Want to warm up this fall and winter with some healthy comfort food? Check out these delicious recipes from certified nutritionist and fitness trainer, Franci Cohen. I can't wait to make them myself! Yum!

Delicious Chicken Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
-6 leeks, cleaned well and diced
-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
-1 bunch fresh dill, cleaned
-1 bunch fresh parsley, cleaned
-6 chicken capons (chicken thighs with skin but deboned)
-4 white meat chicken capons (chicken breasts with skin but deboned)
-1 1/2 cups gnocchi -3 boxes all natural, low-sodium chicken broth
-1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:
1. In a large soup pot, sauté leeks in canola oil until translucent and tender

2. Add carrots and sauté for 4-5 minutes more

3. Place chicken capons skin-side-up on top of sautéed vegetables

4. Place dill and parsley bunches on a mesh bag, tie a knot to keep any from leaking out during cooking, and place on top of chicken capons in pot

5. Add 3 32 oz. boxes of chicken broth

6. Cover pot with lid almost entirely, and put on high heat on stove until soup begins to boil

7. Reduce heat and cook for 1 hour

8. Uncover and remove pot from heat

9. Take mesh herb bag out of pot, squeezing soup out into pot before discarding the herb bag

10. Remove chicken pieces from pot, remove and discard the skin from each, and then break chicken meat into large pieces and return to pot

11. Stir the pot of soup once or twice will a ladle to incorporate all flavors, and return pot to stove on high heat until soup boils

12. Add gnocchi, and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes on medium heat

13. Remove pot from stove and serve!
*This is an Italian twist on the traditional Jewish chicken soup. Healthy and nourishing, and packed with flavor, this soup has no added salt, sugars, fats, or preservatives, and the occasional floating gnocchi adds a richness that warms the heart and body with minimal fat and calories!

Corn & Butternut Squash Chowder Recipe

Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons canola oil
-5 cup butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch squares
-1 large Spanish onion, chopped
-4 ears fresh corn on the cob, cooked and shucked
-1 teaspoon curry powder
-2.5 tsp kosher salt
-3/4 tsp ground black pepper
-1 32oz. box low-sodium vegetable broth
-1/2 cup heavy cream (or substitute with 1/4 lowfat ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup fat free sour cream)

Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat

2. Add onion. Sauté until onion is soft and caramel in color-about 6-10 minutes.

3. Add squash, and sauté for 5-8 minutes more.

4. Add corn and curry powder, and cook for about 2-3 minutes more.

5. Add salt and pepper.

6. Add vegetable broth and simmer until squash is tender (about 20 minutes).

7. In a blender, blend half the soup until smooth. Return to pot and stir in cream

8. Cook on low flame for another 5 minutes until soup is heated thoroughly.
*This thick and rich chowder is filling and delicious, as it heats up your body and warms your soul. The curry gives a little kick that cuts the sweetness of the squash and corn. The smooth-as-silk blended soup mixed with the chunky veggies, yields a wonderful textural contrast that is quite pleasing to the palate on a cold winter day!

Let us know if you try either of these recipes! To learn more about Franci Cohen and her super fun and effective SPIDERBANDS unique total cardio workout, check out www.FranciCohen.com.