2 To Go
One down, two to go until vacation starts!
I started off the day in a great mood, knowing that Monday was really “Wednesday” haha… I was cold and craving the warmness of oatmeal, but craving the flavor of yogurt & the variety of mix-ins… so what did I settle for? Warm cereal! I decided to try a different method of preparing it by heating JUST the milk first to see if it provided a slightly different texture. I poured a mixture of fiber one, grape nuts, and heart to heart and topped it with a sliced banana and flax. Delish! The texture was pretty similar but a little bit less mushy. I will definitely do this again 
Although my breakfast held me for 4 hours, I had a snack mid-morning to hold me over until lunch… oatmeal It warmed me right up – my office is cold – and satisfied my daily oatmeal quota!
Lunch was provided at a meeting that I had today, so no pictures to provide. They brought in wraps from a local sandwich place so I had a veggie wrap with some Baked Lays.
I was SUPER excited for my mid-afternoon snack because it was courtesy of Andrea from OffHerCork. We decided to do a bar exchange since I can get the fun seasonal Clif bars and she can get the fun seasonal Z bars. Look at all the delicious bars she sent me!!!
Thank you SO much Andrea – you made my week!!!
Today I couldn’t decide on what flavor to have first, so I let Bill choose for me haha. He selected the Blueberry Z Bar, which I am now a HUGE fan of. Upon opening the package, I was pleasantly greeted with a strong blueberry aroma. Eating the bar was no different – it was awesome and totally beats out my normal chocolate chip Z bar – yum. I think I’ll be ordering these in bulk from Amazon ha!
I headed off to the gym for my great 5:30pm spinning class (burned 458 cals), but got there a little earlier so I decided to do an upper body circuit & abs. I did the following:
- pull ups
- chest press
- bicep curls
- tricep dips
- love-handle machine
- captain’s chair abs
I was really looking forward to a super easy dinner. Yesterday I made a huge batch of homemade chicken noodle soup, I honestly just kind of winged it as I went along, so that we would have a meal already prepared for us for Monday and Wednesday nights! I love doing this because it makes the work nights so much easier.
Here’s the recipe:
1 tbsp olive oil to coat
4 cans light chicken broth
4 medium carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 chopped turnip
1 medium onion, chopped (even though I hate it I thought I had to include it for an authentic soup)
2 chopped cooked chicken breasts
1 cup uncooked whole wheat rotini noodles
sprinkling of chopped leeks
tons of fresh parsley, salt & pepper, 2 chopped garlic cloves
Bring olive oil & veggies to boil. Simmer until veggies are soft. Add in pasta and bring to another boil. Lower heat to medium and add in cooked chicken & seasonings and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat & enjoy. I’m not quite sure how many servings this will make but it appears to be a LOT! I think we will easily get 5 LARGE bowls of soup out of this recipe.
On the side, I also made up some quick biscuits using Biscuick HeartSmart for Bill, but I had probably two servings (aka rest of the bag) of Kashi Crackers.
The verdict? The chicken noodle soup was amazing.
This was my first time making it from scratch so I was SO happy that it turned out well. It was the ultimate comfort food and was heartier than most chicken noodle soups I had because I doubled up on all of the vegetables. I prefer chicken noodle soup to be heavy on the veggies and light on the broth, noodles, and chicken and this definitely fit the bill. Bill was a fan of it too. I can’t wait to have it again on Wednesday night
Now it’s off to watch Heroes! Have a great night everyone
I didn’t have time to go and comment on everyone’s blogs tonight, but I do read em all… I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your super sweet comments regarding the wedding pictures I posted the other day and the BSI wrap-up post. I truly am blessed to be a part of this wonderful community – thanks guys!
holy z-bar extravaganza haha! love it!
Homemade chicken noodle soup sure throws me back… yum!
Hooray for z-bars galore!!
Have a great night!!
What a fun bar exchange! I love the fruity flavored z bars! Your dinner tonight looks really great- I love soup on chilly nights
As soon as I get a freezer, I’m going to start making homemade soup! One day…
You know I’m all over those z-bars! Homemade soup always tastes good!
I had the same exact oatmeal packet for breakfast today… I can spot a Wegmans brand item from a mile away!!! I <3 Wegmans!!!!
I know this is way late, but I LOVE your wedding photos! You look so happy and beautiful! I wish you and Bill all the best in life!!
Thank you for the chicken soup recipe, too!
Wonderful homemade soup!
I am definitely going to try that chicken noodle soup recipe! Thanks for sharing!
What a great idea of doing a bar exchange!
Hurray for a blogger bar exchange! I’m glad you get to try some seasonal Clif bars – they rock
Nothing like homemade soup – and even better if it’s chicken noodle!
The holiday is ALMOST HERE!
yay for bar exchange!!! so exciting about those flavors!! you’re going to love the apple and blueberry ones!
your homemade soup looks great! and crackers are always great on the side!
yay for 2 more days!
I must try the warm cereal – it sounds so good. And filling, apparently!!
Ohh so many bars!!!
i love Z bars..my favorite is chocolate chip! so so good. ive warmed up granola in milk before i like what it did to it:)
love the spooky smores z so good. and you hot cereal idea looks so gret, i have to try that.
Oooooo your soup looks so comforting!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving
My homemade soup never turns out as good… hmm maybe i will have to try your recipe
Blogging Community= Awesome
Wheee! The blueberry is my fav Z bar! I’ll probably be hitting up the pear and apple clif today.
And homemade soup in winter = awesome!
I’m glad Andrea hooked you up with all the zbars! The blueberry are my absolute favorite!
Mmm, chicken noodle soup! Thanks for the recipe.
As always, jealous of your bars:)
Very cool that you and Andrea did an exchange! There’s something so aesthetically pleasing about a box of granola bars
So out of curiosity what is the oldest city in the U.S.?
(Oatmeal Tirvia)
I have to try heating the milk first!! I heated my milk and frosted mini wheats the other day and it was too mushy for me!
Are the Z-bars just smaller than normal clif bars? I would like to try them but I can’t find them anywhere!
Hi Katie, they’re actually different. They remind me more of a snack (specifically made for kids actually) than they do a full-sized Clif bar. I think of Clif bars as fuel pre-workout, whereas Z bars are the perfect snack. Try looking near where kids’ bars are at – I find them at my Target in the diet section with the kids bars.
homemade chicken noodle soup! yummm. really love how you made it healthier! enjoy your holiday!
I’m intrigued by the warm cereal- I’m going to have to try that out on a day that I want cereal but also want something warm! Thanks for the idea.
OOOOH! That soup looks amazing! I’m totally “borrowing” your recipe!
wow that soup looks delicious! i also like to double up on the veggies in my soup!
MMM. This whole post makes me hungry. Which is impressive since I’m sick and haven’t been hungry in two days.
I love warming up my cereal!
Your soup looks delicious!
The smore zbars are my fav! I was so sad when they stopped selling them in the stores that I bought two boxes of 18 online…woooops
I don’t know if anyone commented this, but have you tried the blueberry z-bar warm? I tried putting it in the microwave for like 10-15 seconds, and oh my gosh, delicious! Tastes like a warm blueberry streusal muffin type thing!