Other than being a little sleepy, the day started like usual, with a strawberry banana breakfast smoothie, which I drank on my way into work. At around 10 a.m., I started to get hungry, so I ate an apple and then popped three energy bites. The energy bites really are super filling because I didn’t eat again until after my noon spinning class, which was completely fantastic. It was just the kick in the ass I needed after my sleepless weekend. We did a lot of speed work, and sprinting is pretty much my favorite thing because you get to just go full on, balls to the wall, crazy on the bike. You pedal as fast as your little legs can carry you for 15 to 30 seconds depending on the exercise. And you do this about 8 times in a row with a 15 second break in between each sprint. By the time you hit the last interval, you’re panting, and the men in the room are all groaning (sissies!), but what a rush.
The Hubby says I only know one speed: fast. This is true and sometimes (hardly ever really), I can get a little carried away especially when it comes to cooking, cleaning, list making, organizing, driving, any kind of competition or game. Ya know, just a couple of things. But, the spin bike is the one place where its not only ok, but highly encouraged, to go full on fast. Loves it.
After spinning, I went back to the office, where I ate a hard-boiled egg (gotta get my protein) and Roasted Corn and Heirloom Tomato Risotto, courtesy of Nature’s Bin. The risotto was to die for, and I scarfed down the entire thing. When I got home from work, I snacked on a juicy, eat over the kitchen sink, pear. Those are the real deal. It reminds me of when I was little, and we’d get fruit from some farmer’s stand in the middle of the country, on our way home from a weekend excursion. It was always the best. My parents made us eat it outside or over the sink, and we had to have plenty of napkins handy.
Since I was still recovering from my weekend adventures and not willing to prepare a full on dinner, I just reheated some Broccoli Cheddar soup I made over the weekend, served it with some warmed Tomato Basil bread and called it a day, or a meal anyway.
Whenever I make homemade soup, which in the winter time is often, I like to make a double batch. I put the leftovers in serving size Tupperware and freeze them for a rainy day. Or a day when I get stuck at the office late or when I’m too tired from puppy sitting or I’m feeling lazy. You get the idea. It’s really nice to have a great option ready for those nights when you just can’t bring yourself to cook. It’s still quick and so much more satisfying than fast food. Plus, if you are really efficient and chop your vegetables ahead of time, they are all ready to go when you want to use them. I manage to do this about 50% of the time. Over the weekend, I’ll chop whatever veggies I’m going to need during the week and then store them in the fridge. Then during the week, everything is ready to go and you are cooking with gas, so to speak.
Back to the Broccoli Cheddar Soup. It is really easy to make and best of all, it’s vegetarian. This may be shocking to you (it was to me), but most broccoli cheese soup is made with chicken stock, so while I love it, I typically can’t eat it. Heart breaking, I know, until I found this recipe, and all was right in my little world, once again. See, even though I can go a little overboard (with just a few things, mind you), it doesn’t take much to make me happy. Soup = Me Happy. 🙂
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 1/2 cups cauliflower or broccoli, chopped (or a combination)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3 cups soy or almond milk
- salt and pepper to taste (at least 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper)
- 4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
- In a large saucepan, combine water, cauliflower/broccoli, celery, carrots, and onion. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.
- Melt butter in separate saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in milk. Return to heat, and cook until thickened.
- Stir in vegetables with cooking liquid, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese until melted, and remove from heat.
I was hoping to finish the day folding laundry while finally watching the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy….Yes from a month ago. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be since I opted to pass out on the couch at 9 p.m. (I know how to rage). At least, I was able to catch up on my missing zzzz’s.
Little Mia loves Aunt Meghan! She slept for about 3 days after she came home!! I’m definitely going to make that broccoli cheese soup…maybe a good fall receipe?!
It’s a great fall / winter recipe. Make extra so you can freeze it and pull it out on days when you’re too tired to cook.