Food and Beverage Blog

Soup is a wonder food. It is not only nourishing and delicious but also typically easy to make and inexpensive. You don’t have to be a carnivore to enjoy soup. There are a myriad of vegetarian and vegan recipes out there that are just as satisfying and hearty as healthy recipes for soup that include some type of meat.

I no longer purchase cans of soup. They are full of sodium and simply do not have the same taste or texture as homemade soups. Plus, the canning process kills most of the nutrients that are simmering loud and clear in freshly made soups. Let’s face it, there is nothing like the aroma of a pot of simmering soup to fill your house and leave you yearning for a steaming bowl of this curer of all ills.

There really is something to the folklore that grandma’s chicken soup will heal you when you become ill. In fact, it’s been studied. In 1993, University of Nebraska Medical Center researcher, Stephen Rennard, MD, found that his wife’s family recipe for chicken soup had anti-inflammatory effects and actually slowed the development of cold symptoms.

The soup definitively increased the cold-fighting ability of cells when they were bathed in chicken soup. The hot chicken soup also improved the movement of mucus and shortened the life of a cold. Although unable to pinpoint exactly what ingredient in the chicken soup did the most good, his theory is that the ingredients work synergistically to make a difference in the duration and severity of a cold.

But you don’t only have to enjoy chicken soup to reap the benefits of decreased sick time when you have a cold. In fact, any freshly made soup that contains organic vegetables, garlic and onion is filled with powerful anti-oxidants and is quite nutritious.

All healthy soup recipes can have the same effect on your health as chicken soup does. Not all of those who partake in soup are carnivores and for those of us looking for vegetarian recipes as alternatives, have no fear.

Vegetarian or vegan versions of soup offer us the wonderfully warming feeling and healing potential as chicken soup. Actually the vegetarian version might even be more beneficial. As much as it may match the nutrient content of a soup that includes chicken or other type of meat, when you replace the meat with a bean and include fresh, organic vegetables – you are only doing yourself good. The vegetarian recipes are lower in saturated fats that are artery clogging.

As you know, there are many kinds of soup. Soup ranges from the thick, warming comfort food that you make to warm you up at lunchtime or dinnertime to soup which looks elegant and is served to guests. Of course, you could serve your guests the first type of soup, but if you really want to impress them with your soup-making ability you will want to make a sophisticated-looking soup recipe.

Soup is not difficult to make and there are some soup recipes with only a few ingredients, making this a great dish to make when you have company coming over. You can make a lot of soup recipes ahead of time and then gently reheat them. Some of the best soup recipes are made from a few ingredients only because using too many ingredients can over-complicate the soup.

Think of a vegetable soup made simply with water, vegetables and herbs. The herbs add all the flavor and cooking the vegetables for a long time brings out their flavor. This is an incredibly simple idea for soup but a classic one and a flavorful one too.

You do not have to serve something ultra-modern like a chilled fruit soup or something with an extra fancy garnish to impress people. Actually, most of the time the simple garnishes are better and the same can be said for the soup itself. Keep the flavors fresh and clean. Too many flavorings detract from the soup taste.

Appetizers before a meal can be quite a good idea, my favorite appetizer has to be soup, and there are so many different varieties of soups that can be made.

Soup may seem a little boring to some people, but with a little creativity there can be some very tasty results, here are a few of my favorite recipes for soup.

First on my list is traditional Butternut squash soups with a twist, instead of just the original Butternut squash soup, why not add an Apple flavor to it, this can give it a nice sweet taste to the soup.

Cream of Broccoli soup is a nice taste, but what if you add a little cheese to the mix, it’s not just a case of adding melted cheese to the soup, how about cheesy croutons, you get the double benefit of the croutons and the melted cheese added to the flavor of the soup.

Potato soup with a difference is nice, the difference is that you could use a potato nugget in your soup to give it a crispy feel, add a little seasoning of your choice to a Golden brown Potato nugget and really taste the difference.

Pumpkins are always a nice touch in soups there are many ways to make Pumpkin soup appetizing, you could try a gazpacho, or maybe bisque, or a more traditional cream of Pumpkin soup with certain twists.

This last one may be a little harder to make, but in the long run this will be just delicious, how about a cream of turkey soup with an addition of Turkey dumplings, this may take you a little bit longer to make than your traditional soup, but if you enjoy Turkey then this is worth the time and effort.

Soup doesn’t have to always be the same old boring taste, try to mix and match for better results, and enjoy your appetizers.

Imagine yourself digging into a warm, hearty bowl of soup. It would be hard to imagine someone going their whole lives without at least tasting this dish, wouldn’t it? That’s because soup has become a staple part of the diets of many people, and this is not without its reasons.

Traditionally, soup is meant to consist of meat and vegetables resting in a liquid, be it juice, stock or water. Some people choose to stray from this and create their own unique combination. But no matter how it’s prepared or what it consists of, soup is meant to be served at certain times. When a person is sick, the caregiver may give them a bowl of soup to speed up the process of feeling better. If a person is hungry for lunch or dinner and needs something to tide them over, soup may also be used to achieve this as an appetizer, although many times the soup is supposed to be the actual meal itself.

When you think of soup, do you also picture snuggling in a warm blanket on a cold winter day, pondering in front of a crackling fire? Sitting in a comfortable position and setting can only contribute to your enjoyment of soup, making you feel safe and happy. If the home you live in does not have a place for a fire, it might be a good idea to look into getting one put in. That way, as you or your family is enjoying that steamy bowl, the fire pit can add to the ambiance and make it a moment to remember. After all, sometimes a person creates memories simply from eating and hanging around the people they care about.

Soup is a part of the human diet that is unlikely to be abandoned anytime soon, especially considering the health benefits that can result from eating it. No matter where you eat it, be it at a restaurant or in the family room, make sure it’s a recipe you can enjoy, savor the taste, and reap in the visions that can visit you years down the line when you need those thoughts the most.