Cooped Up Chickens

Well, I ate MUCH less meat and cheese last week. I was surprised at how easy it was to cut dairy out of my diet on "my day" that I decided to limit it during the week and see how I felt (and how my weight might change). I remember looking into the fridge late in the week seeing that big pile of cheese I mention in my last post and thinking, "Darn you, John!" (because he's the one who talked me into this experiment). ;) It's still sitting there untouched, and will probably end up going to waste... perfectly good cheese. So, I guess I'm changing a little bit. Yesterday was nice. I started the day with a nut/dried fruit mix for breakfast (and my trusty Coke). For lunch we went to a local Tex-Mex restaurant where I loaded up on salty tortilla chips (my FAV) and "drank" 4 or 5 bowls of their DELICIOUS salsa! I had a wonderful salad topped with a vinaigrette, more of that yummy salsa and a lovely scoop of guacamole. For dinner I made another Daniel-fast recipe... a bean and rice soup. I'll post the recipe at the bottom of the post. It was pretty good (I even had it for lunch today).


On an interesting note, you might be glad to hear this... Monday I went back to get that delicious Southwest Salad without cheese but with chicken. I only had a few bites of the chicken because every time I took a bite I pictured chickens all cooped up in a slaughter house type place.

As far as my shoes are concerned, I tried to find some that didn't have leather, but I have none. Turns out I gave away all my non-leather shoes recently during our shoe drive for Soles4Souls. So, I wore the pair with the smallest amount of leather. But I was glad to know my other shoes had gone to a good cause. :)

Well, that's it for me... btw, other than the fries I just ate, I've eaten Vegan all day today. :) Can you believe it???

See you next week!

Love,

♥ Michelle

Red Bean Soup
Beans are so rich in vitamins and protein. Plus they are excellent for our digestive systems! Serve this soup with a fresh vegetable plate and bean dip or a nice green salad.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped yellow onions
¼ cup chopped green bell peppers
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 bay leaves
2 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
1 tablespoon Special Seasoning
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup diced carrots
1 ½ cups cooked long-grain brown rice, warm
6 tablespoons chopped green onions

Preparation:
1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
2. Add the beans and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the Special Seasoning and stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 1/2 hours, until beans are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the salt and parsley, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Remove 1 cup of beans from the pot and reserve. Add carrots.
5. With a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor, puree the red beans. Add the reserved beans, and stir well.
6. To serve, ladle a generous cup of the soup into each of 6 bowls.
7. Top each serving with 1/4 cup of the rice and 1 tablespoon of green onions.

Yield: six servings