If you’ve been a regular here at Midwest Storyteller, you can’t help but be familiar with April’s winner of my First Friday Freebie. I was so happy to send it on its way to –
Diane Yates in Lake Alfred, Florida!
Congratulations, Diane! I hope you enjoy this little birdie as you stroll along your garden path.
Diane has made previous appearances here on the blog. She’s a fellow writer and great friend and I know that some of you have either won as a freebie or purchased one of her great books. You can find them all at dianeyates.com
If you missed my interview with Diane, check it out here.
This garden pick by Spring Shop was a Hobby Lobby find. I love a great excuse to visit that store (as you can probably tell). If you’d like to see the original freebie offer, click here.
You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! pagehere.If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.
Diane entered her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirmed her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox. If you’ve done that and not received a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know as I am trying to work out a few bugs with that. It seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.
Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.
Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies help me reach more people with my stories, recipes and more. When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free. Are you catching on this is a free thing?
Coming soon: May’s First Friday Freebie! That takes place on Friday, May 7th. You’ll be able to see a photo of the Freebie and enter to win at any point all day that day. Don’t forget to check the email that you used to subscribe for notification that you’ve won.
A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing.
ONCE AGAIN: Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe. That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, May 7th, 2021. And, by the way, welcome to the most beautiful month of the year! Well, at least if you live in the Midwest.
That was yesterday. And I didn’t play a prank on anybody, although I did have a really good laugh at Smuffy’s expense, but that’s a story for another day.
April has arrived and I’m so excited. March consisted of winter, false spring, scenes from Wuthering Heights, Spring Glimmer, See One Bloom and Dance Day, followed by Curly Girl Wind Alert Week and then Sunny Winter. April, though often rainy, brings a slight reduction in meteorological mood swings. (Except for those tornadoes and we try not to think about those.)
And, of course, it brings to those who are subscribers of Midwest Storyteller, a First Friday Freebie! Today’s the day, so let’s look at what you can enter to win –
This garden pick by The Spring Shop is yet another great Hobby Lobby find. It will not only add some whimsy and color to your flower bed or pot, but also a faint tinkle should the wind set the little bell in motion. A cute little bird and red flower adorn this metal pick and will draw the eye to whatever plants you want to accent.
To enter to win the bird and bell garden pick, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Let’s get outside!” You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, April 2nd, 2021!
NOTE: There seems to be an occasional problem here on the blog with subscribers not receiving their confirmation email. If this happens, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know so that I can report these instances and have the issue resolved.
First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so you’ll want to subscribe over on the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so.
Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through all your social media. If you like an idea, recipe or story you see here, be sure to hover over the photo and “pin it”.
Subscribers win every single month! On the “Freebies” page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, April 2nd by leaving a comment which says, “Let’s get outside!” After that, please, go outside!
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.
Those four steps are simple and quick! Why not subscribe and confirm right now before you forget?
Much more important that this being Freebie Day, it is Good Friday (or God’s Friday). I pray all the blessings upon you that the Messiah gave His life on this day to bestow upon you. Spend these Holy Days with your family and enjoy one another. Sunday for us is the grandest, happiest day of the whole year as we celebrate that fact that the tomb was found empty and Jesus is ALIVE!
Comments? How are you celebrating this glorious weekend? I’d love it if you’d share.
Disclaimer: Lest you think this drawing is rigged, I hereby announce that this is a first in my First Friday Freebie world.
Our February winner is also our March winner! Let’s meet the two-in-a-row winner –
Christine in Boonville, Missouri!
Congratulations, Christine! Christine has certainly found out that it pays to subscribe and then enter to win – maybe not early, but certainly often. Thanks so much for sending me this photo.
This adorable bunny pillow cover is a great Hobby Lobby find that will bring Christine’s décor right into the spirit of spring. If you’d like to see the original freebie offer, click here. If you’d like to see what Christine won last month, click here.
You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! pagehere.If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.
Christine entered her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirmed her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox. If you’ve done that and not received a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know as I am trying to work out a few bugs with that. It seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.
Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.
Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies help me reach more people with my stories, recipes and more. When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free. Are you catching on this is a free thing?
Coming soon: April’s First Friday Freebie! That takes place on Friday, April 2nd. You’ll be able to see a photo of the Freebie and enter to win at any point all day that day. Don’t forget to check the email that you used to subscribe for notification that you’ve won.
A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing.
REMEMBER: Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe. That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, April 2nd, 2021. No foolin’!
After all – and I hate to burst your little green bubble – St. Patrick wasn’t Irish.
No! Wait… What?
If folks could take a moment from pinching one another, guzzling green beer, searching for leprechauns or perhaps, more profitably, for pots of gold, they might be able to get down to the historical facts of the matter. So, now that you’ve taken the deep dive into your closet and found a green outfit for today, we can settle down to find out how the real story went down. We thrive on truth!
I like true stories, especially when I have a personal link to them. My mother loved keeping the family history and her side of the family is full of Irish, Scots and Brits. The more I learn about my fascinating ancestry, the more the British Isles move to the top of my list of places to visit. I don’t know about kissing that Blarney Stone, though. It looks mighty precarious and apparently some ancestor of mine must have kissed it long enough and hard enough to make it last because I’m already blessed with the gift of gab. My time in Ireland would be better spent trying to find and position the perfect headscarf in order to keep this mane of mine looking anything close to reasonable in that amount of wind. If all the hairdressers in Hollywood couldn’t keep Maureen O’Hara’s hairdo looking decent in all those movies, there’s little hope for me on a trip to Ireland!
Back to Patrick, now that I’ve taken the blarney detour. Let’s see, where were we?…
Oh, yes! Patrick wasn’t Irish at all. He was born in Roman Britain. His real name, according to my limited study on that point, was Maewyn Succat, which he wasn’t so fond of, so he called himself Patrick. Can’t say as I blame him. Imagine us all celebrating St. Maewyn’s Day. Nah!
He has nothing to do with leprechauns. Probably, if he ever encountered one, he would throw a few choice verses of Scripture at the vertically challenged little guy and it would go “poof” and disappear. He has nothing to do with pots of gold. People just associate that with leprechaun lore. I’m pretty sure that pinching people lay somewhere outside his personal boundaries, especially if it involved being so petty as to base it on the color of a person’s clothing. Leprechauns – now that’s another story. Should you encounter one, they are the ones who pinch you for not wearing green. The moral here is: Stick with Patrick. Avoid leprechauns.
I have no idea whether Patrick drank beer. He probably did, because he neither grew up nor spent his adult life in the land of teetotalism. I doubt that he bothered to color it green. Somehow, I think (and I’m pretty astute in these matters) this custom seems to be to be one of those that can be attributed to human nature. People who are looking for a great excuse to consume way too much of something will certainly latch on to any novel way to get the party started.
This brings us to snakes. Ireland is one of a handful of countries, including New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland and Antarctica, where snakes are not native in the wild. No snake with an ounce of sense would want to go to these places without a good, warm sweater and you’re probably less likely to meet up with that sight than you are a leprechaun. Saint Patrick had no need to drive snakes out of Ireland because there weren’t any. However, since the Scriptures refer to Satan as “the serpent”, the visual picture brought about by this mythical story is more than appropriate. Patrick, throughout his life, certainly dealt a blow to the wiles of the serpent.
Shamrocks? Yeah, you might want to pin one of those over your heart if you identify with the real Saint Patrick. Read on to discover why you might want to honor Saint Patrick on his special day.
I’ve heard it said that “the best revenge is a life well lived”. Joseph, after all his trials in Egypt, spoke these words to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV). Jesus said, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44 NIV).
Tough stuff, but Patrick, by faith in the One who saved him, was able to do it. What an example!
March can be cold. It can be dank. It can be way too windy. We shall see what the rest of the month brings here in the Midwest, because March has certainly come in like a lamb so far. Glorious days with just a light jacket or no jacket at all have been perfect for getting outside again. It makes you feel almost as happy and carefree as if you’d just won a First Friday Freebie! That’s something to relish in case it decides to go out like a lion.
Winnie the Pooh observed that no one – not even Eeyore – could be un-cheered by a balloon. I feel the same way about bunnies and tulips, so cheer up and enter to win –
This 16” spring pillow cover made me just a little sad, however, but only because there was only one and I wanted one for myself as well. As I wrench it from my grasping fingers, I declare today that it’s all yours! The cute, brown bunny amidst the eye-popping tulips in all their various spring colors should go wonderfully with any décor that needs that added spring touch. (Note: Pillow not included.) A handy zipper along the bottom edge allows you to slip it on over one of your other pillows for the season. My pillow in the photo was less than 16″, so you can fatten up your bunny more with a bigger, puffier one.
To enter to win the bunny pillow cover, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Spring is my thing!” You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, March 5th, 2021!
NOTE: There seems to be an occasional problem here on the blog with people trying to subscribe and not receiving their confirmation email. If this has happened to you, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know so that I can report all these instances and have the issue resolved.
First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so hop on over to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so.
Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.
Subscribers win every single month! On the “Freebies”page, you’ll be able to see what they’ve been winning.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, March 5th by leaving a comment which says, “Spring is my thing!”
The complete First Friday Freebie rules are found here.
Those four steps are simple and quick! Why not subscribe and confirm right now before you forget?
Enjoy this month that carries the promise of spring! Many scientific studies have been done on the benefits of humans being outdoors. Most of us probably didn’t need science to tell us that. Our own common sense and instinct tell us to get out and enjoy creation. The benefits of deep breathing, walking, “grounding” yourself by wiggling your bare toes in the grass are all a part of restoring our physical and psychological well-being after going through the long winter months.
My tulips are up! So are my hyacinths! That goes a long way toward making me feel like God’s in His heaven and all’s right with the world, even if I don’t spy any snails and thorns.
Comments? I’d love to hear what’s pushing its way through the earth in the place you call home.
My February Freebie got all caught up in the snow, snow and more snow, which had me confined more than usual. Once things finally cleared up, I was able to get it to the winner –
Christine in Boonville, Missouri!
Congratulations, Christine! Enjoy your gift and thank you for subscribing and entering to win.
If you’d like to find out what’s inside the cute, sparkly box Christine is holding, see the original freebie offer here.
You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! pagehere.If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.
Christine entered her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirmed her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox. If you’ve done that and not received a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know as I am trying to work out a few bugs with that.
Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.
Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies help me reach more people with my stories, recipes and more. When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free. Get the idea?
Coming up: March’s First Friday Freebie! That takes place on Friday, March 5th. You’ll be able to see a photo of the Freebie and enter to win all day that day. Don’t forget to check the email that you used to subscribe for notification that you’ve won.
A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing.
REMEMBER: Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe. That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, March 5th, 2021.
Are you ready to hop into spring? March’s Freebie will put you in the mood!
January is bitter and devoid of Christmas. March is raw, teasing with its two or three nice days and threatening to never end. But February? Right spang in the middle of it, its redeeming quality, Valentine’s Day, comes to brighten up what would appear to be just another set of footprints plodding through the snow and slush till spring. It doesn’t hurt that chocolate usually enters the picture, too!
While I had no way of sending you chocolates and my little Sweetheart Valentine has kept me from getting a homemade set of Valentine cards made for you, I do have a bit of cheery bling to offer.
Take a look –
This beautiful pendant on a 28”-30” gold-tone chain followed me home. It’s from Accessory Connection and I just loved all the movement in the tortoiseshell pieces hanging from the black faceted embellishment, not to mention the detail in the chain that adds the extra sparkle.
To enter to win the pendant and chain as a Valentine for yourself or for someone you love, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Be My Valentine, Midwest Storyteller!” You’ll need to do that before midnight TONIGHT, February 5th, 2021!
NOTE: There seems to be a problem here on the blog with people trying to subscribe and not receiving their confirmation email. If this has happened to you, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know so that I can report all these instances and have the issue solved.
First Friday Freebies are for email SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, so hop on over to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page and subscribe to Midwest Storyteller if you haven’t done so.
Your friends will enjoy the stories, recipes, laughter and, of course, the FREEBIES here on the blog, too, so share with all your friends and family through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.
Subscribers win every single month! On the “Freebies”page, you’ll be able to see who they are and what they’ve been winning.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight by leaving a comment which says, “Be My Valentine, Midwest Storyteller!”
Take advantage of this “month of love” by sending some Valentines! I know, I know, it gets all commercialized, but you must admit, we don’t spend enough time telling friends and family how much we love and appreciate them. Let’s let all the commercialism serve as a nudge. The simplest note or a treat wrapped in red tissue is all it takes to make someone feel special
Subscribe now if you haven’t already, and confirm in your email before you forget! (See note above concerning subscription issues.)
I type this at the end of a raw, blustery day. Is that the distant call of spring I hear? Never mind, I think it’s the Roomba.
Comments or questions? Share some of your simple ideas for making someone feel loved and appreciated on Valentine’s Day.
I’m excited to announce the winner of January’s First Friday Freebie. Sometimes my Freebies have to take a little journey to arrive at their new home.
This one did do some traveling – all the way to –
Janine in Rochester, New York!
Congratulations, Janine! Enjoy your goodies and thank you for subscribing and entering to win.
If you’d like to see the original freebie offer, check it out here.
You can see past First Friday Freebies and their winners on my Freebies! pagehere. If you’re not yet a subscriber to Midwest Storyteller they might entice you to become one – First Friday Freebies are for email subscribers only.
Janine entered her email in the subscription area here on the blog and then confirmed her subscription when the confirmation email arrived in her inbox. If you’ve done that and not received a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com and let me know as I am trying to work out a few bugs with that.
Subscribing is the best way to avoid missing what’s new here on the blog because you’ll get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month.
Comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies are my way of reaching more people with the stories, recipes and more. When you share with all your friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free. Get the idea?
Coming up: February’s First Friday Freebie! That takes place on Friday, February 5th. You’ll be able to see a photo of the Freebie and enter to win all day that day. Don’t forget to check your email for the reveal.
A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight on the day of the drawing.
REMEMBER: Should your name be drawn as the winner, you will be notified via the email you used to subscribe. That means you’ll need to check your email often in the week following the drawing so that you can respond and keep the prize from being offered to someone else.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
These four simple steps will have you ready to enter to win on Friday, February 5th, 2021.
Preparing to say “Happy Valentine’s Day“ to someone special? You can keep this Freebie for yourself – or maybe not!
This recipe has been updated and I am reposting it to better help those who are on the Trim Healthy Mama plan. Of course, since it’s the best soup I’ve ever made, anybody is going to love it!
While it’s still soup weather… Well, it’s soup weather somewhere, I suppose. Here in the Midwest, weather gets wonderfully weird. When I first posted this soup recipe, a nearby town had just set a record a few days ago when the temperature hit seventy-eight degrees in February! That’s weird. That’s wonderful! So many areas of the country received winter’s full blast while we were just – chilly. It has to get mighty warm for us to give up on nourishing, yummy soups at our house, though.
This soup was born of necessity – and that’s another post for another day. Having taken yet another serious step forward in improving my food choices, I’d adapted many of my old recipes into grain-free, sugar-free versions. One day, oozing with inspiration and having one of those “if I were the perfect soup, what would I be like?” mind excursions, I hatched a plan. It must have been one of my super-duper, genius, over-the-top, brainy days, because after a trip to the store and a little time at the stove, I rolled my eyes and patted myself on the back. All my past kitchen flops had been compensated for and I knew I had a winner.
I needed a winner. I had a reputation to uphold. At a local church sponsored Souper Bowl of Sharing, soups are judged and the top-rated soups receive the coveted “Golden Ladles”. I’d received three consecutive Golden Ladles, so why not go for a fourth? Besides, all proceeds go to the area food bank. They deserve a great soup, right?
My own high praise of this soup comes to you from a life-long sweet-tater-hater. I’ve only embraced the rock-hard, ugly roots in the last few years. I think it happened during a daring restaurant experience when I lost my head, blurting out, “I’ll have some of those sweet potato fries.” I’ve been experimenting with them ever since.
I filled my slow cooker with a triple batch of this soup and, yes, I took home another golden ladle!
So many people have asked me for this recipe. I think you’ll love it. If you can’t have dairy, I weep for you. However, I did have a good friend tell me that she made substitutions in the soup due to her dietary restrictions and not only was it yummy, but her husband said it was the best soup he ever had in his life.
A few notes before we start –
1. If you haven’t worked with leeks, they look like giant green onions. However, their onion-y taste is delightfully delicate! They pick up a lot of sand and grit while growing, though, which is why the recipe says to halve lengthwise. This will enable you to fan the layers apart and rinse all the dirt out. Then, just pull all the layers back together, lay flat side down and slice into thin ribbons. Use all the white part and a good portion of the green, but not any parts that look extra tough. The green parts will soften well during cooking.
2. I place the chicken in my slow cooker or a large skillet, season it with salt & pepper, and cook on LOW for a while ahead of making the soup. (Your chicken will be tough if cooked too fast.) When it’s thoroughly cooked, I place it on a cutting board and use one of the handy-dandy Pampered Chef dealy-bobs featured in the photo below.. It shreds it to perfection in no time! I get my Pampered Chef items here. If you don’t have one, just slice across the grain, then pull apart.
3. Do not confuse sweet potatoes with white potatoes when it comes to cooking time. Cubed sweet potatoes cook FAST! The best way I’ve found is to take a large knife and slice off a 1/2″ slab. Then, turn the sweet potato over onto the flat surface you’ve created and slice the whole thing into more 1/2″ slabs. Stack a few together, cut into 1/2″ strips (like French fries) and then into cubes. Sweet potatoes are solid and difficult to cut when raw, but don’t let them fool you. Once cubed and put into the boiling broth, I’d advise giving them the taste test after about five minutes. In case just reading this instruction wore you out, check your supermarket for frozen bags of cubed sweet potatoes. One bag is just about right for this recipe and you can just dump them right into the boiling broth. Not all stores carry these, so grab them when you see them.
4. I invented “Faux-broth” as a substitute for chicken broth one day when none of the stores nearby had chicken broth without sugar in it. Again, I let my mind wander. (It’s not always dangerous.) I threw together a series of things that I would have used if I were seasoning, for instance, a chicken for roasting. I feel a little silly, I must say, for sharing a recipe for water with herbs in it, but I’ve used it over and over again. Anyhow, if you’re out of broth, this “flavored water” will get you by in a pinch. The first time you make this soup, I’d advise using real chicken broth. Then, you’ll know how it’s meant to taste. (That’s what I used for the soup contest – and I won – I’m just sayin’.)
OK – Let’s make AWESOME, prize-winning soup! And, don’t get your under-drawers in a bunch over the butter and heavy cream. Fat doesn’t make you fat – dual fueling your body does. This soup is a satisfying “S Helper”. Besides, as I often tell Smuffy – nobody’s forcing you to eat four bowls.
Let me restate a portion of my disclaimer. (See the sidebar for the whole thing.) It is my promise to properly disclose any items which may have been given to me for consideration, are sponsored, or contain affiliate links. Some links on my site may be affiliate links for which I could receive a commission for your click-through and/or purchase. I only feature brands and companies that I have used and genuinely love. All opinions are completely my own. As a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach, I do, at times, receive monetary compensation for these services.
Below the recipe, you’ll find a link to a free printable which includes both the soup and the faux broth.
Creamy Leek Soup with Chicken & Sweet Potato
1 large leek, halved lengthwise & cleaned well, then sliced into 1/8″ ribbons
1/4 cup butter
1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs, seasoned, cooked & shredded.
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 ” cubes (or one 10 ounce bag of frozen cubed sweet potatoes)
2 cups chicken broth (with NO sugar)
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon (or more) mineral salt
In a medium skillet, cook & stir leeks in butter until very soft over medium heat.
Meanwhile, bring broth (or faux broth) to a boil. Add cubed sweet potatoes. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer till just tender (around 5 minutes). Add leeks (with butter), cooked chicken, salt and heavy cream to the pot. Heat thoroughly.
Great with fresh, THM-friendly “FP” biscuits & a salad with “S” or “FP” dressing! Makes 7-8 cups.
Enjoy the awesomeness!
A word of caution about food safety: If the grateful recipients of your awesome soup present you with a Golden Ladle, examine it carefully. You might want to keep it “just for show”. I’m highly suspicious of the spray paint job on mine!
Don’t forget your two-for-one free printable! If you’d like for your faux-broth to be smooth (minus the visible bits of herb), you can always put your dry herbs in a small processor and spin until powdery.
Questions? Comments? If you make the soup, let me know how you liked it! Any fabulous healthy recipes you’ve invented on a brainy day?
More “Golden Ladle Winners” coming up, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE!
I fully disclose that as a Certified Lifestyle Coach I do, at times, receive monetary compensation as such. See The Fine Print on the “About Me” page of this blog.
Here we are, Dear Readers, over halfway through January 2021. So far, I’d venture to guess that most of you who sighed with relief at midnight on December 31, 2020 are just a shade disappointed.
Having mentored people with their health for years and being an avid observer of human nature, I think all we have to do is turn on the news lately and within thirty seconds we’ve decided we’ve had our fill of human nature.
In January, you’ve probably observed a common occurrence in either your own life or someone else’s. We muddle along through the holidays, stressed and for most of us, over-blessed, promising ourselves that, come January 1st, things will be different. “Enough of this nonsense”, you say, vowing to lose weight, get organized, take better care of yourself, serve your community more, keep in closer contact with the ones you love – the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – I can’t fathom why they ever designated January 1st as the beginning of the new year! It makes no sense, at least for the Northern Hemisphere. Just when the Good Lord offered us hibernation time and a nice, long rest, the calendar screams at us to jump up, get going and conquer the world and all our shortcomings. Oh, please!
Would anyone like to join my movement to have the new year moved to the first day of spring so that we could all get a little more excited about it? I know, I know, it’s a brilliant idea! That’s probably why people in high places never thought of it.
Anyhow, here we are and we seem to be stuck with it for now. This brings me back to my original question: “How’s that workin’ for ‘ya?
One thing I stress in lifestyle coaching throughTrim Healthy Mamais the concept of “tip-toeing in”. I would far rather see someone read a couple of chapters in the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book then choose three simple recipes to fit the plan that they can make in the coming week than I would to see them do a complete pantry makeover, call a family meeting on how things will change and then wear themselves out making sure every bite that goes into their mouth is perfect!
Speaking of perfect bites, let me pause to point out that “sticking to plan” with THM does not equal suffering, as evidenced by this beauty I made last week!
“Loaded Philly Cheese Meatloaf”, page 216 Trim Healthy Table, declared by Smuffy to be the best meatloaf I’ve ever fed him.
Here’s a little nugget to chew on. Repentance is better than goals. Goals involve setting a bar and then trying to measure up to it. Repentance simply involves realizing the road you are traveling is headed in the wrong direction, then turning around and going the opposite way – to a better place. (See how I did that – I’m so clever – note the heading of this blog.)
I want you to feel blessed today and not condemned. If you’re halfway through January and all those new leaves you vowed to turn over are still stuck together, just take a deep breath, take another step on the right path and find joy on the way to a better place. Then, perhaps when someone asks, “How’s that workin’ for ‘ya?”, you won’t have to hang your head and sigh.
If you’re wanting to make your journey with Trim Healthy Mama joyful, choose three recipes that fit the plan and make those this week. Ask yourself some questions about the rest of your meals and snacks and make sensible tweaks. Let 2021 take you to a better place step by step.
I like to make out a menu plan on weekends, but I only plan out four items. I enjoy my “pleasant ruts”, so I already know what breakfasts will probably consist of. I share complete weekly menus in my coaching sessions, but I’ve been on the plan long enough that lots of meals are “freestyle” now.
I thought you might like to see what a recent plan included. We have our main meal at lunch because that’s what Smuffy prefers and supper is freestyle. You’ll have your own plan for your own household.
I take it for granted that each of these main dishes will be served up with quick-fix non-starchy veggies, salads and other sides and that snacks are ready to grab.
If you need support in your journey, head to the Contact Me page and let me know. I’ll give you all the info on group sessions and private coaching, which can be done in person or by phone. Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!
For info on getting started and a few questions you can ask yourself about getting started, click here. For coaching pricing, click here.
It’s a great way to come out of social distancing a better person.
Have the events of the last several months caused you to re-think how you are fueling your body so that you can build your immune system? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.
