Fast and easy lunch or dinner!

What you see before you is in my mind, undoubtedly the most delicious tomato soup in the world. So much better than Cambell's. It is organic, low calorie, and absolutely delicious. My mom buys it at Costco. Nutritional information as well as the picture can be found HERE. I kind of LIVE off of it in college. The best part about it is that it is fast. One shake of the carton, and I pour it into a bowl like milk. Two minutes covered in the microwave, and bam. Hot, filling soup. It is amazing.

Lately I've been making it with grill cheese. Kind of. I use a whole wheat pita pocket - it's 90 calories, and I fill it with a couple tablespoons of tomato basil feta. Then I put that sucker in the toaster, open part up, obviously, while I have the soup in the microwave. The sides get all crunchy and the top sort of closes in on itself. The feta gets all soft and sticks together, and it makes for the ultimate dipping tool while your soup cools to the point you can eat it with a spoon. I don't have exact caloric measurements - I do know 1 cup of the soup is 100 calories - but I'm pretty sure it's way good for you. And... definitely way good in your belly. It's a fast, filling, easy meal that won't give you a muffin-top, is the moral of the story. And I'm all about that.

Also. I'm on my third week of running now! No complaints, except that I'm hitting the point where I WANT to go on my rest days... Weird. So weird. I just feel better. So last night, rather than push my shins on a rest day, I opted for a Jillian Michael's DVD. I am now avoiding stairs today... that woman is terrifying. And kicked my butt.

Birthday Cake!

So, yesterday it was the best mama in the world's birthday - MINE! She is so wonderful and she does so much for me, so I really wanted to surprise her with something she would love. Well, my mom was pretty insistent about me not getting her anything, because I'm a poor college student, but when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to surprise her! And the best part is, even though it is sugar-free, gluten-free, and flour-free, it was TOTALLY affordable and didn't have any crazy ingredients.

The recipe blog is copyrighted, so I can't post any of her pictures - they're obviously prettier, but you can see the recipe and her pictures HERE: http://www.healthyindulgences.net/2009/05/healthy-chocolate-cake-with-secret.html

Trust me, you'll want to click that link. DO YOU SEE THAT CAKE?! It looks too good to be true, right? Well, it's absolutely true. When we cut it for my mama's birthday, it was beautiful consistency, and tasted totally NOT sugar free. But it was!

You should try this recipe! It has very few carbs, and is made largely of black beans - although you don't taste them at all - and therefore has lots of protein. I made two and layered them on top of each other, and my roommate from Taiwan could not stop nibbling on the little pieces I trimmed off!

Here are my recommendations:

-If you are going to make this a layer cake, rather than double the recipe, just make the cake twice. I know it will take longer, but I am firmly convinced mine turned out so good because I did it this way? Maybe?

-Follow her advice and let the cake sit overnight, or for at least eight hours. All trace of bean-iness will be completely gone!

-Use the 1/2 cup honey+1 teaspoon of Stevia option in the cake.

-And, finally, I am lazy. And cheap. And didn't want to buy another alternative sweetener besides Stevia to make the frosting listed in the recipe. So... imagine my thrill when I found out Pillsbury makes a Chocolate Fudge, sugar-free frosting!!! I used it, for both the filling between layers and the frosting of the cake. And it was GOOD.

Happy birthday, mama! And to anyone looking for a healthier, just as delicious option. :) Seriously. I promise you. I definitely DO eat sugar, and I would make this again over a regular cake. It is so moist and absolutely DELICIOUS. Just... ignore the fact that it's not all that symmetrical... I shaved off a lot of tiny pieces from the sides to feed my roommate. She was loving this!

Chicken Butternut Squash Quinoa Stew

This is one of my very favorite recipes to make of late. I mentioned it to Sheral when they were over the other night, and she asked me to post it to the blog. I don't know if quinoa is readily available in Utah grocery stores (I am sure you could get it at Smith's or Whole Foods or a health food store), but if not, you could probably substitute couscous or even rice. Quinoa is the best option because it provides a ton of fiber and protein from a plant source, but you still have chicken in the stew so you would get protein there. The soup is not necessarily low-calorie in the sense that it is super-hearty, but it is extremely healthy and low fat - and it will fill you up! I had a bowl yesterday for lunch and could barely eat anything for dinner. The best part is that it makes your house smell amaaaaaaaazing! The full recipe with pictures can be found here, or you can use the instructions below.


Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe
Yield: Serves 6
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
Stir in parsley and serve.