Healthy, Home-made Noodle Bowl

We've had a pretty easy winter so far - cold, but not too cold, and only one big snowfall - that melted the next day. This past weekend though winter showed up in force, bringing blowing snow and icy slush. Sunday was the kind of day to just hunker down under a blanket with the puppies and watch hours of mindless television.

When our stomachs started to growl and it was time to think about lunch, all we really wanted was soup. I'd just stocked the fridge with chicken, fruit, and lots of vegetables, so I figured I could whip up something home-made in no time. We let ourselves get a bit out of control over Christmas, eating whatever we wanted (those evil little licorice funsorts are addictive), so it was time to rein it back in and make smarter choices.

I put linguine noodles on to boil while I chopped mushrooms, red peppers, and kale into bite-sized pieces. So very pretty.

When the linguine was cooked I put about 1/2-3/4 of a cup of noodles in a soup bowl. I sprinkled the mushrooms, peppers, and kale over the top. It was looking a little skimpy so I added about a 1/4 cup of cooked, shredded chicken.

For flavour I added a few shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce and about a teaspoon of beef bouillon concentrate. Once we were ready to eat, I poured a mugful of boiling water into each bowl to make the broth. Gave it a stir, and it was ready to eat!

I also made a few extra to take for lunches, just leaving out the boiling water.

I threw a few roasted potatoes into mine in the morning to give it some more body. At lunch I added the water and gave it a spin in the microwave for 60 seconds. Just as good as the day before!

The boiling water partially cooks the vegetables, but the red peppers - along with giving the soup some colour - retain a sweet crunch that's unexpected and refreshing.

Here's to a new year of eating healthy while still keeping it interesting!