Soup: How To Make It As Healthy As Possible
In addition to being comforting, soup is a nutritious food that can have many benefits if you know how to make it as healthy as possible.
You get home after a long day… the first thing you want to do is take a hot bath, and the second is to eat something good that will invigorate you. What is the ideal choice? Soup !
In today’s article we present the benefits of soup and teach you how to make it as healthy as possible.
The benefits of soup for the body
Whether you are sick, want to warm up or reunite your family at a delicious meal, soup is an excellent option. Here are some of its benefits:
It is a tradition
Soup has always been one of the most consumed dishes in the world. Did you know that the first mention of this food dates back to the Paleolithic? Engravings from the caves of Les Eyzies de Tayac in France seem to illustrate a group of people cooking soup.
But you don’t have to go back that far. You will surely remember your own childhood when your mother, grandmother or aunt cooked a delicious meal for the whole family.
It is good for everyone
Babies, children, adults, the elderly… everyone has something to gain from a healthy portion of vegetable soup ! This is a comforting dish and a great way to protect yourself from the cold weather.
That’s why soup is the first dish at dinner. You could even say that this dish brings together parents, children and siblings at the table.
It’s nutritious
From a nutritional point of view, the soup can be rich in vitamins and proteins, you just need to know how to make it as healthy as possible. It generally includes vegetables, but may also contain beef, chicken, fish, noodles and rice. This is a great way to combine all the main food groups into one.
It is moisturizing
If you have a fever, for example, doctors recommend eating soup. Due to its high content of liquid and minerals, this food keeps your body hydrated.
It has few calories
Of course, to enjoy this benefit, you need to know how to make a healthy soup from water and vegetables. Do not add ingredients high in fat or carbohydrates, such as pasta. Vegetable soups are low in calories compared to the amount consumed.
Soup is an ideal choice for any low-calorie diet, as it satisfies hunger and prevents eating between meals.
It is easy to digest
Because its ingredients are mostly finely chopped or mashed, this food is easy to digest. This is a great option especially for young children and the elderly.
It’s medicinal
A good soup can prevent colds and flu in winter. The most recommended assortment in this regard is chicken soup. It contains antibacterial and anti-inflammatory ingredients, being a very powerful remedy.
It is convenient in price
The soup is very easy to prepare, and the necessary ingredients are often already in the pantry or kitchen. Sometimes all you have to do is make a small inventory of the food in the fridge and on the shelves, add a little water and you’re done. At the table!
How to make healthy soup: the ingredients
There are thousands of soup recipes, and some of them have a long tradition, being conceived decades ago by one of our grandmothers. In the following we present you a “basic” recipe, which will show you how to make healthy soup.
ingredients
- Onion
- Red or green bell peppers
- Carrot
- Celery
- Leek
- Garlic
- Parsley
Then you can add everything you want:
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Zucchini
- fennel
- chard
- Spinach
Don’t forget the spices:
- Salt
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Bay leaves
- Olive oil
Or optional additions:
- Rice
- Pasta
- Beef
- Chicken meat
- Over
- Mushrooms
There are several ways to prepare this food:
Julienne
The name of the recipe comes from the way you cut vegetables. This is a colorful dish, full of vitamins, fiber and calcium.
Boil the vegetables in water or stew until soft. You can add rice and noodles.
Cream soup
The cream soup consists of passing the ingredients in a blender before adding them to the pot. You can also add a little milk. Some people prefer to add semolina.
saute
This type of soup can be combined with the first recipe, because after cutting the vegetables you can fry them in a little olive oil. Then add water or meat juice until all the ingredients are well boiled.
One ingredient
This soup is prepared from a single ingredient cut into julienne into small pieces or blended. You can use pumpkin, tomatoes or potatoes.
Cold soup
This is a perfect recipe for summer and an excellent solution for soup lovers who do not want to wait for winter to come to enjoy their favorite food. It can be prepared with beets or pickled cucumbers in a blender. Boil the ingredients as usual, but let the food cool before serving.
Should we use concentrated cubes or not?
There are several opinions on the use of concentrated cubes of vegetables or meat in soup. They contain a lot of salt, but give a better taste to food (not just soup).
Some people prefer to set aside concentrated cubes and replace that special flavor with processed or dehydrated vegetables. You can ask your doctor what is recommended for you if you suffer from hypertension or kidney problems.
