2 Spots Left in the Intuitive Eating Challenge and Tofu-Veggie-Brown Rice Soup

I’ve gotten an overwhelming response to the 21 Day Intuitive Eating Challenge and way more people have signed up already than I had anticipated. Because I want to be sure that I can give my full attention to the people involved, I’ve decided to cap the enrollment at 35 people. Currently, we are at 33 people so please sign up now if you’d like to snag one of the remaining two spots. Email me at jamiemendell@gmail.com… thanks! And thank you to everyone who has already signed up… I can’t wait for Feb 1st to roll around. It’s going to be a good time 🙂 [Edited to Add: these spots have now been filled… email me if you’d like to get on the list for next time (potentially March)!]

Today I have for you a simple, and I mean seriously simple, soup recipe for these frigid days. This takes 30 minutes, one pot and you can easily substitue ingredients. And it could not be any healthier.

It’s for one of those nights after a weekend of eating delicious meals out at restaurants, popping open multiple bottles of wine, and enjoying stacks of pancakes at long brunches. It’s for when you just want a night in, to eat something cleansing and purely good for you, and chill the heck out.

All you have to do is grab a large pot, fill it with mostly water and a couple of cups of chicken broth or vegetable broth, then add in a full head of cauliflower broken into pieces (even use the greens!), a few chopped carrots, a diced sweet potato, a block of chopped tofu, and some spices. Bring it all to a boil, then let it simmer for about 25 minutes. I made brown rice on the side (but you can just make it in the soup itself if you want), and added loads of it into the soup. I like it hearty!

This soup warms the soul. Mmm Hmmm 🙂

Tofu- Veggie- Brown Rice Soup

(makes about 6 servings)

• 1 head cauliflower (I even used the cauliflower greens!)
• 3 large carrots
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 block of soft tofu
• 9 cups water
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• brown rice (if making it in the soup itself, I’d use about 1 cup of dry brown rice)
• Play around with spices but I used about 2 t mild curry, 1 t salt, 1 t pepper, 1 t crushed red pepper, 1 t turmeric

1. Add the water and broth to a large pot. Crank up the heat.

2. Dice up the cauliflower, carrots, sweet potato and block of tofu.

3. Add veggies and tofu to the pot.

4. Add spices, bring everything to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally.

5. Simmer for about 25 minutes or until veggies are soft.

6. Add brown rice to your liking, depending on how hearty you want it. (if you want to make the brown rice in the soup, just add the dry brown rice at the beginning at the same time you add everything else).

This is so easy to change up depending on what ingredients you have. Just add whatever veggies you want, some chicken (a rotisserie chicken maybe? easy to pick up at the grocery store), beans, quinoa, etc. Go crazaay!

Entertaining Like My Mom

Yesterday I mentioned that I had a little dinner party at my apartment on Friday to bring everyone together after Hurricane Sandy. Well, let me tell you, cooking for 12 people is no joke, but I absolutely LOVED it.

(Two of the dishes that I made… Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts, and a Roasted Cauliflower Tahini Salad…recipes below)

My mom is a huge entertainer, and she is incredible at it. She has dinner parties and parties, in general, all the time. I’ve grown up watching her put on these parties countless times. She spends days preparing for them– from looking up recipes, to buying the groceries, to coming up with creative ideas for the table settings, to cleaning the house top to bottom, to figuring out the order for cooking each part of the meal, and finally doing all of the cooking.

As I was going through the motions on Friday, I literally felt like my mother. I noticed that I cared about the same things she cared about, I stressed about the same things I have watched her stress about, and of course I made WAY too much food like she always does. Figuring out what you need for 12 people ain’t easy!

The night before I emailed my mom my “menu” idea and she wrote back promptly with her input. She approved, for the most part, but did give me some valuable advice that I took. During the day on Friday when I was doing all the cooking, my mom was my sounding board. I texted her a few times with the stupidest questions that only an amateur would ask, and of course, she had my back.

I know that I’ve gotten the entertaining trait from my mom and that I am going to be just like her in this way when I am older. The satisfaction I got out of cooking like this for my friends was amazing. I loved just being able to put everything out for them and telling them to dig in. I loved the fun of bringing everyone together. I loved the creativity of coming up with exactly what I wanted to cook and then slowly but surely tackling each dish.

And Mom… since I know you will be reading this, I owe you an apology. I ALWAYS harp on you for cooking too much food, but I take it all back. I now understand how, as the host, your worst nightmare is not having enough food. And I totally overdid it this time. So from host to host, please accept my apology. And thank you for, without even realizing it, rubbing off on me and subtly teaching me how to “entertain”. I only hope to be as good as you some day.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts

(serves 12-15)

• 3 lbs brussels sprouts
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 4 T olive oil
• 2 T butter

1. In a large skillet (or two skillets, which I had to use), add olive oil and chopped garlic. Sautee garlic for a few minutes until brown.

2. Add onion and sautee onion until soft.

3. Chop your brussels into thin strips. I take each sprout, cut off the bottom, and then slice vertically into three divided pieces. This makes them thin enough to cook thoroughly. Add brussels to skillet.

4. Add butter and mix in. Cook everything over low heat for about 20 minutes, or longer if you want. Just make sure that the brussels are really cooked through.

5. Roughly chop the hazelnuts. Toast them in toaster or under broiler in oven until they just start to brown. Make sure they don’t burn!

6. Add these to skillet and mix everything together. Cook for another 10 minutes or so.

Roasted Cauliflower Tahini Salad : I took this from Emily’s blog here. I doubled the recipe but kept it the same. The only addition I would make is to add a few golden raisins to it.