The only good news about having a sore throat is that eating doesn’t feel good…

I had a successful day despite not feeling 100%.

I drug myself to the gym for an hour this morning and managed to drink about 12 cups of hot chocolate (I am counting that as “water” at this point – fyi).  I only ate 1347 calories which included two big salads, and I even got a 15 minute nap in!

Oh, the best part…I invented a great, super-healthy recipe that tastes good.  In fact (this is rare) – my whole family loved it!  Plus, it is ideal for days when you don’t have time or (in my case today) just don’t feel good.  The idea came to me when I looked in the fridge for something to cook for dinner at about 4:00PM (I did NOT want to have to go to the grocery store).  What I had was a lot of random vegetables…so I decided to make a “different” sort of vegetable stew.  So, here’s the recipe:

(I used a crock pot and set it up to cook on high for 2.5 hours)

Monica’s Vegetable Stew

1 C. (about 3)Thickly diced parsnips (these look like white carrots and taste sort of spicy)

1 C. (about 3)Thickly diced carrots

½ C. Onions (cut sauté style, don’t chop very fine)

½ C. Chopped celery (coarsely cut – not fine)

2 C. Water (may need to add more if boiling over stove because it will reduce more quickly)

Salt and black pepper to taste

2 medium size red potatoes cut up (about 1 ½ cups)

½ Can of Kidney Beans

Put the water, carrots, parsnips, onion, celery, potatoes and salt and pepper in the Crockpot and set to high to cook for about 2.5 hours – or if you use a regular stove top, just bring to a boil and boil until you can stick a fork into the carrots (not too soft though).  Then simmer for about an hour so the flavors meld.  Drain the can of Kidney Beans and add about half of the can to the stew.  Add more salt to taste and serve! (use from ½ to 1 can of kidney beans – I put in extra beans in my husband’s bowel:)  The liquid you started with should cook down substantially so it really isn’t like a soup broth…more of a filling stew.  The parsnips add a great flavor and surprisingly the kidney beans make it seem “meaty”.  My husband is not a fan of vegetables, but he LOVED this and I did too.  But the best part is, it is totally healthy, filling and from what I can figure, about 70 calories per 1 ½ cup serving!  Wa-lah!