Blessings in Disguise!

Sometimes life's unexpected hiccups end up being blessings in disguise. Last night/this morning, my son woke up a couple of times. The second (third? I lost count :) time he woke up was at 4:30. He'd gotten out of bed, turned on his light, and started crying. I think my poor baby had a nightmare because he was shaking :( I was able to calm him down, get him settled back in his bed, and give him some reassuring hugs. He fell back asleep, but I found myself completely awake and unable to go back to sleep. Instead of sulking in my bed (which I've done in the past), I decided to just get up and start my day. It's been raining the last several days, but I looked out the window and saw that the rain had let up for a bit. I decided to lace up my running shoes and head out for an early morning run. I am SO glad that I did! I love being out at dawn. I ran at a nice, leisurely pace and was able to cover just over 6 miles...before 6:15 am! It felt so great to get a workout in and spend some time outside while my hubby was getting ready for work and my son was sleeping. I felt energized and ready to tackle my day. I hadn't planned on being up so early, but it ended up being a blessing!

Last night, I made stew because it was chilly and rainy. It ended up being just what we were craving! This is the Moroccan Chickpea & Zucchini Soup from Appetite for Reduction:

Served over a bed of millet:

Close up:

I had made this dish once before, and while I liked it, I wanted to tweak it a little. This time, I added some more veggies (green beans, spinach, cilantro), some raisins, and some lemon juice. I think these few additions really elevated the dish from good to great! Traditionally, you would serve a Moroccan stew with couscous, but I love to use millet instead because it's a more nutritious choice than couscous (which is really pasta!) Plus, millet has a wonderful chewy texture which goes great with stews and tagines. My son loves chickpeas and carrots (which are both featured prominently in the stew), so he was happy to eat it. And that makes his Mommy happy!

Tonight's dinner was one of our favorites, Raw Tortilla Soup and salad. I've already featured this soup on my blog, but this time I remembered to take pictures of me eating it, nacho-style :)

I added some kidney beans to my hubby's soup to boost the protein and satiety:

And we had yummy salads on the side:

Baby lettuce, celery, cucumber, tomato, corn, avocado, olive oil, Bragg Liquid Aminos, lime juice, and dulse granules. Yum!