Yoga

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup and Snow Daze

by Jessica on January 20, 2011

in Goals, Kitchen, Main Courses, Recipes, Sides, Soups, Yoga

Spicy Tortilla Soup

We woke up this morning to 8 inches of snow. Everything was and still is completely covered, including the roads. I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to Missouri’s idea of snow removal. Just because people drive on it and does NOT mean it’s clear! If we didn’t have the Jeep, we’d be home right now, but since we do, we were able to make it to work fairly easily.

I’ve been pretty frustrated for the past week. I feel like we’ve run into hurdle after hurdle trying to stick to our gym and running goals. First we had a snowstorm, then the flu, and now another snow storm. I’m hoping we’ll be able to make it to the gym tonight (it hasn’t actually stopped snowing), otherwise I’m going to have to resort to my stack of workout DVD’s and some living room yoga, a real treat with two cats and a dog.

Clive has sympathy flu.

Neil and Clive during our bout with creeping crud.

Needless to say, between being sick and being cooped up, we’ve been eating pretty light. I still don’t have much of an appetite, but soup, toast and fruit have been my go-to meals and snacks for the past few days. It feels pretty nice. Even though we didn’t commit to doing a real detox, eating clean and simple foods has been detox enough for my system, and we’re realizing we should probably be doing it more often than we do.

I fell in love with tortilla soup in college. I worked in a natural health market, and fell deeply for Amy’s Tortilla Soup. I’ve been trying to find it for years, and have yet to find it again. Devastated and wanting tortilla soup to warm winter nights, I’ve been experimenting with tortilla soups for the past month. I’ve made two different soups, one that I completely hated and this one that I completely love. Herein is my favorite, thus far anyway.

Ingredients:

25 oz. crushed tomatoes
15 oz. fire roasted tomatoes
4 oz. canned chopped green chile peppers
2 habaneroes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
½ medium onion, diced
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
4 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 ½ cup fresh or frozen fire roasted corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

Toppings:
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Baked Tortilla Chips
Greek Yogurt
Lime

Directions:

Spicy Tortilla Soup

Spicy Tortilla Soup

Slow cooker instructions: Place the spices, tomatoes, chiles in adobo sauce, broth, garlic, onion and peppers in the slow cooker. Cover, and cook on low for about 6 hours. Approximately 45-60 minutes before you’re ready to eat, add the chicken and the corn.

Stovetop instructions: In a large pot, saute the onions, garlic, habanero and chiles in adobo sauce in a tablespoon of canola oil. Add the tomatoes and spices. Bring to a light rolling boil and add corn and cooked chicken and and reduce heat to medium. Cook through for 45-60 minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls, then sprinkle with cheese, Greek yogurt, avocado, lime or tortilla strips.

I learned in all my research (hey, I did some serious digging on this topic!) that there seem to be two schools of thought on tortilla soup: more liquid and broth-like or thick and chunky. We happen to prefer the thick and chunky, and if you do too then this is a tortilla soup for you. It’s hearty without being heavy, and spicy and lightly sweet with tomatoes and the chiles in adobo, which I swear are now a pantry staple for us. I hope it warms the snowy nights for you as it did for us, and just think, January is almost over!

How do you combat cabin fever stay on track with your fitness goals?

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Clean your funky mat!

by Jessica on January 22, 2010

in Exercise, Yoga

{Image via Richard-}

The year 2009 for me was all about experimenting with my fitness (yes my fitness). Having never spent time in a gym that wasn’t required for credit or enforced by a burly woman who literally carried a sack of balls, I got a membership with Neil and against all insecurity decided to give it my best shot. I never thought I’d enjoy working out, be able to tame my OCD and get good and sweaty, and run a mile straight through. But I did it, and like any type of success, you have to grow it to keep feeling it. A few months ago, at my first yoga class (Power Yoga), the instructor mentioned that a new class was forming to practice Hot Yoga, which is Yoga practiced in a room at or above 98 degrees. I laughed openly. “Out of my league,” I muttered as I shuffled out of the room.

Several weeks later I found myself taking the class, and loving it. Great stretches, cleansing detox, and the fast and elusive sense of success again. I even bought my first yoga mat and felt pathetically cool toting it in the gym. After a few weeks of class however, the mat got a little funky and my first instinct was to wash it with a dish soap in the tub and hang it up over the curtain rod. It was wet for days, really messy and a hassle when I wanted to attend class several days a week. So I do what I do best, I googled.

There are tons of cleansers on the market, and they run anywhere from $10-20 per bottle, which to someone like me is out of the question. So I googled “DIY Yoga Mat clean” and found these little ditties I’d like to pass along to anyone in the same boat or who just realized now they’d never wiped down their mat.

Recipe #1:

  • Three drops of tea tree oil
  • Two drops of peppermint oil
  • Two drops of lavender oil
  • Distilled water


Recipe #2
This is for a stronger antibacterial/antifungal spray.

  • 1 part warm water with 3 parts white vinegar
  • Add 8-12 drops of essential oils like eucalyptus, lemongrass, lavender, mint, or tea tree oil


For both solutions, mix thoroughly and place the solution in a spray bottle.

Spray Cleaning Instructions:

1. Spray your yoga mat cleaner liberally over the surface of your mat. If your mat seems especially dirty, let the cleanser sit and soak in a bit before cleaning it off.

2. Wipe the yoga mat with a wet cloth or sponge. When the cleanser has been thoroughly removed, rub the mat down with a soft dry cloth, like a small towel or washcloth. Now repeat on the other side.

3. Allow your mat to air dry, which should take only about 5 to 10 minutes. If it takes longer than this, try rubbing your mat down more with the towel to remove the excess water and speed up the drying time.

{Via Apartment Therapy}

And while we’re at it, since I’m still a newbie, do you have any great Yoga resources, DVD recommendations, or positions you love and want to share? Feel free to leave them in the comments!

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