Thank you for your comments in yesterday’s post! It really cheered me up when I read them this morning after another rough night of little sleep.
Lately, my eats have looked like this…
Blah. Those two pictures look about as exciting as I feel right now.
I think Eric got sick of watching me eat oatmeal, Coconut Bliss, and chia seed pudding all weekend, so he took matters into his own hands and made a kick-butt stew for dinner.
He grabbed every veggie he could find and he announced that a HEALING stew would be made for our unconventional Easter dinner.
With a little guidance from a recipe on Whole Foods, healing magic happened.
Husband's Healing Stew
Yield
Over 10 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Adapted from Whole Foods.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small sweet onions, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground corriander
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 2 small zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow pepper + 1 red pepper, chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups organic vegetable broth (not low sodium), or more as needed
- 1, 28-oz can diced organic tomatoes (no added salt)
- 1/2 cup uncooked raw buckwheat groats, rinsed (or grain of choice)
- 1/2 cup uncooked pearled barley, rinsed (or grain of choice)
- 1/2 cup frozen Edamame (or bean of choice)
- 1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 5-10 shakes red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt + Black pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a large pot over low heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chopped sweet onion, green onion, and minced garlic. Heat over low until translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
- Stir in coriander, cinnamon, and two bay leaves and heat an additional minute or two. Now, add in the chopped vegetables (zucchini, peppers, carrots) and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add a bit more oil if necessary.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, rinsed buckwheat and pearled barley (or grains of choice). Simmer on low-medium heat (dial 3-4) for 20 minutes, checking often to make sure it doesn’t burn or thin out too much. Add a bit more broth or water if necessary and reduce heat when needed.
- After 20 minutes, add in the lemon juice and additional seasonings- all to taste (minced parsley, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper). Cook for another few minutes, remove bay leaves, and serve with fresh bread. Freeze leftovers or store in the fridge.
Tip:
- You can have success using a wide range of vegetables, seasonings, and grains of your choice.
- Always adjust the seasonings to taste and add them gradually. My taste buds are quite muted right now, so we made it spicy. :)
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Every good healing stew begins with garlic!
We used pearled barley and raw buckwheat, but you could use any kind of grains you want.
Oh and some frozen Edamame was thrown in at the last minute for extra protein.
Like most soups, there is a lot of chopping to do, but other than that, it is fool-proof.
After simmering for 20 minutes the grains cooked up and the stew got nice and thick.
Eric asked me to add more seasonings, and I think I went a bit crazy with the red pepper flakes! He said it was quite spicy, but I didn’t really taste it. ;) Oops.
Served with fresh bread and Earth Balance….it was the perfect, healing meal.
Even though I can’t taste or smell that well right now, I know this was a good stew! There was a lot of love in it.
The best part about this stew was that my sinuses were clear after eating it. ;)
For dessert, we had a piece of Carrot Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze– which defrosted wonderfully by the way- and was SUPER fresh! We are in love with it. I will be making this loaf again and again.
There are a lot of healing leftovers for me this week! Take that flu. I’ll squash you like an ant.
Before you go, I have a little assignment for you…
Quite a few of you expressed interest that you would love a follow-up after my Lessons in Self-Love post. Intuitive and mindful eating seemed to be a topic that you wanted to explore more.
I thought it would be cool to see if you have any questions pertaining to the following areas:
- Intuitive & mindful eating
- Binge eating
- Calorie counting
- Weight maintenance
- Happy weight
- Disordered eating
- Body image/Self-confidence
- Hunger signals
I will be happy to provide my own experiences if you have anything on your mind that you would like explored more. Just leave your question (or questions) below and I will pick some of them to answer in a follow-up post, Q & A format.
Oh, I’m definitely looking forward to an extended post/discussion about self-love. I don’t know if I have any specific questions, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on any and all of those subjects. I am curious about maintenance, though – I’ve found a weight that I like; I think I look great, and I’ve been eating pretty well and exercising, but I just don’t know if my weight is high enough to be healthy. (I am technically underweight at this point, but I’ve been on the low end of the weight spectrum my whole life, so I don’t know what to think.) I’d also be very interested in hearing more about hunger signals/snacking/indulging vs. being kind to yourself.
Hi Angela,
first of all: get well soon! Hope you will recover asap. And soup looks so delicious, bravo to Eric :)
If it is not too much to ask from you, my questions will be as follows:
– How to stop negative self-thoughts or mind chatter about your own self, including your image/weight? Any advices based on your own experience?
– My culture is very much based on talking first about how you look even before saying hi to someone. For instance, every time I visit my parents or friends back home, their first reaction or words are always about how I look like (put on weight or lost). Likewise, when I try to do home-gym or exercise during my home leave they immediately think that I am on diet or trying to lose weight. I find it very difficult to struggle with -let alone my- people’s judgemental approach to how I look (including my own family).
– In connection with my previous point, how do you keep an eye on your healthy eating when on leave? How could you adapt your regular exercise in a holiday?
– I am living in a social environment which is very much based on dining out and drinking alcohol. How to still enjoy socialising while not depriving yourself from this type of social life? I really wonder how you balance it..
– There are many urban legend stories, books, articles, people, doctors who write about healthy eating. Some theories contradicts each other and confuses me. Could you suggest a couple of bedside books on this topic which is not so technical but scientific enough to trust?
– Also some books about self-love, compilation of quotas, stress/binge eating management would be great.
Sorry if I have asked too much, but it is really great to hear from you and your stories.
Thanks a lot!
Whenever Brian or I are sick I always make a soup or stew with tons of veggies and we call it ‘healing soup or stew’ … too funny. The one that Eric made looks pretty fabulous! I think that was so sweet of him to cook for you :)
that is so sweet of eric to make you such a nice easter dinner! i’m glad it made you feel better too! it looks absolutely delicious! i wouldn’t mind having left over of that yummy stuff!
First of all, I love your blog. I read it daily and always love trying out your recipes.
I am a cheerleader for an NFL team, so a big part of my job is staying fit (skinny) and healthy eating. The team provides us with a gym membership, but no structured workouts and diets, but they will bench you if they think you’re fat. I have always been very conscious of my body growing up in a world of dance, cheerleading, and pageants. Making this team has made me VERY cautious and nervous of everything I put in my body. Last summer while getting ready for our calendar shoot I dropped 12lbs (I am 5’6 and weigh 125 normally) and would continually force myself to throw up if I did binge. I was eating around 1000 calories a day, and working out twice a day.
I guess my question is if you have any tips on binge eating. I will follow my “diet” during the day, very strictly, and then when I get home at night I eat EVERYTHING in sight. It’s not that I’m hungry, I just get bored and eat but never get full. I eat small meals throughout the day so it’s not like I’m starving myself and that’s why I binge. I would love any advice you have on this.
Thanks,
Michelle
I was wondering if you have any recommendations about weighing yourself. I look forward to hearing the answers to some of the above questions as well. I find all of the information you provide so valuable!
Hi Angela,
I’m currently at university, so every so often at holidays I go back to visit my parents. For instance, I’m currently with them for Easter. However, being at home is not easy for me. When I’m at university I am in total control of my eating and mostly it is good. I’m trying to lose weight in a healthy way with diet and exercise and am making sure to eat enough calories. But being at home without this control over what I’m eating triggers my binge/purging. When I lived at home before uni I suffered with bulimia and it all just comes back.
So, I’d like some advice. I don’t know how to stop these binges when I’m at home. Could it be to do with losing control? I don’t know how to get over this because I feel that I currently need to be in control in order to lose weight, without the control I end I just gaining weight. Maybe I just need time. I don’t know.
That is a butt load of veggies! Ha. Yum.
That stew looks like such a healing dinner indeed :)
FIrst of all, that stew looks absolutely delicious (as does every other recipe here). It’s so colorful and bright that I feel like it would make me feel better just by looking at it!
As far as questions go, was it hard to tell people, or label yourself as having an “eating disorder”? I have been struggling for a while with mild bulimia and the binge eating that for me accompanies it. I feel like the support of my friends and family would be a huge help to me, but I have difficulty labeling myself as “eating disordered” or “bulimic” for some reason. Those words just seem too serious for what I feel like I am. I almost feel like in some perverse way that I haven’t “earned” those labels, that they’re for people who have suffered more than me, that have it worse than I do. But another part of me does know that I do have a problem that I’m recovering from and still struggling with. After all, it’s not normal to feel the need to eat until it hurts and then want to get rid of it.
Thanks for all of the wonderful inspiration, encouragement, and delicious recipes!
What is your definition of a “happy weight” and how did you know that you had reached your happy weight for your body?
How do you eat intuitively AND lose weight? Because wouldn’t the hunger/full signals your body gives you be what is needed to maintain weight (particularly if you are trying to lose a relatively small amount of weight and are at a relatively health weight)?
Hope you feel better soon!! I always find garlic oil capsules work really well. 2 every hour. Be warned – you’ll be stinky!
I would love to hear more about portion control. I’ve gotten hooked on the Green Monster but i’m worried that I might be adding to many calories to my diet and not quite sure how to balance that.
Hi Angela – hope you are feeling better, the soup looks amazing! So sweet of Eric to make it for you. I am really interested in whatever you choose to post about regarding the topics you mentioned above. I would be especially interested in hearing your views on calorie counting (is it a bad idea for everyone, or helpful for some?), intuitive eating, and weight maintenance. For me, I’m not yet in a place where eating completely intuitively allows me to maintain my weight. I’m also still trying to lose a few pounds. Could you give some tips about how to stop counting calories, and what to do instead? Also, I know you prefer not to discuss actual numbers, but would you maybe share just the difference between your previous ‘ideal’ weight and your current weight maintained without calorie counting? I.e., how much can one expect to gain without getting concerned that it will keep creeping up? Thanks so much!
I second the calorie counting discussion! I’m trying to lose a few pounds and I’m battling between counting calories but I’m not sure what else to do.. It’s a bit frustrating sometimes because I don’t want losing weight to become a negative journey. And possibly something about scale obsessing? Sometimes I feel like I’m too focused on the numbers but it’s hard not to rely on something factual. Thanks for these discussions! They’re my absolute favorites :)
Eric’s been holding out on us! How come he’s been hiding those awesome cooking skills from us? ;) That stew looks wonderful!
Hi Angela! Great blog by the way. I have been reading for a long time, but not sure that I have ever posted a comment. Now seemed like the ideal time!
My question is related to dealing with food, whilst dealing with other problems in life.
While I wouldn’t say that I eat while I’m stressed, I DON’T CARE what I eat while I’m stressed.
The more I read about ‘intuitive eating’, they suggest taking a breather and ‘feeling’ your emotions. And then treat your body the way you’d want it to be treated. I don’t know about other people, but when I’m stressed, I don’t have the patience, the time, or the care to sit back and be conscious. All the problems tend to feel a lot bigger than whether or not I eat the doughnut, or the salad. Diet goes on the back burner, and I gain weight.
What are your thoughts on caring about your health/body when there are things that seem so much bigger than that?
You’ve got some competition in the kitchen. Hehe. If that stew doesn’t help you feel better I don’t know what will!
I love the photos in this post – they are so colorful and vibrant! You are very talented :)
I just wanted to say thankyou! Your blog is so inspiring and after years plagued with anxiety and obsession with perfection I am slowly learning to love myself for all the right reasons. I do have a quick question: Did you ever suffer anxiety about your weight and put your life on hold as a result? I would love to hear your thoughts on letting go of the desire to be perfect and just being happy now. xox
I’d love to learn more about binge eating and how you dealt with it, that is, if you struggled with it, as i am currently battling it. thanks for your lovely and cheerful posts :)
Way to go Eric! And it is beautiful too.
The carrot loaf looks very nice… going to look for that blog… thanks.
I’m wondering what you think of the unspoken “hierarchy” of eating disorders. Just recently, it seems that it is being more openly discussed in the blog world…and I think it is a subject that deserves some attention. It seems that anorexia is considered the “best” eating disorder, the one that symbolizes control and (maybe) glamour. Bulimia seems more shameful because then you feel out of control, and binge eating is the worst.
I have personal experience with this. I went into treatment for anorexia, and through the refeeding process, I started binge eating. I was so ashamed and devastated and disgusted with myself, I couldn’t tell anyone. This prevented me from getting the help I needed, and I developed bulimia for a while. I think that the shame associated with binge eating is a huge obstacle for so many people, and it prevents them from recovering. I wonder if you could comment on how you dealt with your shame and how you managed to recover from binge eating despite that. Also, did anyone treat you differently or react with disgust when you told them? I think that’s a huge fear for some. It was for me.
Anything that colorful (and noy from yellow #9) has to taste good!
Hope you feel better really soon.
I read through a few comments and dont want to sound repetitive, I would like to lose 10lbs and it has been a life long struggle. I know to some it’s not a lot but to me it is. I have done it before but as always I gain it back. I start everyday saying this is the day that I will eat right for the rest of my life and then either a) my hubby brings home bad foods b) my kids dont finish their meal and I do it for them c) there is a family gathering with a lot of sinful stuff or d) there is something yummy lurking in my kitchen or pantry and I wont stop till it is done! How do you stop this behavior? where do you get the strength to say I will just eat this and that’s it?
What a great hubby! That stew looks amazing!
What did you substitute for binge eating?
I forget why exactly you binged, but I personally used to do it to procrastinate doing hard projects, distract myself from pressing issues/questions, when I was feeling lonely/bored and wanted to escape my circumstances. So my question for you is (if your experience was similar to mine)…how did you learn to manage these stressors without using food?
I’m doing much better myself these days, but I still have my moments once in awhile. Nevertheless, I’ve always been interested in this aspect of your journey.
Thanks! :)
Eric is a sweetie for making you the stew! It looks awesome.
I’d be interesting in hearing about how you maintain/lose weight once recovered? I’ve been eating normally again for 2 years and my weight has stabilized. But I’ve been slacking off a little too much and not exercising hard enough – and would feel so much better if I lost a few pounds. Do you ever deal with this? Any suggestions would be great :)
I struggle with super strict eating followed by binge eating…..any ideas on first steps to take to stop this cycle….I have gone 7 months with no binge then binge for 5 months….the weight loss and weight gain is CRAZY!!!!!!
Hi Angela,
First of all, I loved your ‘lessons on self love’ post – it really touched my heart. I looked through some of these comments, and I am struggling with the same issue as Amy H…
“I’m currently in therapy/recovering from anorexia (again). My current struggles are with binge eating. If I don’t find I have full control over calorie counting (ie I try to take a day of measuring/counting everything) I go into a “binge”. I know it’s because my body has been so deprived. Anyways, any tips, advice on how to control binges and not count calories all the time?”
I would also love to learn more about the transition from counting calories to eating intuitively. It’s something thats been foreign concept to me for a very long time.
Thanks for your help, Ang. Get well soon!
First off I just wanted to say that your blog is so amazing, and i find myself always checking it out to see what goodies you’re making, and to read all of the inspirational posts. So thank you for OSH!
I would like to know more about what helped you with binge eating, how you perfected your intuitive eating/hunger signals, and also tips on how you let yourself indulge without overindulging, and when i mean overindulging i mean wanting to eat not 1 cookie but 12 lol I could deffinatly use a hand or seveal in these departments! I’m a huge foodie. I love eating food, smelling it, talking about it, making it, all of the above. I abosultly love healthy food and all it has to offer. And i absolutly love non-nutritional value foods and what they have to offer as well. There just some times with these foods on both sides healthy and non healthy where i feel like i have no concept of portion control and just ignore my hungers signals, because i want to eat and need to eat beacause its some sort of marathon or something….and i’m going to get a prize at the end. Realizing that what i’ve won is no prize at all just guilt, self-pity, bloating and discomfort and a lot more where that came from. I eat very healthy 90% of the time i would say, and pride myself in the knowledge i have when it comes to healthy food, but i just eat too much of it. It’s a constant struggle, and just when you think you’ve mastered it, you realize you really haven’t.
So any tips or suggestions that have helped you would be fantastic!!!
thanks so much!!
Angela,
I must say you are such a great role model having changed your ways so drastically for the better! I strive to follow your recommendations regularly. You are one of my idols when it comes to health and fitness, and of course self-love.
My question is how did you “turn off” the calorie counting in your mind? I do much better now with healthy eating, and exercise has always been my strong point, but I count every calorie I consume and punish myself in the gym for all excess! It’s a vicious cycle I am desperate to break. Any advice?
I would like to hear more about when you really started recovering from your disordered eating and learning to be happy. What did that feel like, and how did you grab on to it and keep it?
Oh wow, that looks so delicious! I love that there’s barley and buckwheat groats in it because I just bought a bunch of both. I made your tomato barley risotto last night. It was amazing!
Questions in any of those topic areas would be great. I think it’d be great to know more about getting in touch with your hunger signals. I found it took me years to get in touch with these again, and it’s still a struggle sometimes to differentiate between things that feel like hunger and actual hunger. Did you find that you needed to repair your metabolism at all after years of disordered eating in order to get in touch with your hunger again? Or was it more mental than physical?
I would love to hear more about how you stopped calorie counting. It’s been something I have struggled with completely eliminating. Even though I no longer journal calories and am at a much healthier place, I totally still count them in my head and find myself restricting when I reach a “too high” number.
Lovely stew :)
How did you decide what your happy weight was going to be and what is your motivation to maintain it? In my own experiences, I’ve found that my healthy endeavors seem to be cyclic- they last for about two weeks or so, and then life gets busy or some other stress just throws me off.
What an awesome idea – I like the idea of a Q & A format.
For me, I look at body image and self-confidence as something that I must do a few times a day, similar to brushing my teeth. I use positive self-talk, however, was wondering if you have any other techniques that were effective. There is a show on the new OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) called, ‘How To Look Good Naked, Canada’, that is about changing our perceptions about the way our bodies look. They said that 85% of women do not like the way their body looks. How sad is that? Why are we, as women so hard on ourselves. Would we treat our friends or think negative things about our friends, like we can do to ourselves?
I hope that you are feeling better Angela.
Hi Angela! Hope you are feeling better SOON! I love the passion you put into your food and this blog, thanks for all the great ideas and recipes and beautiful photos!
I would like a general introduction to intuitive/mindful eating… I feel like I’ve heard these terms vaguely mentioned quite a bit but I’m not sure exactly what they mean. Also I would be interested in learning some tricks/tips/techniques to getting started with eating more intuitively. Lastly, some tips for recognizing hunger signs, and not giving in to boredom/stress eating.
Thanks!
the difference between going on a vegan diet and living a vegan lifestyle
Wow, that soup has EVERYTHING in it! :D
Get better soon!
Whitney
I would LOVE to hear about how you have enough self-control while you are baking to not overeat on your yummy treats! I love to bake, but I have a problem with mindlessly and compulsively eating six cookies at a time, not to mention dough or batter as well! How do you enjoy one treat, and be done?
My question is like the others :) I have been “cured” from bulimia and binge eating many times, sometimes for several months, even years (2 years max) BUT it always seems to find a way back into my life (with a vengeance!). What is the secret to finally STOPPING the vicious cycle of emotional/disordered eating? How do you know when you are “cured” or fully recovered from the problem? Do the desires to emotionally eat ever go away? Do you still have temptations to over eat or abuse food or your body?
I really want to learn to love my body for what it can do for me when i am taking care of it. In the past i have have starved it and now i an trying to control my binges. I want to do like you did and become involved in a sport, like running. I am hoping this will give me a hobby to take my mind off of food and help me love my body so i will keep it healthy. I have always hated running because i cant run for long periods of time! I really want to enjoy running though! Any advice for a new runner?”
Just a couple of things. First that strew looks delicious! What a special husband to make it for you. Also, I made the carrot bread only I used a jumbo cupcake pan and they turned out fantastic! I’ve been on an all natural mostly plant based diet for a while now, but I am really looking into incorporating more vegan and raw recipes into my daily meals. This was a great start. My last comment is actually a question. The juices, sauces, spreads, and nut butters yu make are so tempting. I’d love to make them myself, but I’m slowly building my appliance collection. Which do you use the most, your juicer (which do you own) or blender? You have a vitamix right? Do you consider one a better investment over the other? Thanks and feel better!
Hey and congrats on your new resident flu-bug…
I had it back in February with sky-high fever and an added infection in the airways that took all my energy out of me and left me feeling a bit like a dish-rag…
My question is about body-image and healthy weight…
i am in the normal range, wightwise with a BMI of 22. I exercise (mainly stomach-muscles/core) practically every night but i’m not geting rid of my “gut-overhang”. My boyfriend say i look good and if i look in the mirror front-on i can see i have a waist, but if i turn to the side i feel i look a bit like the michelin-man.
How do i get past the body-issues enough to appreciate my body for what it is?
At this point i am obsessing about that bit of loos skin/flab/blubber and can’t get past it.
I take evening primrose, magnesium and green tea supplements to staunch my sweet-tooth but i don’t want to make sugar my enemy, rather reduce it to a saturday-night kinda thing…
Also: What is your oppinion on low-carb diets? I see you use a significant amount of various sugars and syrups in your cooking and assume you are not an atkins-convert, but how do you approach the various “popular” dietary advice?
In Norway our government have recently issued guidelines for healthy diet based on traditional oppinions (meat, potatoes, veg…) and have met HUGE resistance from the Low-carb-community.
there is also a swedish man who lost a massive amount of weight by eatin a diet of 100% fat and meat, no veg at all. his diet is called the Skaldeman and bases itself on ketolytic metabolism. (in my oppiniion a scary way to destroy your body!)
Go Eric! what a thoughtful husband to make a loving and healing meal for you when your unwell. I dont have any questions as i have been browsing through older posts, but i do want to say thankyou! I have been following your blog for a year and i am finally in a good place where i eat mostly vegan and clean foods, exercise for me and my wellbeing and dont worry about if i occasionally make a bad food choice or have a sweet treat. Im glad i came across your blog because i can happily say that it has opened up my eyes and for the first time in a very long time, i love my body. You inspire so many people, thanks for inspiring me. Hope you get better soon.
Hello! I really enjoy reading your blog and it has helped much in convincing my omnivorous boyfriend that eating vegan can be delicious. Consuming chilli or anything spicy when you’re sick really does help to clear the sinus for some reason.. Hope you get well soon :)
That’s really sweet, making a healing-stew.
I do have to say that even when you’re sick, you still make gorgeous photos!
Hi Angela,
I hope your feeling a little better today! By the way tell Eric great job on making dinner and taking care of you. I’ve been feeling under the weather myself, soar throat and now runny nose, it’s not fun. Anyway question for you:
How did you stop calorie counting? I am obsessed with it. Every recipe I create I count the calories, it’s a long wearing process but I can’t stop. I won’t make certain things because there over on calories, like a cookie over 100 calories, forget it, not worth it to me. I need to stop the calorie counting and move on, but I don’t think I can?
Also, I lost allot of weight, and I have been at maintenance for about 4 months or so. How do you maintain your weight? Did you find it scary at first? Do you step on the scale all the time? I would love to be free of all this obsession but the thought of stopping is scary!
Again, I hope you feel better soon!!!
Jennifer
That is the most colorful stew I have ever seen! Looks delicious!! What a sweet husband you have.
I hope you are feeling better!!!
i hope you recovered from the full of love stew! :)