When the Day Gets Away From You--Eat Soup.

I think sometimes people wonder what one does when they are a stay at home mom.  I will tell you it's not as if I spend all day with my feet kicked up and coffee in my hand....the truth is I usually only make it through a half cup of coffee, and later find it cold and old sitting on some forgotten place of landing.  I feel as if I am on go, go, go mode from the moment I am met with morning yawns and the sweet breath of baby boy.

We are working on keeping a schedule here, as I find that predictability works best for both mama and baby. Cole actually adapted quite well to the sleep, eat, play schedule as outlined in several books, and it really helped me to be able to organize and plan my days. So after feeding baby then comes feeding mama.  Lately, my breakfast consists of about 3 different cereals mixed together to create the perfect pairing of sweetness and fiber....yes, fiber people. It does a body good. For the past 6 1/2 almost 7 months now I have rarely strayed from my cereal eating ways, in fact, we go through such a copious amount of cereal here that you would think were serving it to an army. I like to blame it on my inability to eat it throughout most of my pregnancy.  I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and the morning proved to be the hardest to control my sugar levels....so gone were the cereal carb pits and hello to....eggs. I used to stare longingly at the boxes of Life and then drag my feet while making yet another breakfast sandwich consisting of an egg, cheese, and sometimes bacon smooshed between a high fiber/whole wheat english muffin (this was often doused with ketchup.....Mmmmm, ketchup.) I never ate so many eggs in my life, its a wonder that I still enjoy them after the fact.  So....When I'm finished relishing in my cereal goodness, I usually try to do something responsible such as any remaining dishes hangin' in the sink while Cole bug jumps away in his jumperoo ( if you have a 4 or 5 month old and do not have one of these yet, get one. They are genius....you will thank me later). 

We then move on to exer-play where we work on playing but also strengthening the muscles he needs for further development.  Lately we have been working extra hard on tummy time and getting his little tush tush in the air for crawling. People keep telling me I will regret trying to convince him to crawl and be mobile... but I am honestly looking forward to each stage and can't wait to chase him around the house, at least then I could say I cardio is added to my daily routine! 

When the laughs turn to a fine mixture of giggle-cry and I get a face that looks like this....

I know that it must be close to nap time. Once he is down and sound asleep I can finally get myself ready for the day, check FB, write a blog, plan weekly meals, etc.  I try to cram as much productivity into the time that I have just to myself....because once he is up we begin the whole eat, play, sleep pattern all over again.

I do try to get the two of us out at least once a day in between his morning and afternoon nap, I feel that we are both in much better moods with a little change of scenery.  By the time we return it's nap time...for baby that is.  And this is the time of day I really have to kick it into high gear, I have a  small window of time where I try to get dinner prepped.  It helps so I can throw everything together quickly and easily when I am juggling entertaining Mr. Bean, fixing dinner and awaiting the arrival of the hubs.  However, I have never been good with time management and sometimes my dreams of having a beautiful spread of food for my honey and I to consume is shattered when I look at the time and realize "Oh crap"  only 15 minutes until eat time.  For days like these I like to keep a secret weapon up my sleeve...SOUP.  I have always loved soup and the warmth it brings to my soul.  Not to mention that you can pretty much throw together a wonderful soup in no time flat. And that is what happened last night...I had plans of making homemade pizza....but one look at the clock as I was feeding the bug I knew I needed plan B. And this proved to be a success. It was warm, it was satisfying, it got a thumbs up from Kyle and it was FAST.  I changed the recipe and preparation a little from the original to make it faster and more convenient with items I had on hand.  I would highly recommend this soup if you want something healthy, quick and full of flavor.


Chicken Spinach and Pesto Soup:
Adapted from this Recipe:
Eating Well

Ingredients:

• 1 T Olive Oil
• about 10 baby carrots chopped
• 5 chicken tenders poached and shredded
• 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 6 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed
• 1/2 package of prepared pesto sauce (or add in according to taste preference)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of precooked brown rice (optional) I added this in as an after thought, and because I had some that needed to be used up in the fridge.
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup plain or herbed multigrain croutons for garnish (optional)
• Lots and lots of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top

Preparation:
 In large pot or dutch oven heat the olive oil and add chopped carrots; saute for about 5-6 minutes until tender.  ( you could also add chopped onions and some garlic if preferred). Then add chicken broth, marjarom and cook for 1-2 minutes then bring to a boil. Next add in cannellini beans, spinach, and pesto sauce. Cook for about another 5 minutes until carrots are tender. 

Add in chicken, rice(optional), and fresh pepper.  Allow chicken and rice to get thoroughly heated and incorporated into the soup.  Top with croutons and parmesan cheese right before serving.  Also goes well with crusty cheesy bread. Eat and be satisfied.