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 For
most of us, the thought of warm yummy comfort food comes to mind.
And we all have our own idea of what that cozy comfort food is. Some
may say ooey gooey brownies, homemade mac n’ cheese, meatloaf,
buttery mashed potatoes, or hot chocolate drinks. One source of
comfort food is bone warming, tummy-tingling soups, and warm breads
with creamy butter. Soup and bread is an excellent way to get your
family, whether secretly or not, to eat more nutritiously.
When talking about soups it’s amazing to see so many varieties of
something as simple as chili. Some put no beans, some have lots of
beans, some use hamburger, some use steak, some like it spicy, and
some do not. There is white chicken chili, Cincinnati chili, chili
con carne, and even vegetarian chili. Even if you grew up with the
traditional hamburger, red kidney bean chili, chances are you have
eaten some chili somewhere that has something different in it. Such
as peanut butter, cocoa powder, liquid smoke, date paste, cinnamon,
and even fish sauce (yuck!).
At least in Central Illinois, soup is a staple item at gatherings
and fall festivals from the traditional vegetable soup that is as
different as each fingerprint to chili during the cool fall nights
by the campfire to squash or pumpkin soup in October. Or you could
go with a lovely French onion soup with a melted layer of Swiss
cheese on French bread. Some will even plan ahead and use the
leftover Christmas ham for a big kettle of ham & beans for New
Year’s Eve. One could get a little adventurous and make Julia
Child’s favorite soup of Vichyssoise or Gordon Ramsay’s famous
cauliflower soup with brown butter and cheesy toasts.
Eating hearty soups not only warms the tummy but can
also be a particularly good way to eat healthy and get your fill of
nutrients. Soup can be really tasty, hearty, filling and healthy all
at the same time without being fattening and it’s a great way to use
up leftovers in the frig or food in the pantry. Soup is primarily
liquid-based, which helps to keep you hydrated during the winter
months since over 40% of people do not drink enough water in the
wintertime. By using lots of veggies, whether fresh, frozen, or
canned, removing fat from any meat in your soup at the beginning,
adding minimal amounts of salt, oil, and margarine/butter, and using
small amounts of cheese, you are ensuring the healthiest version as
possible.
But what is soup without bread? There are crackers, pita chips,
focaccia, soda bread, French baguettes, sourdough, ciabatta, or
Italian bread. You can use slices to soak up the broth, tear on top
and toast or just eat on the side with butter. Almost every grocery
store has many different types of bread choices and all types of
crackers.
Or, try a personal favorite of this reporter, homemade tomato soup
with corn chips! A fun and good way to engage children is to make
your own bread. You can find all kinds of recipes online with
step-by-step instructions on ingredients, letting it rise, kneading,
rolling out and baking in the oven. Or you can still engage the kids
and use a bread maker where the kids can add the ingredients and
watch their loaf raise and bake. A bread maker is a great way to
experiment with different herbs, cheeses, vegetables, and fruits.
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If you are not savvy with the computer to look up
recipes, there are thousands of recipe books almost anywhere such as
thrift stores, libraries, garage sales, and newspapers that are
chucked full of recipes for all kinds of soups and breads. Pioneer
Woman is just one popular place to get some tasty and different
homemade soup and bread recipes.
If you are more of a TV dinner and canned ravioli
person, the grandest thing about soup is you can take the most basic
canned soup and add to it to make it your own. A few suggestions
are:
• Canned potato soup can be dressed up by adding additional milk,
bacon, green onions, sour cream, carrots, and spices to have a meal
for the week.
• Canned tomato soup can become an ultimate go to when you add diced
tomatoes and parmesan cheese (and of course corn chips).
• By adding broth to a can of vegetable soup, you can add meat of
your choice, any kind of vegetables from your panty or frig and
thicken it up with some okra, rice, beans, or potato flakes.
So regardless of your favorite way to make a bowl of soup, whether
you buy it completely prepared, semi-prepared, ordered off a menu or
made from scratch, and with a piece of bread of your choice, this is
one of the best ways to get a cheap meal that warms you to your
bones and can be very nutritious at the same time.
[JA Hodgdon-Ruppel]
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