Snow, Snow Everywhere!

What a CRAZY day yesterday was!!! Did you know that there was snow in 49 states?! YES, you read that correctly- FOURTY NINE of the FIFTY states!!

Even HAWAII had snow! And you know who the lonely state was??? Oh, yes, good ol’ Florida. We didn’t get snow, but it sure was COLD here today. As soon as I woke up I immediately bundled up- I had LAYERS on just to go to the gym. Hey, it might look silly, but at least I was warm!! I had a really good workout yesterday- I’ll post it below.

Whenever it’s cold outside, I typically only want ONE thing to eat- SOUP! What makes me craze soup even more, is having a cold. This stupid cold that I have is STILL lingering with me. It’s not quite as bad…I just sound bad, know what I mean? I went to the doctor to day to make sure it wasn’t something more serious than I suspected. It’s just a viral infection (how lovely does that sound?!), and she gave some meds. Including this savior–>

A Z pack & some nausea medication.

I’m hoping to be feeling 100% by this weekend. Please send some healthy vibes to me..please

When I was thinking of what kind of soup I wanted for dinner- I only thought of one kind. Minestrone! It’s my favorite soup- definitely think I get that from my Dad. I remember when I was little he would give me minestrone soup instead of chicken noodle..and NEVER Campbell’s, ONLY Progresso.

That’s all he would keep in the house…and I believe that is where my love for minestrone soup began.

My favorite Minestrone soup is Olive Garden’s….with their breadsticks, of course I was considering swinging by Olive Garden after my doctor’s appointment to get the soup, but then I figured I would just make the soup myself! So, here’s my creation of Olive Garden’s Minestrone Soup:

Olive Garden Minestrone Soupbased on this recipe

Ingredients:

Servings: 6-8

//

• Pam cooking spray 
• 1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 can (14 oz) Italian green beans
• 1 stalk celery, sliced 
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans, drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can  diced tomatos (I used one with roasted garlic & onion in the tomatos)
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 3 cups hot water
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup small shell pasta (or something similar)

^all of the ingredients. looks like a lot, but it’s probably all stuff that you have in your kitchen already.

I hear one of the KEYS to this recipe is–>

MUST use vegetable broth, NOT chicken broth.

Preparation:

1 Heat cooking spray over medium heat in a large soup pot.

2 Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

3 Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.

4 Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

5 Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.

You can be even more Olive Garden-ish & serve it with breadsticks.


Sprinkled with some Italian seasoning & parmesan cheese.

And if you really want to feel fancy…you fancy huh?!
You can top off your soup with a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan cheese.

This stuff is awesome. And, I have to admit…it DOES in fact taste like Olive Garden’s soup!!

I know what I’ll be having for lunch for the next few days

Now for my workout yesterday morning…if you are interested I started feeling the DOMS last night!

*Warm up- 5 minutes-  cardio of choice (I did incline walking- 3.5 speed, 15% incline)

*Shoulder set:
-Overhead barbell press – 3 sets of 10 reps- 20 lb. barbell
-Lateral Raises- 3 sets of 12 reps (each side)- 5lb. DB each hand
-Upright row with EZ bar- 3 sets of 12- 20lb.
-Pec Dec- 3 sets of 12- 30lb.

*Chest/ Back Set
-Bench press – 3 sets of 12 reps- 55lb. weight
-Cable crossovers- 3 sets of 12 reps- 25lb. each side
-Lat Pulldown- 3 sets of 12 reps- 50lb.
-Assisted Pull- ups- 3 sets of 12 reps (OUCH!)

*Ab set:
-25 stability ball crunches- 3 sets
-15 stability ball pikes- 3 sets
-12 (each side)Oblique side crunches on stability ball- 3 sets
-12 ball roll outs on stability ball- 3 sets

*Cool Down- incline walking- 4.0 speed, 7.5% incline

If you try it, let me know I bet ya your upper body will be feeling it- but it a good way of course!

Hope you have a great day today! Stay WARM!!

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Posted by Holly at Everyday's a 'Hollyday' on January 13, 2011

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