Day 1: Eat Healthy (healthy for you)
Self-care is so important to any business person or professional and it seems as though we have a difficult time just taking care of our personal basic needs. I know I am thoroughly annoyed when working on a project where basic human needs like hunger and using the restroom are things that I wish I could outsource.
This challenge is asking me to not only eat but to do so in a healthy way. When I think healthy, I think of eating the rainbow. So I decided to make a veggie soup.
I cook all the time and with fresh ingredients. So this challenge was not terribly difficult but it did require me to be a bit more intentional, which I think is the actual point of the challenge. Here are the steps I did to complete the challenge.
The Prep: Shopping
So I had some pork loin and broth in the fridge already so I just needed to get some veggies to be the colors of the rainbow. Here is the breakdown in the rainbow:
Red: Pork Loin
Orange: Bell pepper
Yellow: Squash
Green; Broccoli & Green onion
Blue: Well? The broth after the purple cabbage cooked in it
Purple: Purple Cabbage
I did have other ingredients like garlic, herbs, and spices in my pantry.
The Challenge: Making the soup
What I love about soup is that it is pretty easy to make. It's just about the timing.
When I purchased the pork loin chunks, I drizzled them in apple cider vinegar with Old Bay Seasoning and then stored them in the refrigerator to be cooked another day. I seared them over medium heat in olive oil.
Next, I pulled out my turkey stock, sliced the purple cabbage, peeled the garlic, and seasoned it. I combined them in a small pot and brought them to a boil. Once the cabbage was soft I added the bell pepper, squash, green onion, and broccoli.
I used the broccoli's vibrant green color to gauge when it was ready.
The Pros and Cons: Eating The Soup
The Pros: This challenge made me refocus on what is healthy for me. It is so easy to get into a rut of just grabbing something and mindlessly eating. I also had a lot of fun taking the pictures and trying to make it all look appetizing on camera which added an extra layer of attention to detail. The Soup was tasty and reminded me how much I like veggies. It also reminded me that I like having a veggie tray around just to snack on (I should probably add food prep to my schedule so I can have healthy snacks to mindlessly nibble on instead of junk.)
The Cons: There were no downsides., The only way this could be better is if it was done by a private chef and I got to just enjoy the food. Honestly, I cook all the time for the family so it does not feel like a unique experience for me. Also, food tastes better when it is prepared by someone else!
The Final Score: 3/5
All in all, I would say that this was a good start to the Say Yes to You Challenge.
I did feel like it reminded me to say yes to feeling better physically. I did get to choose something that I liked instead of cooking for the various culinary pallets of my husband and kids. Lastly, It serves as a great reminder that I love veggies and should just have more around. I would say on a scale of 1-5 I would rate this a 3.
If you would like to do the challenge or learn more about Yo The Joy Ignitor's Program. Check out Yo here!
Leave a comment, and share your experience trying this challenge!