Zumba, Chicken Soup, & A Milkshake

Having survived "snowpacolypse 2011," I was so happy to escape the confines of my house today. I taught my two yoga classes, went shopping, and ran three miles with Beth and her friend Chris for our marathon training.

I also - drumroll please - signed up for a Zumba Basic 1 certification! It's happening in town and it's incredibly affordable. The idea of teaching Zumba (or some kind of dance cardio) seems like a wonderful mix of my classical dance experience and my yoga trainings. If you haven't taken Zumba - or any other cardio dance class - you simply must do it. You'll be having so much fun, you won't even realize how hard you're exercising! So stay tuned...I may be teaching Zumba sometime soon ;)

I have two new recipes for you today: one is a delicious chicken soup to warm your soul on a cold night; the other is completely satisfying, sweet milkshake that I made up on the fly. Try them out!

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
This recipe comes from Ellie Krieger's award-winning book The Food You Crave. It involves tempering eggs (which I am really bad at)...if you have a similar problem, just fish out any strands of scrambled egg and proceed...I did and the recipe still turned out well.

- 8 oz boneless chicken breast, chopped into pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 teaspoons dried Herb de Provence seasoning
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup orzo
- 2 large eggs
- juice of 1 lemon

Heat some olive oil spray in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.

Respray the pot with more olive oil spray and add the onion, celery, carrot, and Herb de Provence. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 10 minutes). Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo, stir, and simmer for about 8 minutes, until the pasta is cooked al dente. Reduce the heat to low and make sure the soup is not boiling (super important).

Meanwhile, heat the remaining broth in a small saucepan until hot (again, do not let it boil). Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl and add the lemon juice. Gradually add the hot broth to the egg mixture while stirring to temper the eggs (the goal is to heat them slowly so they don't scramble). Then, slowly add the tempered egg mixture to the rest of the soup. Stir continuously until the soup thickens (no boiling!). Add the cooked chicken back to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and serve. serves 4

Chocolaty, Fruity Milkshake
This is quick to make and - if using low-fat ice cream and almond milk - quite a healthy treat.

- 1/2 cup ice cream (I use Edy's Fat Free Vanilla Frozen Yogurt)
- 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
- 2 tablespoons fat free hot cocoa mix (or one single-serving pouch)
- 1 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)

Blend everything together over high speed in a blender. If too thick, add additional milk until you get the consistency that you like. serves 1