The Score So Far (Health & Fitness)

[_Jersey Girl]

Where did you buy your pumpkin stock? Can you put up an image of it? Is it pumpkin puree?

Have you ever had pumpkin chilli? The kind I had, had ground turkey in it, but you can definitely do it with all beans. It was delish!

Haven't tried our new Instant Pot yet, but JB made split pea soup in it and it looked pretty good! Not a fan of split pea so I didn't try it.

You're really right about the microwave, I rarely actually use it for cooking. Almost everything I do is on the stove top or oven.

I also bake things and give them away because I just enjoy the process of baking and seeing the results. Usually different types of quick breads. But I will tell you, if you have a sweet tooth, biscotti is a good thing if you're wanting to lose weight so long as you don't eat the whole pile! If I could put an image here of my biscotti, I'd def do it but I need help from Quasi to do that.

Baking is therapy and the breads are my idea of beautiful!

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Jersey Girl,

Please see my edits. I'm an idiot. Hopefully I don't lose my guns next...

- Doc

[_Jersey Girl]

Jersey Girl,

Please see my edits. I'm an idiot. Hopefully I don't lose my guns next...

- Doc

So you dumped all that in the Instant Pot and cooked it. Were there seasonings? Did you add any water or like chicken stock to it? I'd do it on the stove top in a pot, that's why I'm asking. I'm still scared of the pressure cooker!

Lock up the guns and give the keys or codes to your wife!

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Jersey Girl,

No reason to be afraid of the instant pot. It has a locking lid, it beeps at you if something is out of whack; it's basically fool proof... Hence the reason why I can operate it.

Soak the garbanzos overnight.

In the instant pot saute one diced onion, some minced garlic, curry powder, and a bay leaf.

Add 1 qt pumpkin puree, drained garbanzos, a qt of veg stock, some salt and pepper.

Close the pot, cook on the bean/chili setting. When it's done add your veg. Turn the pot back on for one minute.

Boom. Done. Enjoy!

- Doc

[_Jersey Girl]

Thanks, Cam! I'll give that a whirl. Sounds right up our alley! You can't go wrong with a good winter soup! I will trade you back my recipe for Minestrone that I do on the stove top. It has meat in it, but you can alter it with more beans or use fresh veggies. In winter, I resort to canned veggies for this one soup. Put out a hunk of bread with it if you want and have dinner!

[_Jersey Girl]

We eat this until it's gone! Modify it however you like!

Minestrone

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. diced onions
1 box chicken stock
2 cans crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 can green beans
2 cups steamed carrots
2 cups cooked elbow macaroni
Basil
Oregano

*Substitute left over veggies for the canned/steamed veggies.

Brown meat, garlic and onion in pot. Pour off liquid. Add everything else and simmer for approx 30 minutes until flavors are blended and veggies are cooked through.

Serve with freshly grated parmesean topping each bowl and french bread.

(I'm pretty sure you could use vegetable stock, but we haven't tried it.)

[_Jersey Girl]

I know the guys probably like their meat, but I'm not super fond of meat, okay? (I thought the chicken foil pack I did was pretty darn awesome though). So here's what I'm looking at on Pinterest and if you're on Pinterest, just search on "clean eating meal preparation" and you'll find stuff like this. Meal preparation is basically making your food for the week all in one day. I'm only using it to get ideas for food combinations because I'm too stupid to think it up myself. These images are too big to post, so just take a look if you're interested.

Cold:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... f42228.jpg

You microwave this to reheat but I'd take the egg out before heating:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... f42228.jpg

This has chicken:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73 ... ea66b0.jpg

[_Jersey Girl]

Another oversized image. Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps. I could totally eat these and be happy with them. I doubt the guys would really be into it since it might seem too light for them. But here they are.

http://www.cookingclassy.com/wp-content ... -srgb..jpg

[_Jersey Girl]

I don't see why you couldn't take this:

20 Minute Broccoli Cheese Soup

Author: Holly N.
preparation time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Ingredients
Follow Spend With Pennies on Pinterest for more great recipes!
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
3 cups fresh broccoli
2 cups chicken broth
½ teaspoon each thyme and garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cups light cream
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
⅓ cup fresh parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a large saucepan, cook butter, onion and carrots over medium heat until onion softens (about 3 minutes). Add chicken broth, broccoli and seasonings. Simmer until broccoli is softened, about 8 minutes.
Remove 1 cup of vegetables, coarsely chop and set aside. Using an immersion blender, blend remaining vegetables and broth.
Place flour in a small bowl. Add in cream a little at a time stirring until smooth. Bring blended vegetable mixture to a boil and whisk in cream mixture. Continue whisking until thick and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in cheeses & reserved chopped vegetables and serve immediately.

Recipe by Spend With Pennies at http://www.spendwithpennies.com/20-minu ... eese-soup/

And swap out the cream for greek yogurt, cut the cheese in half or use low fat cheese and make it work.

Low sodium chicken broth, too.

I'll try it soon and report back.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

http://imgur.com/Hgwr1ui

Light pressure cooker black bean soup, with 3/4 cup of rice, bouillon, teaspoon of olive oil. Delish. 45 on the elliptical, and two dog walks.

The bad?

Bowl of ice cream and two cigars.

Whatev! I'm climbing the mountain.

- Doc