"GUNS AROUND THE WORLD" with I See Fit People

OK. This is the deal. January 4th will be the 2nd Anniversary of I See Fit People. Let's just say we are giddy with excitement.

Now...for those of you who have been around for a while, well, you know we have just a little, shall we say, fixation on the guns. Yep...arms are big with us. Some of our fave words: muscle, flex, gun show, pipes, biceps, tickets, Tony Horton, tricep action....you get our drift.

So...to celebrate AND have you all join in with us, we are having a photo shoot, called, "Guns Around The World". Pay attention..this is going to be AWESOME!

Now, sure we like pics of individual guns, but for this festive occasion, we thought we would up the ante just a bit. We want you to get as many people as you can into your Gun Show picture. The more creative it is, the better. Get your office staff to join in, your gym mates, a bus load of people on your way downtown. We don't care...just get LOTS and LOTS of guns in your pic!!

To make this just a bit better, we have made a sign that you can print off, and you can fill in your city, town & country (PLEASE USE A BLACK MARKER so we can read it). The deal breaker is this: You need to be holding this sign up in the pic to qualify.

Here is the sign. Save it to your computer and print it off. You can enlarge it as well, if necessary, before printing!

YOU MUST COME TO OUR FACEBOOK PAGE (on Jan 4th) TO POST THE PIC: http://www.facebook.com/iseefitpeople.

So we are giving you a few days to think about this...to plan your attack.

There will be a prize sent out to the person who rustles the MOST guns up for their photo op.

The "GUNS AROUND THE WORLD" pics will be posted on January 4th only!! So you can plan, scheme, and snap pics now, but no posting of the pics til then. We want to see our wall PLASTERED with guns...from far and wide...Nova Scotia to Paris (yes I know you people exist). EVERYONE can join in on this...LOCK & Load, baby!!!!


Cheers,
Wendy & Matt

ISFP 2nd Anniversary "The Ultimate Body Press" Contest

We are back at it again...(finally) with a really AWESOME contest! As you know, we (M & W) have a goal...we are almost there and we might make it anyway, but we are aiming for 5000 fans by December 31, 2011. So to give us a little edge, we thought we would host another refer a friend contest. This was a natural to tie in with our 2 year Anniversary of I See Fit People!!

We usually let these things take care of themselves, but we both are rather determined and REALLY, REALLY are excited to try and reach this number. Consider it one of our personal goals! We want to try to encourage and motivate as many people as we can in 2012!

Yep..the rules are pretty simple. The person who has brings the most new people to the I See Fit People Facebook page will be the winner of YESSSSSSS...an Ultimate Dip Station!

So basically if you share our Facebook page on your wall, and someone joins because of you, you get an entry. HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: All you have to do is make sure they come over to our I See Fit People Facebook page and say they were referred by you. Easy Peasy!! If they don't tell us, you don't get credit. Of course you want credit for this one!!

We will track the referrals, and the winner will be announced on our 2 year Anniversary: January 4th!! WOOHOOO!! We are SO excited about this. We would like to extend a HUGE thank you to Ultimate Body Press for so generously donating this prize!! Someone is going to be a VERY lucky winner!!

Check out all the Dip Station deets at Ultimate Body Press.

Also go "LIKE" their Facebook Page!!

START DATE: December 28, 2011
END DATE: January 4, 2012

The best of luck to you all!! Go knock 'em dead!!

Cheers,
Wendy & Matt

Black Bean Brownies

**I have posted this recipe before but thought it was a good time to revisit it. This is a favorite at our house. If you are looking for a healthier option for Valentine's Day Dessert, maybe consider this recipe. You are gonna love them!!**



Black Bean Brownies

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ingredients

* 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 3 eggs
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup cocoa powder
* 1 pinch salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
* 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.

2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.


Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 126 | Total Fat: 5.3g | Cholesterol: 40mg

Nutritional Information
Black Bean Brownies

Servings Per Recipe: 16

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 126

* Total Fat: 5.3g
* Cholesterol: 40mg
* Sodium: 144mg
* Total Carbs: 18.1g
* Dietary Fiber: 2.6g
* Protein: 3.3g

Chocolate Lava Protein Brownie

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I used Whey Gourmet Naturelle)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sugar free chocolate Jello pudding powder
1/4 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients together in small bowl. Add water. Mix till smooth. Microwave for 30 second (NO more than that).

Drop in a teaspoon of Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, any nut butter. I make the vanilla & Cookies & Cream version of these too. Try any flavor! Use a deeper type bowl, not shallow. You will just get a hard lump, not a soft on the edges, oozy in the middle effect, which is what you want!


Calories: 163
Carbs: 10g
Fat: 5g
Protein: 22g

**Caloric content varies depending on what powder you use**

Recipe adapted from Busy But Healthy Recipe Club

http://www.busybuthealthy.com/tv/2010/11/protein-lava-brownie.html



Hello, my leetle friend.

I Do My Little Turn on the Catwalk

I was feeling a little pissy earlier. Today just was NOT going the way I intended. I was not thrilled with the fact the wind was strong enough to lift me off my feet. I was all excited to run outside, but Mother Nature had other plans. So it's a treadmill run for me. Yeah I stopped believing. But just for a minute. Then Matt set me straight. It's nice having him around. :-))

I am really pumped because this is the final long run before the race. So I hop on. Sport Beans: check. Water: check. Towel: check. Tunage: check. I ramp that sucker up. About 3 k in I can hear this squeaking noise something akin to a malfunctioning shopping cart belonging to Bubbles. I perk up the ears over the screeching Alanis tunes and yep, the 'reeeee, reeee, reeee' continues.

WARNING: There is a mild usage of the F bomb in the video clip. If that offends you, I suggest you don't click on it.



So at about the 5 k mark I reach down to grab a pack of Sport beans and the belt suddenly starts slipping. It is going about 2 mph. ARGHH. So I holler to my trusty sidekick and mechanic, Morgan to bring me the hex keys so I can torque this beyatch up. We tighten. We loosen. We silicone lubricate. Yeah....it is not going anyyywhere. F bombs are flying. This is EXACTLY the same thing that happened to me on my final long run for the Disney Princess Run, minus the smoke. Frackity Frack I have 15 more k to do. And I am DOING IT come hell or high water.

So I call a few people, put out an All Dogs Alert to my Facebook posse in hopes that someone has a key to our beloved Bow Island Facilty. After about 15 minutes YES!!! I have winner...a friend of mine has a key and says I can come get it from her. WOOP!!

So off I go to grab the key and head on in to the gym. Yeah, I am the only one in the whole entire Center Street Building. CREEPY.

I get on one of the two treadmills...it feels like it has a bad lean. I do about 1/2 mile. Then I eyeball the other treadmill, shut this one down and skooch on over to the other treadder. Alas...this one is reasonable. Onward we go.

I have my music on, singing at the top of my lungs. You can imagine the reverberation in a totally empty gym. I hope no one came to the tanning bed (which is right next door) while I was running. Oh well...let's hope they like the Prayer '94 version from Bon Jovi.

Treadmill runs are not my favorite. 20k treadmill runs are especially not my favorite. I try to entertain myself as much as possible. I sing, I do harmony, I do hand moves, runway struts, lip-synching moves..you name it I have tried it. A girl has to use the God-given skills to get through tough times. I was digging deep tonight. The only thing missing was Julio Iglesias singing in the background while I was working the Catwalk.

I watch the slowwww movvingggg miles tick off (that's right Matt...treadmills here are set up in MILES)...I am getting around to the final 1/4 mile stretch. I have exhausted all measures of self entertainment...I am tapped. I got nothin' more left. It's all about the finish now and I bring it in strong. Erase My Scars comes on the Iphone. One of my favorite tunes EVER. "Reckless and weary, I'm desperately holding on". Yeah..that's me. I am bringing it home. "I can't let go. I'm too close, too restless. I'm letting you know. I'm far too aggressive". Hell to the YEAH...I am alive and I finish that last mile off with GUSTO. WOOP! I did it...20.77k. Vegas. Here. I. Come.

So a HUGE shout out to Matt for keeping me in line, Ida for representin' and to my daughter for feeding me an incredible meal after my run. You guys are the BEST. And NEVER forget it!

Cheerio,
Wendy

Curried Carrot Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 pounds carrots, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth


Directions:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in the curry powder. Add the chopped carrots, and stir until the carrots are coated. Pour in the vegetable broth, and simmer until the carrots are soft, about 20 minutes.
Transfer the carrots and broth to a blender, and puree until smooth. (I use immersion blender). Pour back into the pot, and thin with water to your preferred consistency, if desired.

Nutritional Information


Servings Per Recipe: 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 133
Fat: 3 g
Carbs: 20.2g
Protein: 2.4g

Gingerbread Flax Muffins

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your preferred non-dairy milk)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 1/4 whole wheat pastry flour or all purp flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup molasses

1/4 cup sugar (I used sucanat)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

First measure out the milk. Mix the apple cider and ground flax seed directly into the measuring cup and stir vigorously with a fork for about a minute. That helps to bring out the oils of the flax seeds while the vinegar thickens and curdles the milk. Both of those things will help the muffin to rise.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture. Add in the oil, applesauce, molasses, sugar and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together until everything is just moistened. Don’t overmix, it’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy, muffins like that.

Fill muffin tins most of the way full. Bake for about 22 minutes, until tops are puffed up and firm and a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Per Muffin:

Calories: 255
Fat: 10.6 g
Carbs: 35.8 g
Protein: 3.9 g

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Fudge

It couldn't be much easier! 4 ingredients & a nice treat with added protein! It is SUPER creamy and sooo good!



1/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/4 cup Chocolate Protein Powder (I used Cookies & Cream)
1/4 cup Natural Peanut Butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/4 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

In a microwave safe bowl mix together the almond milk and chocolate protein powder. Add in the peanut butter and chocolate chips, stir, and microwave for about 20 seconds or until the chocolate chips begin to melt slightly. Stir the mixture together and pour into a small glass dish. Since this recipe only makes about 6 pieces of fudge, I just poured the mixture into 1/4 of the 9×13 glass dish sprayed with a bit of baking spray. Refrigerate several hours. Enjoy!!

Makes 6 servings

Per serving:
148 calories
9.5 grams fat
4.4 carbs
5.7 grams protein

Carrot Cake Protein Bars (or Muffins)

These really are so delicious and very easy especially if you already have the oat flour read to go. I got the original recipe from Jamie Eason here.

Ingredients:

1 cup oat flour
2 scoops vanilla whey protein (I used Whey Gourmet Vanilla Ice Cream)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 egg whites
3/4 cup Splenda, Truvia, or Ideal
8 oz baby food carrots
4 oz water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, whey protein, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
Mix egg whites, Splenda, baby food carrots and water (optional) in a bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.
Spray glass pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray.
Pour ingredients into dish.
Bake 20-30 minutes.

Makes 16 squares, 2 squares per serving. (or you can make muffins like I did)

Per serving:
Calories: 94
Fats: 1.25 grams
Carbs: 10 grams
Protein: 10 grams

Coconut Curry Chili

I made this recipe and adapted it from Clean Eating's Classic Comfort Food magazine.

This was truly an awesome dish as well as healthy! The house smelled so wonderful as this simmered!! I changed a few things from the original recipe.

Ingredients:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste (I used Derleas's chili ginger paste because I was out of RCP)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup cooked bulgur (I used couscous)
2 cups of cubed sweet potatoes
2 cups of chopped green pepper
3 cups of cooked kidney beans
1/2 cup of light coconut milk
19 oz can of crushed tomatoes
green onions, chopped for garnish

In large pot add curry paste, cumin, curry powder & a bit of broth. Mix until paste is smooth. Add remaining broth, bulgur, potato & green pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 10 min.

Add beans, coconut milk and crushed tomatoes. Cook, uncovered for about 7 minutes, til bulgur is soft, veggies are cooked through and chili is thick. Top with green onions and serve.

Makes 4- 2.5 cup servings.

Calories: 340
Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 65 g
Protein: 17 g
Sodium: 412 mg
Sugars: 10 g

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1/2 cup Rogers Porridge Oats (you can use regular)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger
1/4 cup grated carrot (next time **tomorrow morning** I would use the really small side of the grater)
1 cup of water
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon Dulce Sugar free Syrup
splash of Vanilla (I used Butter Vanilla)
1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light cheese, cut into small pieces (I used this instead of cream cheese)
You could also add some pecans, walnuts, White chocolate chips and raisins (aka: gelatinous pustules).

Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet and stir to mix. Pour into sprayed baking dish. Top with bits of LC cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!!

**This was amazing!!!!**

Calories: 214
Fat: 5 g
Carbs: 35
Protein: 11 g

**WINNER**THE EXTREME BEAN MILEAGE CHALLENGE, THE TRILOGY**

We had some outstanding numbers this time around and we want to say BRAVO and congrats to each one who participated!!

So, we think this is a record for accrued miles, so I want to congratulate Cyndi Springford for a WHOPPING 222.93 MILES (not km)!! WOOOHHOOOO!! Cyndi, if you would like to send your mailing info to iseefitpeople@gmail.com, we will get your prize sent out. Awesome job!!!

80/20

Life is short. I spend 99.9 percent of my time trying to live well...eating healthy, exercising, staying on course with the agenda I have set for myself. I really DO love my life. I love how great I feel and I love the fact that I am helping others along the way. But being healthy is not only about diet & exercise, but about family and friends and happiness. That in turn translates into optimum health. The package deal.

I don't get to spend a lot of time with my husband, but he came home yesterday and will be here for 3 days. A really short time slot. So I am now enjoying the 20 percent end of the 80/20 policy. I sure as hell ate an awesome dinner & had several (ok, many) drinks last night (& possibly one or 2 tonight), I did not work out today. I feel no guilt. I plan on spending as much time together as a family as those 3 days will allow. There will also be a Thanksgiving dinner in there too!

Scott & I have changed so much in the last year. I see a side of him now I didn't know existed & it is wonderful! Last night was the perfect combination of laughs, conversation, wine & really just sheer happiness. I even got handed a stunning single rose along with a marriage proposal from him. I could not ask for more. :-)

Letting a schedule go & instead just winging it can be a blast! I know my training schedule doesn't always make for the best use of time when he comes home. So I allowed myself today to just be free of any predetermined activities and just enjoy life! Tomorrow I will be back at it with a 12k training run.

So the moral of my story is this: Live your life...take the time to adhere to your principles, but then to have flexibility as well. You just never know what great things will be waiting for you.

On that note I must go shave my legs, get out the wine glasses and put on some great stilettos!

Cheerio,
(W)

Chunky Peanut Butter Cheesecake Baked Oatmeal

Baked Chunky Peanut Butter Cheesecake Oatmeal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry oats
1 cup water
1/8 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla extract
1 T. Natural Chunky Peanut Butter (you can also use PB2 which cuts the fat back to almost nothing and calories in half)
2 T. DaVinci sugar-free Peanut Butter syrup
2 Tablespoons fat-free cream cheese (I used 2 wedges of Laughing Cow Light)

Directions:

Mix the above in a sprayed oven-proof bowl. Cut cream cheese (slices) directly into bowl along with oatmeal. Drop in bits of Peanut Butter. Mix in gently.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This was reallllllllllllly deelish. Lauren said it tasted like Pirate Cookies!

Calories: 325
Fat: 14 g
Carbs: 35 g
Protein: 16 g

***WINNER OF THE SPIBELT FROM THE ABS CHALLENGE IS.....***

First off we want to say thanks to those who participated. I (W) kind of knew going into it that if involved a bit of reading and work, numbers would be down. But that's ok! Those that did it, good on you!!

So without making you wait any longer, we would like to send a HUGE congrats to Wendy Dawn! Wendy, send me your mailing address to iseefitpeople@gmail.com. I will have your prize mailed out shortly!!

Cheers, Wendy

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup with Shrimp

This is likely my favorite soup recipe EVER!! I make it both with & without shrimp..tonight without. Lauren is allergic & wanted to eat some! You will guaranteed, have people peeking their noses in the kitchen when this is cooking. Healthy, AMAZING and just what is needed today!!

The original recipe came from the Janet & Greta Podleski, of the famed tv show Eat, Shrink & Be Merry.

Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup with Shrimp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup ea chopped onions, chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 tsp minced garlic
4 cups cubed, peeled sweet potatoes
1 tbsp grated ginger root
3/4 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander, and curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups chicken broth
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp each chopped fresh cilantro and chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp light peanut butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 lb cooked medium shrimp, tails removed (thaw first if using frozen)

-heat olive oil in a large, non-stick soup pot over medium heat. And onions, red pepper, celery and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 min.

-Stir in sweet potatoes, ginger root, cumin, coriander, curry powder, and cinnamon. Cook and stir 30 more seconds. Add broth, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 10 min, just until sweet potatoes are tender.

-Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot with remaining soup. Stir in cilantro, basil, peanut butter, brown sugar and lime juice. Mix well. Add shrimp and heat for about 2 min until shrimp is hot.

Makes 6 servings (About a generous 1.5 cups each) : 239 cal, 8.2g fat, 4.6 g saturated fat, 19 g protein, 24 g carb, 3 g fiber, 120mg cholesterol, 501 mg sodium.

***after I took out the 1/2 of soup to blend, I mashed the rest of the soup with a potato masher to have smaller chunks instead of big lumpy veggie pieces***

I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!

Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola

Well, I started out the morning with ingredients for a Chocolate Peanut granola...another standby, but was missing one crucial ingredient. So I created this recipe instead, using the ingredients I did have on hand. I have to say, it turned out wonderfully & the smell of it baking was amazing & comforting on this cool fall day! I hope you enjoy it!

Chocolate Coconut Almond Granola
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 cups of rolled oats (I used Rogers Porridge Oats)
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (I used large chipped)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut sugar (aka:palm)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax meal

Mix above together in large bowl.

Stir together in large bowl and add to dry ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (next time I will use coconut oil)

Add wet ingredients to dry then mix well until coated. Using your hands makes it go much easier! Spread on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 325 for about 25 - 30 min. You do NOT want to over bake!

Cool and store in freezer or airtight container. I like to eat ALL my granola right from the freezer.

Nutrition info per 1/4 cup:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Calories: 104
Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 16.3 g
Protein: 3.1 g
Sodium: 5.2 mg

Recipe makes 26-1/4 cup servings

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry oats
1 cup water
1/8 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 cup cooked pumpkin
2 T. liquid egg whites (you can omit this but it changes nutritional content)
2 T. DaVinci sugar-free Dulce de Leche syrup
sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 T. fat-free cream cheese (you can omit this as well)
1 T. mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix the above in a sprayed oven-proof bowl. Cut cream cheese (slices) directly into bowl along with oatmeal. Sprinkle on chocolate chips. Mix in to disperse cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Calories: 307
Carbs: 46 grams
Fat: 9 grams
Protein: 16

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple, and Red Lentil Soup

**adapted from Allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-carrot-apple-and-red-lentil-soup/detail.aspx

Ingredients:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons curry powder
4 cups vegetable broth

Directions

Add olive oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Place the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, and onion in the pot. Stir and cook the apples and vegetables until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

Stir the lentils, ginger, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika, curry powder and vegetable broth into the pot with the apple and vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot. **(I used my immersion blender).

Return the pureed soup to the cooking pot. Bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Add water as needed to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. **(I left mine thick...I liked it better that way).

Makes 6 servings.
Per serving:
Calories: 136.7
Fat: 1.4 g
Carbs: 28.6 g
Protein: 3.1 g