Heart Warming Soup ~ And Date Night Update

I love how momentum in one area just seems to be contagious and spreads to other areas. I had a great meeting with a new "branding expert" who will be supporting me as I update my company brand. Her name is Dorothy Wolden and she owns Creative Intuition. That's not what this particular post is about though ☺ It is about gaining momentum in healthier eating and I am continuing to connect with other wonderful bloggers who are on the same journey. One of the main purposes of this blog is to share the idea that we can still celebrate in grand style and yet do it in more healthy ways. That is why when I make desserts, I make them with the highest quality and yes, full fat ingredients, but do them in mini versions. My guests always feel satisfied and special. Nothing like a little gold flake on that mini sundae ☺to make you feel like a star! And so I digress...again.

I just wanted to talk about today's lunch. After my meeting this morning, I drove over to Whole Foods to pick up some organic, free range, chicken eggs and tart cherry juice for hubs (recommended by Dr. Oz for all manner of things, inflammation, sleep, cholesterol) and I was feeling like it was getting to be lunch time. As I perused the store, I came across a fresh soup bar and this delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup caught my eye...and nose.

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Multi-Grain chips & Prickly Pear Lemonade

I enjoy trying different versions of soups and this one is pretty good. When I got it home, I garnished it with a little dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro, and pared it with a handful of multi-grain tortilla chips. A refreshing glass of iced prickly pear lemonade was the perfect beverage. Who knew? And I feel really good about it. Admittedly, there should be a salad here, but that will come at dinner, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'm doing well to stay away from the cream soups. Cream of Broccoli has got to be my favorite, with New England Clam Chowder a close second. Corn Chowder is pretty good too ☺ Do you have a favorite soup?

~~Date Night Update~~

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Date Nights have been getting better. Two weeks ago we enjoyed a very nice dinner at PF Chang's. Food was wonderful and I introduced hubs to Moo Shu Pork. Joel, our waiter, was extraordinary, not only in his attentiveness, but in his technique as well. Watching him prepare our sauces and later, the pork rolls was like watching a mini show. Of course, there was the 30 minute wait prior to show time, which in itself was its own entertainment. Three little tarts (had to have been barely 16), strutted in wearing teeny tiny short short (did I say short?) black tight, tight, (I said tight, right?) black dresses and stilty spikey 6 1/2 inch tall shoes. They all had gorgeous straight long hair and carried over sized bags. It really was the funniest thing to watch them standing there trying to keep their balance in those shoes. Wobble, wobble...I'm glad no one bumped into them. It would have had a domino effect on the whole tiny group of them. I feel for moms raising kids today.

Date Night Success

Last week, hubs suggested Mimi's Cafe and, oh boy I thought...Isn't that for the golden oldies? Okay, so it is, a little. No teeny tiny girlies, no ER sickroom, just a few of our Arizona Snow Bird crowd, whom we truly love (seriously)...but wait, there wasn't really a crowd, and the wait was only about 20 minutes. Food again, really surprisingly good. I had a wonderful Dijon salmon over a bed of deliciously prepared spinach (a fav), real mashed potatoes, and the best...really, the best asparagus I have ever, ever, ever tasted. Mimi's is known for their bakery and they did not disappoint us. My meal came with a salad and a mini (of course) dessert. I went for the Lemon Mousse (Don't do it, Yuck...this was like hospital mousse...gross) Rick went for the mini brownie and loved every 571 calorie bite. Our waiter, hmmmm, we'll call him Chris?, was awesome! So much so, Rick left an extra big tip.

Not sure what we are up to this evening...you? Have a great one. ~Blessings, Janet