Thursday, December 31, 2009

Vegan Leek Potato Soup

We met with Rick today to go over the vegan weight loss diet he'll be on for the next month. He was very excited and had more than a page of goals and reasons why he wanted to lose weight. He's definitely motivated!

After Rick set his goals and found his "Why" for losing weight, we went to the grocery store to stock up on fruits, veggies, beans, and whole grains for the week. It was a lot of fun.

When we got home we decided to show Rick how we cook - with one of our household favorites, leek potato soup. He liked it so much he decided to join us for dinner. So Rick had one of his first healthy vegan meals tonight! He loved it and I know you will too. So I'm sharing our secret recipe with you.




This was the bowl of vegan leek potato soup Rick ate on New Years Eve.

Vegan Leek Potato Soup Recipe

  • Potatoes - 6 medium size, cubed
  • Leeks - 2 to 3 medium leeks
  • Onion - 1 small
  • Vegetable Bouillon - 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • Soy milk - 3/4 cup (optional)
  • Cilantro for garnish
Start by boiling 2 quarts of water. Chop the potatoes into cubes and boil in the water. Add Bouillon and turmeric (and feel free to add other spices such as rosemary or thyme - or just be creative!).

While the potatoes are cooking, chop up the leeks and onions and saute them with the 1 tsp of olive oil for 5 minutes at low to medium heat, just enough to get them soft. Then add the leeks and onions to the soup and boil for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are nice and soft.

Chop up some cilantro and add as a garnish. When you serve the soup, add some soy milk to taste for that creamy flavor.

Enjoy your vegan leek potato soup! I know we did.


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Rick's Workup June 24, 2009


This is a photocopy of Rick's last workup on June 24, 2009. Here are his stats:

Total Cholesterol 157
HDL Cholesterol 26
LDL Cholesterol 111
Triglycerides 99
Ratio 6.1
Glucose ("sugar") 90
Blood Pressure 118/80
Body Mass Index (BMI) 32.9
Weight 229 pounds
Fasting: Yes
Body Fat 28.0%

The main changes we expect to see here are a loss in weight, loss in body fat percentage, and hopefully some reduction in his blood pressure which is close to the high level.

We'll measure Rick's weight tomorrow morning before he starts the diet and go from there!

Rick Makes the Leap

Rick Hamilton made a New Years Resolution. He's determined to lose that weight he's been gaining over the last 5 years. And to do so, he's decided to work with me, Tom Corson-Knowles, as his wellness coach and mentor throughout the process.

Rick will be going on a strictly vegan diet for 1 month. That means no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no fish, no chicken. It also means lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and beans.

Today I'll be taking Rick to the grocery store for his first day of vegan shopping. I'll have to teach Rick a lot of new things about eating healthfully, how to shop for vegan foods, and what vegetables are (last time I checked, Rick wasn't sure what kale was).

I'm also making sure Rick reads The Engine 2 Diet so that he can see the results others have gotten on a vegan diet and so that he understands what he's doing and why he's doing it to lose weight and get healthier..

Here's our shopping list for now:

Whole grain bread

Oats

Whole grains cereals

Soy / rice / hemp/ almond/ oat milk

Avocados

Rice

Black beans

Garbanzo beans

Hummus

Veggies - kale, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage, celery, parsley, cilantro

Fruits - apples, oranges, peaches, bananas, plums

Nayonaise

Potatoes

Raisins

Dates

Walnuts

Sweet potato

Soy yogurt

Tamari

Salad greens

SNACKS: Apples, oranges, Pure Bars (organic, raw food bars), celery sticks and peanut butter

Wish us luck!