A New Journey Beckons

Hello friends!

There’s something about June that makes my heart skip an extra beat; it is the month we started The Soup Spoon, a humble hole-in-a-wall at Raffles City with big dreams and aspirations, wanting to transform lives and improve eating habits one bowl at a time. This year, especially, opens up exciting new possibilities for us—partnerships, collaborations and the new brand reveal for The Soup Spoon (read more about The World In One Kitchen). I am pleased to also welcome you to my personal blog.

This is 10 years in the making and I am souper stoked to be able to share with you my journey as a soupreneur, my struggles as a working mum, my travels, my soup inspirations and my love for good whole foods with the random recipes and ideas. As I shared on my Instagram, this was no easy feat for me, and I truly come to respect bloggers who seems to be able to write concisely and in an engaging manner. I struggle a little as I try to seek perfection and in the midst get confused of what I really want to write about. Thank God for good friends and also feedback from fellow Instagrammers  @elebix and @noodleoodles who gave me some pointers. I hope I don’t disappoint.

I love to travel and through my travels, I am inspired by the people I meet, foods I have eaten and the wonderful ingredients I buy, adapting and innovating them to make my version that is fuss-free, healthy, and nutritious with possibly an Asian twist.

I have a wonderful husband, Andrew, who takes beautiful pictures and two lovely kids, Isabella, 7 and Elijah 4. During the early years, it was just Andrew and myself travelling, so things were a lot simpler; backpacking, mountain climbing and staying in hostels. With the arrival of the kiddos, we were determined that we will not change our lifestyle but tweak it to include kids. We have travelled in a caravan in New Zealand when Elijah was 6 months old, hiking with Isabella in Grand Canyon when she was 10 months old. We want to instil this sense of adventure in our kids and show them the world.

1990’s: Sunset at Kakadu National Park on an adventure tour. (Sorry I can’t reveal the year!)

2007: Yosemite National Park. My first trip to the US. Isabella was 10 months old

2011. Our first campervan holiday in NZ. Elijah at 6 months old and Isabella at 3.5 years old. We love using these baby carriers. Highly recommended as it allows us to actually do long walks on trails where prams are not the best mode of transportation

Over the years with the birthing of 2 kids, I started having weight issues. Loving to eat and tasting new foods is what I am. Essentially, I was fit and fat. I exercised regularly and even completed marathons, yet always on the rotund side of things. Long working hours, eating at irregular times, and the usual suspects led to a really unhealthy me.

A year back, I made a decision to do something about my unhealthy lifestyle. I went on a 28day soup diet, 2 meals a day with any soups at The Soup Spoon, and I lost 4 kg. This taught me to be disciplined and I started reading more on how to eat clean, whole foods. I did a second round in January and lost another 4 kg. I am now happy with my weight. Why is the pic below so much smaller? LOL, creating the illusion I am not that big!

2013 before souperdiet, Dec 2014 afer 1st round of souperdiet, Feb 2015, after 2nd round of souperdiet

My food philosophy has always been about no preservatives and cooked from scratch. I recently found that this is known as eating clean! It is a constant struggle and debate what constitutes clean eating but for me, it is a journey. A self-discovery of eating well and caring for my body by feeding it with simple yet, nutritious food and food made from scratch. I don’t count calories any more as I believe if I eat well, my body will take care of itself.

Vegan Chia seed pudding with fruits

Souper Inspiration: Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup with avo mash

In this blog, I hope to share with you my travels with kids, my inspirations, ideas, recipes and tips that are fuss-free, kid-friendly, healthy and most importantly—yummy. We can make a positive change in our lives and the lives of our children to instil good eating habits from young. They are gifts from God and the best is yet to be!

Please e-mail me at souperchefanna@thesoupspoon.com if you have any queries or just to say hi. I love to hear from you if you have any feedback on how my blog can be better, or any soups or recipes you would love to see on our menu at The Soup Spoon.

You can find me on Instagram and Pinterest with the handle @souperchefanna.

Thank you for visiting and thank you for your soupport of The Soup Spoon over the years.

In love and gratitude,

SouperChef Anna