Product Review: Pacific Natural Red Pepper + Tomato Soup

 Pacific Natural Foods Organic Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

I have failed you all on week 2 of food planning. Which also means I had no lunch at work today. Back in the beginning of my job here, however, I squirreled away tons of oatmeal in my cabinets (pre-Paleo...) and as it would turn out, some soup! I hadn't had it before and I'm pretty sure I only bought it because it was on sale. (It's one of the 17.6 oz ones that they carry at - you guessed it - Whole Foods. This predictability thing has got to stop...)

Into a mug it went, and into the microwave. It came out nice, thick, and creamy. It's tangy, but has nice small chunks remaining of the red pepper. Typically I'm skeptical about canned/boxed soups, because I feel like they're full of fake stuff and that I shouldn't have been so lazy as to not make my own. 

Here's why I'll buy from this company again, when I'm feeling lazy enough to not make my own:

A. They created their own program to "Certify to the Source". Basically, they trace the origins of every ingredient in their products, ensuring that what they're telling you they're selling you actually is what it's supposed to be.

B. They have a soup for every diet or allergy that's out there and they're very visibly labeled: Corn Free, Dairy Free, Fat Free, Gluten Free, Kosher Dairy, Kosher Parve, Low Fat, Low Sodium, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free, Yeast Free, and those that Promote Heart Health.

C. They're actually a good example of a sustainable company:

• Dairy cows are fed an organic, vegetarian diet, without antibiotics or growth hormones, and are open pastured
• They use aseptic packaging, which is recyclable, and doesn't require as many raw materials to create.
• They believe in being organic leaders for farming practices in Oregon

I can't wait to try out some of their other soups!

Thanks for Reading!
CJ

Recipe: Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Guess what, everyone?! I actually stuck to my budget at WF today! They overcharged me for 2 things, and I ended up buying some "extras" that I forgot I needed (i.e. Mayo), but those aside, I hit the mark!

And in celebration of actually sticking to a grocery list, here's what I made for dinner:

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

(taken sort of from The Paleo Mom)

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 2 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 2 Tbsp Lime Juice
• Chopped Cilantro (to your taste)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Dash of Salt

Salad:

• 12 - 15 pre-cooked shrimp (frozen, then thawed and dried off) per serving
• 1/2 Avocado per serving
• 1/4 head of red cabbage, shredded
• Lettuce of your choosing
• Diced Tomato (optional)
• Cholula Hot Sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Thaw the shrimp in a colander under a faucet for 8-10 minutes with cold running water. Then cut these into bite-size pieces and dry them off.

2. Mix Olive Oil, Lemon and Lime Juice, chopped cilantro, pepper, salt, and shrimp in a large bowl. Let this marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour (the longer, the better!). If you have more than 2 or 3 servings, you might want to adjust the juice and olive oil up a bit. Just don't put too much olive oil in like I did...

3. Chop your leaves (red cabbage, lettuce, etc.) and put them on a plate (or in a bowl) along with bite-sized pieces of avocado. Put the shrimp salad on top, then top with diced tomatoes and some hot sauce, and devour! 

Thanks for Reading!

CJ

Weekly Meal Planner: February 19th

My goal for groceries is to stick between $60-$75 per week moving forward. This week is going to be a bit higher than that because of the double grocery shopping on Saturday for one of my favorite meals ever, but for the most part, I'm going to work really hard to stick to a budget.

This week, I'm lazy and am just going to go to Whole Foods. I know there are better deals out there (Trader Joe's, this means you!) but I just don't have the time or patience tonight to go multiple places.

Here's the plan!

Breakfasts:

• Yogurt: Either Siggi's or Fage 2% (or Classic) depending on what's on sale
• Bacon + Eggs: Sunday special, obviously! I think I eat too much bacon, so I'm trying to pare it down.

Lunches:

• Leftovers, every day. You can tell that I need to make 4 meals this week because they're the bold colors. Leftovers of that meal are in the same color scheme but lighter. 
• I'm terrible with leftovers so will end up having to stock my freezer, but good for you if you only have to make 2 or so meals/week. I wish I could!

Dinners:

• Shrimp and Avocado Salad
• Chili
• Cucumber Salad
• Rouladen and Red Cabbage

Snacks:

Mid-Morning (at work):

• Veggies + Hummus: not strictly (at all) paleo, but I won't make paleo-friendly hummus because it just, frankly, takes too much effort and I'll forget to eat it.
• Olives: Likely Kalamata
• Nuts: JUST A FEW. I think too many make me feel sortof funky.

Evening (in class):

• LunchBot full of goodies: cherry tomatoes, cheese, hard-boiled egg slices, and fruit, plus a Lara Bar. 
• LaraBars are high in sugar as they contain dates, so I only eat them sparingly and when I know I won't be having a big dinner...i.e. when I have class :(

Thanks for Reading!
CJ

Baby Steps: Goal 2

Exercise for at least 20 minutes per day. 

I realize it's not actually that hard. I'm just exceptionally lazy, and I hate the gym. So it's tough for me.

I'm thin, yes. But am I fit? Absolutely not. And frankly, the only reason I'm writing this down is so I have some kind of verbal commitment to myself to stop wasting time and start working on toning my body.

What am I unhappy about? My lack of a toned stomach (no, I don't need "abs", but I also don't like the layer of extra fat that I see there) and my total inflexibility.

So, audience that likely doesn't exist, I am going to commit to a daily exercise regimen, with only 1 rest day a week.

Here are some of the options that I have:

1. 30 minutes on the elliptical at my apartment gym.

• Pro: it's downstairs and I have no excuse not to go.
• Con: it's the elliptical. It's ridiculously boring.

2. Going for a nice walk!

• Pro: this is my favorite. The boyfriend and I did a 22 mile walk over the summer in DC and it was amazing. 
• Con: It's February and my fingers/toes will freeze off. No thanks.

3. 30 minutes of Pilates. 

http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/Easy-Pilates-DVD-with-Ana-Caban-p/1111.htm

• Pro: I really like the video! Ana Caban is a great instructor and it actually helps with my flexibility.
• Con: There's not really one. I'm just lazy.

4. 20 minutes of (free) Yoga.

www.yogadownload.com 

• Pro: It's free. And helps a lot with flexibility and relaxation.
• Con: I have no idea if my positioning is right, and I pay much more attention to that than actually relaxing and letting it "flow". Also, going to a "real" class is quite pricey, and not in my budget right now. 

My other option? Learning how to be a big girl and use weights at the gym. 

I did go to a CrossFit class a few months ago that was great - it's just not within my comfort level for working out when I'm in front of a lot of other people, even if it is healthy competition. I just think I'd be happier knowing how to do all of that myself in the comfort of my judgment-free empty apartment gym. Perhaps a new blog topic will come about as I figure out some good free weight exercises to do...

Tomorrow starts day 1 of this new goal, so wish me luck!

Thanks for Reading!

CJ

The Dirty Dozen

Do you really need to buy everything organic? Of course not. But are there some items that you should ensure are organic, if you can either a. find them or b. afford them? Yep. 

Check out the full list and rationale here, but below is a good synopsis:

I know it gets expensive. And there are some times where it's just not in my budget to get everything that Whole Foods lists as "organic" either. However, when you make those choices, make them with this list in mind, and with the knowledge that all of the pesticides in your food could, and likely will, have an impact on your health later on. 

Thanks for Reading!

CJ

Product Review: Siggi's Skyr Yogurt

My failure at Paleo is breakfast. 

I can't help it. There is nothing appetizing about dinner for breakfast. Breakfast for dinner? Sign me up. Breakfast should be that glorious meal that immediately transports you to a sunshine-filled kitchen filled with the scents of bacon, the noise of the griddle sizzling, and the encompassing warmth of love...Okay, so I might be a little ridiculous, but I need breakfast to stay breakfast. And that means keeping yogurt in my diet.

I stumbled upon Siggi's when I was looking around for a yogurt that didn't have a lot of sugar, used milk from cows that weren't fed growth hormones, and that still tasted delicious. 

It's different, I'll grant you. It has the consistency of sour cream and some of the bitterness of Greek Yogurt, but it's exceptionally smooth and has just the right amount of flavor to make it delicious without having to add any additional sweeteners. 

My favorite flavor? Orange & Ginger. I find it to not be so mild of a flavor that I'm left wondering what it was supposed to be, though the 2% Coconut is (according to the boyfriend) vastly superior.

So what is Skyr, you ask? 

Skyr "is the traditional yogurt of Iceland. It is made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures. The whey, the water naturally found in milk, is strained away to make for a much thicker, creamier, concentrated yogurt. So to make just one cup of skyr, with all that water going out, you need 3-4 times the amount of milk required to make a regular cup of yogurt. As a result of this process skyr comes out with 2-3 times the protein count of standard yogurt" (www.skyr.com)

Siggi's has 2 different types of Skyr; one has 0% milkfat, and the other has a bit of cream thrown back into the mix at 2%. I find the Siggis's with 0% are more easily found, and have better flavors, but that's just me.

Some Nutritional Facts

• Gluten Free
• Milk from Grass Fed Cows
• No Aspartame
• No Sucralose
• No Gelatin
• No artificial Colorings
• No preservatives
• No High Fructose Corn Syrup
• No rBGH 

Quick Note on Paleo/Primal on Yogurt

Dairy consumption, especially the fermented stuff, is pretty much in a "gray area". If you're sensitive to dairy, don't eat it. But the current arguments that it has casein as the primary source of protein (so does human milk so that one's debatable) I basically just disregard. The fact that yogurt is fermented also means that the lactose gets broken down, which cuts down on true sugar and carb content.

Two great articles to read on the subject are:

The Health Benefits of Fermented Food

and

The Definitive Guide to Dairy 

Thanks for Reading!

CJ

Recipe: Bacon Sweet Potato Soup

Oh. My. Gosh.

This is heavenly, and I'm purloining it almost exactly from The Clothes Make The Girl. 

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon - cut into 1/4 inch slices (preferably nitrate-free)
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp-ish Ras el Hanout (just add equal parts ginger, cumin, cinnamon, and a smaller amount of cayenne, coriander, and allspice/cloves/nutmeg). No need to be spot-on.
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 lbs sweet potatoes (2-3 large) - peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• dash of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Cut bacon into 1/4-inch slices and place in a cold soup pot. Heat the pot over medium-high heat and cook the bacon until it’s crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate covered with paper towels and set aside to drain and crisp.

2. Keep 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan and discard the rest. Re-heat the fat over medium-high heat, then add the onions, Ras el Hanout, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Toss in the garlic and stir, cooking until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the sweet potatoes, broth, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

4. Take the pot off of the heat, let it cool for a few minutes, and then use an immersion blender until it’s smooth. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Ladle into bowls, then sprinkle with a little bacon and chives. Both the bacon and soup hold up well in the fridge for a few days.

Thanks for reading!

CJ