Warm Up with Soup!

Although soup can be enjoyed year long, there is something warm and cozy about a bowl of soup during the cold winter months. Here are some benefits for making soup:

1. Soups can be filling: There are different kinds of soups. Soups that contain protein like chicken or beans tend to be filling and can be enjoyed as a main dish. Try this chicken vegetable soup with kale.
2. Soups can be prepared ahead of time: If you are busy or enjoy preparing your meal in advance, then soups can be a good option for you. You can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Or you can even freeze it up to 2-3 months. Let the soup cool completely before freezing in a freezer safe container. Move to the fridge to thaw the night before and reheat it on your stove or in your microwave.
3. Soups can be healthy: There are many ways to prepare soups. Broth based soups tend to be rich in vitamins and minerals and usually low in calories. If you are making a cream-based soup, use skim milk as your base. Try this garden vegetable soup.
4. Soups can hydrate you: As you may know, consuming water is very important year long. In the winter months, people tend to forget to drink water. Soup is a great source of water that will hydrate you.
5. Soups can be easy to make: The nice thing about making soup is that it only requires one pot. All you need to do is to prepare the ingredients and mix together. Another thing worth considering is that you can make soup out of almost anything you have. Try this lentil, mushroom and swiss chard soup.

Follow these four steps to make your soup:

1. Start by choosing your base, usually a stock like chicken or vegetable, tomato puree, pureed veggies, or low-fat milk.
2. Add your veggies like onion, garlic, celery, carrots, peppers, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, greens like kale, green beans, or zucchini to name a few. You can use fresh, canned, or frozen vegetables. Just make sure to use low sodium canned vegetables when choosing canned, and if you cannot find that type, make sure to rinse your canned vegetables very well before adding to your soup.
3. You can also add protein like beans, chicken, ground beef, or ground turkey for example.
4. Follow that up by adding flavoring like dried herbs, ground pepper, or chili powder.
5. Let it simmer and enjoy!

Other soups worth trying this winter season:

Winter harvest soup

Mediterranean lentil soup

Taco soup