It's easy to pack a lot of fruits and vegetables into your day when you eat soup. Unfortunately, many canned soups, and soups made in restaurants, have so much salt and saturated fat (cream soups) that they aren't healthy at all.
The good news is that you can make your own delicious, healthy soups right at home. I used to think that it was complicated and time consuming to make my own soup, but then I found some recipes that changed my mind. Now I want to try other recipes created by these fabulous cookbook authors.
I love potato soup, but it often tastes so good because it contains heavy cream, bacon, and cheddar cheese. I've never tried making it before, but I happened to find a healthier version called Potato Carrot Soup with Goldfish Croutons on a blog this week. It turns out that these two moms, who happen to be registered dietitians, have a web site called Meal Makeover Moms, as well as a cookbook.
I made the soup, and at first it tasted bland, but then I remembered to add a touch of salt and pepper. The magic happened when I added some Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. Just a handful of them added a lot of flavor.
This recipe is definitely healthier than most potato soup recipes, and I think the Goldfish crackers give it a very child-friendly twist. It's definitely a great alternative to traditional cream of potato soup.
I browsed through the "Meal Makeover Moms" cookbook, The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers, by J. Bissex and L. Weiss , and some of the recipes do contain certain ingredients, like corn flakes, all-purpose flour, and dairy products, that some people might want to replace with even healthier options. I usually "tweak" recipes a bit. With this particular one, I added a couple of cloves of garlic during the last 30 seconds of sauteing the onions.
Of course, if you're a vegan, and can't eat the cheese or the crackers, or just want an even healthier version of this soup, I would recommend Jennifer McCann's Golden Cauliflower Soup. This recipe replaces much of the potato with cauliflower, which is truly the healthiest possible alternative. I like the taste better, but if you don't like cauliflower, you may not appreciate the subtle flavor. I am not a vegan, so I do put some Cabot 50% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese on top (instead of the nutritional yeast). It's delicious!
Jennifer McCann has a wonderful blog for vegans, as well as a cookbook called Vegan Lunch Box. There are some other wonderful soup recipes in the cookbook (I especially like the Massur Dal and Carrot Soup and Sneaky Momma's Black Bean Soup), as well as many other types of recipes.
I realize that most people are not vegans, and do not have the time to spend making such wonderful homemade lunches, but these recipes are very healthy alternatives to many others. I personally am trying to eat less meat, so this is my first vegan cookbook, which I am also using to add more vegetables to my diet.
Just like we need to have an open mind with books, we need to have an open mind with food. If we try new things, chances are greater that our children will too.
Do you have a healthy recipe that you'd like to share?
Have a great weekend!