Sweet Potato Soup, and an Update on Fueling for Exercise

I loved reading all of your comments on my blog yesterday. Apparently you all agreed with me about how annoying some people can be at the gym. If there is one thing you learn about me fairly soon after meeting me, it's that I speak my mind all the time, and I'm very opinionated. This is both a good quality, and a bad one, as sometimes it can backfire.

Ok, now for some food!

NEW DINNER
Dinner #7 Sweet Potato Soup

Check out my soup, from scratch! I'm considering it part of Melinda's "From Scratch Weekends" (or weekdays??).

Ingredients
(makes 1 serving)

1 sweet potato
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3 ounces chicken
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
dash of garlic and pepper

Possible Modifications

• Use any starchy vegetable (squash, beans, potato) as the base
  

• Add any other vegetable you would like, if you don't like spinach

• Add any protein you would like, if you don't want chicken

• Omit some or all of the protein for a lighter, lesser calorie meal/snack (before an early workout!)
  

• Use low fat sour cream instead of Greek yogurt

• Use beef broth or vegetarian broth

• Use any kind of milk you want
  

• Use any spices you wish!
  

Directions

Heat your sweet potato in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until soft enough to mash.

Cut into cubes, add to blender, food processor, or Magic Bullet. Add in the broth and milk. Blend until you reach desired thickness.

Dump into a small saucepan, add spinach and chicken. Heat until desired hotness is reached. Pour into bowl, add spices and dollop of Greek yogurt! Enjoy.

Nutrition Facts
(For one serving)
My Rating: 9 out of 10
It was super delicious, but kind of bland. Yet again, it perhaps could have used a tiny bit more salt.
Nick's Rating: None, he hates soup. What a weirdo.


PRE-WORKOUT FUEL; MORE INFORMATION!
I realized I forgot to say something when I posted this information about eating before a workout:

Do you workout in the afternoon? Eat larger meals when you have at least 4 hours before workout. Use this time to incorporate some fat and fiber into your diet. Fat and fiber are both necessary in the diet, but are meal components that you don't want to eat right before a workout. So when you have plenty of time before your workout, focus on whole grains and healthy fats (vegetable oils, nuts, seeds).

** Here is what I forgot to say; your meal should be relatively high in carbohydrates, and moderate in protein. You want the carbohydrates because you need to maximize the maintenance of blood glucose. If you have plenty of time (at least four hours) the carbohydrate can be complex and contain fiber. If you don't have much time, stick to the more simple carbohydrates, which are digested more easily. **

Coming Up

Today we are presenting our services to some more employees that work for Franklin County (the county in which I live). I have a Power Point presentation and I'm ready to go! Stay tuned for my next post, which will include my Biggest Loser Review. Did you watch last night?! My goodness.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day.