Day 18 - Time to hit the gym.

Today I decided to head to a nearby gym and start working out.  One of the side effects of long-term Prednisone use is muscle weakness, and man do I notice that.  It's going to take more than just long walks for me to get myself in shape, so I headed to a tiny little gym near here and got signed up.  I really, really like doing the weight machines and I love elliptical trainers, because there is less knee strain.  I started today with 30 minutes on the elliptical and then did a full round of weights.  I am a little sore and tired but happy to be starting.

Some new foods I decided to try today include hot buckwheat cereal (kinda like oatmeal) and some veg lentil soup.  Buckwheat is interesting because it is not a true grain; it's actually a sort of flower, similar to rhubarb.  I bought some Bob's Red Mill organic buckwheat and made it in the micro before adding chopped walnuts, fresh blueberries, and a dash of maple syrup.  The nice thing about buckwheat is that it has tons of lysine, which is an important amino acid, and a good amount of protein as well.  As it is not a grain, like wheat, it is good for people with celiac disease.   And it tastes delicious!

The acorn squash soup was a huge hit.  My husband took it to work today and ate it both for his snack and his meal.  Motivated by my recent success, I decided to try a lentil soup today.  I have a friend whose parents were active into their late seventies, and one of their staple lunches was a homemade lentil soup.  I am a fan of anything that involves beans, and wanted to make something different to all the mexican-style bean dishes I'd been making lately, and so I decided upon this simple recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot sliced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• dash salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

In a large pot, sautee the onions and carrot in the vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes until onions turn clear. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves and salt.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in lemon juice before serving. Makes 4 servings of lentil soup.

I like this because it's fast, easy, and incredibly healthy.  I can throw this into a pot in less than ten minutes and walk away, knowing we'll have a fantastic soup simmering away while I do other things.