Paprika & Red Pepper Soup with Pistachio Puree

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 1-2 fresh green Thai or serrano chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro or basil

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers and chile to taste. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables release some of their juices and the onion is lightly brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables with paprika, salt and cardamom and cook, stirring, until the spices are very fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add pistachios and broth (or water). Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat; let cool 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the soup to a blender (in batches if necessary) and puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Return the soup to the pan.
4. Whisk buttermilk and cream in a bowl; stir into the soup. Gently warm over low heat. Serve sprinkled with cilantro (or basil).

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 246 calories; 17 g fat ( 3 g sat , 9 g mono ); 9 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 7 g protein; 5 g fiber; 574 mg sodium; 419 mg potassium.

NUTRITION PROFILE

Low calorie | Low carbohydrate | High fiber |Low cholesterol | Healthy weight | Diabetes appropriate | Gluten free |

Soup-er way to shed some Kilo's

If you anything like Me, then cooking can be a bit of an "experiment" every time you enter the kitchen :-) I'm not exactly Master Chef South Africa but I do kinda know my way around the kitchen... LOL

I found a few really awesome healthy soup recipes which I have to share with you.

You don't have to know a thing about cooking to make great soup. Here's our 3-step soup-for-dummies secret:

1. Fill a pot with water and turn on the heat. How ya' doing so far? LOL
2. Throw in lots of colorful, chopped vegetables: carrots, celery, red peppers, onions, garlic, and any other firm ones first. Then add tomatoes, dark greens, zucchini, whatever. All are chock-full of nutrients, with almost zero calories and fat. Enrich the flavor and up the protein with beans (fiber plus favor), chicken, or fish.
3. Be bold with spices. Cayenne and hot peppers, rich in capsaicin, not only rev up the flavor but even help you burn fat a little faster, too.

Pea Soup

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NGREDIENTS

• 12 cups water
• 2 pounds English peas with shells
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt

PREPARATION

1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add peas, return to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer one-third of the pea pods to a food processor. Add 1/2 cup cooking liquid and process until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Pour into a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining pea pods in 2 batches, with 1/2 cup cooking liquid each time. Pour the pureed peas plus the remaining cooking liquid through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. (Alternatively, put through a food mill fitted with a fine disc.)
3. Return the soup to the pot, bring to a boil and then simmer until reduced by about a third (to about 6 cups), 30 to 35 minutes. Stir in chopped dill, salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with a swirl or dollop of yogurt and a sprig of dill, if desired.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 79 calories; 1 g fat ( 0 g sat , 0 g mono ); 2 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 6 g protein; 4 g fiber; 429 mg sodium; 364 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (140% daily value), Vitamin A (30% dv), Folate (16% dv), Calcium & Iron (15% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

NUTRITION PROFILE

Diabetes appropriate | Low calorie | Low carbohydrate | Low cholesterol | Low saturated fat | Heart healthy | Healthy weight |High fiber | Gluten free |

Natural Energy Boosters to get you through your day

I've decided to blog about our Energy levels because almost every person I come across these days are telling me that they are either Tired, over worked or totally Exhausted.
 I've been training a particular client for the past 10 years & in this period I've seen the changes in him, both physically & emotionally. 
These days we find ourselves rushing to get everything done... If it's not work, then it's getting the kids ready for school or just simple rushing to get to our next destination. People battle to find that "Balance" which is so important for keeping us Healthy & living a long & fruitful life...I always ask people why they would want to rush to their graves?


Just think about this for a second...When it's Tuesday, people wish it was Friday. When the weekend is over, people are wishing for the weekend to swing by again. Is your life THAT  Bad that you only live for weekends? People who wish their lives away like this, clearly hasn't struck that "Balance" in life yet...


Here are a few simple ways to Boost those Energy levels

1. Snap open the shades. A jolt of morning light -- scientists call it the dawn signal -- activates special cells in your eyes that send a wake-up call to your brain's internal clock.
2. Light up your brain at lunch, too. Sitting beside a sunny window for 30 minutes midday makes you more wide awake. In one study, women who did scored better on alertness tests afterward.
3. Top off your tank. Getting to the point where you're just starting to feel thirsty -- a mere 2.6% drop in hydration levels -- can double your feelings of fatigue. It made study volunteers work twice as hard on a set of brain-teasing puzzles. Learn how fruits and vegetables boost your hydration -- and your energy.
4. Squeeze your hand or tap your head. Sounds crazy, but DIY acupressure boosts alertness as effectively as a small cup of coffee, say University of Michigan researchers. Rap your knuckles a few times on the top of your head, squeeze the fleshy pad between your thumb and first finger, or massage the base of your skull and the front of your shins.
5. Have salad and grilled chicken for lunch. Not the tuna melt, pizza, or meatloaf. High-fat foods are likely to make you moodier and more tired by midafternoon than lower-fat meals are, according to a British study. Digesting fat releases a hormone called cholecystokinin, which seems to provoke a brain drain.
6. Take a tea break. Black, green, and white teas all contain the energizing amino acid L-theanine.Brits given L-theanine plus caffeine equivalent to several cups of tea and a cup of coffee increased their speed on word and number problems and felt less tired than when they got either substance alone. (Nope, there's no L-theanine in coffee.) And learn why you should skip energy drinks when you need a boost.
7. Catch a cat nap. Close your office door or slip out to your car for a quick snooze. In NASA-funded research, a siesta boosted the performance of long-haul airline pilots by 34%. (Air-traffic controllers lobbying for nap times take note.)
8. Splash your face. If even a 20-minute nap leaves you groggy, stop in the restroom and splash cool water on your face. Volunteers who did this in one study felt the most awake after a snooze. Surprisingly, having coffee just before your nap and then splashing your face afterward seems to be the perfecta of wake-up calls.