Recipe Friday!

I can't put enough pumpkin in my dishes lately! I thought I would share my latest healthy recipe: 

Pumpkin soup! Read all the way through!

Need: 

2 large stalks celery chopped

3 large carrots chopped

1 large onion chopped

1 small sweet potato

1-2 pie pumpkins

1-2 tbs coconut milk or cream

1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbs fresh sage

*put 1-2 tbs olive oil and large pot or dutch oven, let heat up and combine carrots, celery, & onion

* caramelize for 8-10 min

*add squashes below and cook for additional 5 min

2 small or 1 large pie pumpkin baked ( chop in half, scoop out seeds and cut into sections. Roast at 375 for 25-30 min with olive oil and salt and pepper) (when finished scoop out flesh, discard skin)

1 small sweet potato roasted with squash (sometime I start in microwave)

* once everything begins to soften add 3-4 cups chicken stock, can be low-sodium

* stir and add 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 tbs fresh chopped sage, and salt and pepper to taste

*using an immersion blender, blend ingredients until puréed or to Desiree texture!

* you can let simmer for additional 10 min or so

*Optional, before serving, to add 1-2 tbs coconut milk or 1 tbs cream. 

**Another option is to put a dollop of Greek yogurt on top and some yummy pumpkin seeds! Yummy!

Happy filling and healthy recipe Friday!

Let the festivities begin...

The weather has turned, cider mills are slammed, and you are pinning every pumpkin recipe you can find: fall is definitely here! Such a wonderful time of year!

For some people this time is a stressful time; knowing the holidays are approaching and in turn, knowing the weight gain is approaching. So many of my clients go into this season with the wrong approach: either the "I can't eat anything, I've worked so hard and don't want to lose it" or the "I deserve this, I worked so hard!"

Both approaches lead to negative results. The first one, "I can't eat anything" approach, leads to you feeling "left out" when everyone else is socializing and celebrating; it almost makes you stop living for fear of gaining weight. The second approach can be devastating as well, "I deserve this, I worked so hard": true, you may have worked your butt off, however, throwing it all away over the next two months doesn't seem worth it, does it?!

To both parties I offer a solution: indulge, splurge, celebrate, be a part of the festivities, but make those splurges worth it! You have worked so hard, you do deserve some indulgence, isn't that part of the reason you work so hard?! Just don't make every day, every meal a "splurge": a write-off for a hard workout.

Take a look at your week coming up and map out when you can eat clean that week and when you may want to indulge a bit more. Try to keep it to 2 meals a week, if trying to lose weight, where you splurge and keep the rest extra clean. Drink tons of water, eat lots of green veggies and fill up on fiber filled food. Keeping these tips in mind, should help your holiday season to be fun and flavor-filled and you looking fabulous!

JTT