One of my 2012 New Year's resolutions was to become more active...much more active - I would like to say by the end of the year that I am in the best shape of my life. I've been good about working towards that goal so far, but I slipped a bit recently; I've been so lazy this week and I felt a bit worried about falling off the exercise wagon completely. I just didn't feel like running or any other exercise, despite making grand plans to get a good workout or two in at the gym. Yesterday afternoon, I had planned on going to the gym before my elder stepson came home from school, but I didn't do that either...lazy, lazy, lazy!
Somehow or another, I finally found my motivation about an hour after dinner last night. The gym is close to where we live, so I decided to run down there and have a punishing workout, arriving back home just before the guys' bedtime. I announced my intentions to my family and my elder stepson immediately begged to go with me. Both of my stepsons are too young to use the gym, even supervised by an adult, so I couldn't let him come with me for my weight circuits. Rather than just say "no," I suggested a run instead - a quick one to the gym and back. He eagerly agreed and within minutes, we were out jogging together under the street lamps.
My elder stepson is 13 now and, like most boys at that age, he's already starting to break away from who he was as a child to forge his own personality as a young man. We see him less than we used to because he spends more time doing his own thing these days. While this is definitely good and healthy, it makes all of us grown-ups a bit wistful because we see that he's not a little boy anymore.
When we reached the gym, neither of us were tired, so we kept going...and going, and going. Next thing we knew, we were more than two miles from home and still feeling quite robust. I was very impressed with my stepson's stamina. He's obviously much younger than I am and a lot of that energy is effortless, but I've been training since November to be able to run this long without stopping and he still did it like it was no big deal at all.
The two of us had some good chat out there, and we planned out routes we'd like to take on future runs. We arrived back home just before the guys' bedtime, feeling quite tired but proud of ourselves. We both agreed to do it again the following Wednesday evening, which is the one night that nobody in our family has any scheduled activities. I dropped to sleep exhausted not long after the guys did, feeling very much back on the fitness wagon. My husband mapped our route on Google Earth and it turns out that we ran 4.66 miles. I felt great about that, and even better about having a new activity to do with a certain young man in our house.
If I could wrap this story up with a moral for those of us with kids in our lives (especially those of the adolescent persuasion), it would be to remain open to connecting with them in a variety of ways. When my stepson asked if he could join me at the gym, I could have easily said "no, you're too young" and gone off to do my own workout. But instead, I tried to make room for him in my plan and was hugely rewarded for it. Sometimes the answer really is "no," but if the kids are wanting to do an activity with you, it's probably in your best interests to turn it into a "yes" somehow.
Showing posts with label New Year's Resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year's Resolutions. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, January 4, 2010
Broccoli and white cheddar soup
Happy New Year, everybody! I hope you all had pleasant celebrations and are starting 2010 off right. I started this year much better than I ended the last one, but we'll get to that later. For now, let's have a bowl of the best broccoli and white cheddar soup you've ever made.
This is my own take on a recipe I found at the grocery store. It cooks up very easily and is perfect midday eating on a chilly day, especially when paired with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Here is the list of ingredients. Metric equivalents are given in parentheses.
New Year's Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large head (600g) of broccoli
3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock
1 medium potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup (100g) creme fraiche or sour cream, whichever is available, plus a bit more for serving
1 cup (150g) mature white cheddar, grated
Ready to cook? Here we go...
For this soup (and all stick-blended soups, if you ask me), you should use a large, deep stock pot - the bigger, the better. Your soup itself won't need that much room, but there's a lot of splashing and flinging of soupy bits when you begin to mix it up with the stick blender. This is when the high, protective walls of a big stock pot come in very handy.
Back to the ingredients. Heat up the big pot (low to medium) and add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, throw in your onions and let them sizzle for about five minutes until they look nice and soft.
Once the onions have achieved niceness and softness, add the broccoli, potato and pour the stock over everything. Leaving the heat at the same level, put a lid on the pot and let it all simmer for about 15 minutes. By this time, the broccoli should be quite tender. If you can easily stab into the stalk with a fork, it's tender enough. If not, give it five more minutes and another stabbing.
And now for the really fun part: turn the burner off, dip your stick blender into that stock pot and whizzzzzz your mixture until all the big bits have succumbed to the green soupiness. It should be an even consistency when you're finished blending. Yes, it looks great, but you're not done yet! Turn the burner back on to medium low, add the sour cream (or creme fraiche) and bring the soup to a simmer. When that happens, remove your pot from the heat, stir in the cheese and add a bit of extra sour cream or creme fraiche when serving. Voila!
This recipe makes about six hearty bowls of soup. I often double it up just so we can have seconds the next day. It reheats very well. I should also mention that it tastes really good with low-fat cheese and sour cream, if you've made THAT kind of New Year's resolution.
Now, back to why my 2009 didn't go as well as it could have. In short, it's because I spent too much of the year being a homesick killjoy and I often lacked patience with myself in this still-active process of settling into my new home and my new life as a wife and stepmother. My resolution for 2010 may sound completely trite to you, but I'm doing it anyway and it's going to be great; I'm keeping a diary of happy thoughts. I decided to do this because my stepsons gave me a very sweet week-at-a-glance journal for 2010 with a picture of a kitten on the cover. Since I had already purchased a boring maroon day planner for my deadlines and dental appointments, I've decided to put the kitten journal to good use by using it to remind me of the happy and uplifting things in life, of which there are SO MANY. So I'll be writing in that every day without fail (4 days strong now!) and maybe I'll share the occasional entry here.
All the best to you. I'll be back for an update when I'm able.
This is my own take on a recipe I found at the grocery store. It cooks up very easily and is perfect midday eating on a chilly day, especially when paired with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Here is the list of ingredients. Metric equivalents are given in parentheses.
New Year's Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large head (600g) of broccoli
3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock
1 medium potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup (100g) creme fraiche or sour cream, whichever is available, plus a bit more for serving
1 cup (150g) mature white cheddar, grated
Ready to cook? Here we go...
Chop, chop!
First things first, cut up all your veg so you can have it ready as soon as you need it. Next, prepare the broth. If you're using pre-made broth, all you have to do is open up the can or box. But if you're using bouillon cubes, boil up your water and mash in 1.5 Knorr cubes (or amount as designated on package) until it's all dissolved. Whatever you're using, have it ready to go so when the time comes, you can just pour it in to the pot.
The beginning of a fabulous soup
For this soup (and all stick-blended soups, if you ask me), you should use a large, deep stock pot - the bigger, the better. Your soup itself won't need that much room, but there's a lot of splashing and flinging of soupy bits when you begin to mix it up with the stick blender. This is when the high, protective walls of a big stock pot come in very handy.
Back to the ingredients. Heat up the big pot (low to medium) and add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, throw in your onions and let them sizzle for about five minutes until they look nice and soft.
A big pile o' veg
Once the onions have achieved niceness and softness, add the broccoli, potato and pour the stock over everything. Leaving the heat at the same level, put a lid on the pot and let it all simmer for about 15 minutes. By this time, the broccoli should be quite tender. If you can easily stab into the stalk with a fork, it's tender enough. If not, give it five more minutes and another stabbing.
And now for the really fun part: turn the burner off, dip your stick blender into that stock pot and whizzzzzz your mixture until all the big bits have succumbed to the green soupiness. It should be an even consistency when you're finished blending. Yes, it looks great, but you're not done yet! Turn the burner back on to medium low, add the sour cream (or creme fraiche) and bring the soup to a simmer. When that happens, remove your pot from the heat, stir in the cheese and add a bit of extra sour cream or creme fraiche when serving. Voila!
Soup-erb!
Now, back to why my 2009 didn't go as well as it could have. In short, it's because I spent too much of the year being a homesick killjoy and I often lacked patience with myself in this still-active process of settling into my new home and my new life as a wife and stepmother. My resolution for 2010 may sound completely trite to you, but I'm doing it anyway and it's going to be great; I'm keeping a diary of happy thoughts. I decided to do this because my stepsons gave me a very sweet week-at-a-glance journal for 2010 with a picture of a kitten on the cover. Since I had already purchased a boring maroon day planner for my deadlines and dental appointments, I've decided to put the kitten journal to good use by using it to remind me of the happy and uplifting things in life, of which there are SO MANY. So I'll be writing in that every day without fail (4 days strong now!) and maybe I'll share the occasional entry here.
All the best to you. I'll be back for an update when I'm able.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)