Clean Food: Tuscan Bean Soup

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Laa-dee-daaaaaahhhh

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Oh, hello there! I didn’t see you.

Want to see my latest hobby?

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Bet you’ve never seen a dog do Zumba before, huh?

Ok, Ima go dance and let mommy take it away…

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I snacked on mini banana nut muffins all afternoon and sort of missed lunch. I also didn’t hydrate up quite like I should. Doh!

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To help my hydration efforts, I prepped a yerba mate latte to take with me when I went out to run errands.

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Bridesmaid dress…check!

I got some clothes shopping done, too. You can read about my clothes shopping over at my fashion blog – Shopaholics Anonymous. I don’t talk about it much, and I don’t update it as often as I used to, but it’s there. Some of you guys even already knew about it!

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After shopping, it was time to get groceries. Since I basically missed lunch, I decided to get a snack before shopping. Since I was already at a grocery store with food, Earthfare, I decided to hit up their food bars: mac and cheese, okra and tomatoes, a bite of pecan pie.

It was just enough to give me a boost to get my shopping done and keep me satisfied till I could get dinner cooked.

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As soon as I got home, I was ready to pick up another Prep Day Sunday. Hubby picked our recipe: Clean Food’s Tuscan Bean Soup.

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Ingredients assembled.

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Have you ever cooked with Kombu before?

According to The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden, Kombu is good for bean cooking because it can speed up the process and make the beans more easy to digest. Also, Kombu “contains potassium, calcium, vitamins A and C, and between 100 and 500 times the iodine of shellfish. According to natural-foods expert Rebecca Wood, kombu should not be eaten excessively during pregnancy.

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Kombu soaking.

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Basil

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I think I’ll use a bigger pot next time. ๐Ÿ˜†

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Kale and kombu going into the pot.

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Such pretty colors going on in the soup!

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Olive-oil drizzled over bread, broiled.

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Dinner is served.

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Plenty of toasty, crusty bread. Carbs are the best, aren’t they?

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As for the soup, it was AWESOME! Hubby said it was one of the best soups he’s ever had, EVER! If you don’t have Clean Food yet, you should definitely get it. There are no meat recipes in there, but just try some of them – you won’t miss the meat!

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Hubby and I had our dinner portions and we had plenty leftover for the week. I think I may even pop one of these into the freezer for a rainy day. I actually prefer making enough so I can freeze some, but we’ve been eating our soups too fast!

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Oh and I also prepped some nuts and seeds for the freezer. I like to buy these in the bulk bins in small amounts and store them in the freezer. I feel like the large pre-packaged bags go bad on me too fast, plus buying in the bulk bin saves money on packaging and the packaging itself. Less packaging = less waste. Go Green!

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Q&A with The Chic Life

I’ve answered some more Formspring questions:

I love the turquoise you use in decorating. Any tips on how to add turquoise to a neutral (Beige) room?

Ooh, I think turquoise would look fab in a beige room! Beige is so neutral, it should be easy to add some turquoise accents. I would try to add turquoise via 3-4 accent items, for example pillows, curtains, vases, artwork, throw blanket, or lamps. You could get items that are patterned with turquoise in them or solid turquoise items. The latter will be stronger in effect, but a mix of patterned and non-patterned stuff would look great, too. Plus, by using a pattern, you can get another accent color by using one of the other colors from the pattern. Of course, if you want turquoise to be dominant, be sure to use more of that color.

If you really wanted to go all out, you could try painting one wall as a focal wall in turquoise.

How often do you work out each week and for how long??

I try to do cardio about 1-3 times a week, depending on my schedule. I don’t give myself a hard time for skipping a workout here or there. I also try to give my body a rest day after a workout day.

I’d like to add strength training to my workouts, but I haven’t put enough focus there yet. I’m hoping to do a fitness challenge in April to give myself an extra push. ๐Ÿ™‚

PS I forgot to add to my Formspring answer – my cardio workouts are typically one hour long and I usually do about 5 minutes of warm up moves before hand and 5-10 minutes of stretching afterwards.

Being a Zumba teacher – Do you get offended if one of your students lets you know they don’t love a certain section of the class?

Not really b/c I know there are songs other instructors do that are not my favorites. There are so many different personalities and styles out there, I don’t think everyone will love everything you do. You just hope they like most of it enough to not mind the parts they don’t love.

Another Zumba question for you….I saw that you received your instructor certification. I am looking into doing the same thing, but have no other fitness related certifications. Was it worth it? Do you currently teach classes in your area?? Thanks!!

You don’t have to have any other certifications to get zumba certified, however a lot of gyms/facilities will ask you to get other certifications (certs. required will vary from gym to gym). I totally think it was worth it! Especially if you actually want to teach, though I think some people do the certification to improve their zumba skills. I’m not currently teaching. ๐Ÿ™ But, I hope to soon! ๐Ÿ™‚

Where do you buy all your Tupperware containers? I don’t know anyone who sells it so I’ve been looking on Ebay.

Ah, someone else asked about Tupperware. Here’s what I said:

I like to buy them at craft shows or vendor events where there are lots of different people with tables set up with goodies. A lot of times they run specials at these shows and you can get the Tupperware at a discount. I’d also look into hosting a Tupperware party if you’re interested so you can get some of your Tupperware for FREE! ๐Ÿ™‚ You can use the Tupperware web site to locate a consultant near you: http://www.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_party.consultant_finder. As far as I know, they are sort of like Mary Kay in that they run the business from their home and go to various events to sell their goods, but they also do in-home parties if you’re interested in hosting something.

Where do you buy the Tupperware containers you show often on your blog?

I like to buy them at craft shows or vendor events where there are lots of different people with tables set up with goodies. A lot of times they run specials at these shows and you can get the Tupperware at a discount. I’d also look into hosting a Tupperware party if you’re interested so you can get some of your Tupperware for FREE! ๐Ÿ™‚ You can use the Tupperware web site to locate a consultant near you: http://www.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_party.consultant_finder. As far as I know, they are sort of like Mary Kay in that they run the business from their home and go to various events to sell their goods, but they also do in-home parties if you’re interested in hosting something.

As summer approaches and the weather is getting warmer, I’m craving a peach dessert, or perhaps a peach variation on your morning oats. Could you recommend and try out some new peach recipes?? ๐Ÿ™‚

omg peach oatmeal is SUCH a good idea! It reminds me of one of those old-school Quaker packages but BETTER! I am a big fan of peaches myself (though hubby is not). I would LOVE to work up a peach recipe or two for you. I’ll be looking for the peaches at the farmers markets!

When you shop at a farmers market, do you have to pay cash?

At most farmers markets I’ve been to, yes, you have to pay cash. Some of the larger ones will accept other forms (checks, credit cards), but I highly recommend paying cash. Besides making the transaction easier, it will save the farmers money. Credit card processing companies charge fees to the farmers (typically monthly and per transaction), which are easier for a large corporation to pay than for a small farmer. ๐Ÿ™‚

You are fabulous. Okay, that’s not a question. Just had to put it out there. LOVE YOU!!! xoxo Megan ๐Ÿ™‚

Aww, thanks sweetie! You’re pretty awesome yourself! ๐Ÿ˜‰ love you too!! *hugs* Diana

you’re beautiful! What is your skincare regime?

Thank you! I’m so flattered! ๐Ÿ™‚ I made a post to answer your question: https://thechiclife.com/2010/03/my-fave-beauty-products-skincare-regime.html

Project Hydrate Day #14

Oops, I skipped Day #13. I didn’t do very well with Day #13.

Day #14 – I was so distracted baking mini muffins and blogging about my beauty products and skin regime that I forgot to drink water. Doh!

I drank 2 cups of water quickly in the afternoon to try to make-up for time. Then, I brewed up some hot tea to take with me to run errands – this helped me get another 1-2 cups easily.

Consumed:

  • 4 cups water
  • 1 cup hot tea

Meh, not so hot today. Must be the weekends!

How are you doing with Project Hydrate?

Tidbits

Weigh in on restaurant portions on this post (click).

Take a look at some of the discussions going on on my Facebook page and be my friend while you’re there. If you have a Facebook page, would you consider making my page a favorite? ๐Ÿ™‚

Check out my favorite beauty products and let me know what yours are.

Can you believe one year ago today I was blogging about my trip to Lombard St? I wanna go back to San Fran so badly!

14 thoughts on “Clean Food: Tuscan Bean Soup”

  1. I have been wanting to pick up the Clean Food recipe book for awhile.. along with a huge list of other recipe books that I want to pick up. Yes I have a list of them lol ๐Ÿ™‚ That soup looks fantastic! My husband and I have been doing the same type thing on Sundays to have leftovers for the work week… However, I don’t know what we will do when it starts to get warmer and we can’t make a huge batch of soup.. Oh, well that’s a later problem. Hope you have a good Monday! xoxo

    Reply
    • What about gazpacho?

      For me, I eat soup year round, so I’ll still be making soup in the summer (mostly bc I get cold easily inside the office/house). ๐Ÿ™‚ But, I’ve been doing some other foodie things for my Prep Day Sundays, so maybe I’ll have some ideas for you?

      Reply
  2. I guessed well on FB lol. I dunno, I’m waiting for your own soup recipe with all those ingredients ๐Ÿ˜‰

    This looks fabulous. I just picked up the book… can’t wait to try it myself!

    Reply

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