National Women's Health & Fitness Day + New Recipe!

Happy National Women’s Health & Fitness Day!

I love all of the National Days. I subscribe to the emails from National Day Calendar, and post them in my classroom for my kids. Sometimes I pull them in to my lesson plans, but mostly I just think they are fun and interesting. I was super excited to find out today is National WOmen’s Health and Fitness Day! Coincidentally, it is also one of my best friends' birthdays! Toady is her Golden Birthday - meaning she's 27 on the 27th! I didn't even know about Golden Birthdays were a thing until a couple of years ago. My Golden Birthday was 14 years ago - oh, well! :)

Additionally, I'm amping up my healthy eating (in preps for my wedding + it is just a necessity). With this, tonight's dinner was Chicken and Rice Soup.  It makes a huge batch! I'm pretty sure you could feed an army with it!

Chicken & Rice Soup

Ingredients

2/3 Rotisserie Chicken (diced)
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
2 cups brown rice, cooked
32 oz low sodium chicken broth
2-3 cups water
Sprig of fresh rosemary (optional)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions

Cook rice according to package instructions. Dice chicken and all veggies. Place in a 2+ quart pot with broth, water, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low medium, add rice, and cook until veggies are tender (usually 1-1.5 hours). Or throw all ingredients in your crockpot on low all day. Make sure to precook the rice, so it doesn't absorb all of the liquid. 

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

I made this the other night and it just might feed an army! If you're not one that can eat leftovers for days, then you can freeze this for a quick meal later. I used what I had on hand, but you can improvise with fresh/cleaner ingredients by nixing the canned stuff.


Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cups, dry black beans
• 1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) corn, undrained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) tomatoes with peppers (Rotel or something similar)
• 1 package taco seasoning mix (I used McCormick's)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Suggested toppings: avocado, cheese, plain Greek yogurt, corn tortillas, hot sauce

Directions

1. Brown meat in a large sauce pan; rinse and drain.
2. Add meat and the remaining ingredients (except toppings) to a large slow cooker.
3. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, or on high heat for 3-4 hours.
4. Serve warm with any of the suggested toppings.

Nutrition (per serving)
Makes 12 servings.
Calories: 168
Fat: 3
Carbs: 24
Protein: 14
Sugars: 6
Fiber: 5

The nutrition info doesn't include any toppings. I added sliced avocado and hot sauce to mine, but the kiddo isn't a soup fan; so he enjoyed having cheese and tortilla slices in his. Greek yogurt is also a great, high protein and low fat alternative to sour cream.