There’s a nasty sore-throat cold circulating it’s way around Charlottesville, and is apparently in all of the places and things I touch, so I’ve been feeling a little under the weather lately.   Yesterday was a long day of running around, teaching + taking Pure Barre, with a few scattered meetings around town.   When I got home the only reasonable sounding remedy was some homemade sick-day soup and the DVR’d Biggest Loser episode from the night before.

The meal started out small, and unintentionally grew a bit more abundant the further I got into it.  I started by sautéing 1/2 a white onion, 2 small zucchini, 1 yellow squash,and  about a cup of sliced bella mushrooms, with some grilled chicken I had leftover.   By the time I added the chicken broth (2 Quarts), I had decided on some broccoli and brown rice spaghetti add-ins.

While the soup was boiling up, I took the ever-so neglected sweet potatoes that have been sitting next to the avocados for the last week or so, and prepared them for their sick-day destiny.  Oven baked + broiled sweet potato fries.

There was a tiny bit of olive oil sprinkled over the spears, with Trader Joe’s everyday seasoning, ground sea salt, and a little squeeze of lemon sprinkled on top.

I baked them at 375 for about 10 minutes until they were a little soft, and then turned on the broiler to crisp up the outsides and add a little brown.

Once the spears were done, the soup was turned to low, and it was time for a little recovery time.

I’d like to say that watching Biggest Loser was a relaxing activity, but I get way too emotionally involved in the show, and typically will cry multiple times (uncontrollably) during the 2 hour episode.  In fact, two years ago my emotional investment and love for the show (along with my social media + tweeting ‘tendencies’) connected me with Olivia and Hannah, the sisters who finished 1 and 2 in Season 11.

It was Olivia and Hannah who got me to my first Soulcycle class, and consequently, how I met one of my most inspirational soul sister’s, Jenny Gaither.  Jenny is an instructor and dance-party extraordinaire at Soul Cycle, and the co-founder of the S.E.A.K. Foundation, which I’m going to make sure you all know about.  She recently shared some big news (life-wise) and is coming up on the 3rd annual Sports Bra Challenge to benefit the S.E.A.K. Foundation and City of Hope, so stay tuned because we’re going to talk more in depth about Jenny and her world-inpiring plans very soon.

Cliffs notes: I made soup. I ate soup.  And then had a borderline downward emotional spiral, but it was therapeutic and inspirational, so it’s all good.