One of the easiest ways to lose and/or maintain your ideal body weight is to eat a variety of healthy foods.  When eating the foods you love, it never feels like you’re depriving yourself while keeping your waistline in check.

Choosing a healthy lunch can sometimes be difficult.  If you’re picking up a sandwich from a local deli, they’re usually stacked high with three times the amount of meat and cheese that you need.  And, they’re expensive.  It’s just hard to find healthy lunches with “good for your body” portion sizes.

So why not make a big pot of soup that will last you the entire week?  Just because it’s almost summer doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy hot soup.  In fact, eating this soup for lunch everyday will help you get ready for the skimpier clothes that hot summer days bring. I love this soup all year long because it’s not only delicious; it keeps me satisfied for hours.  My friend Randy Stephen gave me this recipe and I’ve had a lot of fun substituting various types of veggies, beans and hot sauces to mix it up.

The Daily Soup

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1-23 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1-15 oz can of kidney beans
• 48 oz chicken stock
• Water as needed (about 2-4 cups)
• Juice and zest of 2 limes
• 1 cup wild or brown rice
• 1 package frozen corn
• 1 head of kale, chopped

Sauté onions, carrots, celery, pepper and garlic until soft.  Add tomatoes, beans, stock, water, hot sauce, lime zest, lime juice, rice corn and kale.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until the rice and kale are cooked through.

Please let us know what modifications you make to this hearty, perfect-for-lunch soup.  We’d love to hear your ideas!

Soup is Good Food,

Molly

While most 21 year old girls are busy with school, guys and parties, Sophie van der Stap was forced to think about the unthinkable:   her diagnosis of a rare and aggressive form of cancer.  In one day, Sophie transitioned from being a typical university student to a young woman faced with months of chemo and extended stays in the hospital.

Shortly after her chemo began, Sophie lost all of her hair.  She could have chosen to feel sorry for herself or lose her will to fight.  She chose neither.  She decided to create a “refuge” from the cancer—a place that made her feel good.  Sophie chose 9 different wigs that allowed her to forget about her cancer for a while.  These “cancer holidays” made her feel like a woman again.  They made her stronger, mentally and physically.

Her message is about finding ways to forget something bad—if only for a while.  It’s NOT about running away from the things we don’t like in our lives.   It’s about finding ways to turn something bad into something good.  It’s about discovering what makes you feel happy and strong. It’s about empowering yourself during difficult times instead of losing hope.

Please take a moment to watch Sophie’s moving story.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Empower Yourself,

Molly

Imagine brewing up a cocktail of 67 different pesticides and dipping your celery into it before eating it.  According The Environmental Working Group (EWG), that’s exactly what you’re ingesting when you eat non-organic celery.  The EWG analyzed about 100,000 reports from the Food and Drug Administration and US Department of Agriculture to determine which fruits and vegetables have the most (and least) amounts of chemicals on them even after a thorough “power clean”.

Their analysis resulted in the creation of two separate lists:  The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen.  The skin of the fruits and vegetables on the Dirty Dozen list has a greater tendency to absorb the pesticides.  The President’s Cancer Panel recommends eating pesticide-free produce to reduce your risk of getting cancer and other diseases.   By choosing the certain organic fruits and vegetables, you can reduce the amount of toxins you consume on a daily basis by as much as 80 percent.

The Dirty Dozen (contains between 47-67 pesticides per serving)

CHOOSE ORGANIC WHEN POSSIBLE

• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberries  
• Apples
• Domestic Blueberries
• Nectarines
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Spinach, Kale & Collard Greens
• Cherries
• Potatoes
• Imported Grapes
• Lettuce

The Clean Fifteen (contains trace or no pesticides)

NO NEED TO BUY ORGANIC

• Onions
• Avocados
• Sweet Corn
• Pineapples  
• Mango
• Sweet Peas
• Asparagus
• Kiwi Fruit
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Cantaloupe
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit
• Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Onions

If your favorite fruit or veggie isn’t on the list, check out the Environmental Working Group’s website at www.foodnews.org.  There is a complete list of 49 types of produce that were tested for pesticide residue.

The best weapon we have to ward off cancer and other diseases is knowledge.  So take this list with you when you go shopping and keep your daily intake of pesticides to a minimum!

Eat Clean,

Molly