Oops!

I gained 1.8 lbs this week.  I'm ok.  It will be gone next week.  It feels so good to be able to handle a gain and not feel depressed over it, to dread being yelled at or asked why?, to be called a liar and the list goes on.  Remember Mike?  Have I told you lately how glad I am to no longer have him in my life?  I'm such a happier peaceful person.  He was a huge mistake!  Oh well, water under the bridge. So I texted Michael to give him my stats.  I actually went over my 2000 steps by 598! I burned 2681. Want to know Michael's response?  He texted me back and said "Wow Laura that is Simply Amazing!"  I then told him about our friends at Hubb Mitsubishi and he texted me and said "Wow Laura I have a huge smile on my face as you're telling me this."  What a difference.  Nothing said about the gain. NOTHING!  It's time to move on and rock it this week!

I did do some cooking today.  I made the Minestrone soup!  It is a crock-pot recipe and I'm telling you the smell will run you out of the house!  It made the house smell divine!  Can't wait to have it for lunch this week.  I won't have it tomorrow because I'm having lunch with my good friend Doreen.  I haven't seen her for months and I can't wait to see her and catch up.  Tomorrow I will get the Chicken Lettuce Wraps made.


Here is the recipe for Crockpot Minestrone Soup:

Crockpot Minestrone Soup   Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 8 hours Total time 8 hours 20 mins 

A simple crockpot minestrone soup with no beans or pasta. You can leave out the pork for a vegan meal.

Author: Kendra Recipe type: Main Cuisine: Italian Serves: 6-8 

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Olive Oil 

1 Yellow Sweet Potato, I USED REGULAR SWEET POTATO

diced 1 cup Carrots, 

diced 2 Celery Stalks, 

diced 2 Zucchini Squash, 

diced 2 Shallots, 

diced 2 cloves Garlic, minced 

28 oz Chicken or Vegetable Broth  I USED CHICKEN

28 oz can Diced Tomatoes w/ Juice 

½ cup Frozen Spinach -or- 1 cup packed Fresh Spinach, chopped I USED FRESH SPINACH

2 Bay Leaves 

2 tsp Oregano 

1 tsp Basil 

1 tsp Parsley 

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper 

¼ tsp Sea Salt 

1-1/2 lb Ground Pork Sausage (optional)  I USED ITALIAN TURKEY SAUSAGE HOT, YOU CAN USE THE SWEET TOO!

 Instructions Place the olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, shallots, and garlic to the crock pot. Pour in the chicken (or vegetable) broth. Add the entire can (including juice) of diced tomatoes. Add the frozen spinach (no need to thaw and drain, just add it frozen). Add in the oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, and salt. Stir everything together, add the bay leaved, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours (I prefer 8 hours). About 2 hours before the soup is done, brown the ground pork sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Once the pork is cooked through (no pink), add it to the crock pot and mix it all together. Remove bay leaves before serving. Notes Recipe adapted from the "Paleo Slow Cooking" book by Chrissy Gower  

Read more at:  

http://www.ourpaleolife.com/2013/02/crockpot-paleo-minestrone-soup

I hope you will try it! 

I also made some sweet potato hash browns to go with our eggs and sausage this week. I haven't made them in a long time.  They are yummy too!  I just cube up some peeled sweet potatoes (4) and dice an onion and season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and some red pepper and cook them in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  

I did cross-stitch some today and we watched a movie this evening. It was so-so.  Finding Forrester, with Sean Connery. I stitched during it so I really only listened to it and looked up every once in a while. LOL!  

I did not hit my goal of 2000 steps because my feet and ankles really did ache.  I did get in 1422 and I burned 2522 calories.  Not bad but I'm hitting the gym every day this week and I will be striving to meet or exceed my 2000 steps!

Do you have any goals this week?

Till tomorrow!