Panera Soup at Home

Since Panera added their soup bowls to the menu, that has been my go to meal when I'm out for lunch or dinner. I love soup with chicken in it, so when I tried the Lentil Quinoa bowl, I quickly added this new comfort food to my list. But alas, I had to give it up: The Panera recipe contains soy (because of the miso). So, what better solution than to make it myself?

I went online to find a recipe, and came across a gluten/soy free recipe. I used it as a guideline, adding my own soulful kick to it. The one thing I would suggest is to boil the lentils ahead of time because canned lentils are hard to find, and use Trader Joes sliced chicken breast instead of slicing it yourself and broiling it. That way, it's already seasoned and all you have to do is warm it up and place it atop the soup when you serve it.

Quinoa Lentil Soup

6 cups of water

2 teaspoons vegetable soup paste

2 teaspoons chicken soup paste

1/2 onion

1 cup lentils, cooked

2 cups quinoa

1/2 onion, sliced into rings

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Lawry's Seasoning Salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Sprinkling of red pepper flake

1 tsp. Worstershire sauce

2 tbs. Tomato Sofrito

1 sliced tomato

A bunch of spinach and kale, fresh

A splash of fresh lemon juice

Sliced lemon

Trader Joe's cooked chicken breast slices, seasoned

October Birchbox and Essence Beauty Box Opening

     Wow! I thought last month was fun, but what could be better than doubling the treat with the newest addition to the subscription box world? Essence Magazine now has its own monthly service, the Essence Beauty Box. This box honestly thrilled me. First of all, the products-each one of them-were relevant to me...my hair, my skin, my complexion...I could use every single thing in the box! That was worth the 15.99 a month, a bit more than the 9.99 Birchbox price. The sample sizes were also rather generous. 

     

     But I'm not dismissing my pretty Birchbox, which always rocks the packaging with their cool designs, and the pink Breast Cancer Awareness box did not disappoint! What a great addition to my growing collection. What will I do with them all?!!!!!

Check out both of these awesome boxes for yourself by clicking on the links next to the pictures.

       And don't forget to watch my October unboxing on my channel at http://youtu.be/EoL9fkiAQYA !

Essence Beauty Box

Birchbox