French Lentil Soup

Here’s the soup of the month. The recipe is from the book ‘Twelve Months of Monastery Soups’ by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette. Let me know how you like it. I am making it today for lunch with a green salad and some French bread.

French Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ cup lentils

3 quarts water (more if needed)

1 celery stalk, cut fine

1 turnip, diced

1 bunch sorrel or spinach leaves

1 bay leaf

1 large carrot finely cut

1 large potato, diced

1 cup tomato sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup cooked rice (optional)

1. Pour the olive oil into the soup pot and gently sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Stir continually.

1. Wash and rinse the lentils and add them to the soup pot. Add the water, cut vegetables, and the rest of the ingredients except the salt and pepper and rice. Bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium and cook slowly, covered, for 1 hour.

1. Add the salt and pepper and let the soup simmer a short while longer. Remove the bay leaf. Serve hot. Add cooked rice if desired.

 

What exactly is “rebounding” and why should I do it?

Rebounding is a great way bounce yourself into vibrant health. A rebounder is a mini-trampolene that is used to exercise on. It is small enough to store in a closet, the corner of a room, or some of them actually fold up in order to hide under a bed.

The rebounder works your body out gently by using your energy, gravity, and momentum. All you have to do is step on to it and lightly begin to bounce. It is not meant to be “jumped” on. You actually just bounce on it and your feet barely leave the rebounder. I know what you are thinking, “how can this light bouncing actually do anything for me?”. Just by bouncing every day for 10 minutes you are getting great rewards. First off, after a few minutes on the rebounder you will begin to feel the effects on your legs and butt muscles. Trust me, if you don’t workout regularly, you will feel this light work out the next day. Even though it is a work out the bouncing nature of the rebounder protects your joints and knees from the harsh pounding that you would get if, say, you were running on pavement or using a stairstepper.

Another great benefit you will get from using a rebounder daily is it will get your lymph system going. The lymph system protects your body from infections, viruses, bacterias, etc. It is the body’s filtering system. It filters the toxins from the body. The only problem with the lymph system is that it has no way to do that without the help of you moving around, particularly helpful is the bouncing motion of walking, jogging, or, especially rebounding. When you bounce on the rebounder for at least 10 minutes per day you are helping the lymph system to clear out the toxins from the lymph system and out of the body. This helps your immune system to build up and protect you from all the “nasties” that tend to go around. When the lymph system doesn’t get the opportunity to clear out all of the toxins from the body, the immune system begins to get bogged down and you fall prey to everything that is “going around”.

Bouncing on a rebounder can be fun. Some ideas for making it fun could be listening to your favorite music on your I-pod or MP3 player, watching one of your favorite TV shows, put the rebounder in a place where you can observe nature while you are bouncing, or even meditate.

You can rebound any time of the day that you want or need to but I find the best time to do it is when I first get up in the morning. My usual routine is to get up and rebound for 10 minutes before making my breakfast or taking a shower. I do it in my PJ’s and watch the sun come up or cherish the quiet of the morning. It is almost a spiritual time. Once I am done I prepare my morning smoothie and head for the shower feeling more awake and alive. Rebounding is also great anytime you feel stressed, anxious, tense, tired, or need time to just think and be present with yourself. It’s a great way to bring yourself back into focus.

And if you are worrying that bouncing is going to get monotonous, don’t. There are many ways to spice up your daily routine by adding weights, doing jumping jacks, or even dancing to your music. Many rebounders come with a manual with exercises you can do or even a DVD to work with.

Another really great thing about rebounders is that they are fairly inexpensive. Like anything you can always get the top of the line, royal version of it for hundreds of dollars and they most likely have their merits but you can just as easily buy a decent rebounder for under $30 at your local sporting goods store (I bought mine at Sports Authority for about $26).

So what are you waiting for? Get moving, get yourself a rebounder and bounce yourself into a new level of health and vitality.

 

Carrot Salad Juice

Now that the new year is here, one of my goals (as is a million other people’s) is to achieve vibrant health and vitality. In an effort to achieve this goal I have dusted off my juicer and will be using it regularly again. The following recipe is from the book, “The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies: 365 Natural Blends for Health and Vitality Every Day” by Natalie Savona. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in juicing and making healthy, great tasting juices and smoothies. Today I started and the lucky pick was the Carrot Salad juice. I found it to be a beautiful blend of carrots, tomatoes, and celery with a nice bite of Lime. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Later in the week I will be doing a 2 day juice fast using the tips and advice in this book. I’ll be sure to let you know all the details. At the end of the recipe there is a rating scale of 1 to 5 stars in categories like immunity, detox, energy, etc. this is the author’s method of letting you know what attributes that particular juice or smoothie has that may help with any issues you may want to work on. I find it quite helpful.

Carrot Salad

serves 2

3 Carrots

2 Tomatoes

2 sticks of Celery

1/2 Lime

Just stick it all in a juicer and enjoy. If you have a juicer that separates the fiber from the juice (as I do) you can mix all or some of that fiber back into the juice to give it even more of a nutritious boost.

Nutrients: Beta-carotene; biotin; folic acid; vitamin C; calcium, magnesium; phosphorus; potassium; sodium; sulfur

Energy= 3 out of 5 stars

Detox= 2 out of 5 stars

Immunity= 3 out of 5 stars

Digestion= 1 out of 5 stars

Skin= 4 out of 5 stars

 

Flaxseed Muffins with Cranberries, Apples, & Carrots

This is a recipe that I make regularly in my house. They are wonderfully delicious and are high in fiber and Omega-3, 6, 9’s thanks to all that flaxseed and oatbran. You can substitute wheatbran for the oatbran if you like as well as add any fruit or berry that you prefer too. I love cranberries and they were recently on sale at my local grocery store so I stocked up. You can also make a double batch of these and freeze half. That is a wonderful way to insure that you are eating well even on mornings that you have to run. Just take the muffins out of the freezer the night before and they will be ready for you in the morning. Give ‘em a try and let me know how you like them and any variations that you try that you really like. I am always open for new experiences. I got this recipe off the back of the Bob’s Flaxseed Meal package and then revised it to my liking.

 

Flaxseed Muffins with Cranberries, Apples, Carrots 1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour¾ cup Bob’s Flaxseed Meal

¾ cup Oat Bran or Wheat Bran

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. Salt

2 tsp Cinnamon (more if you like…I used about a Tablespoon)

1 ½ cups Finely Shredded Carrots (I used the shredded carrots in the bag in the produce section)

2 Peeled & Chopped Apples

½ cup Raisins (I substituted ½ bag of whole fresh Cranberries instead)

1 cup Chopped Nuts (I used sliced Almonds)

¾ cup Milk (I used soymilk..but rice or almond milk can be used instead)

2 Beaten Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

MIX together flour, Bob’s Flaxseed Meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. STIR in carrots, apples, raisins (or cranberries or any other berry for that matter) and nuts.COMBINE milk, beaten eggs, vanilla and oil. POUR liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, STIR until ingredients are moistened. DO NOT OVER MIX.FILL muffin cups ¾ full.BAKE at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Yields: 15-18 medium muffins

 

 

Hello world!

This blog is dedicated to the constant pursuit and attainment of Vibrant Health and Fitness. As the blog progresses there will be sections on Exercise, Relaxation, Nutrition, Relationships, Finding Balance, Recipes, and just plain old Having Fun!

 I will be adding and updating on regular basis so I hope you enjoy what you find here and return often to read, comment, contribute, and support my endeavor.

Nutrition and Health have long been interests of mine. I have been reading, studying, and learning about nutrition, health, and fitness since my teen years (and those are…well…long gone now). I don’t pretend to be an expert in any of these fields but I do know what has worked and hasn’t worked for me and I hope that my experience can be of help to others who might need it.

So here it is….

 All the Best,

Veronica