Wednesday's Souper Soup & My Workout Routine

Here we are at Wednesday already.  I think blogging makes the weeks go by much quicker.  I'm always forward thinking about what I will write about next.  I'm glad I don't attempt to do this every day.  I think I would run out of ideas.  Those of you who know me well know that I rarely run out of things to say!  Last night I didn't really want to make soup as no one else was going to join me.  Hubby had a late appointment and missed lunch, so he ate "linner" and called it good.  Our son was at his girlfriend's and I'm assuming ate there.  Because a soup recipe was promised, I went ahead and made a HUGE pot of what I call Souper Soup.  It is sort of like cleaning out the refrigerator into the soup pot and it kinda got out of hand and I now have enough soup to invite all of my readers over to enjoy a bowl.

It was fairly easy and cooked quickly.  The time consuming part was chopping the veggies, but in reality it didn't take that long.  While the soup simmered on the stove, I got out of my work clothes into sweats and got my gym bag ready for the next day. Easy-peasy as I like to say.  I tasked my handsome husband as the pot watcher to make sure it didn't boil over while I was upstairs.

Most all of the ingredients in the giant soup pot

Add in the bunch of kale and squish on the lid

30 minutes later, tasty!  You like how I captured the steam?

So here is the recipe for my Souper Soup:

SOUPER SOUP

2 cups carrot juice

8 cups water or 4 cups water and 4 cups no sodium vegetable broth

2 carrots, diced

4 ribs of celery, diced

1/2 head of cabbage

2 zucchini, diced

1 cup sweet potato
1 to 2 onions (I have to omit this for allergy reasons)
4 cans of no sodium tomatoes  (1 pureed)
1 bunch of kale, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. no-salt seasoning
1 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh basil 
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can cannellini beans
2 cups kidney beans

Add all ingredients to the soup pot and simmer for 30 minutes or until veggies are soft.

It's the easiest soup EVER!  If you want it creamy rather than broth-y, just scoop out about 2 cups of the soup and blend in your blender with 1/4 c. cashews.

Now for my workout routine.  I love to work out at the gym on these chilly days.  I wouldn't dare show pictures of me doing so, but trust me, I am there more mornings than not.  I try to make it six to seven days a week.  During the workweek, I do 30 minutes of cardio, usually an interval routine or running on the treadmill, no more than about 22 to 25 minutes and then a little weight routine, doing a different muscle group each day.   On the weekends all I do is cardio.  I really can't wait until spring/summer when I can do a little running in the mornings to start off my day.  Since losing a bit of weight (nearly 50 lbs I must say) it seems more enjoyable to run and get in a really good cardio workout.  My joints don't hurt like they used to after a vigorous, heart-pumping fast walk or light jog.  Maybe this year I'll go for my first 5k. 

Since I don't have pictures of me working out -- who would want to see me all sweaty with wild hair, anyway? -- I'll share with you a cute little cartoon that my friend Carrie posted on my Facebook page.  I truly am not meant for cold weather and am aching for some time in the sun.  There is hope, however.  I will be attending a Fuhrman Getaway in San Diego in a few months so I will definitely get my fill of sun then.  Until then, I bundle up and try to keep warm!

Thank you, Carrie!

Well, enjoy the rest of your week & I will be back here on Friday with a random posting of something I will think of between now and then.