Even if the weather doesn’t feel  like it, we are still in the middle of winter.  If you have the winter blues, some mood and energy boosters you can try are fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, and whole grains.  They are rich in fiber, which can help detox your body from fatigue causing toxins, leading to a better mood and higher level of energy.

So let us have more energy and get in a better mood with these healthy vegetable soups with recipes I adopted from www. womansday.com

Energy Boosting Curried Cauliflower Vegetable Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced 1⁄4 in. thick
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth, or 31⁄2 cups broth or bouillon
• 21⁄2 cups water
• 2 medium potatoes (8 oz), cut in 1⁄2-in. pieces
• 3 cups frozen cauliflower florets
• 1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, rinsed
• 1⁄2 cup frozen cut-leaf spinach
• Serve with: plain yogurt or sour cream

Directions:

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; cook 4 minutes or until onions are golden and just tender.

Stir in curry powder and garlic; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in remaining ingredients; cook, covered, 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Mood Boosting Split Pea Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dried green split peas
• 2 cups diced onions
• 1 1⁄2 cups diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1⁄2 tsp pepper
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes
• 11⁄4 lb ham hock(s)

Directions:

Put all ingredients and 7 cups water in a 51⁄2-qt or larger slow-cooker. Cover and cook on high 6 hours or low 12 hours until peas are very soft and fall apart. Remove ham. When cool enough to handle, cut meat off the bone, dice and return to soups. Serve with cornbread, or cut cornbread in cubes, toast in oven and serve as croutons.

Bon Appetit!

P.S.  for more mood boosting tips and ideas you may like to listen to:

• How to Attract Health and Happiness with Maria Lesetz. listen
• Practicing Gratitude to Deal with Stress and Seasonal Depression with Sue Urda.listen
• Healthy and Clean Meal Planning with Wendy Battles. listen

Breathe, smile and be happy

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Coach, Counselor and Realtionship Coach

Naturalcounselorblog.com

Are you still keeping up on your New Year Resolutions? Did you try to change some of your eating habits and incorporate more weight loss recipes into your diet and menu plan?

In order to lose weight, try to speed up your metabolism by adding more fiber rich foods, cleansing spices, cleansing herbs and fat dissolving vegetables, such as onions, green onions, celery, shitake mushrooms, horseradish, turnip, turmeric, etc. in your diet.

Here are two recipes for you to try to keep your New Year Resolution:

Warm Black Bean, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cooked black beans (soaked overnight and cooked till tender)
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 /2 cup grated goat cheese
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/6 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp green onions chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp horseradish, grated
• Immunity Boosting Spices Mix
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped, per serving

Directions:

Saute onions and carrots in olive oil for 10 min., add turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt, ghee, stir thoroughly. Mix with arugula, top with grated goat cheese. Garnish with parsley.

Comforting and Healthy Homemade Vegetable Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 onions chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 1 turnip cubed
• 1 small potato, chopped
• 1 cup shitake mushrooms soaked
• 1 celery stock chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ghee
• sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp dill, minced (per serving)
• Immunity Boosting Spices Mix

Directions:

For vegetable broth: mix ½ onion, a carrot, a celery stack, a potato, a turnip, in 4 cups of water approximately for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the rest of onions and carrots in olive oil, for 5 minutes, add shitake mushrooms, chopped and cook for 5 more minutes; add ghee and set aside. When vegetable broth is ready, add sautéed vegetables, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with sour cream and chopped dill on top.

Bon Appetit!

Breathe, smile and be happy

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Expert

NaturalCounselorBlog.com

It’s cold outside.  Use our warming soups to nourish your body and draw energy into your digestive tract to help digest your food properly. If you have a healthy digestive tract, you will have less stress on your body.  Healthy intestines will boost your immune system so you won’t catch colds during Cold and Flu Season. 

A healthy digestive tract also helps keep your skin and hair healthy.

Here are two recipes to help you stay healthy and happy during those cold winter days and nights.

Warming Buckwheat Soup Recipe

• 4 cups water
• ½ cup buckwheat
• 2 cups cabbage chopped
• 2 cups butternut squash, chopped
• 2 small onions
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 strip wakame seaweed
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp parsley to garnish

Roast the buckwheat, by stirring in a skillet over medium heat until it turns golden brown and smells toasty. Sautee onions in olive oil for 4-5 minutes. Bring the water to boil with squash and wakame (cut in small pieces); dd buckwheat and cabbage, simmer for ten minutes. Add onions, salt and parsley. Serve with fresh dill.

White Bean and Vegetable Soup

• 1 small rutabaga, diced
• 2 parsnips, sliced
• 3 carrots diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup white navy beans, soaked for 2 hours
• 6 cups water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped, to garnish
• 2-3 fresh scallions, sliced, to garnish

Place the kombu on the bottom of the soup pot, top with beans, add celery and  water. Bring to boil, reduce hit and simmer for 50- 60 minutes until beans soft. Meanwhile sautee onions for 5 minutes in olive oil, add carrots, parsnip, rutabaga and sautee for more 10 minutes. Combine all ingredients in the soup pot, simmer for 3 minutes. Serve with cilantro and sliced scallions.

Bon Appetit!

Click to listen to Leslie Cerier, “The Organic Gourmet” on Gluten Free Cooking.

Click to listen to Wendy Battles, Clean Eating Coach on Healthy Meal Planning.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

©Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Counselor and Coach

When was the last time you had some soup ? If you want to feel warm and comfy, it may be the right time to start making soup. 

I would like to share with you an anti-aging beauty remedy tip: a homemade Adzuki soup recipe that will nourish your skin from inside out to help you feel and look fabulous.

This healthy homemade beauty remedies soup recipe was adopted from one of my favorite books Glow, a Prescription for Radiant Health and Beauty by Christina Pirello.

This seet adzuki beauty remedy cleansing soup recipe will relax, nourish and stimulate your intestines and detox your liver and kidneys naturally, which can help your skin look healthier and younger.

Most of us begin to show our age when the delicate skin around the eyes grows puffy or develops dark circles and creases. Those common symptoms are a sign that the kidneys are overtaxed and tired, growing weak and flaccid.

The adzuki red beans can help to re-balance your kidney function to restore the youthful appearance of your eyes.

Adzuki Soup Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 inch piece kombu
• ½ cup adzuki beans, rinsed, soaked for 4 hours
• 5-6 cups filtered water
• 1 small leek thinly sliced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 cup diced winter squash (butternut, buttercup, kabocha)
• 1 cup finely diced green cabbage
• 3 tsp barley
• 2-3 leaves kale, finely diced for garnish

Place kombu on the bottom of a soup pot, top with beans and water. Cook for over 5 minutes (after boiling), reduce heat, to low and simmer for 35 minutes. Add the vegetables and cook for 35 minutes more – until the beans are soft and vegetables are tender. Stir the kale and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Let us be soup smart and start making one soup recipe at a time to feel and look fabulous.

Click to listen to Julie Gabriel, Holistic Nutritionist on Holistic Beauty Remedies for Your Face and Hair.

Click to listen to Caroline Sutherland, internationally recognized Medical Intuitive and Hay House Author on How to Slow Down the Aging Process.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

©Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Coach and Counselor