Two soups, two salads, two trips to Panera

I’m sick.

And not just in the present sense of the word, but also the past.  And the forseeable future.  It’s been a WHOLE week of sniffing and hacking topped with days of my voice cracking like a 13 year old boy on the verge of the big change.  You know.  The change.

And then my voice just up and left, which has made work rather interesting.  I swear, I’m not ignoring my ringing phone for any other reason.  Promise.  Twice this week as I walked out of the office all I could think about was soup.  Hot steamy soup to soothe my sore scratchy throat.  So, twice this week I walked over to Panera and whispered my order to two very patient employees.

I’ll have the you-pick-two please *cough* *cough* (while holding up two fingers for emphasis).

I always go with the you-pick-two at Panera, which gives you the options of half sandwiches, salads, and soups.  I’m a creature of habit, so I usually go with one of two soups:  the Vegetarian Black Bean, which is a teeny bit spicy with garlic and cumin, OR the Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice.

The creamy chicken soup was EXACTLY what I needed this night.  By the way, have you checked out Panera’s online nutrition calculator?  It’s an easy tool to use to preplan a healthy selection, and it’s one of the big reasons Panera is my go-to fast-casual food joint.  Their Daily Soups are also posted online so you can stalk the board and plan accordingly.  Speaking of which, I’ve never tried the Chicken Sonoma Stew!  Creamy stew with carrots, peas, leeks, red potatoes, and thyme, topped with a Dry Jack Cheese biscuit??  How could I have missed this?

Dang.

Let’s get back to dinner(s).  The you-pick-two comes with chips or an apple if you like, but I always opt for a hunk their fresh bread.  Sometimes it’s whole grain and sometimes its French, but it’s always bread–perfect for dunking in my soup.

I’m hoping all this soup and salad (and BREAD!) helps to heal me just in time for the weekend.

Thanks to the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program for sending me a Panera gift card, which I put toward my two dinners during this illness filled week.  It was PERFECT timing.  Also, as part of the DailyBuzz Tastemaker program, I will receive a stipend from Panera for this post.  All comments above are my own, unbiased opinions.

What’s your favorite thing to eat at Panera?  After two trips, all I can think about are their chocolate chip cookies… maybe I’ll stop by this weekend and nab one.