We launched our 29-day signature program, Lighten Up on May 17th.
Lighten Up is all about living from a place of love instead of fear. It combines flooding your beautiful body with a shit-ton of nutrients in the form of smoothies, juices and plant based food, along with movement therapy that unblocks stuck energy and loosens you up. By the end of the program you will see changes in yourself that will surprise and delight you and set you on a path to live your best life.
Kim Wagner went through the program when we first launched and like many other “Lighties”, she witnessed amazing changes take place as she followed along. We asked Kim how her mind shifted as a result of going through Lighten Up and she said, “I feel more powerful.” In the past, when life got crazy and unbearable, Kim’s eating followed suit. Kim recently experienced a major family stressor and she recognized that following the strategies from Lighten Up would help her, and they did. She felt stronger, in control and alive. In that experience, she looked at self-care as a right so that she would have the energy to care for her family in a time of need. Learning to eat when she is hungry and stop when she is satisfied has been a game changer in dealing with the emotional aspect of food choices and unexpected curveballs of life. I sat down with Kim a few weeks ago and we had an awesome chat about her experience.
Closed captioning in English available
A note from Kim:
I just would love everyone to know the longer you stick with it, it doesn’t feel like sticking with it. Because it is just automatic, my body knows what it likes and my brain is in sync with my body. I have traveled a bunch, had a lot of stress but I handle it all because I feel good. I am still losing about a pound a week and figure it will stop when I am at my weight my body wants. I have lost 23# and am within 2# of my old “typical” weight. I continue the movements and my body feels good. We recently hiked the badlands and climbed the mini mountains and I had no pain! Thanks to everyone at LU.
Kim, you are such a gift! Thank you for being you and for allowing us to be a small part of your journey, I adore having you in our Lighten Up community.
Have you thought about joining Lighten Up? Talk to us in the comments below! We are happy to answer any questions you have.
Chickpea Spinach Stew
Chickpea Spinach Stew
Makes about 7 cups
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes, undrained (411 g)
- 3 cups garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (2 cans, 15 oz / 425 g each, divided)
- 1 1/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (295 ml)
- About 1-inch chunk of ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped (about 12 g)
- 1 1/2 cups unpeeled diced carrot (195 g)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped sweet yellow onion (200 g)
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Spanish sweet paprika (can use Hungarian or other sweet / non-smoked paprika)
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped (150 g)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (about 10 turns)
Instructions
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Place the canned tomatoes (including the juice), 1/2 cup (75 g) of the garbanzo beans, vegetable broth and ginger in your blender and blend until smooth. Set aside for now.
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Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the carrot and onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute for 3 additional minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions and garlic are light golden brown.
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Add the sweet paprika, smoked paprika and cumin and stir for 30 seconds until wonderfully fragrant. Add the rest of the chickpeas (2 1/2 cups / 375 g) and stir for 2 minutes. It’s okay if the spices stick a bit to the bottom of the pan.
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Transfer the blender mixture to the pot and stir. Add the bay leaf, coconut aminos, soy sauce and salt and stir, making sure to stir up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pot.
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Simmer for 20 minutes (without a lid), stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from the heat and remove and discard the bay leaf. Add the spinach, parsley, red wine vinegar and black pepper and stir until the spinach is wilted.
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with feeling light and uplifted.
Xo
Molly
This looks like a great one pot meal. I’m all for one pot meals. I may make this for my upcoming RV trip to Idaho. I’m a big chickpea fan and I’m packing a sh$$t ton of chickpeas for our trip. Now I’m off to make some homemade hummus and your Eggless tofu salad for the trip.
Sounds like a plan!
xo
Molly
Freedom, control, and love – So many amazing things that come with this program. It is so not about weight loss, although it totally can be; but gaining freedom, control, and love have been the biggest takeaways for me! Way to go Kim! Great job at not giving up when it got tough. 🙂
Thanks Amanda! Sending you lots of love and light!
Yes, yes, yes! SO glad you are on this journey with us!
xo
Molly
Can you start Lighten Up at any time? Also when you talk about juices are meaning juicing with an extractor or in a blender. I will struggle to get the “tuition” for Lighten Up , so I am trying to figure out the other costs associated with it ( what is a “noodle ball?” )
Hi Kati,
Yes, you can start Lighten UP anytime!
You will learn all about juicing (using a juicer) and all about smoothies (using a blender).
You don’t have to have a juicer, I provide a very affordable workaround for that 🙂
A noodle ball is 6 tennis balls in a knee-high sock.
There is a bit of equipment you will need but it is minimal and you will use it over and over again.
When you are ready, we will be here!
xo
Molly
If I wanted to make this in a slow cooker, could I skip all the sautéing and just dump everything into the slow cooker for a few hours? I need a recipe for book club and wanted to do something other than chili.
Hi Carolyn, yes, you could do that. Hold off on adding the spinach and parsley until closer to the time you plan to serve it though. In case you have interest here’s a recipe designed for a slow cooker and here’s another one. If you make this one in the slow cooker, let us know how it turns out! ~Karen
Just made it and we ate it for lunch. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow. Thanks so much Molly.
Oh, thanks for sharing Sue! So glad you loved the recipe. I’ll make sure Molly sees this note! ~Karen
Delightful and simple!
Wow…I mean, WOW.
This soup is going to become a staple in my house! I love the simplicity and ease of the recipe, and the thick texture is EXACTLY what I want in a stew. I can see it being served over leftover grains or using a whole mishmash of beans/legumes in place of the chickpeas. This is superb. Thanks so much to whoever came up with this recipe – I feel so energized after I eat this way and the leftovers are actually better! Plus this was my first time using coconut aminos, I’m in love!
Thank you for taking the time to share Lauren! So happy you enjoyed the Stew and that it brought you some plant based energy! Don’t the coconut aminos bring just a little something extra to the party? Hearing that you loved the recipe has made my day! With gratitude, Wizard Jen