Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken soup may be the most soothing meal in the entire world. It can drive away a cold, fill a house with an amazing aroma and make a belly warm after a day of playing in the snow.

Lunch today was leftover chicken soup from Monday night’s dinner.

Soothing Soup

I added broccoli florets to my bowl to beef it up a bit.

After sitting in the fridge for a couple days, I think the broth became even more flavorful. I loved every last slurp.

Choosing a Healthy Thanksgiving Dessert

After you’ve enjoyed a big ol’ plate full of turkey, sweet potato casserole, green beans and stuffing, you know you’ll somehow miraculously have room for dessert.

Click here to read about which desserts pack a serious calorie punch and which are healthier choices in my latest Examiner article.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?

Mine is definitely good old fashioned pumpkin pie (with extra whipped cream). I actually like it cold for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, too! 🙂

Boots, Soup and a 5-Mile Race

Yesterday

With the arrival of chilly weather in Orlando yesterday, I jumped at the opportunity to wear my new boots!

Yay Boots!

Though Weather.com indicates this colder weather will be gone by Monday, now that the boots have come out of hiding, they’re here to stay. Yay boots!

Jumping at the opportunity to relish in the autumn weather, Ryan and I decided to make a cold-weather favorite for dinner: chicken soup.

We bought a variety of fresh veggies from the grocery store and had a great selection to serve as the base for the soup.

Carrots, Onion, Celery, Green Pepper, 'Shrooms

While I chopped up the veggies (except for the onion because they make me cry), Ryan cut up the chicken breasts.

Queen of the Veggies

 

Meat Man

Ryan threw the chicken into a big pot bubbling with a mixture of a box of chicken broth, two cups of water and Knorr’s vegetable mix.

 

After the chicken was cooked through, we added in the chopped veggies and let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes.

 

Chopped Veggies

Stirring the Soup

The smell was mouth-watering! I couldn’t wait to pour myself a hot bowl o’ soup!

 

My Bowl

The soup hit the spot! I loved the carrots and onion. All the flavors blended together perfectly.

Yum, Yum

 After our bellies were warm, we hit up Jeremiah’s to split a large gelati. The cashier even gave Sadie a “puppy cup” of vanilla soft serve. She was one happy dawg.

 

Today

 

Since we did not turn the heat on in our apartment last night, at the sound of my alarm, I awoke to a brisk chill in the air. Nothing takes away the motivation to get out of bed like cold weather! Phew.

 

I knew I had to get out of bed to head to the University of Central Florida campus for the UCF 5-Miler race at 7:30 a.m. Luckily, I had two super-cute fans accompany me to cheer me on!

My Cheerleaders

The temperature gauge in my car read 50 degrees and I am used to running in 80-degree weather, so this was quite the shock! My chest felt tight the entire race, but it was definitely nice not to be sweating before the race began.

UCF 5 Miler

The course meandered throughout the campus, past my old sorority house, classroom buildings and the football stadium before ending in front of the basketball arena. I love courses that take you all over the place, as opposed to simple out-and-back races. I like having new things to look at as I run. All in all, this was a great race! 

Almost Done!

I finished in right around 43 minutes.

 

After running in the cold weather, I was ready for a hot breakfast when  I got home. I cooked up an American favorite for me and Ryan.

Hot Breakfast

The two eggs, Canadian bacon, toast and tangerine were a perfect post-race meal.

 

Tasty

I also drank a nice mug of Hershey’s white chocolate hot chocolate that my friend Merri gave to me to try. We share an intense love for this warm cocoa beverage!

Hot Cocoa

Eating a big, hot breakfast like this makes waking up and running in a colllld race totally worth it!

Question: What’s your favorite hot beverage?