Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tuscan Pumpkin White Bean Soup | WW 2pts

So, CB and I were up in VT for a few days so I wasn't able to do my Monday morning weigh-in. This will have to serve as that. So, as of today I am down another 2 pounds for a total of 8.5 since beginning the program three weeks ago. I have 5 pounds left until I reach my ultimate goal and then I will have to start learning the maintaining part of WW and not just the losing part.

Moving on from WW for a minute I have an observation. On more than one occasion, whether I be walking or out for a run or what have you, I have come across a person with one of those red and white sticks that blind people use. Now on more than one occasion I have seen people with these sticks, walking on the sidewalk and not using it, simply walking with it in their hand or folded up or what-not. I was running the other day and had to run under construction scaffolding and there was a person coming at me with one of these sticks and I became nervous because there is never enough room for two people to comfortably pass under one of these get ups, let alone when one is wielding a stick. But, it was all for not, the person never even put the stick on the ground, he just kind of walked with it in his hand. I spent the rest of my run trying to figure out if the person was blind, and if they were, why weren't they using the stick, and if the person could see fine (which it seemed like to me) was the stick just a prop? Does anyone have answers to this? I see this more often than not, seemingly sighted people walking with these sticks, not using them, simply walking with them.

Onto the recipe. Yes, the recipe was good, the second day. I do not recommend eating it as soon as you make it, I thought it was by far much better the second day. Also, because I love pumpkin and curry together I added curry powder to the soup...do whatever you feel like, it's your soup.

Tuscan Pumpkin White Bean Soup
Weight Watchers


1 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray, or enough to coat pot
1 medium onion(s), coarsely chopped
15 oz canned pumpkin
3 1/2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
15 1/2 oz canned white beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
6 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese


Coat a large soup pot with cooking spray and set over medium-low heat. Add onion, cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.

Stir in pumpkin, broth, beans and oregano; simmer 8 minutes.

In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. (Note: Make sure not to overfill blender in order to avoid splattering.) Return soup to pot and reheat; season with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top each with 1 tablespoon of grated cheese. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Rating = Damn Good (the second day)

7 comments:

Crystal said...

You bring up a good question as I've seen that a few times too. I might have somewhat of an answer for you...

My girlfriend is almost 100% blind. However, she can see some things (barely). She often uses the help of a friend to guide her or uses her stick when she cannot fully see due to light conditions or whatnot. So, she may carry her stick when she's traveling on a familiar path or when she can make out shapes. She'll then whip out the stick when it's needed.

Hope that makes sense!

Crystal said...

P.S. - great job on the weight loss! I am jealous (but then again, I'm not really trying too hard.)

Brenna said...

I can't believe you had this much weight to lose, really. I can't.

People often carry sticks to ward off strange dogs. My MIL does this and I see it often in my neighborhood. Probably not as common in the city since dogs are mostly on leashes. We have shitloads of dogs on electric fences around here, they'll come right up to the edge lunging and barking. So annoying.

Anonymous said...

You've done such a great job with your weight loss. Do you run/workout every day? Do you eat a certain amount of meals/snacks every day?

I've been using the livestrong website to track my calories and I've finally starting losing the weight. However, I am probably going to have to run/workout 7 days a week to lose the 10 lbs...

JB said...

JennyBeth, I do work out six days a week, it's mostly running, but I do mix in yoga and weightlifting when I have the extra time.

With WW, I'm given 19 points a day and I eat all those points, and then whatever points I earn through my activity. The trick for me is to eat as many low point foods as poosible. I could blow all my points in one sitting if I really wanted to, but the point scale helps me fill up at every meal with 1 and 2 point options. I'm not sure when this will plateau, but for now it seems to be working.

JB said...

Cafe Cyan, thanks so much for your post about your friend, it does make sense now that you explain your friends situation. Thanks
JB

JB said...

Brenna, It's not that I had a ton to lose, but I'd put 6 pounds on since the wedding which needed to come off, and then there was the pesky 7 pounds I wanted to lose before the wedding that never came off, so in total it was about 13 pounds I wanted to loose max.