Lentil and Root Vegetable Stew
Topped with Plain Yogurt
YUM!!! This meal was quick and easy and super yummy! We planned “lentils and leftover veggies” for tonight but we needed some direction. Jenna, a culinary student at Cordon Bleu and author of Eat, Live, Run made a similar stew earlier this week and was just the inspiration I needed to pull our ingredients together.
We plopped 1/2 a cup of lentils (2 servings) in a pot with 2 cups of frozen chicken stock. After the stock was melted and the lentils tender, we dumped (notice the verbs – we literally threw this together!) in 13 oz of leftover vegetables (eggplant, portabella mushrooms, rutabaga, sweet potato, butternut squash) plus 1 chopped tomato. We seasoned with chili powder, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper for heat – and a secret ingredient – cocoa powder, which is great in chili! I topped mine with 2 oz of plain yogurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon. It was fabulous and about 422 kcal.
I’m very full, but my mouth is DYING for something sweet to balance the hearty soup. I know it’s just a mouth craving, and I don’t really need any sweets tonight with Christmas around the corner so I think I’ll call it a night and get up to bed to read! This will involve shutting down the computer and running upstairs before I have a chance to sneak into the kitchen! And here’s a reason that the blog helps: I know if I were to eat a dessert I’d have to post it and I don’t feel like having to post again tonight!
Recap
Total Thursday calories: 1689
-425 in workout
= net of 1264
A little over, but with all healthy foods (well, except the 4 oz of beer, but it’s a grain! Riiiiiiiiight 😉 )
Another Nerd
Check out my new vest from Land’s End (to keep me warm because I’m ALWAYS cold) and my super-nerdy Built NY laptop case for being a student again!! Can you tell I’m SO excited to go back to school!?
SawSaw says
Your laptop case's color is outrageous! I love it!
Lilly says
Hey Kath!
You totally look like an uber-student! 🙂 And the soup looks DELISH.
I have a quick question–where do you buy your Kashi products and Ezekiel bread? I tried a more general food store (it's a Midwestern chain so I won't even bother naming it 'cause nobody's ever heard of it!) and they had some stuff but not the Kashi bars I like, or delicious Ezekiel bread which you got me hooked on! Should I try more of a health food/organic store, or something like Whole Foods? I'm dying without Ezekiel bread. Dying! 🙂 Thanks for your help!
Jennifer says
Hey Kath,
Love the vest. The meal looks great. I am getting a lot of great ideas from you. Keep it up.
Merry Christmas to you.
jenna says
yay for lentils!!! glad you liked it–I want to try your version!! 🙂
janine says
Hi Kath,
I know you said that you use a HRM while working out to get a better count of calories burned. Which one do you have and where can I find one? I looked online for one, but all the ones I found were in watch-form. Thanks!
Anonymous says
She mentioned that she uses the Polar F4 model. You can find it at amazon.com or target.com.
Lauren says
Your outfit is wayyy cute! 🙂
Do you believe in setting weight loss goals or just letting the weight come off naturally at its own pace?
Thanks mucho!
Danielle says
So cute 😉 I love the excited first day of school feeling! And your dinner sounds to-die-for! I really need to get on this root vegetable thing, so excited!
Danielle says
On a less than happy note, I ate extremely bad tonight… It's been really helpful reading this blog because I'm more motivated to eat healthfully. And obviously because I need to keep on track since I'm 3 lbs away from my pre-college weight and I'd love to get back there while also being better to my poor body. I packed on quite a few pounds of pure junk last year! The thing is, tonight I babysat my little cousins and totally went insane. My aunt ordered pizza and salad for us. I ate a ton of salad and 1.5 slices of pizza and was completely happy with myself. Then came dessert… I was baking today with my mom so I had brought over brownies and sugar cookies. Well, I just had to have them both! I had a large sugar cookie with milk. A little while later I also wanted to try the brownie and since I've been so strict I thought why not, if I really want it?! I had a brownie with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. Then the kids wanted popcorn to watch their movie, I had some of that. My youngest cousin hadn't had dessert or much of dinner since she ate with her mom before she left and wanted crackers and yogurt. I had about 15 crackers while sitting with her! They all went to sleep, I had 2 more scoops of ice cream, this time Espresso Chip with about a tbsp of peanut butter and I decided to top it off with a healthy clementine. Now I'm home and feel horrible! Has this ever happened to you? Any advice, like what to do tomorrow to compensate? And what can I do to keep it from happening again, I never thought I binged, until now?!
Sarah says
Danielle–Don't freak out!! Yes, it was more then you normally eat, and no it wouldn't be healthy to do that everyday. However, its over now…its always better to move forward then to look back (other then remembering how you'll feel the next time you face something like this, which sometimes helps to avoid it…I use that technique on myself sometimes. 🙂
Whenever something like this happens to me, I plan a light but filling breakfast (think oatmeal with milk, fruit, and walnuts OR a bowl of whole-grain cereal, skim milk, and fruit…) I usually opt for a large salad for lunch (going easy on the grains, but stocking up on healthy veggies) and planning a healthy but light supper (chicken/fish with veggies and rice, for example.)
Make sure you don't restrict your eating. You ate more then usual for ONE day which means it won't greatly impact your weight. Plan some healthy snacks so you are eating every 4 hours, and plan to get in a good walk/run.
This is more of a way to make sure your mind more then your body is feeling better. If I ever overeat, I know that my weight probably won't show much of a huge difference, but I also know that eating good the day after and exercising will make me feel a whole lot better.
(p.s. If you're anything like me, you'll be dying for sweets today since you had some last night. If you are, opt for something naturally sweet (banana with peanut butter, yogurt with a spoonful of all-fruit jam…etc.) or hot chocolate or something small (small cookie..etc.) Don't deprive yourself, but have something in moderation.)
(p.s.s Again, don't feel guilty…we all do this at one point or another. Its getting back on track thats the most important thing. 🙂
Lo says
Hi Kath,
From what I've read about you, I don't think you've ever struggled with yo-yo dieting, but this has been a very big problem for me. I've struggled with eating disorders before, and in January of this year, I decided to lose weight (not for the first time). I dropped 55 pounds in 7 months, which I know is really, really fast – probably too fast because I became really obsessed with food and exercise. I maintained a healthy weight of 130 pounds until October, but then I started binging and not exercising enough, and I've gained a TON of weight. I am now overweight, unmotivated, and disgusted with myself. I want to take the weight off, but I want this time to be the very last time. I want to be healthy! I'm just wondering what you have to say about yo-yo dieting and losing weight for good. Thank you!
Kath says
Lilly,
You can get lots of the Kashi products online (Amazon has quite a few) and I think you can order them directly from Kashi as well. I get mine at Harris Teeter, which is Charlotte's main grocery store. As for the Food For Life breads, I've seen them at all of our grocery stores. They are fresh at the organic one but frozen at HT. Check for them in the frozen bread section. Or try http://www.foodforlife.com – they have a Store Locater area.
Janine,
You can get it at Target. Or Amazon. Just do a search for Polar F4.
Lauren,
Thanks!! When I first started my weight loss I had goal of 130 lbs, but I really just wanted to lose. I think goals can be so arbitrary that you should put your focus on eating as healthy as possible and being active and just see where that takes you. (After I read SuperFoods HealthStyle I switched from weight loss to health mentality). I think the weight will come off easier and for the long term if you put health first. And your weight will end up right where your body wants it to be. If you put the emphasis on a number, it's more tempting to eat "diet" foods and become obsessed with the scale, whereas a focus on health means you're emphasis is on eating the best quality foods you can. I had goal weights during my weight loss and did weigh myself daily, but I don't believe either ever controlled my mentality of just getting healthier. Once in maintenance, I felt that weighing myself was having a negative impact on my mentality and gave it up. I'm much happier now! Just see what works best for you and where you are on your weight loss journey. Goal weights probably are better suited for people with lots to lose (as I was when I first started) but the closer I got to my ideal weight, the more I realized that the numbers just don't matter. Hope that helps…
Danielle,
Sarah said everything I would have told you! Thanks, Sarah for the great response! I think when she said to forget about it except for how you'll feel the next time something like this comes up is great advice and I use it often. When you're babysitting next time, just picture how great you'll feel if you don't overeat and how you felt when you did. The visualization has REALLY helped me in the past dealing with different events. So does knowing I have to get up at 5 the next morning for a workout! But most importantly: we've all been there. Start the new day fresh, and take Sarah's advice about not feeling guilty or depriving yourself the next day!
Lo,
You are right, I haven't experienced yo-yo dieting. Once the weight started coming off I was so happy that I never wanted to go back to where I was. Is there a professional you have access to (at school, work?) that you could talk about your struggles? Perhaps see an R.D. in your area for suggestions? My best advice would be to do some reading on being healthy. I know I talk about the books I've read over and over, but I cannot stress how much gaining knowledge about how the body works has helped me understand the importance of health, weight maintenance and well-being. Best of luck to you!
Kath