So I have made the move back to the Caribbean, but am still waiting for my sewing machine to show up. That means no sewing for now. But I intend to find some fabric stores here and make some purchases. I want to get started on some Christmas gifts asap so I am not rushing the last minute.
The eating clean is going well, before I left I made a great dinner for my parents. The roasted pork with apricots tasted great. I will be making it again soon. It was very easy to make, and really didn't take too long for prep, maybe 20min. I am sure that if you had more practice it would be faster. I highly recommend it. I got the recipe from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. Even my Dad liked it and he is a grumpy eater. I tried to get him to eat flax once and he wasn't hearing it. He doesn't like "rabbit food". I also made my first lasagna with tofu today. I can't wait to try it out.

Here in the Caribbean pumpkin is a major staple, and I have never really cooked with it before. I mean we all have had pumpkin pie from the can, and hey don't forget Halloween. But as for actually buying a pumpkin and cooking it... well no. So I braved a new world guided by my trusty eat clean diet book and made my very first pumpkin soup. OH MY GOSH! IT WAS GREAT!! I had to modify the recipe quite a bit because I didn't have all of the ingredients but it turned out great. So here is my modified eat clean pumpkin soup recipe.
Pumpkin Soup
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups chicken broth (or veggie)
1/3 cup unsweetened evaporated milk (optional)
1 cup fresh cubed pumpkin (peeled and seeded)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sweet potato
1/2 cup apple (peeled and seeded) approx 1 large apple
1/2 cup baby carrots
1/2 tsp of celery salt
1/2 Italian seasoning

Method
1. On a cookie sheet spray Olive Oil Pam (or other low fat cooking spray). Place cubed apple pumpkin, carrots, and sweet potato. Roast at 350 F until golden.
2. While roasting, add olive oil to a small frying pan and saute garlic and onion until soft and translucent. Then add broth and bring to a boil. Add celery salt and Italian season. Simmer on med for 10 min.
3. Add roasted veggies to broth and let simmer for 15 min on med-low heat
4. using a hand blender or food processor puree soup mix. For a creamy taste add evaporated milk or cream.
5. Serve HOT!

You can also freeze this for later or add squash instead of pumpkin.