What you need right now

Have you noticed it too?  In the first week of January, the “D” words are everywhere.  You can’t find a newspaper, magazine or website that isn’t preaching the gospel of “dieting” or worse, “detoxing” right now.  Sorry, folks; I’m not jumping on that bandwagon!

As I’ve said before, the best approach to health is to take it one “bite” at a time, and to be consistent over the long term.  It simply isn’t logical to think that a week of drinking beet and parsley juice can make up for crummy food and lifestyle choices for a whole year!  Besides the fact that there is little scientific evidence to show any real benefit of “detoxing,”  it reinforces a mentality of “binge and bust” behaviour in my books.  The same goes for “diets” that require you to take extreme measures for a short time, to see some rapid results in the weight loss department.  The science also shows that if you lose it quickly, excess weight is likely to return at the same speed.

If you really care about your health, the best strategy is to keep focused on the “big picture”.  Know that your long term goal is to consistently eat a diet that is based on a variety of real foods!  This approach allows for the reality of things like holidays and tight schedules.  We all have days (ok, weeks??) when we indulge or find it difficult to stay on track.  The key is to accept that this is part of the long term journey, and to not let it derail you entirely from your goals.  Enough said.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving something that’s hearty, delicious, warm and simple for dinner this week!  Since I’m loading up the adjectives, why not throw in colourful, healthy and economical too!  Wow, can I fit all that into one bowl?  You bet I can.  Here’s what I made for dinner tonight:

Tortellini Soup

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
pinch of hot pepper flakes
1 can of plum tomatoes (28oz or 796ml)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 package (1lb) frozen tortellini
chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach or kale (I always keep a bag of frozen, chopped greens on hand for times like this!)

Method

If you want your kids to join you on the road to lifelong health, there is no better strategy than to invite them into the kitchen as you prepare this simple, healthy meal.  Depending on their ages, kids can help with chopping vegetables, dumping tomatoes or broth into the pot , stirring, crumbling herbs, and tasting the soup as you go.  Kids will eat what they have helped to prepare!!

Chop the onion and garlic and let sit while you assemble and prepare the other ingredients.  (This allows the powerful antioxidant components to develop.)

Dice or slice the carrots and celery to your desired size.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until they are translucent.  Add the celery and carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened.  Add the garlic, herbs and pepper and stir for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, and break up into small chunks with a wooden spoon.

Add the broth and water.  Turn up the heat until the pot boils, then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender-crisp.

Bring the pot back to the boil, then add the tortellini.  Cook for about 10 minutes, until they are tender.

Stir in chopped vegetables.  Simmer for about 5 minutes – they should be bright green.

That’s it!

Ladle into soup bowls.  Top with a generous heap of grated fresh parmesan cheese.  Serve with some lovely crusty bread!

Enjoy!!

P.S.  as with almost all of my recipes, use this as a guideline and feel free to change it up to suit your own taste.  Soup is a very forgiving thing

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