Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe!

If you follow me on instagram you may have seen me post this picture of some vegetables I had bought from a road side seller local to where my Dad lives, all the produce was locally grown and organic. I bought all the veg for £10 and was pleased as punch, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it and that was make soup! As you know I'm trying to lose a bit more weight and soup is a great alternative to salads during the cold months. 

So today I thought I'd share my spicy pumpkin soup recipe with you! I love soups and they're so easy to make, Pumpkin will soon be out of season so I wanted to get this post in before it's too late!

I made this recipe up as I went along, I make soups a lot so I was quite confident it would turn out ok! 

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 medium-large pumpkin (you want to remove all the seeds and the loose flesh and put to one side you want to use the hard flesh with the skin removed chop into small chunks this is probably the mos time consuming part)

1 large white onion (chopped up) 

1 large leek (chopped up) 

2 cloves of garlic ( roughly chopped) 

1-1.5 litres of vegetable or chicken stock (this will depend on how thick you want your soup to be)

1 Chilli (deseeded and chopped up) 

1 small dried chilli (crushed -this is optional you could also add some dried chilli flakes instead adjust the amount to your preferred spice level)

2 tsp of ground coriander

2 tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of garlic salt

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Once you've prepared all your veg (I always do this whenever I cook and put them in separate bowls this way nothing gets ruined because your still prepping mid cook), take a large pan probably one of the largest you own this recipe makes a lot of soup. Add a good glug of olive oil to the pan and put over a medium heat, add the onion, leek, garlic and both chilli's to a pan and soften everything, you want to keep your eye on this and keep stirring or you'll end up with burnt garlic or onions. 

2. Once the onions and leeks start to turn translucent you want to add the coriander, cumin and garlic salt, and stir well coating everything in the spice. Then add the pumpkin chunks, try to get everything mixed together (this can be difficult depending on the size of your pan) allow to sweat for a couple of minutes.

3. Boil the kettle and add a couple of stock pots to a jug (these are available in most supermarkets and are a concentrated jelly of stock that you melt in hot water) add the water between 1-1.5 litres and allow the stock pots to melt. You can use chicken or veg stock I generally use veg stock for soups just because I prefer the taste.

4. Pour the stock into the pan carefully you want to ensure that all the pumpkin and other ingredients are covered if you don't have enough stock just add some plain water. I then add salt and pepper and give it a good stir to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan, bring the pan to the boil and then turn down to simmering, cover the pan with a lid and allow a little gap for steam, you want to simmer this for around 20-40 minutes you are aiming for the pumpkin to be really quite soft, you should be able to get a skewer through it. 

5. Once the pumpkin is cooked you want to blend the mixture either in a blender, or with a hand blender, until nice and smooth.

6. Too serve I used the pumpkin seeds which I saved earlier, all I did was wash them and lay them on a baking tray, add a bit of garlic salt and cayenne pepper bake in the oven for 10-20 mins and you have a healthy alternative to croutons!

If you allow this to cool you can either store it in the fridge or freeze it and reheat when needed. It should keep for a good 5 days in the fridge though.

As you may have noticed I didn't do a food diary post for this week but I have lost 2lbs! :-) 

Thanks for reading guys!

Hannah -ox

Food Diary, Monday 28th Oct.

Hi everyone! I apologise for no posts this past week, life's been a little bit jumbled for me and unfortunately I've just not had time to organise/schedule posts. 

For a while I've been wanting to do some posts about what I have been eating, as you may have read in my 'Weight Journey' post I have been trying to lose weight, unfortunately my weight does stick to me like glue, so without plenty of exercise and trying to balance out my diet I really struggle to even maintain my weight, adding in the fact I have a few intestinal problems I'm sometimes reluctant to eat healthier things.

Hypnotherapy only goes so far; with my diet and everything I have to put that work in myself, and I have to take every opportunity to excercise I can!

So this was my day of eating last Monday (28th October)...

First off I went for a run about 10am, I say run but it soon turned into a walk, it was absolutely chucking it down, I was absolutely frozen, and really pushed to my limits, ordinarily I would have gone on my tredmil but we're currently clearing out and it had alot of heavy boxes piled on top!

I only went 3.55km (I use the endomondo app) which is 2.2 miles, and it took just under 30 minutes. The last 10 of which I was walking anyway. I burned approx 285 calories, which for first thing in the morning I was pleased as punch with. 

I then had breakfast around 11am, this i admit was pretty random, I had a whole tin of tuna, with a desert spoon of low fat mayo, salt and pepper then two small pieces of toast with low fat marg on. I actually really enjoyed this, especially after I was so ravenous after running.

For lunch which was around 2:30pm I really wanted to pack in as many veggies as possible, I had vegetable fried rice, I fried some rice in a small amount of sesame oil and soy sauce with, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms, peppers, and spring onions and a 2 egg omelette, this seriously hit the spot and is one of my favourite meals!

Finally we didn't eat tea until around 8:00pm I had a piece of  sirloin steak (I did cut the fat off before I ate it) and  the left over veggie rice, I normally get a sweet craving after tea but I was so full I couldn't eat anymore not even any of my mum's homemade crumble! 

I used my fitness pal calorie tracker throughout the day, which estimates I should eat around 1600 calories, I came in at eating around 1,490 calories, which wasn't too bad. 

I initially said I wanted to lose a stone for Christmas, but as it draws rapidly near I realise that might be a tad ambitious, the numbers on the scale aren't really what I'm focused on anyway I just want to feel fit and healthy and be able to tolerate how I look in the mirror!

Anyway Thank you for reading guys!

I hope you liked a different post from me!

Hannah -ox

My Weight Journey...

Today's post is a little different, for a while I've wanted to write a post about the struggles I've had with my weight, and I feel I'm finally at a place where I feel comfortable speaking about it.

Firstly I'll talk about my current weight, although I won't publicly announce it, I aren't happy at my current weight, but I'm a lot happier than I have been in recent years. I'm a size 16 on bottom and a 14/16 on top, however having a size 36-38 E/F (it varies from where I shop) the size top I choose regularly has to be bigger to allow room for my bust. 

(This picture was taken at the beginning of September)

My issues with my weight have always been down to food, I've had a difficult relationship with food probably since I started puberty about 11/12, I always had a healthy appetite when I was younger, but as I go older and was aloud to eat what I chose I began to put on weight.

When I started secondary school I soon became conscious of my image, and I remember one night sitting and crying to my Mum about boys calling me fat. I decided to start losing weight, eating more veg etc. Like most girls I soon realised that skipping meals meant that you could lose weight much quicker, and I got to a point where I would have no breakfast, no lunch, a cuppa soup when I got in from school, and then I'd regularly try to avoid my tea but mostly would be made to eat it by my Mum.

(This is me around fourteen) 

I was soon very slim a size 10 and around 8 and a half stone. When I look at this picture now I realise that I was tiny compared to what I later became, however back then I still felt uncomfortable with my figure and regularly felt 'fat'.

As I got older I grew out of this particularly after getting a few stern words from Mum, I realised I did really love my food and that there was better more healthy ways to keep weight off.

By the time I was 15  I was about 10 and a half stone, and I didn't think much about what I ate, and when I started my first really serious relationship my weight soon started spiraling out of control. 

I won't go into the ins and outs, but towards the end the relationship was pretty sour, and I did a serious amount of comfort eating. I just kept getting bigger and I didn't even realise it.

 I ate anything and everything, my worst confession is once eating a 12 multipack bag of crisps, and a big bag of chocolate buttons (now this makes me feel sick) I was literally out of control.

(This is me near my 18th birthday nearly 2 years ago)

At my biggest I weighed a whopping 15 stone 4 lbs, and I was a size 20, everything about this photo makes me feel terrible, particularly the fact you can see my belly button through my dress. YUK!!

After long discussions with my Mum I decided to get help, in February 2012, I met with Bridget Freer and began a course of hypnotherapy, not only to help with weight loss but also to battle the long term issues I had developed with food. 

Since then I have never looked back, I have lost a substantial amount of weight, and I feel so much better and confident. I don't know if I'll ever be able to look in the mirror and like what I see but I am trying extremely hard. 

(This is me last year in June) 

Although I am slightly heavier now that in this picture above, I regularly use it as a reminder for how far I've come. I feel big headed saying I'm proud. But I am. 

I eat 3 meals a day, and I try to exercise as regularly as possible, I had a small break from trying to lose weight but I've decided to kick start again recently as I feel a bit frumpy and not my best. 

I have also started running again after about a 3 month break and was terribly shocked that my once 9 minute mile has crept up to just over 12 minutes (sob sob), but this has only made me more determined to improve. 

Now it's not necessarily about the weight on the scales but how I feel in myself. I no longer weigh myself everyday, or cut things out. I ask mysef if I really need it, or if I'm just eating because I'm bored.

For anybody trying to lose weight or fix bad eating habits Hypnotherapy is incredible, I also have had it for anxiety, and confidence in driving. 

If you are in East Yorkshire and considering it I really recommend Bridget she is a truly awesome person! 

Here's to the rest of my weight journey...

Thank you so much for reading.

Hannah -ox

The Alzheimer's Society Memory walk 2013.

On Sunday September 1st 2013

Me, some co-workers and family members did the Alzheimer's Society 10 km Memory walk around Harewood House estate in Leeds.

At first I was a bit dubious of the idea, although I did agree to do it, I hadn't put much thought into the reasons why I was.

I work as a carer for the elderly and albeit I have never experienced really severe cases of Alzheimer's and Dementia, I have come into contact with those affected by the illness, both tenants and their families.

The daily struggles faced by those suffering from the illness can mean that they become extremely isolated and alone, many family members struggle to deal with the problems on their own and only seek help when the symptoms are at the most extreme.

The key role that the Alzheimer's Society who are supported by Bupa want to play is putting the person first, taking their wants and wishes into account before treating the illness itself. 

In Yorkshire alone it is estimated that there are over 55,000 cases of Alzheimer's or Dementia, too put it into perspective it is like filling the KC Stadium in Hull... TWICE. 

I set myself the goal of raising £50 as this could send a Dementia or Alzheimer's sufferer to a Dementia Cafe once a week for a month. This helps not only to reduce the isolation a sufferer may face, but also gives care takers, and family members piece of mind and well deserved break.

I can gladly say that I outdid that and so far have raised a whopping £275.00! Altogether we have raised nearly £600 for the Alzheimer's Society, and we are all pleased as punch! 

The walk itself surprised us a little as it was very hilly, and towards the end I must admit I did struggle. 

We took an hour and 50 minutes to complete, which I am told is good as somebody of good fitness would average around an hour and 30 on this particular trail.

I must take this chance to say a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored us, and an even huger well done to the 600 people who turned up to do the walk itself. 

There is still time to donate on my Just Giving page, It is for such a FABULOUS cause! 

Here's a quick snap of me and my Step-Mum Sue before we set off. (Although the picture does make me cringe at my weight)

I walked for my Great Aunt Mavis, and my Step-Granny Pam.

I think Rebekah came up with the best quote for the day which was

"Although they may not remember us we will never forget them"

Thank you so much for reading and your support :) 

Hannah -ox