Roasted Red Pepper and Quinoa Soup

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I went for a brisk two kilometre walk tonight after work. The sun was shining brightly and it was only minus two, degrees so I figured I might as well go enjoy the day.  I had already done a weights workout at six in the morning today, so this wasn’t a workout, just a way to get some fresh air after sitting at work all day.

One of the best things that I have noticed lately is that the sun is rising earlier and earlier.  I can open drapes before I go to work in the morning and our timer light has been moved back until 5:40pm  - crazy how that happens every year isn’t it :) .  Every extra minute of daylight in the day makes me feel so much better though.  We are getting closer to twelve hours of daylight again, which reminds me of when were in Central American and year round they have twelve hours of daylight.  Maybe I should move down there…food for thought.

Tonight I am making a batch of my famous sweet potato soup which everyone loves, to round out our lunches for the rest of the week and on Sunday I made roasted red pepper and quinoa soup, which is now a contender for our favourite soup.  I love roasting vegetables for soups – it creates such a nice nutty flavour.

Roasted Red Pepper and Quinoa Soup

This is the blog that provided me with the inspiration for this soup, but true to form I had to change a few things to make it to my liking and you can do the same. At first I didn’t really think I would need to add the almond milk, but in the end I’m glad I did, it made the soup very creamy.

2 red peppers, seeded and cut in half
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 or 3 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 or 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup cooked quinoa
½ cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

Turn on the broiler and flatten the seeded peppers, skin side up, on a cookie sheet. Roast for about 10 minutes, until the skins are blackened. Remove from the oven and immediately place the peppers in a ziplock bag or a bowl with a lid. After 15 minutes, remove the peppers and rub off the skin. Slice into 1” pieces and set aside.

roasted peppers

roasted peppers

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots and sauté until the vegetables are translucent. Add the tomatoes, red peppers, vegetable broth and spices. Bring the soup to a boil and turn down to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 – 25 minutes.

veggies ready for the pot

veggies ready for the pot

Add the cooked quinoa and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and blend with an immersion blender or a blender until smooth. Transfer back to the pot and stir in the almond milk. Serve immediately.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This recipe made three 1 1/2 cup servings and three 1 cup servings and it was nice and spicy, just right for lunch on a cold day.

Enjoy !

 

 

 

 

Healthy Living Survey

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Last week, Sarah at Yogi in Action, posted this Healthy Living Survey, so I thought I would give some of the questions a try as well.  Seems like a fun way for readers to get to know me a bit better.

1. What do you typically eat for breakfast?

Today as always I started with a mug of warm lemon water to boost my immune system and to get my digestive system moving.  Then about an hour later, I had two pieces of raisin toast with natural peanut butter and half a banana.  If I go to yoga in the morning I eat in the car between the studio and work so I usually make a batch of my no-bake breakfast bars for something quick.

2. How much water do you drink on a typical day?

Tons! As mentioned I always start with my warm lemon water, then once I get to work I usually have an herbal tea to help me ease into the day and then over the course of the work day I usually have three 600ml bottles of water and then more at home.  Sometime, I will have a second herbal tea in the evening.  But I have to be careful how late I drink it or I will be up using the bathroom in the middle of the night.

3. What is your current favorite workout?

It is a toss-up between P90X and Yoga. Currently we are doing P90X for the 7th time.  It is a great way to get in top shape over the course of 90 days.  Right now, I have stepped back from yoga a bit as I was getting a little tired of the same routine, so I think once P90X is finished I will look for a studio in the area with some more Ashtanga classes as I find I’m very interested in that type of practice.

4. How many calories do you eat a day?

I don’t have a clue.  This is not something I have tracked in at least 10 years.  I know what I should eat for my own well-being and try to stick with it the best I can.  Sometimes, especially on weekends I can go overboard though.

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

My favorite healthy snack currently is roasted almonds and raisins.  However, I work at a peanut and nut free facility so unfortunately I cannot take this to work so it is saved for weekends.  To work, I always bring two or three pieces of fruit.  Today I have an apple and two clementines – who doesn’t love clems.  Recently, I tried raspberry flavored cranberries.  They are amazing – if you can find them give them a try, I got mine at Bulk Barn.  I also always have a bar of 70% dark chocolate in my desk for when I have a craving.  Just one square does the trick.

6. What do you usually eat for lunch?

I always have two things for lunch.  This time of year there is always a homemade soup or chili involved and in the summer it is usually a lettuce salad or rice and beans or my all-time fav – curried quinoa salad and either a sandwich or poppers and hummus to accompany it.  I don’t normally bring leftovers as I never seem to make enough dinner to have leftovers and I rarely go out for lunch.

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?

Upper body – I love push-ups especially the one-arm kind just like Jack Palance.

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g426J4Uh2m4[/tube]

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?

Abs.  I tend to skip those workouts.  My theory is if I tighten my core during push-ups, weight exercises and yoga then I won’t have to actually “do” abs.

9. What are your “bad” food cravings?

McDonald’s – gasp I know, but who doesn’t love a McDonald’s cheeseburger especially when they are hung over.

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?

No, I have in the past but right now I’m not taking anything.

11. How often do you eat out?

I would say max four times a month.

12. Do you eat fast food?

Not very often, really only if I’m hung over.  Once a quarter I would say I head over to McDonald’s for my grease fix.

13. Who is your biggest supporter?

Al.  Without him I would be lost.

14. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

I usually get 8–9 hours most nights.  Especially now that we don’t have Shine to wake us up early on weekends every day.

15. Do you drink alcohol?

Of course!  Chianti is my fav.  Of late (since vacation and Christmas time) we have noticed that we have been drinking a little bit much so we need to cut back to weekends only.

16. Do you have a workout buddy?

Yep! When we do P90X Al and I work out together.  I have a few friends who go to yoga as well, so we meet up there sometimes.

17. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a Healthy Lifestyle?

Really watching my dairy and egg intake has helped me immensely, I no longer get bloated all the time and I feel a lot lighter.  For the last 12 years we have been really into health and fitness, but I feel I’m in a good place now to do what is right for my body.

18. What was the last healthy thing you did?

This morning we started the fifth week of P90X and the workout was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps – “A world class upper body workout”. One of my favs from the entire series.  I also made homemade Black Bean soup yesterday so that we would have lunch for the week.  Stay tuned for an upcoming blog with the recipe.

Let me know what your answers are for the healthy living survey.

Enjoy !

 

 

Navy Bean and Bacon Soup

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Now that we are well into January and trying to stay warm, I thought a hearty navy bean and bacon soup recipe would do the trick.

The last few weeks have been really busy for me at work with year end and of course I tweaked my back again in the usual places, the L1 and L5.  So I have been visiting a chiropractor and it is starting to get better, but all the sitting at work doesn’t really help. Not to blame work, it is sitting in general that makes it worse, but that is where I do the most of it.

We have also been working on renovating our main bathroom.  We are finally getting rid of the original cream coloured 33 year old, builders-grade steel tub and getting a new one; one that we can both fit into with ease…;).  So far we have ordered the tub, tile and fixtures and we have a tentative date for the contractor to start in mid-Feb and we both couldn’t be happier. So after shopping for bathroom accessories I came home to make this week’s side.

Recently, we have been buying bacon from Barrie’s Asparagus and Country Market. They raise their own pigs and the bacon is fantastic – hardly any fat on it and for the price and amount you get you can’t go wrong.

I also used dried beans that I soaked overnight for 8 hours and then cooked on high in the slow cooker for 3.5 hours.  Alternatively you can use canned navy beans to keep it simple.

Navy Bean and Bacon Soup

4 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup celery, diced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp.poultry seasoning
fresh ground pepper
4 cups navy beans (see note above)
4 cups broth (I used vegetable)

Dice bacon and cook over medium – low heat in a skillet for 4 – 5 minutes.  Once the bacon is as crispy as you like it, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Drain off the excess bacon grease, reserving some in the skillet to cook the onions. Cooking the onions in bacon grease will not only caramelize them, but give them a really great flavor that regular oil will never be able to replicate.

Add onions to the skillet and sauté for 2- 3 minutes; add garlic and celery and sauté for 4 -5 minutes more until tender.

Add remaining ingredients while stirring to combine.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until navy beans are tender. Remove the bay leaves.

Purée about half the soup in food processor or with hand blender. Return to pot and stir to combine.

Remove from heat and serve.

This recipe made six side dishes for Al and I; three one cup sizes for me and three one and a half cup sizes for Al. He could have had more but he decided to have a spoonful, which became two spoonfuls, which became…well, you get it. Actually, maybe you don’t – Al was licking the remnants in the bowl afterwards and then the pot I cooked it in. That’s how much he liked this soup!

Navy bean and bacon soup

Navy bean and bacon soup

 Enjoy !

Quinoa Shepards Pie

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Now that Christmas is over and we’re buckling down for winter, I thought I would make Shepards’s pie.  Who doesn’t like Shepard’s pie?  I decided to make a variation of Shepard’s pie with Butternut Squash and Quinoa.

Roasted butternut squash cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 handfuls of kale leaves, stems removed, washed and massaged with your favourite oil.  (Mine right now is garlic grapeseed)
Half a red pepper, diced
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350F

Cut the butternut squash in half and remove the seeds and goop with a spoon.

Cut into big chunks and place into a baking dish with a 1/2 inch water and cover with a lid.

Bake until fork tender about 45 minutes or so.

Once cooled, cut the skin away from the flesh and set aside.

Bring quinoa and water to a boil; reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on.

Once cooked, set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in frying pan over medium heat until hot

Add onion and garlic and cook, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add kale and red pepper cook for 2 – 3 more minutes until kale is wilted and red pepper is softened.

Remove pan from heat

Add lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper.

At this point assemble the Quinoa Shepards pie.

Layer a bowl first with quinoa, then onion and kale mixture, then top with pieces of roasted butternut squash.

What could be easier after work on a cold day! It should be noted that after the picture was taken and we dug in, we mashed up the butternut squash and mixed all the ingredients together like a true Shepard’s pie should be eaten. Overall, it was an okay vegan meal – it’s hard to replace the real thing! I have found a product by Yves that I might use to give this another try. Stay tuned!

Top view Quinoa Shepard's Pie

Top view Quinoa Shepard’s Pie

Quinoa Shepard's Pie

Quinoa Shepard’s Pie

Enjoy !