A CRAFT and SOUP: Curried Apple Squash Soup

So this "going healthy girl" is starting the Biggest Loser Diet tomorrow. I am doing my own program at home. I would love to be on the show, at the ranch. However, even if I could get on the show, I doubt that I could do it because of my children. Who would watch them? So I opted for a program at home. Their "diet" can be found on WebMD. It's fairly sensible.

I will also be doing LOTS 'O' EXERCISE. I consider myself to be the "fittest, fattest person" at the Y. I work out quite regularly. I have been a member of the Y for about three years now. I have always been active. Despite the fact that I am active, I have always been heavy. I won't bore you with all the details but I will tell you that I will soon be doing about three hours a day at the gym.

I also joined SparkPeople, a free online diet spot. It has exercise videos, a place to log cardio, message boards, etc. It's a great site.

I decided to make some low cal soups to eat as snacks or lunches. So I will be doing a soup every Monday and if time permits it will be accompanied by a craft.

Curried Apple Squash Soup
based on a recipe from WW, Great Cooking Every Day
calories 100 per cup, fiber 5 grams, carbs 22g, fat 0g

6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 medium sized onions, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 teaspoons of canola oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder (I used garam masala)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 pounds of roasted squash (you can use it without roasting but it does add a lot of flavor that way)
4 granny smith apples, chopped

Saute onions and celery in canola oil. Once softened add in broth and the remainder of the ingredients. If you did not roast the squash cook until it is softened. If you roasted it, cook for about twenty minutes. Puree, return to pot until ready to serve.

And now the craft that helped keep me out of the kitchen. I was so taken with Kat's creation, you can find it here. Kat is one creative, bright idea girl! Thanks Kat for the inspiration.