What I Ate Wednesday #8

Happy Wednesday!

This is typically the day that I post a snapshot of everything I eat for the entire day.  Today was a little bit unusual since I am starting to get that dreaded might-be-getting-sick feeling.  I know I say it repeatedly on here, but I truly believe that food can be a powerful tool for healing the body.  Because of that, I am planning to focus on really nutrient-dense foods including fresh juice, smoothies, and soup, plus a little extra sleep over the next couple of days to hopefully be able to fight this off before it totally knocks me out.

For breakfast, I brought out the Big Guns – the juicer!  The difference between juicing and blending smoothies is that juicing provides a supershot of vitamins and minerals straight to your cells without having to break down any of the fiber in the fruits or veggies through digestion. This can be very high in sugars, though, which is why I try to balance it with a good amount of vegetables too.

This juice had 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 1/3 of a cucumber, 1 small clementine, and 1 apple.  After I put it all through the juicer, I added a squeeze of fresh lemon. Maybe it was a placebo effect, but I swear I already started feeling better after drinking it

I really didn’t have much of an appetite all morning but knew I need something else. A smoothie seemed like a good idea.

Is it just me or is Rainbow Chard one of the prettiest vegetables around?!?

I added these three leafy beauties, 1/3 of a cucumber, 1/2 banana, 1 red pear, 1 lemon wedge, and 1/4 tsp of ground ginger to the blender with lots of water. I have been inspired to try new juice/smoothie combinations lately and this one was spot on! So good!!!

I finally started to feel a little hungry this afternoon, but a salad or sandwich didn’t really sound good. This is a snack that I learned from surfing the Paleo and Clean Eating sites. It’s like a cleaned up version of deviled eggs with avocado instead of the mayo. I actually prefer them this way now!

I mix two hard-boiled egg yolks with a wedge of avocado (about 1/8 of the whole avocado), some salt, pepper, and dried dill.  Pack a spoonful of the mixture back into the egg-white halves and you have yourself a great little snack or light lunch that is packed with protein and healthy fats, and surprisingly filling.

Luckily I had soup planned for dinner tonight.  You just can’t beat soup when you’re sick!

Chicken Rice Soup

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked rice

2 chicken breasts, cooked, cut into bite-size pieces

3 carrots, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1 onion, diced

1 leek, white and light green part, sliced into half-moon shapes

1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and chopped into small pieces

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free, but wheat would work too)

4 cups organic chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

3 T. mellow white miso (optional, but adds a lot of flavor and nutrients)

Directions

I cooked the rice and chicken breast ahead of time so the soup would come together quickly.  Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Saute chopped carrots, celery, onion, leek, and zucchini until tender, about 7-10 minutes.  Add the minced garlic towards the end so that it doesn’t burn.  Sprinkle 1 T. of flour over vegetable mixture.  If using the miso paste, pour 1/2 cup of broth into a small bowl and whisk in miso.  Add remaining broth, cooked rice, chopped chicken and season with salt and pepper as necessary.  Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add miso/broth mixture at the very end to avoid over-heating and destroying the nutrients in the miso.

A note on the miso.  This is something that I like to have on hand for soups, especially when we are not feeling well.  Miso is made from fermented soybeans and is usually a thick paste texture with a very salty taste.  You usually find it in the refrigerated section of a health food store.  I always try to buy quality organic miso paste so that I know it is non-gmo since a lot of soy products are genetically modified.  The benefit of using miso is that it is a probiotic, full of good bacteria, which promotes healthy intestines and strengthens the immune system.  It is crucial not to overheat the miso when cooking so that you don’t destroy the healthy bacteria.  Miso is also a great source of the mineral zinc, which can be helpful for increasing the immune system and  fighting off cold viruses.

To go with the soup, I made grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids and big salads for the adults.  When we lived in Chicago, there was a restaurant (a sports bar really!) that had The. Best. Balsamic. Dressing. EVER!  This was my attempt at recreating it based off of a few different recipes.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 small clove of garlic, minced

pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. honey

1/3 cup plus half of 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Add balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, honey, salt and pepper to a blender.  Blend on medium-high until garlic is pureed into the vinegar.  With the blender on low-medium, remove the center cap in the lid and slowly drizzle in the olive oil.  This will emulsify the dressing giving you a “creamy” balsamic texture.