A yummy new recipe and a sad story

A little over a week ago, one of my patients died. For those of you who don't know, I work mostly with combat veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It's an awesome job working with wonderful people (both coworkers and patients.) And to protect the patient's confidentiality, I'm not going to go into much detail. It wasn't a complete surprise, but that doesn't matter. When you work closely with someone for a while and that person leaves your life, it's sad. And this is the first close patient of mine who has passed away. Sadly, I know it won't be the last. 

But as a result, I've been down in the dumps a little. I haven't worked out all week and thrown myself lots of small pity parties. But in the true clueless manner in which I do it, I wasn't really aware of why I was throwing the pity parties until about a week into it! Yes, the psychologist is sometimes clueless about her own emotional issues. But when I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday with horrible stomach problems, I started to figure out that my emotional issues were becoming physical issues. It's my pattern.

I'm happy to say that I'm getting back into the swing of things. I went back to spinning this morning and scheduled to run and swim tomorrow morning. Oh, and Andrea - I hope you don't mind if I keep your awesome book of triathlon training book for one more week. I didn't get around to using it much this week :\

After the spin class, I hung around the YMCA for another hour speaking to a bunch of small vendors there offering there wares in somewhat a community outreach. As a result, I have learned about Moringa - supposedly the miracle plant (still skeptical but willing to learn) and I scheduled an initial appointment at a local chiropractor. I've been wanting to go the chiropractor for years and this ended up being timely and convenient! I'm headed there Wednesday afternoon so look for an update!


To give myself a little pat on the back: aside from the sweet potato soup that I made this afternoon, I also made some more quinoa with acorn squash and some brussel sprouts. How healthy am I?

For the recipe - this one comes from the lovely Janis who has been eating healthy for a while and is a wonderful guide. I had a bowl already and supposedly it tastes even better the next day. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

Makes about 2 1/2 quarts, or 6 - 8 servings

Amazingly good!

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)

3 large cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.)

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (about 6 1/4 cups)

4 cups chicken broth (homemade or low-salt)

2 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. thyme
2 medium-sized bay leaves
1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (add more or less to taste)
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
3 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice (do not substitute concentrate)
2 cans black beans, drained
1 c. crushed tomatoes
1 c. evaporated milk
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Heat oil on medium high heat in large pot. Saute onions until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir. Add sweet potatoes, broth, and spices. Cover and turn heat to high, bringing to boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are becoming tender, about 5 minutes. With potatomasher, mash potatoes briefly, crushing into smaller pieces but not pureeing--there should still be distinctive pieces of sweet potato in the soup, but crushing them will distribute the flavor throughout the dish.

Add remaining ingredients except evaporated milk. Cover and cook until potatoes are very tender, 5 - 10 more minutes. (At this point, soup can be frozen. When ready to serve, thaw and finish according to instructions.) Add evaporated milk. Cover and continue to simmer until flavors are blended, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. (The soup's flavor continues to improve the longer it sits and is better the next day.) Correct seasonings and garnish with cilantro if desired. Let cool slightly before serving.