Split Pea soup recipe and a big change!

FORGOT TO ADD THIS INFO:  Tomorrow is the day I call my insurance to see what they would pay for when it comes to my weight loss.  Wish me luck on that one!!! 

Another update...as I read Chrissie's comment I thought I better add this because ya it does sound as if I was looking into surgery lol.   NO not surgery of any form but just help paying for the Y or even WW or a nutritional expert.  Something like that. No I don't want surgery or never will unless it's my last hope and I would absolutely die without it. I'm not at that point yet for sure. 


Ok today has been a cooking day for Cory and I...mostly Cory but I did help lol.  Anyway we tried this WONDERFUL recipe out.  It's a pea soup to die for!  If you like pea soup you will love this recipe.  It's easy and pretty cheap to make it will last for several meals.  We made this from scratch so it's healthy for you too:

Ham and Split Pea Soup

Use an entire small 2 1/2-pound smoked picnic portion ham if you can find one. Otherwise, buy a half-picnic ham and remove some meat , which you can roast and use in sandwiches, salads, or omelets.

1 piece (about 2 ½ pounds) smoked, bone-in
picnic ham
4 bay leaves
1 pound (2 ½ cups) split peas, rinsed and picked through
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped medium
2 medium carrots, chopped medium
2 medium stalks celery, chopped medium...we left this out
1 tablespoon unsalted butter...we used salted and it wasn't to salty
2 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 2
teaspoons)
Pinch sugar
3 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into...we used white and it turned out fine.
½-inch dice (about ¾ cup)
Ground black pepper

1. Place ham, bay leaves, and 3 quarts water in large stockpot or Dutch oven. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is tender and pulls away from bone, 2 to 2 ½ hours. Remove ham meat and bone from pot and set aside.

2. Add split peas and thyme to stock. Bring back to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until peas are tender but not dissolved, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, when ham is cool enough to handle, shred meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Discard rind and bone and bay leaves.

3. While split peas are simmering, heat oil in large skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté, stirring frequently, until most of liquid evaporates and vegetables begin to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter, garlic, and sugar. Cook vegetables, stirring frequently, until deeply browned, 30 to 35 minutes; set aside.

4. Add sautéed vegetables, potatoes, and shredded ham to pot with split peas. Simmer until potatoes are tender and peas dissolve and thicken soup to consistency of light cream, about 20 minutes more. Season with pepper to taste. We also put some chopped bacon over the top.  Not a lot just enough to sit pretty in the center of your bowl. 

Ok now for my change...We have decided as a family to start eating differently.  Really differently actually.  We are going to eat dinner at breakfast and breakfast at dinner.  We have read a lot of things saying that this will be better for you and will also aid in weight loss. Were going to try it for one month to see if we like it or not and from there decide if we are going to go back to the way it was or continue that way.  I think this will be easier for me also seeing that I won't have to cook when Nick is awake and into things in the evening.  I can cook while he sleeps. I  have been getting up way before him anyhow lately. 
Hopefully we will see a change in our weight and feel better going to bed at night with less in our stomach's.  I am planning on not eating past 7pm unless it's raw carrots and water...something like that.  Only fresh fruits and veggies at  night.  I'm also going to start out with 5 min of exercise a day for the first week and then add 5 minutes weekly until I reach an hour. Once I hit 30 min I will keep that routine for two weeks to give me a little extra time to get used to the 1/2 way mark. 
I need to find someplace to start and I need to form some sort of habit too.  So I figure starting out at 5 min would be a good place to start since any form of exercise is better then what I have been doing.  I'm getting to the point in my life where if I don't do something now I WILL, without a doubt, end up in the hospital with something major wrong with me...or even possibly dead.  It's time!  I know there are several of you out there who have already started your routine...I'm with you, lets work together and cheer each other on!