Welcome 2015! And welcome to a new year of healthy eating! After all the sweets and cookies are gone, it’s time to get back to eating healthier and lighter foods. The problem is I love sweets! I have a very hard time resisting them. I’m not making any promises that I will eliminate sweets completely :), but I am going to try to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables into my daily diet. The more fruits and vegetables you eat the more antioxidants you are putting in your body, which helps build your immune system. That is especially important during this cold and flu season.

This recipe for Carrot Ginger soup is very high in anti-oxidants and contains lots of vitamins and minerals. Most notably from the carrots, there is over 210% of your daily allowance of Vitamin A. Carrots also contain Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Vitamin E. The anti-oxidant in carrots is beta-carotene. This gives the carrot its orange color and its anti-cancer and immune boosting benefits. Ginger has its own set of benefits, which is prevention of colds and flu, aides in digestion and stomach issues, helps absorption of essential nutrients by stimulating enzymes in the pancreas, aides in motion sickness, maintains blood circulation. It also reduces pain and inflammation, has anti-cancer effects for colon cancer, and strengthens your immune system. That is a whole lot of benefits in just 2 ingredients!!!

Not only is it important for us to stay healthy physically, but spiritually as well!

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”  1 Corinthians 10:31

What does it mean to “get healthy” spiritually? I think it means to have more awareness of God in your life. Recognizing that everything happens for a reason, no matter how small or insignificant it is; seeing God all around you in nature, animals, people, and circumstances; realizing a need for God in our lives, on a daily basis; realizing we do not have ultimate control over our lives; learning to trust God and allow Him to be our guide; and believing that ALL things are possible with God! If we work towards these things, and give Him all the Glory, we will be blessed!

Let’s start the new year getting healthy both physically, by what we eat, and spiritually, by how we are living our lives.

Blessings for a fantastic 2015!!

Carrot Ginger Soup

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb of carrots, chopped

2 cups of chicken broth

1 tbsp of peeled, grated fresh ginger ( you can substitute 1 tsp of ground ginger or 1 tbsp of ginger paste)

Directions

1. Chop onion and carrots

2. Melt butter and olive oil in large pot

3. Saute onions in butter in olive oil until translucent

4. Add carrots and chicken broth; cook on medium heat until soft – about 20-30 minutes. Add grated ginger.

5. Use an immersion blender and blend in the pot, or transfer into a food processor and puree until smooth, adding a little extra chicken broth to get to your preferred consistency. If using a food processor, this may need to be done in a few batches.

6. Heat back to desired temperature. If desired, top with sour cream. Enjoy!

Eating healthy is important to me, so I will be focusing on more healthy recipes for 2015. I already have a few ideas for future posts, but I also welcome your ideas too! If you have a favorite “healthy” recipe you would like to share, please let me know!