A Walking Youtube Routine for Pandemic

I like to walk outdoors every morning, both for fresh air and movement. I have a walking buddy that I meet every morning. 

Sometimes when I'm alone, I ride a bike. 

Lately, we had a lot of rain. My friend Vicki mentioned that she really liked a 30 minute routine that she found on Youtube by Leslie Sansone. 

I tried it and I REALLY liked it. 

I believe I get a much better work out with her boosted fitness walk than I do outdoors. 

I walk when it's not crowded early in the morning 

Now I do both. I take my morning walk weather permitting and then later in the day or early evening I do her 30 minute boosted fitness walk. She offers a variety of programs including 1 mile walks- 5 mile walks-some for beginners and some more vigorous such as the one I linked. some of her routines are shorter than 30 minutes.

Leslie Sansone is delightful to watch and keeps you entertained and motivated during the entire video. It's a great way to have a walking buddy and get motivated and the doesn't matter what the weather. 

Don't get me wrong, I still like my outdoor walk- but I like this as a little more exercise to add to my routine. What kind of exercise have you been doing during the pandemic? Do you do any Youtube routines that you could share? Leave a comment at the very bottom of the page 

Egyptian Molokhia Soup

Yum! We love this soup! Molokhia is the Arabic word for a soup made from jute leaves which are a highly nutritious greens that are very popular in Middle Eastern countries. Once again, I am sharing one of my mother-in-laws authentic recipes. 

 This is bag of frozen molokhia ; comes in a bag like frozen vegetables

In Egypt, Molokhia is eaten as a soup. In Lebanon Molokhia is eaten somewhat differently using a larger leaf to make more of a stew. 

Although my authentic family recipe is extremely simple, it is still extremely good. Do you like ethnic recipes?

Rich in magnesium and calcium, Molokhia is good for the bones. 

It also contains other vitamins, is anti-inflammatory, and is thought to be a good immune booster. 

In Egypt, my mother-in-law always dried and prepared her own molokhia leaves, but the fresh leaves are not easy to find in the US.  

I am able to find frozen chopped Molokia leaves, imported from Egypt (and with a kosher hecture).The frozen variety works very well in recipes and cuts the work in half. In fact, it makes it one of easiest recipes ever.

Molokia was a favorite when my husband was growing up, and he still loves it. Surprisingly, our American children and grandchildren love it too. what's not to like? It's delicious.

The beautiful green chopped molokhia leaves make a bright green soup that is part of a healthy meal. Loaded with vitamins and antioxidant, molokhia provides many benefits.

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Although the leaves look like spinach and is sometimes called Egyptian Spinach, Molokhia has a different taste and texture.  Like okra, molokai emits a slight bit of viscousness that actually thickens the soup. The hardest part of making this soup is actually finding the Molochia!

Where can you purchase it? 

Middle Eastern food stores or Lebanese, Egyptian, Israeli food stores will most likely carry frozen packages of imported Molokhia. Interestingly, the local produce store in Morrisville, Pa. ( near the bridge) with a freezer section carries it near me. A frozen package of chopped molokhia is only $1.29 a bag.

Once you find the Molokhia, you can prep and cook it rather easily and quickly. You will have to chop and onion and some garlic.  That's the extent of the prep! After saluting the onion and garlic, it It cooks in about 15 minutes. 

Author of Blog: Judee Algazi

Prep Time : 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes to sauté and 15 minutes to cook

Serves: 4

Ingredients 

Olive oil for sautéing 

1 14 ounce bag of frozen Molokhia

1 cup of onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 cups of vegetable broth

1 cup of water

pinch of ground coriander  or to more taste ( I don't like the coriander so I leave it out, my husband loves it so he adds it into his bowl).

Directions: 

Coat or spray the bottom of a large deed skillet with olive oil. Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring. Add garlic, the frozen Molokhia package(whole), and 1 cup of vegetable broth. Continue to cook on a low flame covered until the block of Molokhia melts. Add remainder of vegetable broth and water. Stir and cook until well heated about 5 minutes. Serve as is or serve over cooked rice. 

Notes: 

• Molokhia is often eaten over cooked rice. 
• Be sure to purchase chopped molokhia leaves for this recipe not regular molokhia. 

_______________________________________________________

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 Over 80 easy and delicious interesting soup recipes and 60 inspirational quotes. 

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Thanksgiving Leftovers ? Fast and Easy Sweet Potato Soup -vegan

Got leftover sweet potatoes? Make this quick & delicious spicy soup. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and a fabulous celebration of the fall harvest. 

Surprisingly, it's a great time for us vegetarians/vegans with the focus on so many vegetables. It seems that sometimes the only thing I can't eat is the turkey!

Steamed sweet potatoes sliced in half and with toppings. 

                    

Like everyone else, I make winter squashes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes. In particular, I like to make steamed sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot which is easy and comes out soft and juicy. Of course, I always make too many and have leftovers.

This recipe comes from my cookbook! 

          Fast and Easy Spicy Sweet Potato Soup 

                                                   

This recipe will literally take you all of 5  minutes to prep, blend, and cook!

I use leftover steamed sweet potatoes or leftover roasted or steamed butternut squash. 

                              

I simply open a jar of organic mild chunky salsa. I then add 3 cups of vegetable broth and 1/4 cup of water, 1/2 cup of salsa and about 2 cups of cooked sweet potato or cooked butternut squash to a blender.  Blend, heat, and serve! So easy and so good.  Serves 2

Ingredients: 

1 large leftover sweet potato - steamed or baked and peeled 

1/2 cup of chunky mild, medium, or hot salsa

2 cups of vegetable broth

1/4 cup of water 

Garnish: 

1 tablespoon of diced avocado per bowl

1 tablespoon of coconut milk per bowl

Directions 

Place steamed and peeled sweet potato, salsa, water, and broth in a blender. Blend until creamy. Pour into a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and pour into 2 bowls. Top each bowl with avocado and coconut milk (or any nut milk).

Don't have leftovers? Steam a sweet potato or butternut squash first. Then follow directions. 

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The book contains 80 easy recipes and 60 inspirational quotes in a colorful attractive cookbook- 

My meat eating friends say, "These are some of the best soups they've ever tasted" .  I would love it if you would keep this colorful cookbook in mind for your holiday gift giving! Click order button below. I apologize to my Canadian readers, unfortunately, I can only fulfill shipping orders in the US. 

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Simple But Tasty Butternut Squash and Apple Soup- Instant Pot or Not

Butternut Squash makes a delicious soup that is slightly sweet, thick, and satisfying. Add some apple and you have a genuinely nourishing rich autumn soup. The beautiful bright orange color, so reminiscent of the season, brings warmth and a glow to our fall table. 

I made this appealing soup for Thanksgiving this year. 

Despite just publishing, Easy Plant-Based Soups From Farm To Ladle, which contain over 80 easy soup recipes, I'm still creating new wonderful recipes such as this one. 

If you would like to buy my colorful attractive cookbook which contains of 80 soup recipes and 40 Inspirational quotes,  I printed 200 special edition copies which are 7 X 8 spiral bound and can only be purchased through my website ( see button on bottom of this page to order).  I am in the process of working on a hardcover and ebook version that will be on Amazon next year. But these special editions are my favorites. Just in time for holiday gifts! Stocking Stuffers? 

 

  

                                          

I really do like butternut squash. It is a vegetable that I can buy and keep for at least 3 weeks, making it ideal for a person like me who doesn't always get to use up all the fresh vegetables that I buy. 

I've been doing better since we are shut-in because we cook everyday. I have not started to eat in outdoor restaurants yet and just when I thought I would, the numbers have really started to rise- so eating out is off my list again. 

This recipe was fairly easy. 

I washed and scrubbed my squash very well. I then simply sliced it without peeling it. ( you could peel your squash if you want) - I used organic. I cut each slice in half, sprayed them with a little oil and layer them out on a rimmed cookie sheet to roast for about an hour.

Wondering about the seeds? Yes, when I got to the round part of the squash that is full of seeds, I just kept slicing. With seeds, layed those slices on a separate cookie sheet and sprayed with a little oil. The results- delicious roasted squash with roasted seeds! I did not use the squash with seeds in the soup. We simply ate those slices ( there were only about 6 of them with seeds attached) 

The roasted slices without seeds went into my soup. I used my Instant Pot, but of course it can be made on the stove top as well. 

Ingredients: 

Small amount of Olive oil for sautéing vegetables

1 large butternut squash ( I like one with a fat ball and a long neck), scrubbed and sliced in 1/2 moons and roasted at 375 for an hour.

2 cups of sliced onions (1/2 moons)

2 cups of sliced apples 

5 cups of vegetable broth

1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees to roast the squash 

Lay squash slices on a rimmed cookie sheet- spray with oil or toss in oil 

Roast in oven for about an hour or until squash slices are tender. Remove from oven and reserve for soup. The squash can be roasted the day before. 

Directions for Instant Pot: 

Spray or coat the bottom of the Instant Pot insert liner with a little oil. Add onions and apples and sauté until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes), stirring

Add previously roasted butternut squash, vegetable broth, and water. 

Turn off sauté function, secure lid, and close steam valve. Set to pressure cook for 2 minutes. When done turn off pressure cooker, release steam manually according to the manufacturer's directions, and when all steam is released, remove lid. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until thick and creamy. 

Directions for Stove Top: 

Spray or the bottom of a soup pot. Add onions and apples and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add roasted squash slices, vegetable broth and water. (add 1/4 cup extra water). Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a low heat and cook for about 5 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend until creamy.

Notes: All my recipes as are gluten-free and vegetarian, and as of 2018 they are also vegan.

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My newly published cookbook - 45 left of the special edition! 

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Announcing My New Cookbook

         ANNOUNCING MY NEW COOKBOOK !!

                    Just in time for the holidays and gift-giving!

I published an exceptional collection easy plant-based soup recipes that appeal to and satisfy meat-eaters as well as vegetarians. My seasonal recipes make it easy for everyone to add lighter health-giving foods to their diet without sacrificing taste.  

My friends(most of them are meat-eaters) say, "these are some of the best soups they have ever tasted."

Many of the soups can be prepped in 5-10 minutes and some cooked in as little as 5 minutes in the Instant Pot or 45 minutes on the stove top. 

I make nourishing tasty food that gets you in and out of the kitchen as fast as possible!

The recipes range from creamy soups such as broccoli, butternut squash soups, pumpkin soups, carrot ginger, cauliflower soups, mushrooms soups, old fashioned vegetable soups, lots of bean and lentil based soups, to Moroccan, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, Turkish, Hungarian, Indian, and Russian soups- all quick, easy, and delicious. 

Not only are the recipes plant-based, they meet gluten-free, vegan, and kosher-parve standards making it perfect if you, a family member, or a guest has special dietary needs- but you won't miss any of it. The soups offer solid homemade flavor that everyone (even meat-eaters) enjoy. AND to satisfy all cooks, most of the recipes have directions for making the soup on the stove top or Instant Pot!

The first 200 cookbooks that I published are a special edition made in a spiral bound binding which I find is easiest for laying flat while cooking. 

There are over 80 recipes and over 40 inspirational quotes.

If you would like one of these special edition cookbooks the cost is $20 per book-  shipped in US only. 
$20 + $1.20 tax + $4 additional shipping charges apply 

Each book comes in a pretty gift bag.

 

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