well I have no plans to use it, I just know that it should come home with me.

I pride myself on filling my shopping cart with healthy food and sometimes I buy produce just because some voice inside me tells me my body needs it.

Whenever my produce hoarding problem gets out of control, I end up juicing it all so I don't experience produce-guilt. My green cabbage almost ALWAYS ends up in the produce-guilt juice.

I don't have a recipe for cabbage, but my cauliflower almost ended up in the juice until I remembered a recipe I have had marked for years in one of my favorite cookbooks called Volumetrics. This particular recipe was perfect- it called for zucchini AND cauliflower which means I'm in the negative for having produce guilt.

This soup is so amazing and I have eaten the entire recipe in less than 24 hours. It's thick and creamy and the hint of curry is divine.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of cauliflower, chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, shredded (About 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 Cups chopped onions
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian variation)
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a 4-5 quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and curry powder. Cover and cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the chicken stock, cauliflower, zucchini, and salt to the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover the pot and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and return to the pot.

4. Enjoy!

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Paleo Friendly Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

January 1 is notorious for people starting their diets and since I hate following a crowd, I started mine on December 30.

I realize I have already lost a few readers by including the word Paleo in the title, but since I'm trying to follow the Paleo lifestyle for the next 90 days (at least) I figured this would be a great place to keep track of recipes that have worked for me.

I love that I got to cook with my doTerra essential oils! The first and only time I tried to chop my own lemon grass was 6 years ago and haven't touched the stuff since. I have lemongrass oil and decided to use my oil in this recipe to replace the lemongrass.

This soup is so rich and filling that I couldn't even finish my bowl. It could easily be made with what you have on hand. I just used the veggies I had on hand instead of what the original recipe called for. This is definitely going in my "make again" category.

Adapted from this recipe on the Paleo Periodical.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1-2 C frozen stir fry veggies, I like the bag from Costco
2 cups baby chopped baby spinach or other greens like swiss chard
1 drop doTerra lemongrass essential oil or 2 Tbsp. lemongrass
2 Tbsp. ginger, minced
1 can coconut milk
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. chili-garlic sauce 
3 Tbsp lime juice or the all the juice from a fresh squeezed lime
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, boil uncooked chicken breasts in the 3 C of chicken broth until cooked all the way. Remove them from the pan and shred them.  Return the shredded chicken to the pan and add the can of coconut milk, turning heat to medium.

2. Stir in frozen veggies, chopped spinach, ginger, fish sauce, chili-garlic sauce, and lemongrass oil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Add chopped green onions, basil, and cilantro and lime juice just before serving. Serve in large bowls.

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