Pumpkin Chili

Over the holidays I tried a bunch of new recipes. I must share this one! This one has quickly become one of our very favorites.

 
Pumpkin Chili

1-2 T Avocado oil
1 chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 C chopped carrots
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
1 (15-ounce) can organic pumpkin purée
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
6 or so cups organic vegetable broth
1 (14-ounce) can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can organic cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
sea salt
black pepper

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add red onion, bell peppers, carrots, and jalapeño; sauté for 10-12 or until just starting to brown. Add garlic and spices and sauté for 1 minute. Add pumpkin, tomatoes, vegetable broth, and beans; bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  Top with your favorites. Watch out though, this chili is highly addicting and extremely filling. *wink wink*

These are our favorites: sour cream, diced avocado, green onion, sharp cheddar cheese, organic blue corn tortilla chips.


We LOVE this chili! ESPECIALLY with the WORKS. It really has become a favorite!

Enjoy!

Triple H

WOW!  It sure has been a while since I blogged last.  The holiday really consumed my time and energy.  So much so that I got sick ON Christmas.  Yes, Merry Christmas to me.

Growing up we had a traditional Christmas morning meal. For as long as I can remember, I only remember having one thing for breakfast.  This meal that my mom would put on for us was and IS still so special to me. Every winter my mom would make a hot chocolate mix that, to this day, is the BEST and easiest mix known on the face of the Earth. Every Christmas morning we would have this hot chocolate accompanied by a fruit salad that consisted of diced apples, oranges, and sliced bananas.  She would then pour Sprite and orange juice made from concentrate over it and it would make this yummy, sweet, and fizzy treat.  Now, for the "pièce de résistance". Every year my mom would go on a baking frenzy.  She would bake SO much stuff for Christmas.  She would use these offerings of pure heaven as gifts to friends and family.  Sandwiched in the middle of this baking frenzy she would make the holy grail of Christmas goodies which would then turn into our Christmas morning meal.  Two words: "Cardamom Bread".  This bread, or more likely the "Achilles heal" of all dieting efforts as I know it, is the thing that I look forward to the most EVERY year and has been my downfall of all past diets.  I've tried making it other times, but it just isn't the same.  Funny how that is.  Anyway, this bread is packed full of yummy cardamom spice and then topped with an icing that brings it to heaven's gate.  And it isn't shaped like a typical loaf of bread.  My mom would shape it into braids, wreaths, Christmas trees, etc. etc. It truly is a work of art. The hot chocolate, fruit salad, and bread is what I remember the most growing up about Christmas and together they bring the Spirit and fun memories that are often lacking because of the "hub bub" of the season. I've carried on this tradition in my own family and I am happy to say that my children have come to see how special this traditional breakfast is. This year, however, I had to get a little "creative" as to how I could make it more healthy. ESPECIALLY when it came to the icing. Mmm....icing.

To start, I didn't make the hot chocolate mix.  I made hot chocolate from scratch this year.  I used milk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and sucanat instead of sugar.  Instead of Sprite and orange juice, I used soda water sweetened with just a touch of honey and used lemon and lime essential oils to give it the "Sprite" flavor and then used fresh juiced oranges for the orange juice.  A couple years ago I added pomegranate to the fruit salad and it was a hit.  So, now we add pomegranate to the salad and it is not only yummy, but really pretty too.  For the bread, I always get nervous when I "mess" with an already perfect thing, I was determined though to make it as good but make it more healthy for us.  Instead of AP flour I used fresh ground whole wheat and instead of sugar I used honey.  The bread turned out beautiful.  I typically just braid it and it makes two huge loaves that we typically finish up in 24 hours time. The icing was where I was really struggling. How could I make an icing that would do this bread justice and keep it healthy??? Since graduating from culinary school my icing has been powdered sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and the juice from maraschino cherries. (I hate the cherries, don't mind the syrup.) And it has been GOOD, BUT seriously unhealthy.  So, this year, I had an idea to take cream cheese and thin it out to an icing consistency using maple syrup and/or sucanat and then add Amaretto flavoring to give it the maraschino cherry "vibe". We weren't sure which one we would like the most so I did small batches of both.  They were BOTH EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD.  My alterations were a success. The breakfast was just as indulgent as it has been in the past.  In fact, I felt like I was being a traitor to my own cause.  It was hard to wrap my mind around eating this yummy stuff and it being OK. I didn't realize how "OK" it actually was until I stepped on the scale the next Monday and saw that I had lost almost 5 pounds. This is where the "Triple H" comes into play.  This year we were able to have a Happy, Healthy Holiday.

As for holiday treats, I found this recipe for pomegranate chocolate bark that was to DIE for.  So, I thought I would share this Happy Healthy find with the world.

Chocolate Pomegranate Bark

2/3 C cacao powder
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1/3 C coconut oil, melted
1/2 C chopped pecans
1-2 pomegranates, de-seeded
1 tsp sea salt

Add the first 3 ingredients to a bowl and mix well until you have a uniform consistency. Stir in pecans. Pour mixture onto a parchment or Saran Wrap lined pan. Pour pomegranate seeds evenly across the chocolate and push them down gently. Sprinkle with the sea salt. Place chocolate bark in the freezer for 20 minutes. Break chocolate sheet apart (I actually cut it because it was "bendy" and not breakable) carefully with the pomegranate side facing down so you don't squirt yourself with juice from the seeds! Store leftover chocolate bark in an air-tight container in the freezer.

ENJOY!!!

FUN

For the FIRST time in my LIFE I went clothes shopping and had FUN!!!

I was a vendor at a boutique this last weekend, thus why I didn't post last week due to being super busy. At the boutique was a woman who was selling clothes.  Let me back up a little.  I was late to this boutique because I couldn't find a shirt that would fit me.  They are all too big.  Feeling SO happy because all my clothes are too big and SO frustrated because.... ALL my clothes are too big, I thought I would look at what she had to see if I could fit into anything. (Usually clothes at boutiques are for the "petite" kind of women and children.) She gave me a couple skirts to try on.  I went into the bathroom and tried on the first skirt. LOVED it!!! It was blue with an orange and brown design on it and it was an extra large.  I was OK with that.  Especially since that last skirts I bought were more 2X-ish. It was time to try on the next skirt.  I slipped it on and it was awesome!  I wasn't crazy about the design, but what made it awesome was that fact that it was a large. I set them aside and waited for my family to show up to show them. When they showed up I started to show my husband these clothes. In the midst of me showing him these clothes I found a dress and 3 other skirts.  One of which was a medium.  I tried it on and guess what.....it FIT!!!!

I have NEVER had so much fun shopping.  I was actually happy!!! It has always been a "That looks better on the hanger than on me" kind of time. Or, "Ugh! I'm so fat!" kind of time. Things have drastically changed in my life.  Most of all how I see myself.  I can actually look at myself in the mirror and not pull some sort of look of disgust or disdain. This is a HUGE milestone for me.

Having clothes that are now too big for you to wear may not seem like a problem.  But for me it is in other ways.  I'm SO HAPPY that they are now too big for me.  And I am actually excited to go shopping again. I am glad that I have reached this milestone.  And I am glad that it is a steady journey. "He that is slow and steady, wins the race."

Chickpea, Avocado, and Feta Quinoa Salad

I made this salad today for lunch.  It. Was. A-MAZING!!!  So, I thought I would share the love!  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving this week!


Chickpea, Avocado, and Feta Quinoa Salad
Serves approximately 4-5 

1 Large Avocado, diced
1 Can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 T Fresh Cilanto, chopped
1/2 C Feta, or so (I LOVE Feta)
1/2 C Cooked Quinoa
2 Scallions (green onions), chopped
Juice of 1 lime (I did half because my limes where BIG)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well incorporated.  Add it to your favorite bread, or use it as a dip for crackers. (We put ours on whole wheat 8 inch tortillas.) Enjoy!!

Conversion

 Disclaimer: This is not church doctrine.

This morning I was reading my scriptures for my personal scripture study.  I was reading in 2 Nephi chapter 9. It talks about the judgement of the last day and how the Atonement of Christ will save us from the grave. I was reading along and I got to verse 33.

"Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day."

 I continued to read for about 2 more versus when I suddenly stopped and asked Spencer, "What does 'uncircumcised of heart' mean?"  As a "habit", I tend to just read past the word "circumcision". Today, something stopped me and I found myself pondering on what it meant to be "uncircumcised of heart'. Spencer didn't really have an answer so, he grabbed his phone and started doing some research as I started with some cross referencing. We talked about it a bit and we came to the understanding that it meant that you are not completely converted, not only on the surface, but in your heart. To be circumcised in your heart is making that change and devoting your heart to the teachings of Christ and purely living His gospel. A PURE conversion. I decided to end my studies for the day there so that I could ponder on this through out the day. I likened it to this journey.

I have come to the understanding that the reason why all my other "diets" failed was not only because it wasn't the right way to eat, but because I wasn't completely converted to the diet.  Weighing and measuring food, HATED IT! Having a set number of "points" I had to eat in a day, HATED IT! Cutting out the fruits and grains, HECK NO! I never felt in my heart that it was the right path for me. I did have some success, but when I stopped, or reached my goal I wound up back where I started, sometimes further in the hole. With this journey I feel and know in my heart that it is the right thing to do.  I guess you can say that I am "circumcised of heart". I kind of think of it as "You can't teach an old dog new tricks".

Bare with me.

Thanksgiving is coming up in about a week.  This is the smorgasbord that everyone looks forward to, and dreads, all year long. People start preparing food for Thanksgiving a day, sometimes two days, maybe even a week in advance. Why is this? Growing up, we would have a HUGE extended family Thanksgiving reunion dinner every other year. This meal often consisted of approximately 4 turkeys, 20 pies, 5 pans of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggie trays with my grandma's pickles (you haven't had pickles till you've had my grandma's pickles), dip for the veggies, rolls, cranberry sauce, green salad, jello salad, deviled eggs, jam for the rolls, candied yams, green beans, green bean casserole, and I'm sure I'm leaving something out. My grandma, aunts, and mom would work for DAYS preparing for this feast and all day Thanksgiving day. It was SO BIG that we had to hold it at a ward building in the gym. While the women were in the kitchen, the men would be at my aunt and uncles house across the street watching the "big game", or in the gym playing Dynamite/ basketball and the kids would be running a muck. We would then gather and eat for about 15 minutes that would then be followed by these same amazing and exhausted women who had been cooking for a week cleaning up for about an hour or so while the rest of us fell asleep or played more basketball until it was time for pie. As I have gotten older and have established a family of my own, I have realized even more how amazing these women in my life truly are. I seriously don't know how they did it and I admire their strength.

We were driving somewhere when Avary, my middle child, asked if we were going to have rolls this year for Thanksgiving dinner.  This propelled me into thinking about the menu for this next week and what we are going to eat and how we are going to handle it since we don't eat that much anymore. For starters, I was late ordering our turkey and got stuck with a larger turkey than what I wanted. Oye. Leftovers are eminent.  Next, I started to think of the side dishes that we would have with it.  We would have, what is starting to become a tradition in my family, wild rice stuffing.  Seriously yummy. Then the apple cranberry butternut squash casserole that has become a favorite.  Now something cold and crisp, a pomegranate spinach salad perhaps? Sounds good to me.  My mom then asks, "Are we going to have potatoes and gravy?" This is where the "old dog, new tricks" thing comes into play.  As I was talking it over with Spencer, we both agreed that we don't need that much food and that the both of us would rather NOT cook all week and would rather spend the time together as a family. I told my mom that we don't need potatoes and gravy.  We are going to have the squash and that there really isn't a point to having potatoes too when we don't eat that much food anyway. She replied, "But that was how I was raised, and that was how you were raised." Just because you are raised to eat a certain way, doesn't mean that it is right. The common, "You aren't leaving this table until you have finished all your food" has catapulted our society into this unhealthy over eating binge. This doesn't change with the holidays.  In fact, it is worse! How many people have to unbutton their pants because they ate too much, or wear sweat pants so that they CAN eat too much?

To make the healthy changes in your life you need to be COMPLETELY converted to those changes or it won't work, the "knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them". You will be smitten down if you don't stay strong in what you know is right. Don't be that "old dog" that has become such a cliche. Change is good!  It is how we grow. Convert yourself to those healthy changes by FOLLOWING the "rules". As you continue to follow the rules you will be completely converted to the ways. Only then will you be "circumcised of heart" in your own personal journey. And, no, I don't think we will have rolls this year.  Think about it, stuffing is made of bread, WHY have more bread? So, it is rolls or stuffing.  I vote stuffing.

Sickness

It's always hard being sick.  You don't feel good, you don't have any energy to do anything, and NOTHING sounds good.  It's even harder being sick and trying to live your life in the healthy lifestyle that you have pledged to live.

If you haven't guessed, I am sick.  I hate being sick.  I have been sick for 5 days now.  But something that I have noticed this time around is that my appetite has increased instead of decreased.  I'm hungry more often than I used to be before I got sick, but I am still in the rut of nothing sounds good. My belief for this phenomenon is that my body is trying to heal itself through more nutrients than I need to sustain me when I am not sick.

This last week I lost a little over 1 pound.  I welcome that 1 pound with open arms, a home cooked meal, and a nice warm bed to sleep in. I've been literally camped out on the couch for 5 days with ZERO energy and not wanting to cook anything.  Thank heavens for my awesome and wonderfully caring husband who will cook anything I tell him.  I become the recipe that is glued to the couch as I tell him one thing to do, he goes into the kitchen and does it, and then comes into the family room to ask me what to do next. Bless his devoted heart.

There is no reason to "deprive" your body of what it is needing.  There is a difference between NEED and WANT. Before this journey, when I would get sick, I would "puppy dog eye" my husband for Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream or take out because that was what I wanted. That was what sounded good. And being the loving and caring husband he is, he would go out and get me what I wanted and come home and fix the rest of the family dinner. Even if it was cereal. It wasn't what I NEEDED, but what I WANTED. Friday, the ONLY thing that sounded good was Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi soup. Pardon me while I go a little off topic here, I have a suspicion that they don't use real chicken in that soup.  Look at it.  It is unusually pink and doesn't have the texture that chicken should have. BUT, the broth is incredibly flavorful and hit the spot right on the nosie! OK, back on topic. He went and picked it up and it tasted GREAT. (Although, now I prefer to pick the "chicken" out.) ESPECIALLY with the salad. I don't think the salad has ever tasted that good to me. In fact, I had two helpings. Right now, my body NEED's the extra nutrition. So, I will have to have snacks that I normally don't have because I'm not hungry. I have no doubt that this will be a "stall" in my progress (not because of the snacks, but because of the extra eating), but you gotta do what you gotta do. And right now, I gotta get better. Then it will be full steam ahead with less food again. 

Indulgence

Well, I DID IT!! I am officially 1/3 of the way into my journey.  I am beyond ecstatic! I feel amazing!  My mind is more clear and the blessings that I have noticed, not only in myself but my family, are beyond amazing and nothing short of a miracle. 

This last week was Halloween.  Yes, the kids did go trick or treating and we handed out toys instead of candy. When we got home, they went through their bags and got all the toys out and then gave me the candy.  Not once did they ask for a piece. I am so proud of them.  

This journey, like any other journey you go on, doesn't have to be void of "indulgences". Let's think about this. You are on a hike in the middle of summer on a VERY hot day. You're tired and exhausted. Heat is just radiating off of the rocks on the trail and your feet feel like they are on fire. It's making you even more hot and tired and you start to wonder why you decided to go for a hike on THAT day. You turn a corner and you see a beautiful waterfall. Your salvation. You can feel some of the mist on your face and OH, how good it feels. You get this urge to jump into the pool just so that you can remember what it is like to be cool again. You put your hiking pack down and take off your shoes. Already feeling better, you wade into the pool at the base of the falls and you let the spray mist your whole body, maybe even getting your hair wet. You smile, maybe even laugh, as the cold water washes away the sweat and heat of the day and runs down your back. You can almost hear angels sing. Trying to catch your breath as the frigid water soaks your body, you start to feel refreshed and ready for the rest of the journey ahead of you. This is an indulgence. My journey has not been void of indulgences. I welcome indulgences. It is the KIND of indulgences you need to watch out for.  On this hot day of hiking, you wouldn't pour your water over your head, thus wasting your water for the rest of the journey. That would set you back and you WOULD regret it.

A couple of weeks ago I had a brunch at my house.  I made all the food and it was delicious.  I made a vegetable quiche with a hash brown crust, fruit and yogurt with granola, and these AMAZING chocolate coconut muffins.  These muffins were amazing and I didn't feel guilty eating them at all.  Why? Because they were made with oats instead of flour, no oil, and no sugar.  They were quite possibly the BEST chocolate muffins I have ever eaten.

I'm starting to become more comfortable in finding AND using healthier alternatives in my baking. Doing this allows those indulgences in my families lives.  The kids don't feel deprived. I don't feel deprived, even though I really don't crave that kind of stuff anymore. Except those muffins, YUM! It gets me excited for the holidays coming up.  We have our family food traditions and they, like everyone else out there, are centered around sugar. This year will be different. I am excited this year to make hot chocolate WITHOUT sugar! I'm excited to try whole wheat flour for our traditional Cardamom Bread and substituting the sugar in that. I'm excited to give friends treats that are healthy AND delicious and not bad.  Seriously, how many of us dread the the holidays because of the treats?? It's like a swear word, "holidays".  Kinda funny actually, but by the end of December, I AM DONE with all the sweets.

Don't deprive yourself of the "indulgences" in your life.  You deserve it.  We ALL deserve it. But, if you are going to indulge, choose the wiser "dip in the NATURAL waterfall" instead of the "water bottle water fall".  I promise, you WON'T regret it. I haven't yet.