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[Placeholder for goals to follow] I don't want to post my goals until after I get back from vacation or I will feel guilty about not following them while on vacation. Because that's how I roll. In the meantime.... (Soon) ETA: I want to really focus on slaying the sugar demon this challenge, especially because this is the last challenge before the holidays hit with a vengeance. I would like to be able to enjoy holiday treats with moderation. Last challenge, I made a small step in this direction by limiting (or attempting to limit) the size of the sweets I eat. This was not a co.plete success, but I think there was progress made here. I also made some observations about what factors contributed to fail days. This challenge will be addressing some of those challenges. Primary goal: Substitute fruit or yogurt for dessert 5 days a week. Desserts, when eaten, must be patisserie-sized. Hopefully allowing some treats will keep me from imploding, especially in the event of special events. Obstacle #1: Fatigue All too often I stay up much too late reading. It used to be less of an issue because as a homeschool mom, I set my own schedule and don't have to be up particularly early. Enter The Change™️. For no good reason whatsoever, I am now having difficulty staying asleep past 6:30 or so, no matter how much or little sleep I have acquired by this hour. The build up of fatigue tends to spill over into binging on food, especially sweets, to find energy to cope with the sleep deprivation. Therefore, I am setting a bedtime of 9:55 to help me get sufficient rest. Obstacle #2: Hydration I noticed a couple episodes last challenge when I felt compelled to eat, but the feeling went away if I had something to drink instead. I know that I chronically under-hydrate, so I want to set some goals to help me hydrate properly throughout the day. a) Drink 12oz of water every morning before coffee. Before coffee. b) Make a broth-based soup at least once a week. Stews, chilis, and other soup-adjacent dishes count as long as they are broth-based and not cream. I can eat cream soups, they just don't count for my scoring. This generally should result in eating soup 3-4 days a week, since I make a lot more than I can eat in one sitting. It also has the benefit of being quite satisfying for little calories, incorporate more veggies in my diet, and is hydrating! c) Enjoy a cup of herbal or spiced tea before bed, preferably outside as weather permits. I find it grounding to relax outside in the evening. It reduces stress and helps me avoid the general evening munchies tradition in my family. I was going to add more, but I think that's enough to start with. Too many moving parts tends to overwhelm. Happy challenge!

Hey everyone, I'm not a vegan or vegetarian, though I generally keep dairy and meat to a minimum and sometimes I'll do vegan for a month for funsies. I used to be a chef for 8 years, and I used this recipe to get a job once. This soup takes about 10 minutes to make. My parents made it a lot for me growing up, and now it's one of my staples. It's good. And cheap. And feeds lots of people. Put it in your rotation! P.S. I'm new here. Ingredients 2 28 ounce cans black beans 3 avocados 4 plum tomatoes 1 bunch cilantro 3/4 shaker of Mesquite seasoning 1 bunch green onions 2 limes 2 cups water Salt and pepper to taste Directions 1. Blend avocadoes, tomatoes and cilantro together with a little bit of water. 2. Place in a saucepot with 2 cups water and heat to a simmer. 3. Add beans, mesquite, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes. 4. Finely chop green onions and add to soup, squeeze lime, season to taste.

I just made this soup tonight. I got it from a woman on YouTube named Joanna Soh. I like watching her recipe videos, they give me a lot of good ideas. I think this soup is so yummy so I decided to share it! Carrot, onion, and butter bean soup 2 Large carrots, peeled and chopped 1 whole onion, diced 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped Approx 4 cups vegetable stock (I eyeballed it) 1 can butter beans (or chickpeas) Olive oil Any herbs and spices for garnish (she used parsley, I used a mixed herb blend) Saute onion and garlic in the pot until aromatic. Add chopped carrot and broth, bring to a boil. Cook until carrots are tender, remove from heat. With immersion blender or food processer, blend soup until smooth. Return to heat, add beans. Simmer on very low heat for two to three more minutes, top with your herbs, and serve. It is SO good and a great soup for winter. Play around with the liquid amount, mine came out kind of watery so if you like a thicker soup add less. Enjoy!

I made this recipe last weekend, and it is AMAZING. It tastes like someone pureed fall! Adapted from this recipe. Prep: ~30 min. Cook: ~45 min. Ingredients: 1 medium butternut squash, cubed 1 medium acorn squash, cubed 3 medium sweet apples, diced 1 medium onion, diced 4-6 cloves garlic, diced 1 medium carrot (or 5-6 baby carrots), diced 3 cups low sodium chicken stock 1 cup almond milk (or coconut, or rice, or...) 2-3 tbsp EVOO Curry Powder (to taste) Salt and Pepper (to tast) 1. Preheat Oven to 350 2.. Place squash cubes on a greased baking sheet, roast for 30-40 minutes until easily mashed with fork. 3. While squash is roasting, cook the apple, onion, garlic, and carrot in EVVOO until tender (~10 mins). 4. Add chicken stock to apple mixture. Stir, then cover and let simmer (~10 min). 5. Mash squash, and add to apple mixture. Add almond milk and curry powder. Stir and let simmer (~5 min). 6. Add to food processor, puree to preference (I like a slightly textured soup). 7. Serve, refrigerate, or freeze!

Fall is a time for pumpkin and a time for soups. I love this soup so much, and it is one of the very few recipes that I've altered then perfected off of an inspiring recipe, so I feel that it is truly my own. I MUCH prefer fresh pumpkin for about everything, but this recipe is one that I truly don't mind canned pumpkin in. I could eat it all week, it would not be a mistake to make a double batch in order to use the whole can of pumpkin. Curried Pumpkin Soup Makes: serves 4 - 6 Ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped carrots 1/3 cup chopped celery 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 tsp. curry powder 2 tbsp butter or your favorite oil 1 cup pureed pumpkin (or about 1/2 can of pumpkin) 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp. sugar 2 cups veggie broth (or can use chicken broth) 1 1/2 cups milk 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrow root or tapioca powder (use as thickening agent) 2 tbsp heavy cream (optional) chopped chives (as decoration) Preparation Directions: 1. In large pan cook onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and curry in the butter or margarine for a few minutes until onion is tender. 2. Add pumpkin, nutmeg, sugar, the bay leaf and the broth. Stir and bring to a boil. 3. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. 4. Take out the bay leaf. 5. Stir in 1 cup of the milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes. 6. In another bowl, stir together the remaining milk and the cornstarch until dissolved, then add it to the pan. 7. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Then cook a couple more minutes. Add more curry and some salt to taste. To serve: Swirl the cream on top, and garnish with chives.

This is a super low calorie soup and it turned out so yummy! It makes 4 servings Ingredients 2 chopped carrots 1 onion chopped 1 chopped leek 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1tsp tomato puree 1 litre vegetable stock 80g dried pasta 40g frozen peas Splash of Worcestershire sauce In a large saucepan fry the carrots, onion and leek, then add the tin of tomatoes, puree, stock and frozen peas. Bring to the boil then add the dried pasta shapes and simmer for a further 15 minutes It's suitable for freezing, so I have three portions in my freezer for the rest of the week Nutritional Info 106 calories 0.8g fat 3.1g fibre 3.9g protein 94.2% vitamin A