A Soup-Full Day

Wednesday morning I was really excited because I woke up without any soreness from the previous evening's foray into crossfitting.  I thought for sure the pushups would have killed my arms and I wouldn't be able to raise them above my head, but maybe that post-workout protein shake with banana really did the trick!  Just to be safe, I made sure to have another protein shake for breakfast (and really, what else was I going to have?) made with strawberries, banana, and vanilla protein powder. 

 

I couldn't think of anything to make quickly for lunch before heading to work, so I settled for the cabinet cheat and brought a can of Amy's soup - Golden Lentil.  It wasn't exactly stellar, but it was probably one of the better canned soups I've ever had. 

 

Amy's soups are really handy to have stocked in the cupboard for just such an occasion when you don't have the time or will to make yourself something healthy, but you don't want to end up eating out or just having peanut butter on a spoon for lunch.  It's a happy medium. 

 

What I didn't realize when I packed soup for lunch was that Josh would end up sending me this link for a chili recipe mid-day as a suggestion for dinner.  Josh never comes up with dinner suggestions, so I decided if he wanted to make this we better jump on the idea and make it right away.  I got all the supplies on my way home, and after I did a quick easy workout on the exercise bike we got to work making the chili. 

 

There was quite a lot of chopping up of vegetables required so preparation wasn't quick, but that's really what you need for a good chili.  And once that was done it all just sat and simmered for a while - no real attention needed.  I took the down time to clean up from my workout before dinner. 

 

To serve, we decided to tweak the recipe just a bit by adding a big scoop of sour cream and a ton of scallions.  Both were definitely a good idea.  Not only did the sour cream make the soup wonderfully creamy, it also made it cool enough to eat!  Plus, look how pretty it makes the presentation :) 

 

After dinner I still wanted a little bit of a sweet treat, so I snacked on some chocolate coconut ice cream.  I like to use little sauce dishes for ice cream because it keeps my portion down while still looking like a giant bowl of ice cream.  It's a great way to fool yourself into thinking you're indulging more than you are!