Mom on a Budget - TVP Taco Soup

 I love making Taco Soup. It is such a quick and easy meal to prepare and is a winner amongst most people (some members of my family excluded... but only because of the onion)

I first tried making Taco Soup when I was eating a vegan style plant based diet, (I have since discontinued my vegan diet because I found it very restrictive and living in a completely omnivorous home, I found all the extra food prep and cooking too much for me while being pregnant, although I rarely eat eggs, meat and opt for milk alternatives as I am lactose-intolerant.) and I am still asked by some, "How do you make Taco Soup without the beef?" The answer? TVP.

Textured Vegetable Protein is a highly nutritious soy product. It is incredibly wealthy in complete protein and contains no fat, so it is an excellent alternative to meat. Although TVP doesn't add much flavor, it's low in fat and calories, contains a wealth of complete soy protein and it's a good source of dietary fiber. You can use TVP as an extender in meat or protein patties and meatloaf, stews and soups. It works great as a protein additive for health bars, salads, cereals, baked potatoes and stuffing. It is very easy to prepare and takes on the flavor of whatever recipe to which it is added, making it an incredibly versatile addition to a wide variety of dishes.

Anyhoo, enough babbling about TVP - on with the soup!

I've chosen this recipe because it is insanely easy to prepare, cooks quickly, is healthy, nutrient dense and is one of the best friends a budget saavy mom (or anyone) can have. It also makes a decent sized batch of soup and it freezes well.

 For this recipe, you will need:

• Roughly 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (or oil of your preference)
• 1 decent sized onion, chopped
• 1 796ml can of diced tomatoes
• 1 540ml can of black beans
• 1 540ml can of six bean mix
• 2 cups unprepared (dry) TVP
• 2 cups vegetable stock (or water or stock of your choosing)
• 1 341ml can kernal corn
•  1 package taco seasoning (or 2-4 Tbsp of your own taco spice mix)
• Optional - 1 540ml can of red (kidney) beans
  

As much as we ALL love music, sometimes the music our own bodies (or maybe, that of your spouses) isn't quite appealing. If you want to avoid the "Musical Fruit" effect, rinse those beans, and rinse them really well. It will wash away all the "food" that the bacteria in your gut thrive on.

'scuse the belly!
Heat the olive oil in a large pot, chop up that onion and toss it in until it's nice and golden brown.

 

While you're waiting for the onion to brown, prepare your TVP. Follow the directions on the package, but I've found that it is pretty standard to soak the TVP in equal parts liquid. For this recipe, I used 2 cups dry TVP and two cups water (I didn't have any vegetable stock on hand) I often add more liquid, because otherwise I end up with a VERY hearty stew, and while I prefer more of a stew texture than I do soup, it turns out a bit too dry for me.

Once the onion is done to your liking, add your cans of diced tomatoes, rinsed beans, kernel corn, prepared TVP and Taco seasoning and mix that big bad pot up! I prefer to use a blend of spices to make a taco seasoning rather than buy the store bought pouches that are full of preservatives and "ingredients" that I can't pronounce.

Voila! You have a big pot of soup that will easy feed a family of four (possibly more, Baby Bird and I are the only ones in the house who eat this soup) with more for seconds or leftovers. Like I said, it freezes well too, so you can make a batch, use my muffin tin method (Found in this blog entry: http://one-eighty-loosed-a-kaboose.blogspot.ca/2013/04/mom-to-be-freezer-meal-sweet-potato.html

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and cornbread!

Nomnomnom!

Signing off for now!
I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it. Don't forget to scroll down and feed the fish!

<3 Robin

PS, this cost me under $15.00 to make!

The Difference Between Comfort Eating & Healthy Eating In Pregnancy

This entry is based on my experience with how I felt while I ate healthy - as well as when I ate less nutritious foods while I was pregnant.

Much like anyone, pregnant or not, one major point I noticed while I was eating healthier and more nutrient rich foods is that I had more energy and I felt better physically. I mean, even when I was eating healthy, I did have periods of time where I was still physically fatigued - let's face it, that's part of pregnancy, and can happen to anyone, pregnant or not, thanks to a variety of factors, say... a bad nights sleep?

On the opposite arc, when I ate nutrient deprived foods, I had lower energy and was more sluggish. As my pregnancy progressed, I noticed that I couldn't eat as much junk food and that eating the amount that I could pre-pregnancy and early in pregnancy actually made me feel physically ill. What do I usually want to do when I feel ill? Well, drink a tall glass of water and go have a nap or go to bed a little earlier. How did that work out? Well, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I needed to throw up. I could still smell the food I'd eaten earlier in the air, and boy! Thanks to hormone changes and heightened sense of smell, those smells were very potent - which didn't make me feel any better at the time. There was even one night I woke up feeling not only like I had to throw up, but I also had really bad diarrhea. Not a fun night for me, I can tell you that much.

Another huge difference I took note of - Victoria moved a LOT less when I ate crappy food with little or no nutritional value, even if it is loaded with sugar! And she moved quite a lot when I eat food that's good for us. I never would have guessed that this would be the case. It's becoming more and more apparent to me that junk food is toxic and that the habit of eating these junk/comfort foods is an addiction.

One thing I can say - if my baby didn't want it when she was in utero, why the hell should I be eating that crap?

What do you think about the eating habits of North Americans? Do you feel that pregnant women take licence to eat whatever they want whenever they want because they are preggo? Or have you noticed pregnant women you know making a conscious effort to eat healthy with a few treats thrown in?

Don't forget to scroll down past the comments and feed the goldfish!

They Don't Call It A Challenge Because It's Easy

Let's face it, weight loss is chalk full of ups and downs. It's exhilerating, it's empowering and you feel great with a sense of accomplishment after a good workout. But then there are those other days, aren't there?

The other days where you didn't eat breakfast because you had an appointment to get to or you didn't eat protein in all of your meals because you had to go shopping or were lazy. You decided that "Hey, pizza seems like a great idea... and I REALLY don't want to make dinner in this heat tonight...". That craving for something sweet really caught up with you and you bought a tub of ice cream. OR your spouse makes it hard to stick to your diet commitment to healthy eating.

Since I have started my weight loss challenge on May 1st, I went from 180 lbs to 170 lbs (YAY!) but after a few weeks of inactivity and poor eating choices, I gained nearly four of those pounds back (nearly...)Since then, I have started the INSANITY workout with my friend Caroline, and I am almost back down to 170. One more pound to go until I'm back, baby!

Shortly after I started my weight loss challenge, I was having a rough time with my emotions from the miscarriage and found it difficult to get into workout mode. As I Was talking to one of my high school girlfriends she said:

"If anything, I have to look at you choosing a really hard time to make a change like this. Look at the good days as your time to relax and enjoy life, see what you are working for as something good for yourself and on the bad days, let them be bad. Go for a run, an fight it off. Like the punching bag effect I guess. Those feelings are so justified, I cannot even begin to understand or relate to them but just knowing you have to experience it makes me hurt. On and off (waves of emotion) is a good thing, that there are good and bad times now. Not all bad."

And she is TOTALLY right. I did chose a super hard time to try to lose weight and be disciplined when all I want to do (some days) is eat my emotions and take comfort in food.

The thing I have to keep reminding myself when I do have bad days is:

1. I do feel better when I am active and exercising, even when having a bad day.
2. I am worth it to ensure I am living a healthy lifestyle.
3. It is worth the effort to make sure that our future children have a healthy and happy mom who is a good role model.
4. It will (and is getting) get better, it just takes time.
5. I can let the bad days be bad and then move on.

I am also really excited to say, that as of tomorrow, I am starting to see a councellor about the miscarriage! Her name is Nancy and I'm looking forward to meeting here and hopefully together we can help me to move on and get prepared for my (eventual) next pregnancy.

How have you been doing lately? Are things crazy where you are or are you just strolling and enjoying the scenery?