Soup is a wonderful comfort food – it's warm, delicious, fills you up, and reminds you of when your mom used to make it when you were feeling sick. Making your own soup is a great way to not only refine your cooking skills but also to ensure that what you're eating is as healthy as possible. But how do you know what soups are a nutritional knockout and which ones are a clear strike across your plate? If you're looking for a few health guidelines to follow when making your own soup, then here's what you need to know.
Check the Broth
When it comes to soups, a good general rule is that the clearer the broth, the better it is for you. This is because thick soups like chowders often have ingredients like cream and cheese that, while good for you in moderation, shouldn't be the base of a meal that you're trying to make healthy. Stick with stocks – beef, chicken, and vegetable broths being the most common varieties – as the bases to your soup; whether you make the stock yourself or whether you buy it in cans from your local supermarket, a clear broth soup will be much more healthy for you than a creamy base. If you want to take it one step better, use a low-sodium stock instead of one with more salt.
Go Fresh
Frozen or canned vegetables can be a godsend when you don't have a lot of time or money and you really want to try to eat healthily – but they don't really have a place in homemade soup. In order to take advantage of the nutrients that vegetables can offer, it's important that you use them when they're as fresh as possible. In order to get fresh veggies without breaking the bank, try to include vegetables when they're in season – this helpful list will tell you when different vegetables are in and out of season – and purchase them in bulk; you can always make more soup than you need and freeze the leftovers, after all.
Perfect the Protein
Protein is necessary for building and repairing muscles and ensuring complete brain function – but be careful before just chopping up a steak and throwing it in your soup. Sticking to sources of protein that are a little leaner – chicken and any type of white fish are especially good for this – will allow you the protein and iron that you need in your daily diet, but won't cost your health at the same time.
For more information, reach out to a company like Nourished Foods.
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