Hearty Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

 

There is nothing like a warm, savory, hearty soup when it's cold outside. This Chicken and Wild Rice soup checks all the boxes (and my kids love it). This has been on repeat at my house since Thanksgiving (we used leftover turkey for that one). It's pretty versatile and can be made allergen friendly. I have always made mine gluten and dairy free. Let's get to the good stuff...

What you need: 

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalked of celery, copped
• 1 container (8 oz) baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• 3 TBSP flour (or gluten free flour works great)
• 2 TBSP minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 4 TBSP butter, vegan butter or avocado oil
• 1/2 cup wild rice (not the quick kind)
• 1/2 cup rubbed sage
• 1/2 cup thyme
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2-3 cups shredded chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken for this)
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk 
• salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil or butter over medium heat in a large stock pot
2. Sautee onions, carrots, celery and garlic until onions start to soften
3. Add mushrooms and stir until they start to soften
4. Sprinkle in the flour and add butter or oil and stir until the flour is absorbed by the veggie mixture
5. Add rice, sage, thyme and broth
6. Cover the pot and let the mixture come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes or until rice is cooked
7. Stir in chicken and coconut milk
8. Season to taste 
9. Enjoy!

Tips to make this quicker and easier: 

*have shredded rotisserie chicken frozen and ready to go at any time

*used pre-mince garlic

*while carrots/onions/celery/garlic are sautéing, use that time to chop the mushrooms

*speaking of carrots, throw in a big handful of baby carrots and save peeling and chopping

Your January 2026 Snowed-in Workout

 

Thinking that maybe you’ll just stay in today/tomorrow/this weekend and avoid the snow-covered roads and crazy cold temps? Me too! But don’t let your body suffer by skipping your workout. Do the E.H. Fitness snowed in workout…I’ll be doing it as well!

Here's the deal: Each Tri-set contains 3 strength moves and 1 cardio burst for a calorie killing circuit workout. Repeat all exercises for 1 minute before moving onto the next exercise in a tri-set and repeat each tri-set three times before moving on to the next. Minimal rest between sets is encouraged to keep your heart pumping as well as getting the most calorie burn and strength gain throughout your workout. In these 30 minutes, you can burn hundreds of calories…so get moving!

Here's the work:

Warm up: 1 minute jumping jacks, 1 minute stair climb

Tri-Set #1

Traveling Lunges: Lunge around the house. Make sure to press through your heel on your way up and keep the knee from coming over the toe.

Push Ups: On your toes or your knees…or even against a counter. Just make sure to keep your abs in tight.

Bicycles: Keep your eyes on the ceiling and never pull your head/neck with your hands. Bring your shoulder towards the opposite knee.

Cardio Burst — Squat Jumps: Explode out of the squat and then land with soft knees.

Tri-Set #2

Tricep Dips: Do these off of a sturdy chair or step. Dip down so that your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Pull the legs in toward the body to make the dips easier or straighten the legs to make them harder. If you need even more of a challenge, lift a foot off the floor.

Walking Planks: Start in plank position on your forearms then stay in plank while pushing your body up to your hands, one arm at a time, and then back down again and repeat until your minute is up!

Back Extensions: Get on your belly with hands and legs extended…lift the chest and legs up off the floor while contracting your lower back and butt. Keep your abdominal muscles tight during this movement and make sure to breathe.

Cardio Burst — Stair runs: Go as fast as you can up and down the stairs. No stairs, no problem, do high knees instead.

Stretch!

TRAINER TIP: This is an intense workout so make it work for you. If you are feeling too winded or can’t repeat all sets and repetitions, don’t beat yourself up. Take frequent breaks and cut down the time to 30 or 45 seconds.  On the flip side, if the workout is not challenging enough for you, do each move for as long as you can or increase the Cardio Burst times.