Soup's on!

It’s getting chilly out…in fact, this morning on the way to the gym I had to turn on my seat heater…brrrr! With cold weather comes yummy, warm and comforting soup! I just made the most delicious soup yesterday in celebration of the beautiful fall weather (as well as to help keep me warm because Nate and I are refusing to turn on the heat until at least mid-October). This soup is full of good veggies, fiber and protein at a calorie steal at only 53 calories a cup (0.3 grams of fat, 456 mg sodium, 9 carbs, 2.2 grams fiber, 2.3 grams protein)!

Here’s the recipe (it’s soooooooooo easy!)…

• 3 vegetable bouillon cubes
• ½ cup dry orzo
• 8 cups fresh spinach
• 5 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 large zucchini cubed
• 1 cup of celery
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 can chickpeas (drained)
• 1 can kidney beans (drained)
• 12 cups water

1. In a large stock pot bring water to a boil and stir in bouillon cubes.
2. Sauté spinach until wilted
3. Sauté onions and garlic
4. Add all ingredients to broth and simmer until heated through

Yields 24, one cup servings.

Enjoy!

Monday's Move of the Week

The Move: Step Ups

It’s always good to have something in your strength routine (or several things for that matter) that simulates something that you do in every day life. This is called a functional exercise: a movement that helps you do something better. Step ups are a great functional exercise because they mimic climbing up stairs as well as really target the gluteus maximus (the largest muscle in the body).

Muscles Worked: Gluts (butt), core (for stabilization)

How to:

1. Start facing a bench or tall step
2. Place one foot on the bench or tall step and then step up all the way up while squeezing the gluts and then step back into starting position and switch legs
3. Switch legs and repeat

Trainer Tips:

• Make sure that you get your entire foot on the bench and press through with your heel, not your toe. This will protect the knees as well as give your gluts the most bang for the buck
• Try to keep your body as upright as possible with minimal forward lean…keep your abs in tight…that will help

Make ‘em harder: Add dumbbells to this move for more weight or do all the reps on one leg before switching.

Enjoy!