Sunday Post: Recipe for Self-Esteem

Posted on March 18, 2012 by viviankirkfield

A recipe, according to the dictionary, is a list of ingredients and instructions for making something, especially a food dish.

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is RECIPE.

I love soup! Do you? Soup can be hearty or light, warming or cooling…soups are so easy to make and, when you make them yourself, you can use healthy nutritious ingredients and leave out the preservatives, high sodium levels and artificial colors that are rampant in most canned or packaged soups you buy at the store.

Here is a recipe for Cock-a-Leekie Soup…absolutely delicious…and very easy to make, even your kids can help!

COCK-A-LEEKIE SOUP

You will need: 1 large pot, 1 lb boneless chicken breasts cubed, 2 slices bacon, 1 large leek sliced (about 2 cups), 1 cup sliced fresh carrots, 2 cups cubed potatoes, 1 container low sodium vegetable broth (32 oz), 1 cup basmati rice, 2 Tbs single malt scotch (optional), ½ cup diced prunes, 1 Tb dried basil, 8 cups water.

1. Saute bacon in pot…add chicken pieces and sauté a few minutes.

2. Add sliced leeks, carrots and potatoes and stir well.

3. Add vegetable broth, prunes, water and basil and stir well.

4. Bring to a boil, add rice and scotch…lower heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours.

5. Serve with crusty bread and a simple tossed salad.

6. Store in covered container in fridge.

7. Makes about 12 cups of soup…you can easily make less by cutting the ingredients in half.

So what is the recipe for helping a child develop a high self-esteem?

1. Help your child master tasks and skills.

2. Encourage your child to value his own strengths and qualities.

3. Help your child to feel appreciated and loved.

4. Encourage your child to express his feelings.

5. Help your child to acknowledge and cope with his fears.

6. Encourage your child to accept himself and his body.

Kids love to help in the kitchen…not only does that time with you build self-esteem, but it also helps children develop reading readiness skills (or better literacy skills if they are older). They also learn about good nutrition, and many picky eaters will try new foods that they have helped make.

If you would like more information about helping children develop a positive self-image or need some quick and easy ideas and self-esteem building activities, please pick up a copy of my book. During the month of March, we are offering free shipping on my website (an additional $5 off the price of the book for participants in the PPP Reading Challenge) or you can purchase the book on Amazon.

If you’d like more information about Jake’s Sunday Post:

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

Connie: http://connieemeraldeyes.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/weekly-sunday-post-recipe/

Colline: http://collinesblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/sunday-post-recipe/

Susan: http://tostir.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/sunday-post-recipe/

Franny: http://oregonsmiles.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/recipe-for-success/

Mara: http://africatoalgarve.blogspot.pt/2012/03/recipe.html

Cassie: http://worldofcassie.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/sunday-post-recipe/

I’ll add more folks who are participating in Jake’s Sunday Post as soon as their posts are up.

Soup image thanks to www.cookstr.com

Cock-a-Leekie Soup and Free Yogurt (askmaryrd.com)
Ingredient of the Week: Leeks (colourfuldish.wordpress.com)
End of Winter Sunday Soup (2hungrysisters.com)
Homemade Vegetable Soup (myveganvida.wordpress.com)
Grandma’s Turkey and Rice Meatball Soup (happygoodtime.com)
Leek, Potato & Kale soup recipe (so good!) (meaningfulwesternlife.com)
Creamy Cilantro, Leek & Potato Soup (cookingwithsherlockspice.com)

42 thoughts on “Sunday Post: Recipe for Self-Esteem”

Connie T on March 18, 2012 at 7:08 am said:

This soup looks really good. Now I am hungry.

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 7:56 am said:
  
  Hi Connie,
  Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Yes, I need to go to bed…the problem with staying up late (it is 2am here in Colorado) is that you get hungry again. 🙂
  
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jakesprinter on March 18, 2012 at 7:41 am said:

Great Entry Vivian , I love Soup first before the main event of my meal
and the preparation of your soup is great, Thanks for sharing my friend 🙂

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 7:55 am said:
  
  You are so welcome, Jake. There are lots of challenges out there…but your graphic caught my eye and I love the simplicity of the Sunday Post..glad to be part of it. 😉
  
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  - jakesprinter on March 18, 2012 at 7:57 am said:
    
    Thanks Vivian I appreciate it 🙂
    
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patientdreamer on March 18, 2012 at 9:28 am said:

Loved your recipe for the soup and have copied it down so I can make it later on. Great analogy with self esteem for kids. Thanks for sharing Vivian.

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 11:09 pm said:
  
  Thanks for coming by today, Diane.:) I made the soup for a St. Patrick’s Day pot-luck at work…everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. 🙂 It’s easy to substitute other veggies or add ones that you really like. Some people use barley instead of rice.
  
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Colline on March 18, 2012 at 12:28 pm said:

We love eating soup – especially during the winter months. And often I have a little helper in the form of my daughter. 🙂

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 11:11 pm said:
  
  Glad you liked the recipe, Colline! Having your children help you in the kitchen is so wonderful…for them and for you….so happy you do that. 🙂
  
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orples on March 18, 2012 at 3:16 pm said:

Jake has me stumped this week. 😦 . When I cook, I rarely measure anything. It’s a little dash of this and a gob of that. I like to make casseroles, and sometimes, whatever is in the fridge ends up in the casserole. So it’s the luck of the draw. Hmmm. When my kids were small we did bake a lot of cookies together, and as they got older, I taught them how to cook the basics when they got old enough to complain about ‘oh, not that again’. Kids should know how to cook for themselves before they leave the nest, for sure.

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 11:13 pm said:
  
  You are so right, Marcy…one of the life-skills we should teach our kids is how to cook…but many parents don’t because they either don’t want “messes” in the kitchen…or they feel they are being a better mom if they do everything for their kids. 🙂
  I cook that way as well…they say that ALL the GREAT chefs do. 🙂 🙂
  Why not just estimate for one of your recipes…and disclose that..then we will be able to improvise ourselves. 🙂
  
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  - orples on March 18, 2012 at 11:26 pm said:
    
    I have 3 grown sons. Two out of the three automatically cook for me if there is a choice. I dare say they even cook better than me, which is not too much to brag about on my part. I like my cooking. Either way, all three of my sons could survive if left to their own resources. Parents are, indeed, wise to teach their children the basics of self-sufficiency before sending them on their way.
    
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    - viviankirkfield on March 19, 2012 at 12:32 am said:
      
      Out of my three children, it is my younger son who LOVES to cook…but he is married and lives in Chicago…so I don’t get to eat his food too often. Good for you that your children learned those life-skills from you. 🙂
      
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suitablefish on March 18, 2012 at 7:04 pm said:

love both recipes. I’m going make the leekie soup. perfect for a gray-snow-rainy day!

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 11:16 pm said:
  
  So happy you stopped by. 🙂
  Soup is such a comfort food…especially on gray-rainy days…but take heart…spring is on its way. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the soup!
  
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Jo Bryant on March 18, 2012 at 9:35 pm said:

great post…i think I will make this with winter coming up it looks so yummy

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- viviankirkfield on March 18, 2012 at 11:25 pm said:
  
  Hi Jo…thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
  This is so funny…because when I saw your comment, I thought to myself, “She made a mistake…spring and summer are coming, not winter.”
  But then I went to your blog and I realized you are in Austrailia. 🙂 So for you, winter is coming. 🙂
  I love your blog…awesome!
  
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sandrabeckwith (@sandrabeckwith) on March 18, 2012 at 11:42 pm said:

I love that recipe for self-esteem, Vivian. Thanks for sharing!

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- viviankirkfield on March 19, 2012 at 12:34 am said:
  
  Thanks, Sandy!
  I love putting the “parenting” spin on the posts that I do. 🙂
  
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Spanish Pinay on March 19, 2012 at 10:15 am said:

That looks so delightful especially on this rainy, gloomy day! 🙂 I love the way you segway on parenting skills and tips with every post you do… always clever 🙂 I can’t agree more on your recipe on how to help children develop high self-esteem – that is one of my major goal for my own kid too!

Spanish Pinay

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- viviankirkfield on March 20, 2012 at 3:09 am said:
  
  I hope I don’t get on people’s nerves, always talking up the self-esteem/parenting angle of every post I do. 🙂 But it is so important to me to share what I believe and encourage parents (and teachers) to uplift young children on a daily basis!
  Glad you liked the soup recipe…I love it because it is so simple, healthy and delicious. 🙂
  
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Patricia Tilton on March 19, 2012 at 7:38 pm said:

Vivian,
I love making soup and I could live on soup and a salad. Great post. Really loved the recipe for self-esteem! Always a great post! But, this time yummy!

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- viviankirkfield on March 20, 2012 at 3:13 am said:
  
  Thanks, Pat! The recipe for self-esteem is really just as simple as the one for the soup.:) Reading picture books every day, doing arts and crafts, cooking easy yummy recipes…what fun!
  I love soup so much…even in the summer…and there are quick and easy cold soups that are perfect for the warm seasons.
  
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nrhatch on March 20, 2012 at 1:03 am said:

I love making soup . . . my soups are never the same twice because I’m always swapping out the veggies and the starch (rice or pasta or potatoes or barley).

It’s a great activity to share with others. 😀

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- viviankirkfield on March 20, 2012 at 3:14 am said:
  
  Nancy…it’s so funny you should say that…my husband always tells me, “This was delicious…I hope you can make it JUST this way again.” But I can’t, because I usually don’t measure and just throw stuff in. 🙂
  
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talesfromthemotherland on March 20, 2012 at 5:40 am said:

This soup sounds divine! Seriously. I would love it even more if someone else would make it for me, but I may just have a go! I have tagged you with the Good Apple Award for blogs Vivian. No doubt you are a good apple! Love what you have to say, and only wish you’d been around before I ruined 3 kids! 😉 Check out the details on my site: http://talesfromthemotherland.me/
I hate to post my link on others’ blogs, it’s a bit weasely, but it’s how this works. I think you could have fun with this, but know that you have lots on your plate. Just wanted to show you some love. 🙂

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- viviankirkfield on March 21, 2012 at 5:16 am said:
  
  It is not at all “weasley”. 🙂
  I love it…and I love that you honored me with the award…as I said the other day…bloggers need to hear that others enjoy their writing.:)
  I am excited to do the answers and find others to give questions to…maybe toward the end of the week or the weekend. 🙂
  Thank you, thank you!!!
  
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Piglet in Portugal on March 20, 2012 at 8:12 am said:

I love this soup but I also add some celery. For those on a tight budget we now have roast chicken one day and then I use the carcass of the chicken to make the soup stock. I do strain the liquid through a sieve to make sure non of the tiny bones become detached. I have this is delicious and frugal!

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- viviankirkfield on March 21, 2012 at 5:20 am said:
  
  Hi PiP,
  Yes, celery would be a wonderful addition…I think I would have used it…but I didn’t have any!
  Roast chicken is one of my favorites…and I always use the carcass for a yummy chicken noodle veggie soup. 🙂
  How does your garden grow, PiP? Any new developments with the fungus problem?
  
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  - Piglet in Portugal on March 21, 2012 at 7:56 am said:
    
    I am harvesting the veg I’ve grown but then I’m going to cover the soil with black plastic and UV treat the soil. Not sure it will work, but 2 people suggested this method.
    
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orples on March 20, 2012 at 2:14 pm said:

Greetings Vivian,

Due to articles such as this, and an all around wonderful blog, you’ve been nominated for the “Very Inspiring Blogger Award”. You are such an inspiration to me, and others, I’m sure. You deserve this award and should post it proudly for the fine work that you do. I am so glad that I came across you blog. Keep up the great work! Marcy

http://orples.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/very-inspiring-blogger-award/

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- viviankirkfield on March 21, 2012 at 5:27 am said:
  
  Marcy…thank you so much…you are very kind! Congrats to you…and I so appreciate this award. I, too, am glad we have connected. 🙂
  
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Sunshine on March 23, 2012 at 12:49 am said:

Looks great your soup and also the recipe to help boost self esteem in a child. Thank you!

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- viviankirkfield on March 23, 2012 at 2:18 am said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by, Sunshine! Glad you liked both recipes. 🙂
  
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Cassie's world on March 24, 2012 at 8:04 am said:

The soup sounds yummy! I bookmarked your recipe. Thank you so much for the pingback, Vivian! Have a wonderful day.

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- viviankirkfield on March 25, 2012 at 5:16 am said:
  
  Hi Cassie,
  How sweet of you to stop by and comment…I’ve been to your blog and I’m following it now…your photos are AWESOME! Glad you liked the recipe. 🙂 Quite a few people at work (I made it for St. Patrick’s Day…yes, I know, it is a Scottish soup) wanted the recipe also.
  
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eof737 on June 20, 2012 at 8:46 pm said:

That soup looks so delicious. 😉

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viviankirkfield on June 21, 2012 at 9:26 pm said:

It is. The secret ingredient…prunes! Hope you’ll give it a try this winter. 🙂

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