Before I get into the recipe for this week, I wanted to talk about changes that happen to us over time. I have gained some not so insignificant weight recently. I’m disappointed that I let it get this far out of hand. While this has happened, I wanted to share with you what I have learned and what changed I will be making going forward.

I went through and still am going through a stressful time. Work has been really busy on all ends and I am doing my best to make sure I am living up to everyone’s expectations. For a while, I was using alcohol to help relieve it before I went to sleep. It took me a while to finally let it go. I instead made sure I am getting the help I need and talking to Tony more about how I am feeling.

Along those lines, perimenopause has wreaked havoc on my body and spirit. The drop in estrogen caused some weight gain around my middle that I don’t like. My emotions have been going crazy too. There are days where I am good and others where I don’t seem to be holding it together. The best thing I can do for this is keep an open line of dialogue with Tony. I tell him everything I am feeling and why. I recommend this because as a man, he doesn’t understand what is going on and keeping this all to myself and torturing him doesn’t make sense. Also, I recommend talking to your mother, if you can. She can be wonderful insight into what you may be going through.

I have learned from all of this is to forgive myself. Yes, I am upset that I have gained some weigh, but it really isn’t out of control. As we age, our body is going to change. We don’t have to give into “middle-age spread”. As our bodies evolve, so shall we. I don’t expect to look like I did in my 20s. I have started to lift heavy again to combat the loss of muscle mass (If anyone is interested in what I’m doing workout-wise, leave a comment). I am also going back to meat and cutting my calories from maintenance to weight loss. I didn’t want to go back to meat, but I was having to supplement a lot of protein powder to get the protein I needed. Meat is a lot less calories for more protein. The bottom line is change up what you are doing to fit the changes of aging. What used to work, may not work now. It’s ok to falter, just don’t give up.

Speaking of meat, now on to the recipe. I chose the recipe for Thai Chicken and Wild Rice Soup by Gimmie Some Oven because it was easy and could be made in a crockpot. It is also a different flavor of a soup that I love. This recipe is also very close to what I want in terms nutrients. I am hardly going to make any changes. The only thing that is a bit high is the sodium. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed

• I replaced the chicken stock with a low sodium variety.
• I lowered the amount of curry paste to reduce the sodium.
• I added one extra bell pepper to bump up the vitamin C.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Thai Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Serve 6

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 small bell peppers, diced 
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 small white or yellow onion, diced
• 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 2 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk

1. Combine chicken, mushrooms, stock, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, onion, stock, wild rice, ginger and Thai chili paste in the bowl of a large slow cooker.  Stir briefly to combine, then cover with a lid.
2. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, until the rice is tender and the chicken shreds easily.
3. Transfer the cooked chicken to a separate plate, and shred into bite-sized pieces with two forks.
4. Add the shredded chicken and coconut milk to the soup, and stir gently until combined.  Taste and season with salt, pepper and/or additional curry paste as needed.
5. Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.