Friday, February 11, 2011

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

9 comments:

  1. All that food sounds so yummy! Especially the tortilla soup. My favorite soups are Clam Chowder and Split Pea. I found you through the blog hop and I am now following you!

    Come check out my blog at afkdinner.blogspot.com and let me know what you think!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leetah, thanks for stopping by. I did take a run over to your blog...and came back very hungry. I love your recipes...and that cute heart sandwich, made with the centers of the bread from breakfast, clever...☺

    ReplyDelete
  3. Following from weekend blog hop!

    http://honestgirlreviews.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Following from the blog hop, so happy to have found you! Stop by my blog http://sew-chic-designs.blogspot.com/ :) The Stitching Chick :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Janet, this post made me sooooo hungry... guess I should go have some breakfast. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Brocolli cheese soup and my new Weight Watchers cookbook has a recipe I am def going to try. I will have to let you know how it turns out.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Danielle, Krystal, and Loree, Thanks so much for stopping by. I will definitely check out your blogs. Have a great weekend!

    Kim, Good Morning...by now you've had your breakfast. Something delicious I hope. I'll just be getting around to that in a moment :-) Let me know how the WW soup is. Would love to try it. Dr. Joel Furhman talks about eating Soups, Salads, Sorbets, and Smoothies to control meat and fat portions. He suggests using meat as more of a condiment. I would add salmon to that list of s's though because of the omegas. It is an interesting concept. Have a great weekend. ~Blessings, Janet

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yum, the soup looks delicious! I love the idea of mini-versions of our favorite foods, too. Great way to find the balance of moderation and enjoying your favorite food.

    Following you from the blog hop and from:
    http://welltodoyou.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sarah, Thanks so much for stopping by. I think the French have it right with less (portion) and higher quality. I love that they do open faced sandwiches also. Do we always have to have more? I stopped in over at your great blog. Love the comfy yoga attire you were highlighting. Also those decadent chocolates. Made have to go and nibble on an oreo truffle ☺

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm your newest follower from the Weekend Blog Hop. If you get a minute please drop by and follow back and feel free to enter my giveaways.
    http://alittleoftheother.com

    Have a super week!

    ReplyDelete