A Snow Day the Healthy Way

Mitzi Dulan

We were socked in with snow recently in Kansas City, so I made use of the winter storm to enjoy a healthy snow day with my kids!

The following is my diet and fitness diary on that day. I enjoyed 16 ounces of water with each meal and another 16 ounces of water throughout the day.

9 a.m. Breakfast: Oatmeal

I mixed together 1/2 cup of uncooked oatmeal with 1/2 cup of 1 percent organic milk. After putting it in the microwave for for 1 minute and 40 seconds, I added about 1/2 cup of additional milk and sweetened the serving with 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

10:30 a.m. Mid-Morning Snack: Snow ice cream! (3/4 cup)

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We combined snow with vanilla, sugar, and 1 percent organic milk, mixing it up to get our desired flavor and consistency.

12:30 p.m. Lunch: Bacon and tomato sandwich

The kids have been begging for bacon so we had our nitrate-free version. In one whole-wheat sandwich thin, I layered three slices of nitrate-free, lower-fat bacon, three slices of large cherry tomatoes, and two teaspoons of light mayo. On the side: 10 baby carrots.

2 p.m. Exercise: Sledding with my kids for about one hour!

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5:30 p.m. Dinner: Homemade chicken noodle soup

I enjoyed 1 1/2 cups of this soup. The recipe below makes 6 servings, about 1 1/4 cups apiece.

-- 1 tablespoon olive oil

-- 1 medium onion, chopped

-- 4 garlic cloves, minced

-- 6 baby carrots, cut diagonally and into 1/2-inch slices

-- 3 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch slices

-- 1 bay leaf

-- 1 teaspoon thyme leave

-- 2 quarts chicken stock

-- 8 ounces dried wide egg noodles

-- 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

-- Salt, to taste

-- Pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large stock pot. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaf, and thyme and cook about six minutes or until softened. Add chicken stock, and bring to boil. Add noodles, and simmer five minutes until tender. Add chicken, and simmer an additional five minutes until heated through. Add salt and pepper.

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Hungry for more? Write to eatandrun@usnews.com with your questions, concerns, and feedback.

Mitzi Dulan, RD, CSSD, is a nationally recognized nutrition and fitness expert who inspires people to lose weight and get fit. Mitzi coauthored, with NFL Future Hall-of-Famer Tony Gonzalez, The All-Pro Diet, which helps people eat clean and get lean. Mitzi is team nutritionist for the Kansas City Royals and served as team nutritionist for the Kansas City Chiefs for several years. A sought-after media source for trusted nutrition and fitness advice, Mitzi has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Shape, Glamour, US Weekly, USA Today, CNN, and FOX News. Mitzi was named one of the "Top 20 Nutrition Experts to Follow on Twitter" by The Huffington Post. Follow Mitzi on Pinterest at NutritionExpert.