Healthy Fall Soups

I have been celebrating Fall (or the little that's left of it) by cooking up some healthy soups.  Though the two soups look a lot alike, they are radically different in taste.  I need a new digital camera so everything seems to look yellow-orange these days.  

The first soup is a Curried Sweet Potato Soup.  I don't particularly care for sweet potatoes but begrudgingly bought some because they are touted for being anti-inflammatory.   This soup was excellent and very easy to prepare.  My only adjustment to the original recipe was in the way I roasted the potatoes.  I used the Cook's Illustrated method because the potatoes caramelize so well--trust me, you will eat these like candy.  The resulting soup was very flavorful with hints of curry that are balanced out by the sweetness of the potatoes and coconut milk.  Make sure you eat this soup with lots of bread or with another side; though delicious, it's not particularly filling.  My roommate has adapted the original recipe by substituting pureed pumpkin for the sweet potato.  She swears it's tastier than sweet potato.  I dislike pumpkin even more than sweet potato, so I'll just stick to the original.

The second picture, a pureed chickpea soup, was hearty and satisfying.  No need to strain the soup--it's still tasty.  Besides, who has time to strain hot soup?  From soaking to actual cooking time, this soup took an eternity to make.  I was too hungry to strain it!  Just make sure you stir the mixture when reheating as it tends to separate over time.  As you can see, I like to eat my soup with lots of bread (sssh. I am not supposed to eat too much refined white flour).  Whole Foods makes an affordable Artisan Ciabatta loaf that rings in at under $3.  I couldn't resist.

The Incredible, Edible (Omega-3) Egg!

I hate breakfast.  Hate it.  Waffles and pancakes, no thanks.  French toast, who cares?  Omelettes, fine.  I am probably eating such a late breakfast because I hate it so much.  But here's the problem: I totally need breakfast.  If I don't get fed in a timely manner, I morph into crazy cranky person or catatonic lady.  No good.

However, as I type this, I am scarfing down my new favorite breakfast (yeah yeah, breakfast at 2pm.  Don't give me that look.  Like I said, I hate breakfast.)  Anyways, welcome to sauteed kale and fried eggs!  Mmmm.  I keep telling myself that I should upload more photos of my meals, but I ate this one too quickly.  Sorry.

I love this meal because 1) it's healthy and anti-inflammatory and 2) quick.

Ingredients:

olive oil

1-2 minced garlic cloves

2 eggs (preferably omega-3 rich and organic)

a large handful of kale

red pepper flakes

salt and black pepper

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan.  Then add the minced garlic and saute for about a minute.  Add kale (just washed is best because the moisture from the rinsing will help with steaming) and saute until the kale becomes slightly wilted and maintains a deep green color.  I like my kale hearty so I don't saute for more than 5 minutes.  Add a dash of red pepper flakes for a kick.  Transfer kale and garlic to a plate.  Then crack two eggs into your hot pan and fry as desired.  Place cooked eggs atop your lovely bed of kale, sprinkle with S&P, and add a dash of soy sauce.  YUM.

Maybe my hatred of breakfast will transform into a like, or at least apathy?  When I'm in a real bind for time, or just a zombie after work, I'll add brown rice to this dish for an easy dinner.  Sometimes I substitute the garlic with slivers of onion or ginger as well.  

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Since I started this dieting madness, friends and family have been asking me what exactly is safe and not safe to eat.  To be honest, it can be really confusing even to me.  The research is all over the place, and it isn't a specific "fad" diet so no one source is the authority on inflammatory foods.  I've also discovered that there is a spectrum of anti-inflammatory diets, with the most extreme adopting a vegan diet sans gluten and corn.  At the other end of the spectrum, some diets seem too lax to be even health-oriented.

So, what to do?  I ended up going with the diet plan generally recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil.  I like his writing style and overall philosophy toward eating for health.  His food pyramid (pictured) is also quite easy to understand and offers some flexibility in eating options.  This is in sharp contrast to Dr. Perricone, whose list of Pro-Inflammatory Foods is so extensive that I wondered how I would survive day to day. 

Culling information from several sources of anti-inflammatory eating plans, here's my general approach to my diet:

The Good: 

These are the super foods of my diet.  If I am not eating these, my body's anti-inflammatory abilities will go haywire.  It is essential that I eat these foods several times a week and even daily.

* omega-3 anything (cold water fish, amped up eggs)

* fruits (berries and apples are winners)

*veggies (esp. dark leafy greens)

* whole grains (quinoa, brown not white rice) 

* legumes

* nuts (no peanuts)

* spices (esp. turmeric and ginger and cayenne pepper)

* soybeans (tofu, edamame)

* green tea

* olive oil

The Bad:

"Bad" is used with some reservation. I do eat these foods but in moderation just to keep myself from going insane.  Depending on who you read, these could go under the forbidden category but I've seen some recipes with such ingredients.  If I eliminated these, I would become very depressed.

* skinless poultry

* whole grain flour products (I like Rye Wasa crackers)

* tomatoes, peppers, and corn (These belong to the nightshade family and can cause irritation; it seems like this varies from person to person though.)

* canola oil (olive is best)

* low-fat dairy (I do eat this daily; my homemade organic low-fat yogurt is safe to eat.)

* honey (I eat this regularly in my Chunks of Energy though)

* pasta (I try to eat buckwheat pasta.)

* brown sugar

* red wine (You would go crazy without it too.)

The Ugly

No matter what, these are under that "Most Wanted" section of any diet I've researched.  Far and away, I am NOT allowed to have these because these foods are known to trigger inflammation and keep the good guys from doing their anti-inflammatory work.

* all deep fried food (hydrogenated oils are forbidden)

* red meat (so bad, just stay away)

* white sugar

* enriched and processed flour

* peanuts

* vegetable oil

* shortening

* corn syrup

* juice

* coffee

* beer

* trans- and saturated fat anything 

* in short, anything fun and junky

Basically, eat as organically close to the earth as possible.  I have my next doctor's appointment in April so I'm curious to see if any of this will amount to progress...