Day 3: Soups in Summer.

Say What?  By now, you've heard me interject the word "organic" a few times.  Before 2011, organic sounded plain hippie to me. Don't know why. Just did.  I kept my mind open during the program.  Remember how I was talking about preservatives and additives in the previous "Say What?" section?  Well, you also have to worry about the chemicals/pesticides that are being sprayed on your fresh produce.  To be perfectly honest, there's not a lot of research about the health benefits between organic vs. not organic, but I would like the food that I am consuming to be as natural as possible. RIGHT?  Yes. Here's the rule-of-thumb for organic; it's called "The Dirty Dozen; Clean 15".  I pretty much stick to this list. When I'm poor, I just wash the "dirty dozen" items until I have no fingers left. :)

On this Purification Program, I am limited to certain ingredients, which is why I start off the day with simply a shake.  On any normal day, my breakfast consists of 2-3 types of fresh fruit, 2 hard boiled eggs (sometimes 3), and a slice of Ezekiel Bread (http://www.foodforlife.com/) with a generous serving of Peanut Butter on top. I just bought some Almond Butter and have yet to try it! I'm pretty excited tho.  I love breakfasts.


SHAKE #3
2 peaches
1/2 banana
Chunks of fresh pineapple
Strawberries


Have I mentioned before how large of an appetite I have?  So, by day 3, I honestly am thinking to myself, "Will I ever be satisfied again?  Will I ever fill my stomach?"  Maybe I'm alone in that.  However, I have discovered that soups, hearty and healthy ones, really fill me up!  Therefore, admist the blazing summer heat, we turn to soups.  Yes, scrumptious soups.


LENTIL SOUP 
http://www.grouprecipes.com/123689/standard-process-lentil-soup.html
Lentils are SO good for you.  I never really had them until I went to Chile in 2009.  We had them in one form or another at least once a week.  Two suggestions for this recipe: (1) You might need a little more sea salt or flavoring than they call for.  Feel free to add a little more sea salt or some spicy herbs to kick it up a notch. (2) I would NOT do the can of crushed tomatoes.  Just buy some FRESH tomatoes and chop them up pretty small.  It does the trick every time.


Whenever you are finished, dole out a massive bowl for yourself.  Like it says in the recipe, put some fresh spinach on top (not in the pot -- just on an individual basis), microwave for 10-30 seconds.  Add in just a liiiiiitle bit of vinegar (if desired). You're ready to go!


Whenever I did this last year, I liked this soup so much that I ate it for dinner and then lunch the next day as well.  So, for today, you decide what you want for dinner instead of me becoming a dictator:  more lentil soup? another stir fry? a simple salad? 


Either way... buy a spaghetti squash tonight.  We're having "pasta" tomorrow! :)