Healthy Asian Veggie Soup

Well 2013 has been off to a good start. I’m down 5 pounds which makes me one happy mama!

I wouldn’t have been able to do that without this ridiculously delicious but very healthy soup. You can doctor it up with whatever vegetables you have on hand, but I definitely find the Chinese Cabbage gives it an almost noodle soup type feel.  There's no added fats so if you're on a WW or Unislim type program, it's more than likely free.  It's full of goodness and fibre and will fill you up for ages!

If you've got a few extra calories to spare, throw in a pack of those "straight to wok" noodles and cook through, spaghetti works too in a pinch!If you like it spicy go wild with the sriracha sauce, we've all been sick here lately and this has been a lifesaver cold remedy!


Healthy Asian Vegetable Soup

• 3-4 cups vegetable chicken stock
• 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1 onion, thinly sliced vertically
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• handful mange tout, julienned
• 5-6 button mushrooms, sliced thinly
• pinch five spice powder
• pinch white pepper
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 large handful shredded Chinese cabbage
• small handful of beansprouts
• coriander, chopped
• pinch sweetener (optional)
• Sriracha or chilli sauce, to taste

Bring the stock to a simmer and add all the ingredients save the cabbage, beansprouts and coriander.  Simmer until vegetables are done to your desired level of crunch.  Stir in cabbage, add sriracha sauce to taste and garnish with beansprouts and coriander.

Easy as pie! <3

Happy New Year!

Well I have truly been a terrible blogger over the past year.  Let's just say my baby boy is a lot more work than my baby girls ever were.  Phew! He definitely keeps me on my toes!  He finally started crawling this week and is sooo much happier now that he can get where he wants to go.  Feel like a weight has been lifted in one regard, with the added worry of him escaping and getting someplace he shouldn't be.  We never bothered with all the safety devices with the girls, as we taught them early on what they were not allowed to go near, but this little guy doesn't care.  He wants what he wants and no one is going to stop him.  It's no wonder I'm wrecked! :D

But I digress... I will get back to cooking and blogging this year, it's one of my goals!  Every year I make resolutions I have already sabotaged in advance by knowing I won't do them. This year is different.  I have seen Leonie Dawson around the web for the last year or so but as I'm not a business woman anymore, I didn't feel the investment was worth it.  It was only this year that I noticed she had an offering for just about any woman as well, with her 2013 life workbook. Again, I wasn't convinced, assuming it was just another way of writing new years resolutions.  When I saw two women I greatly admire and respect recommending it, I finally gave in and ordered it.  And I am SO glad I did.

The first thing that struck me that was different about this system was the retrospective look at 2012.  It seems obvious, but how many times do we just plough ahead into the same old resolutions without actually reflecting on the year past and the lessons learned therein? Leonie asks some thought-provoking questions that really make you think back on the year past and see what you learned and what you could learn going forward.  I found this a really introspective and worthy exercise that made me look back and reflect in a way I never would have otherwise.  It gave me lots of hope going into the new year.

Then you get to continue on and have some fun.  100 things you want to do in 2013? Yes please! How much fun did I have writing that list? And the best part is I actually think it's doable!  There's something incredibly exciting about going into the new year knowing that you have at least 100 things to look forward to. That's more than one a week!!!

The artwork is playful and beautiful and the questions it brings up both superficially and introspectively are just fantastic.  I can't remember when I felt this good going into a new year.  For once I don't feel setup to fail, I see a year full of amazing possibilities!  I will be blogging my way through some of this book just so that I can keep on track and I believe there may be some others blogging their way through as well.  Do you want to join us?  When converted to Euro this is less than a tenner and I can honestly say it's worth every penny! 

While we're on this track, I have to recommend that any mothers out there check out Lucy's beautiful e-book as well.  It's free when you sign-up for her newsletter and also features stunning artwork and honest and thoughtful writing.  She writes about how to maintain your creative flair whilst still managing the daily toils and joys of motherhood.  It's such a beautiful and inspiring read that really touched me on one of those days I felt nothing else could go wrong.  Definitely worth a read for any of you creative mamas who feel stuck!

Well that being said, expect to see a lot more of me this year! I hope you all had a Blessed Yule, Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Yea! :)