Thursday, November 7, 2013

Butternut Squash Soup & Blue Cheese, Top Sirloin, Blueberry Balsamic Salad

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Fall is my FAVORITE!! Yay! So glad it is here. :) In celebration I made this yummilicious Butternut Squash soup a couple weeks ago.  I threw in one chopped white onion, a few chopped carrots, a chopped celery stick or two and sauteed for a couple minutes in a little olive oil. I then added in 1 peeled and cubed butternut squash and 2 peeled and cubed sweet potatoes. Sauteed for 5 minutes and then added (3) 14.5 oz. cans of chicken stock. Boiled till soft, about 15 minutes. Popped it into the blender until nice and smooth, poured back into the pan on the stove and added 3/4 cup Fage plain unsweetened Greek yogurt, 1.5 to 2 tsp(s) cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 3/4 tsp salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp.  nutmeg and stirred until incorporated.


IMG_2871For this salad, I grabbed some Artisan salad mix and top sirloin from Costco. Yay Costco! With olive oil in a pan on low to medium heat, I slow cooked each piece of top sirloin that I previously marinated in salt, pepper and garlic powder. I let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, I crumbled up some blue cheese and broke some walnut halves up over the salad mix. Topped with the slice sirloin and some blueberry balsamic dressing.


This was so easy peasy and super delish.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Be healthy, be happy!

Here is a pic of the dogger and me out in the woods. We love hiking around and being in nature. To me that is one of the best ways to be fit & healthy! Do something you love and do it often. You don't have to look like a gym rat or a movie star to be fit or to look good. Beauty is, after-all, in the eye of the beholder. Considering that, there is no way to keep up with that ever changing eye or with airbrushed standards. Accept yourself, do things you love and enjoy, create balance and moderation in all things, be healthy, be happy. To some of you I may look "fit" in this photo and to some I may look "too heavy". My body fat % could be lower and so could the number on the scale. When I sit, I have rolls. I have medical & physical limitations to work around. They trip me up at times on my fitness journey.  My weight fluctuates in part for that reason. Nerve inflammation and impingement aside, I am healthy overall and that folks is the most important to me.  I am happy.