Souperfoods

Good morning! It’s Friday! I painted my toes just for you .

Thanks for the GREAT discussion about the “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign! Loved this comment from reader Avery:

SO i have mixed feelings about campaigns like this. On one hand, it is true that most people don’t realize just how many calories can be in beverages. Its very important that we realize how much daily sugary drinks habits impact our health.

That being said, I didn’t grow up in a household where soda was regularly purchased. It was a treat, just like a cookie. I do enjoy a mocha or seasonal drink from time to time, but most days I just roll with a black coffee. I’ve also found you can tweak most coffee drinks ( I know you do this too!) to be less sugary but still yummy. One pump instead of two, no whip, small size, etc. And I’ll often pour half in a different cup if I’m with my mom and sister so we can share. Most of the time, you just want a little taste of the sweet stuff, anyway!

Nicely put. My parents also didn’t keep soda in the house (we still tease my dad because he bought me ill-tasting “Frookies,” which are, as the name suggests, fruit juice- sweetened cookies) but I do like to enjoy a comforting hot beverage- or a milkshake!- every once in a while. My philosophy is all about moderation in just about every aspect of life.

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I woke up craving eggs and tried a new method. While I like to savor my meals, I often just want to get breakfast made in a hurry and enjoy the actual eating part.

But this time! I heated the pan on medium-low, coated it with cooking spray, and added the eggs. Once they started to curdle, I gently folded them over each other, and continued to do so until they were done. The result? Soft, fluffy eggs. Life-changing! I will never go back. Served with buttered sourdough-flax toast:

I have a Statistics test today, so most of the morning and afternoon was spent studying. But when it was almost lunch time, I decided I wanted something hot and homemade. So I whipped up a batch of Spicy Red Lentil, Peanut and Pumpkin Soup.

I used French lentils instead of red, which take a bit longer to cook and require a bit more broth (about 1/2 cup) unless you want a very thick soup. You could also keep it thick and blend it up into a dip. (Ideas, ideas!)

This is one of my very favorite soups, and it’s so easy to make. Don’t have spicy peanut butter? Not a problem! You can make your own. And this pot didn’t lick itself… just saying.

While the soup simmered, I took advantage of the down-time to move a little. I didn’t have quite enough time to go to the gym, and couldn’t muster up the motivation to go for a run. Instead, I turned to Netflix Instant, and found an old Crunch Dance video from the early 2000s. (“Genie In a Bottle” outfits, ripped cargo pants and bandanas, if you know what I mean.)

I’m one of the least coordinated people on the planet and I could not get these moves down. Good thing no one could see me! I actually am not a fan of dancing at all (that’s a post for another day), but it was nice to try something different. When the video ended, I tried some of these ab moves. I tend to do the same abdominal exercises over and over, and it’s good to mix things up and confuse them every once in a while! It makes ‘em work harder .

Lunch was a mix of multiple cravings: salty, spicy, creamy, sweet. I crumbled fresh feta onto the soup, made a batch of kale chips, and topped butternut squash with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Favorite lunch of the month, hands down.

What made the kale so good? Rosemary!

Rosemary Kale Chips

• 3 cups fresh kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary, or 2 tsp fresh

Preheat oven to 400. Massage oil, salt, and rosemary into the kale until evenly dispersed. Spread out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 5-10 minutes or until crispy. Devour.

Eat’n'run on the way to my late class: apple + TJ’s Powderberry Trek Mix (love.this.stuff).

My mom and I didn’t lift a finger for dinner: my dad pampered us and made a delicious meal. We started with fennel, avocado + apple salad, followed by linguine with potatoes, pesto, green beans and parmesan. (Have you had “real” pesto with potatoes? So good!)

And I have a not-so-sinful secret: there’s a new dessert in my life. It’s true, I’ve been cheating on chocolate with my latest obsession: mochi, a Japanese rice cake made out of “glutinous rice,” pounded into a paste and molded into a ball and flavored.   I’d had it a handful of times before, often on ice cream, but never like this. Now I’m hooked. The above was purchased at a Japanese grocery store and is filled with red bean paste and rolled in black sesame seeds.  The description makes it sound a bit odd, but I forced a green tea cake on a non-believer yesterday and his eyes lit up with joy. (Really: joy!).

The above was a particularly large piece and quite sugary, but I was up late studying z-critical values and probability tables, and I needed the extra fuel.

The next week is going to be a particularly stressful one (second round of midterms… sounds like an oxymoron, right?! Wrong.) so I’m heading out of town and unplugging to get some quality study and sleep in. I’m really looking forward to it; my batteries could use a jumpstart.

Have you tried any fun new things this week?

What do you have going on this weekend?

Click here for the winners of the popchips contest.