Enjoy some soup

As the weather turns colder, who doesn’t like a hot bowl of soup?  Is soup healthy?  What nutritional value does soup have?  Actually, soup can be a healthy addition to your diet.  What are some health benefits of enjoying that bowl of soup on a cold day?

• Vegetables – many soups are either loaded with vegetables or the base of the soup is made from vegetables.  Many Americans are low on veggies and soup is an easy way to add some veggies to your day.  If you have a toddler who is fussy about eating vegetables, that toddler may eat the smaller pieces of the soft vegetables in vegetable soup. Even kids who won’t eat tomatoes might enjoy a bowl of tomato soup.  And as I have noted before, cooking some vegetables actually makes them healthier.  The lycopene in tomato soup is better absorbed than the lycopene in a raw tomato.  Enjoy some split pea soup and you added veggies and beta carotene (vitamin A) to your day.  As noted in last week’s blog (Foods for Healthy Skin), foods rich in lycopene and beta carotene are good for healthy skin.  

Add some vegetables to your day with vegetable soup.

• Bone broth soups – A new rage in nutrition is getting more collagen and one way to do so is eating soups made with bone broth.  This used to be done years ago.  People would take a ham bone and make soup with it.  What are some benefits of bone broth?  Bone broth soups contain important vitamins, A and K, and minerals including some calcium, magnesium, selenium, manganese, iron and phosphorous.  An interesting article in the journal, Sports Medicine, found that collagen may help protect the joints.  Interesting that bone broth may also promote a healthy gut as some of the proteins have anti-inflammatory properties.
• All-in-one – many soups provide carbs, protein and fat – all the major nutrients in one bowl.  Think noodles, potatoes, or rice as the carbs.  Protein from the chicken, beef, beans or peas.  Some soups have added oils.
• Chicken Noodle Soup – often recommended for those with a cold or recovering from the flu.  What is so great about chicken noodle soup?  First, it has some protein (chicken) and carbs from the noodles.  But it really is the chicken broth that packs the nutrition punch.  As noted above, the broth adds in vitamins and minerals.  If you have a cold, chicken noodle soup is great as it helps relieve some congestion.  How? Breathing in the steam from the soup and the salt in the soup does help to ease your congestion.  And the soup with its liquid and salt is hydrating.  Some say chicken noodle soup may even help prevent the common cold.  If you are making your own soup, add in some cold-fighting ingredients of garlic, onions, carrots and some celery.  

Chicken noodle soup, a healthy choice.

There is a downside to soup and that is the sodium content.  If sodium is a concern, look for reduced sodium soups.  These soups, by law, provide 25% less sodium.  And some soups are cream-based so loaded with fat and calories.  I always prefer the tomato-based or broth-based soups. 

Many dietitians note that soup is an easy way to add some nutrition to your day. And an easy way to boost your vegetable intake.  Many people are into cooking these days, and there are many easy to make soups.  Check out the Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.  We substitute turkey for the chicken, especially good with leftover dark turkey meat.  So, on the next cold day, either heat up some soup from a can or make your own soup.  So many varieties to choose from.  

Sources: toddler,  lycopene, Foods for Healthy Skin, Bone broth soups , Sports Medicine, Chicken Noodle Soup , prevent , Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe   Image Sources: Chicken Noodle, Vegetable soup , cold fighting

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe (6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, chicken fat or olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
• Heaped tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1-pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs (4 or 5 thighs)
• 8 cups chicken stock or broth, (low sodium if you wish to cut back on sodium)
• 5 ounces egg noodles (or use a pasta of your choice)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Water or more stock, as needed
  

 DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring every few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften; 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, while stirring the garlic around the pan, for about 1 minute.
3. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a low simmer. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. You may need to add 1 or more teaspoons of salt.
4. Submerge the chicken thighs into the soup so that the broth covers them. Bring the soup back to a low simmer then partially cover the pot with a lid and cook, stirring a few times until the chicken thighs are cooked through; about 20 minutes.
5. If the broth seems low, add a splash of more stock or a bit of water. Turn the heat to medium-low. 
6. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate. Stir the noodles into the soup and cook until done, 6 to 10 minutes depending on the type of noodles used.
7. While the noodles cook, shred the chicken into strips or dice into cubes. Slide the chicken back into the pot and then taste the soup once more for seasoning. Adjust with more salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the parsley and serve.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: Serving Size 1/6 of the recipe / Calories 298 / Total Fat 11.4g / Saturated Fat 4.4g / Cholesterol 97.7mg / Sodium 748.7mg / Carbohydrate 22.9g / Dietary Fiber 1.7g / Total Sugars 7.5g / Protein 24.8g

AUTHOR: Adam and Joanne Gallagher