Lunch Today: Raw Zucchini Spinach Soup

[For last week's giveaway winner and this week's giveaway (last week of March Madness giveways), go here.]

Happy first day of spring!

Here's to a spectacular gardening season (have you begun planting yours?).

However, I must be honest. I'm off to a poor start.

Here's a tomato seed that Hyrum planted.

Our experience with starter plants goes back a few years ago when we attempted starter plants to save money on our garden.

They were a flop. Nothing grew from those little pots. Nothing. Not even one sprout we could call our own. I chalked it up to lack of love and attention. Maybe, now that I'm thinking of it, it was the exact opposite. Maybe I over watered the little guys and they simply had too much water for their own good. I really do not have a green thumb, and beyond water and weed, am a bit clueless in the garden. I'd like to think that my enthusiasm makes up for any lack of knowledge on the subject.

Recently, the kids had an activity at church where they planted some seeds. They were excited, I was hopeful. My husband wanted to throw them all away.

"Remember last time?" he gently reminded me. Yes, I remembered, but, maybe this year will be different. I will water them, and do all the right things. And they will grow.

Here they are, a week and a half later. Nothing's there. I've failed again.

I suppose it is a bit illogical of me to think this time will be different even though I'm not doing anything different from what I did last time. Oh well, someone's got to support these little garden shops, eh?

On a different note.

Today I began the day alone.

It's the only morning (except for Sunday) that I don't teach a 6 am exercise class.

Sometimes I'll sleep in on these days (sleeping in is like 6:30 or 7), but wouldn't you know, the alarm clock (my husband's cell phone) went off and kept going off every 5 minutes after 5:30 am.

It was all the way upstairs in our kid's toy room, but the dang thing is so loud.

So I got up at 6 to finally shut the thing off and debated what to do. Only 20 minutes or so until one or two, or all four of the kids get up.

What to do--Shower? No, I'm just going to get all sweaty in a few hours teaching classes.

Check some emails, Twitter? No. I'll do that later.

Get ready and go to work early and do some grading that has been piling up?

I think I deliberated for a good 10 minutes. You know, just kind of doddled around the house, before I finally decided I would just get ready for the day (workout clothes, my staple wardrobe, whether I like it or not) and then I'd see if my kids were up by then.

Once dressed, I hear the door creak open upstairs, and thuds coming down the stairs. Wait a few seconds, and two little heads appear through the doorway. They want cheerios and books (a morning ritual).

We sit down on the couch and read this:

The Little Bear books are faves from my childhood (my favorite one is A Kiss for Little Bear).

Maurice Sendak, the illustrator (also illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are) has a way of telling the story in pictures with just a few colors and simple illustrations.

His illustrations are imaginative and engaging.

I love beginning my day with good books, my kids snuggled up against me (or just as common, climbing and jumping all around me).

So, back to the fact that it's the first day of spring. This puts me in the mood for lots of green things. What about you?

Maybe it's my body's way of preparing me for summer months, of letting me let go of a few extra winter pounds.

For lunch I was in the mood for something green and light, yet filling. Soups tend to do the trick, when I'm feeling this way.

I really like a raw soup I often get at Ginger's cafe, one of the few local resteraraunts that serves a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan food. Theirs is a blend of green peas, avacado, and cucumber. I was out of my favorite frozen green peas from Costco, so I added spinach to the mix, and freestyled it, making my own version of the good stuff.

Raw Vegan Zucchini Spinach Soup

GF, SF, DF

Makes 2 servings

• 1 cucumber, peeled, & cut into chunks
• 1 zucchini, peeled, & cut into chunks
• 1 avacado, scoop and pit
• 2 c. raw spinach
• 2 c. water
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 TBS. Mrs. Dash tomato basil seasoning
• 1 TBS. Mrs. Dash original seasoning
• 1 tsp. mild miso

Place all ingredients except miso in blender, and blend till very smooth. Then add miso and blend until combined.

If using a Blendtec, place all ingredients in blender except miso and run on soup cycle. Add miso and blend for about 10 seconds, or until thoroughly blended.

Nutrition Info: Makes 2 servings. Per serving (1/2 recipe): 148 calories, 4 g protein, 11 g fat, 7 g fiber, 114 g sodium.

Lots of greens!

Your body will love this. Loaded with all sorts of good things!

Mrs. Dash is one of my favorite ways to flavor dishes without added sodium. Sam's Club sells the one on the left at a great price.

All the ingredients out to make my lunch (I made put everything together in less than 15 minutes).

It gets kinda messy when I'm in the kitchen. Drives Joseph crazy, but he's so polite he rarely mentions the fact. Yes, it get's messy, but creativity has a price. One burst of frantic energy in the kitchen, and then, poof! I've got,

A cooling, velvety green soup.
One of my fave sandwiches: a tomato and sweet onion on toasted bread. Accentuated with a splash of baslamic vinegar and cracked pepper. Ooh, and a bit of horseradish sauce, I always appreciate a little flavah that surprises.

My mom used to eat these sandwiches as a quick lunch between mowing the lawn and building fences (she's quite a handywoman, my mom, and always on the go). I suppose you could say a bit of her has rubbed off on me.

The bread is gluten-free. I still don't eat very much bread after going gluten-free.

I've had some sticker-shock with gluten-free bakery items (twice that of wheat). But, I can't deny I love the texture and taste of bread, and have to have it now and then, especially when I'm craving a sandwich (and rice cakes simply don't cut it as a bread replacer, I know).

Udi's is a new fave brand of mine, although on closer inspection, their claim that they are dairy-free (which is in large, bold letters on the front of the package), means milk free, not egg-free. The bread contains egg whites or some such egg product, but I'm going to forget I saw that. I finally found a gluten-free bread that I like and if it says dairy-free on the label, well, good enough.

To round out the meal, I had some of these, bright, plump beauties.

Strawberries have been on sale ($1.25/lb.) this past week, so we've been enjoying our fill.

Ahh, doesn't it feel like spring is here?

Question of the post: Are you going to plant a garden this year? If so, do you do starters or just buy the plant?

If you have any tips or tricks for not killing the starter plants, please, be a dove and do tell. Thanks.

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