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.

Exercising in the cold...know how to do it right!

It’s winter in the Midwest, so that means fair weather one day and then cold fronts the next (watch out for tomorrow's temps). Don’t get caught in the frigid temps without knowing how to exercise safely in the cold. Just follow a few simple tips:

• Cover Up: When we are cold, our body focuses most of its heating effort to the core to protect our heart and other organs. Therefore, make sure to cover up your extremities (arms and legs, hands and feet as well as your head/ears).
• Choose layers: Our bodies generate a great deal of heat when we exercise…enough to make it feel as much as 30 degrees warmer that the actual temperature, so dress in layers when exercising outside; you can always take off clothing as you start to heat up and put layers back on if needed. Wear fabric that is a moister wicking material as your first layer then proceed with cotton or fleece layers as well as a waterproof layer if it is snowing or raining. For those with asthma or working out in temperatures below freezing (sub 32 degrees), cover your mouth with a scarf or mask.
• Hydrate: Even if you don’t feel thirsty or sweaty, you need to drink lots of water. The recommended amounts are the same for cold weather as they are for hot weather: 8 oz of water before the workout, 4 oz every 15 minutes of activity and 8 oz post workout. You can still get dehydrated in the cold so drink up.
• Check the weather: Before you venture out on your walk, run, hike, etc. make sure that the conditions in your area are safe. Snowstorms, icy conditions, hail and driving rain are not appropriate weather in which to exercise. I was just introduced to the weather phenomenon "snow squall" last week and it was wild!

Too dangerous to work out in the great outdoors or can’t get to the gym because of the road conditions? No problem, click here for the Snowed-In Workout for a total body indoor workout that combines both strength and cardiovascular training.

BE ALERT: Can you recognize hypothermia?

Hypothermia occurs when the core body temperature falls below 95 degrees. This is a serious condition which can cause irregular heartbeat and even death if not treated immediately. If you’re working out outdoors in the cold, watch for these signs of hypothermia.

• Excessive shivering
• Drowsiness
• Confusion
• Slurred speech
• Exhaustion

Get medical help immediately if you feel these indicators or think you or someone you know might be suffering from hypothermia.

Hack the Hardest Part of Exercising

The hardest part of any workout isn't how heavy one lifts or getting in that final mile of a run/walk or even figuring out what to do for the day's exercise. 

Do you know what it is for most people? 

Getting started. 

That's it. 

If you can simply begin your workout, you've done the hardest part! Whether it's getting to the gym for a class, walking out the door for a jog or getting on your mat for at home yoga, once you've done that one thing, you are WAY more likely to continue and finish the workout planned than if you don't start at all...right? 

Psychology Today gives an in depth and researched article on how to get "unstuck, get-started and stay on track." Here's a few of the article's tips (exercise specific for our purposes here). 

1. Even the smallest step forward still gets you closer to your end goal. So, if you are wanting to run a marathon, even 5 minutes of running is better than not running at all. Want to be less winded when walking? Get out and walk for 5 minutes. Wan to be more flexible? Do a short yoga YouTube video. You get the point.

2. You can do things even if you don't like them. Yep...we can do hard things; things we don't like to make our lives healthier. If you feel like you don't like to exercise, the key here is to find a way to move your body to maintain health and strength that you can tolerate. Don't like fitness classes? Find a video to do on your own, start to walk or run or turn up your fav music and dance around for 20 minutes. Don't like to lift weights? Maybe yardwork is your thing. 

3. Break your goals down into bite sized pieces. Sometimes that big goal (running or walking a half marathon, squatting 200lbs, exercising 30 minutes a day), feels super overwhelming and then we don't end up doing anything. Small steps will still get you there. Start by walking a half mile, squat with your own body weight or exercise just 5 minutes a day. You can build from there!

4. Create a plan. This is key. Put your workouts on your calendar and then do them...just like with any meeting, appointment, happy hour, etc. Write down your goal and what you are going to do to get there. Sometimes we need help with these things...and thank goodness, because health coaches like me wouldn't have a job otherwise. Reach out to someone who has accomplished the goal you are working towards or a professional for guidance (I'd love to help-email me here: erin@ehfitness.com. 

You've got this...GET STARTED!