Sweet Potato + Pepper Soup
I learned in Physiology that the stomach can hold about 1 liter of food before it starts to expand. I think mine is definitely expanding at the moment!
Can you tell we like soups!?!? This one was SO easy to make. It wasn’t as good at the butternut-kale, but it was still delicious and my favorite kind of dinner on a January night.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs sweet potato
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 jalapeños, chopped
- 1 large carton vegetable broth
- 2 garlic cloves
- Cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, coriander seeds all to taste
- Yogurt, for garnish (we didn’t have any open, but it would be good!)
Instructions
- Bake potatoes in oven for about an hour at 400*.
- Once done, roughly chop potatoes.
- Sautee chopped peppers and garlic in some cooking spray.
- Add potatoes, broth and seasonings.
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Puree to your liking with a stick blender or regular blender. (Stick blenders are WELL worth the purchase!)
3 servings, 344 kcal each (or 4 servings, 260 kcal each).
My serving (HUGE!) At least 2 cups… you might want to do 4 servings if you don’t have a huge stomach
On the side…
Dinner kcal ~ 465 (344 for soup + 121 for crackers)
Snacks
I had my trail mix at 2:00 when class started. Note: This is the REAL photo because of the old fashioned desk material!
Again, it took me the whole ride home to decide what to have for a second snack around 4:30. On a whim, I decided to make a batch of Vitamuffins from a mix I’ve had on hand for months. We got a mini-muffin pan for the wedding, so I decided it would be more fun to make 24 muffins than 12 and get to eat twice as many! I topped them with walnuts for an extra nutritional punch.
Now I’ve got little bags of them to take with me for snacks – two at a time. Each came out to about 50 kcal with the walnuts and including the cake portion below.
Vitamuffins are made with whole wheat flour and cane juice instead of sugar. They have 6 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, and an array of vitamins. I wouldn’t eat one every single day, but they sure make a healthy treat!
Not the most gourmet baking, but still fun!
Turns out my mini-muffin pan filled and I needed a place to put about seven more mini-muffin equivalents, so I found this little cake tin and made a cake! The husband ate half for a snack.
My three with hot tea
Snack calories (including trail mix and licking the bowl!) = 333
Tomorrow
I just have two classes (no lab) so I’m done at 12 in time for lunch at home by 12:30! I’m having the leftover butternut-kale soup – did I mention I love thick soups….
I’ve got a chem quiz and we’re doing nutrition in physio tomorrow – yay!
Then I have studying ALL afternoon lunch.
But we have a fun dinner planned!
Until then…
linds says
Those mini-muffins are adorable and I absolutely love your blog 🙂 Random question though, I’m sure you have answered it before so I apologize, (I’m a fairly new reader) I’m just wondering how tall you are?
Kath says
Thanks Linds!!,
5’2″
Kath
Sara says
Hey Kath, I love the blog!! I made the sweet potato fries tonight and they were really good! Where did you get the vitamuffin mix?
I’m really interested in Nutrition and would love to become an RD but I don’t think I could make it through the science classes. It’s always been my worst subject.
Thanks for the great blog!!
arimcg says
I love vitamuffins! Especially the chocolate ones. You can get the mix at www.vitalicious.com, Sara.
Volunteer Katie says
Hey Kath,
I made spaghetti squash and your sauce tonight for dinner! Both were very good! The sauce seemed a little sweet to me though…is it supposed to be sweet? If so…maybe I’m just not used to real sauce! 🙂 If not….I’m wondering if I did anything wrong? I thought I followed the recipe you posted but maybe I forgot something?!?
I do have a portion leftover so I’ll be eating again this week….any tips on how to make it a little less sweet when I reheat it?
Thanks!!!
KatieMoo says
I just wanted to encourage people to go into nutrition/dietetics even if they hate/aren’t good at chemistry and the other hard sciences. I am awful at them and plugged through it and it’s definitely worth it. So if it’s really what you want to you, keep at it!
Kath, I want to try a mini-muffin! send me one, ok? where did you get the mix?
Karissa says
Hi Kath,
I have just started reading your blog and I really enjoy seeing how you not just eat healthy, but eat in moderation. The moderation is the part I struggle with, which leads me to my question.
I’m trying to lose weight and I’m about 12lbs from my goal. I’ve consulted several calculators on the internet for recommended daily caloric intake at both my current weight and my goal weight. While they all vary some in the number of calories the difference between my current intake versus my goal intake is only about 70-80 calories. Is this right? Could as little as 80 calories a day equal a 12 pound difference?
Maria says
I love the miniature muffins – I don’t like pre-made mixes in general because of the scary stuff in most of them, but I like that these are made with cane sugar and whole wheat flour. 🙂 A very sensible treat, and oh so cute.
Mmm… I like that you left some of the soup chunky, and can see that the jalapeños would add some great subtle heat. Immersion blenders are seriously a blessing this time of year!
Amy says
Kath, you said you use grade A maple syrup, what is that versus grade B? I actually heard grade B taste better-but I have no idea what I am talking about!
Also, you said you did a BOD POD-what is that, where can you do that, and how much does it cost? Thanks so much for all the time you put into the blog……if you can’t tell your readers love it!
Kate says
Kath, I thought you used old fashioned oats, but in the pancake recipe it says quick cook-do you use two different types?
I typically cook oatmeal in the microwave, but would like to switch to the stove. What brand pot do you use and does the oatmeal/milk mixture get to sticky to the pot?
Layla says
At about what mile pace do you usually run?
Cara says
That soup looks great! Is that the trader Joes trail mix? One of the kinds I have from Trader Joes looks like it. It is quite tasty 🙂
Courtney says
Hi Kath,
First off, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I want to congratulate you for doing such an awesome job and putting so much time and effort into it. Like you, I’m a perfectionist and like to stick to a particular schedule. I just transferred to a new school that has an amazing (and free) gym. It’s just a five minute walk away from where I live. I’ve never considered myself a morning person, but I always have a smoother and more enjoyable day when I get up early. Since I live so close to the gym, I feel like there are finally no more excuses for not going! I was wondering about your morning routine since I’ve never been a morning workout person (but I hate going in the evenings!). When you wake up, how do you prepare for the gym? I usually shower at night so I don’t have to blow dry my hair in the morning, but if I workout in the mornings I know I’ll need to switch my showers to then! Do you have any tips for starting a morning routine based around working out?
Thanks so much,
Courtney
Jo says
Amy,
Here’s a set of descriptions of the grades of maple syrup (from massmaple.org):
“Characteristics of each grade:
Grade A Light Amber, is very light and has a mild, more delicate maple flavor. It is usually made earlier in the season when the weather is colder. This is the best grade for making maple candy and maple cream.
Grade A Medium Amber, is a bit darker, and has a bit more maple flavor. It is the most popular grade of table syrup, and is usually made after the sugaring season begins to warm, about mid-season.
Grade A Dark Amber, is darker yet, with a stronger maple flavor. It is usually made later in the season as the days get longer and warmer.
Grade B, sometimes called Cooking Syrup, is made late in the season, and is very dark, with a very strong maple flavor, as well as some caramel flavor. Although many people use this for table syrup; because of its strong flavor, it’s often used for cooking, baking, and flavoring in special foods.”
the husband says
Kath’s morning routine:
Alarm goes off, snooze once or twice, come downstairs, eat a piece of toast or small snack, answer blog comments (!) for about 20 minutes, and she’s off! and sometimes i get out of bed to come with her!
Beckysue27 says
Love the blog! You are such an inspiration and I read every day! Can we have each days net calories back? For some reason I miss having it all pulled together!
Kath says
Sara,
Glad the potatos turned out!! Vitamuffin mix is just from my grocery store. You can get it online too.
Vol. Katie,
Yes, I suppose it is sweet. It’s the tomato paste that makes it taste sweet, so next time just stick to sauce. You could maybe add a little salt to balance it out? Or some more herbs?
KatieMoo
I wish all my posts were scratch and sniff – or better yet – downloadable!
Karissa,
80 kcal is more than it seems. Given that a pound is 3,500 kcal, it would technically take you a month and a half to lose 12 lbs if you ate 80 less per day. Of course that is hypothetical and I’m sure there will be times of overeating in that time period, so maybe realistically is more like 2-3 months? When I was stuck at 124 I cut back my calories just by 50 or so and the last 4 came off, although slowly. Amazing that such a subtle change makes a difference! The slower it comes off the better, though, as the last few pounds need to come off very gradually since too drastic of a cutback when you’re that close to goal is such a fine line between losing fat and and losing important muscle and fuel. Congrats on being so close to goal, by the way!!!
Maria,
I LOVE our immersion blender but husband thinks it sucks and wants a new one. Perhaps I could sell it to a reader in need!
Amy,
See Jo’s great explanation of syrups below. As for the BOD POD, it came to my gym for a few months and I had the test done. It’s quite strange, but supposed to be very accurate – comparable to being dunked in water. Here’s more info: http://www.bodpod.com. My test cost $25. I’d love to get another test done now that I’m about 5 pounds less than I was then.
Kate,
I was using quick oats for the pancakes because they absorb quicker, but in an effort to have less oats on hand I’ve been using rolled oats for both pancakes and oatmeal with good luck. The rolled just need to sit longer for the pancakes to absorb more egg. As for oatmeal on the stove, we have Circulon pots and the oatmeal does not stick at all, except for a fine film on the bottom that I love to scrap off and eat!! I would recommend old fashioned oats for stove top, or steel cut if you have time to make them in advance.
Layla,
About 9 minutes on treadmill (or intervals of 8 min. mile and 9.5) and usually 9.0-10 min/mile outside. My strength is endurance, not speed!
Cara,
Bear Nake High Sierra Trail Mix – it’s new and great! I like TJ’s too and it’s probably cheaper, so I’ll have to go get some more of that when this is out.
Courtney,
Here’s a response to my morning schedule I wrote a while back. And look for a post on this today!!
Here’s my morning schedule:
4:50 – Alarm goes off
4:52 – Alarm 2 goes off
5:00 – Out of bed after 2-3 snoozes
5:30 – Leave for gym after getting dressed, eating toast and checking email
5:40-6:45 – Gym.
6:55-7:15 – Shower, make-up, get dressed.
7:15-7:45 – Make breakfast, eat breakfast in the dining room with husband <3
7:45-8:30 - Blog, get lunch that was packed the night before, brush teeth.
8:30 - Leave for Winthrop (edited from work!)
I LOVE having done all that before I really start my day’s work. It means I can relax in the evenings and enjoy a leisurely dinner!
At night I go up to bed between 8:30 and 9 and try to be asleep by 9:30.
Jo,
THANKS for chiming in on the syrups!!
Beckysue,
Here’s what I wrote about the recaps a few weeks ago. I realize to some they were helpful, but I really wanted to take the emphasis off of my specifi intake and put it on the delicious food and balanced meals to help guide your own meal plans and choices.
The NET caloric recaps were more for the readers than for me. As you probably have seen, I have been accused on numerous occasions of being calorie-obsessed, and I have a feeling the recaps were a big contributor to the drama. I don’t spend any time counting up my daily calories – my food diary does it for me – but I can see how reporting “I had 1758 calories today!” can seem very specific and obsessive.
While calorie counting is my portion-control method of choice, this blog is intended to be about food, recipes and healthy living, not calorie counting. My reasoning for stopping the recaps is that I feel the emphasis should be more on the calories per meal – what that amount looks like and the recipe information – rather than my caloric intake each day. And I figured if anyone really wanted to know they could just add up the meals and subtract the exercise! Hope you all understand.
Kath
Beckysue27 says
Kath-
Thanks! Sorry, I must have missed that reponse one day. I totally understand and I think your decision will serve the blog well in the long run (Although personally I really liked it!) Keep up the great work! you will make a great RD.
sarah says
hi kath,
just wondering: for the soup recipe above (which i can NOT wait to get home and make tonight!) did you leave the skins on the sweet potatos? thanks!
Kath says
Sarah,
Sure did!! Why bother peeling anything!? Let me know how it turns out!
K
Caroline says
Old…but I want the soup…