Having a Ball with Sopa de Albondigas "Mexican Meatball Soup"

Today, was a good day. I do not find this very surprising because most days in my life are usually quite good, but today was not just any day in my life. No. I have a new goal I have set for myself and I hope to reach it with the support of my friends, family, and willpower. About the end of last week I decided that since I had met the current challenge I had set forth for myself (running each morning and hitting the gym in the afternoon); it was time to set a new goal. I have decided that I want to compete in a figure competition and become a figure model. This is going to take a lot more dedication and focus than most of my goals in the past. This is a complete and utter change of not only of my focus and training, but of my life and diet. Today was the day I began the change of a lifetime, as I plan for it to be a continued part of life even when I meet my goal.

I am not saying that it was necessary for me to go on a diet, no. I am just saying that today I revamped the way I eat and it has already begun to take its effects. Most people seem to associate diets with counting calories or minimal amounts of food, this is not what a diet is. Now, yes. However, if you look at the true definition of a diet, as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary it merely means "food and drink regularly provided or consumed." These days, there is a stigma about the word. While, yes, the nation's waistbands seem to be increasing, it is not really about limiting one's intake as it is eating the right foods at the right time and getting some physical activity in. I am not going to use my blog as a soapbox as I am far from the poster child for healthiness at all times. I have been guilty of: eating dessert right before bed, eating strictly carbs the entire day, skipping multiple meals in a day, sweets before meals...you get the point...

My husband is very much into working out and eating on a regular basis. Before him, I was pretty much just focused on being thin, rather than being healthy. He has changed my whole outlook on what eating can do for my body, meaning it is not just a means to satiate hunger. He is actually the one who suggested I try competing. I never thought that I had even the slightest potential to be successful in something like figure modeling, but he did. His faith in what I can be has given me the strength to try. With his help, I have an eating plan where I can still enjoy food, but optimize what my body does with it. The biggest changes he made were how many times a day I eat and how I combine the foods when I eat. The first one has been the biggest challenge because as much as I love to cook, I am not always the best about eating enough. He has set up a plan where I have to eat five times a day, but can eat up to seven if I want. The other change was carbs cannot be eaten in combination with proteins (with slight exceptions) and carbs cannot be eaten with fats. While I still consider the first change to be the most difficult to adapt to, cooking meals that all of us can enjoy as a family will also be a bit of challenge. I found this out today when I wanted to make my albondigas soup for dinner. The only problem was I had neglected to notice that rice was mixed with the ground meat in the meatballs, plus there was added starch in the form of potatoes in my recipe. Not wanting to make two separate pots of soup I made some slight adjustments and came up with something delicious. The best part is that it fits my dietary needs, as long as I avoided the potatoes, and my boys could eat it too without being put on my new eating plan. It was a win-win situation.

I hope it is something that you can share with your family as well.

SOPA DE ALBONDIGAS "MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP" RECIPE

(Makes about 6-8 generous servings)

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1/4 -1/2 cup bread crumbs
  
• 4 tbsp freshly grated onion
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, diced
  
• 1 1/4 cups zucchini, diced
  
• 3/4 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup onions, diced
• 3 small, or 2 medium, potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
  
• 2 (14 oz) cans low sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups water (optional, this soup is pretty thick and hearty)

1. Combine the first eight ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix well and shape tukey mixture into 1 1/2 - 2 inch meatballs.

2. Put the remaining ingredients, except potatoes, to a slow cooker, stirring just to combine. Add the meatballs to the soup mixture and cook on high for 4-5 hours.
   

3. Add the potatoes to the soup and cook for another 1-2 hours, or until potatoes are tender.