Broccoli Soup

Dinner is a special meal. In the US at least, it's the biggest division from work-life to home-life. Breakfast is often a bite before running out, lunch is on the go, but dinner gives us the greatest chance to sit down, relax, and enjoy a nice meal.

But who hasn't run into this problem:

Eating dinner too late?

Even for us, two people who work from home, it's still tough to get dinner started early enough. Besides feeling uncomfortable, having a full stomach before bed can actually affect our digestion, sleep, and even how hard our liver has to work. (Mercola, 2013)

So, it's great to think of ways to eat earlier, but realistically most people will end up eating late at least once in a while. Here's what we do in that case:

1) Have a small meal.  It can still be fun, relaxing, and a break from the day, but we try to eat small amounts, and mostly veggies. Proteins especially, like meat, eggs, and dairy, can take a while to digest and leave us feeling full.

2) Eat until "satisfied." There's a difference between being "satisfied," and being "full." In the Primal Blueprint, author Mark Sisson points to evidence that this is as much as a 20% difference in calories.

3) Eat for a Reason. A small dinner can be perfect, especially if it's followed by an easy day. Cleansing foods and small meals are easy on the system. Plus, there's always breakfast to have something hearty (like this frittata). That said, if we're planning a hike, or an intense photo shoot, we'll usually eat something more substantial for dinner.

Broccoli Soup

This is a good one to double for a big batch. We recently froze some to have on hand for busier days.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery, sliced
• 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 lbs broccoli, chopped into florets
• 6 cups water or stock
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup dill, chopped, plus a few fronds for garnish
• 1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Process

• In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
• Add in the onion and celery, and cook until soft, stirring occasionally - about 10 minutes. Some bits will turn brown, but turn down the heat if anything looks burnt.
• Add in the garlic and ginger, and stir for one minute, until fragrant.
• Add in the broccoli, and mix well. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
• Add in the water or stock, and the salt, and turn the heat up to high.
• Bring the soup to a boil, then cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook covered for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and take off the lid. Add in the lemon juice and dill.
• Using either an immersion blender or a standing blender, blend the soup to your desired thickness. We like to leave ours a little chunky.
• Serve, and top with extra dill.

Mercola - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/31/sleep-brain-detoxification.aspx