Soup is Good Food

Now that fall is really here it is time to start thinking about hearty warm meals. Soup is perfect for the chilly weather. It warms you up, is nutritious, filling and very easy to make. It can be cooked quickly or made in a crock pot and simmered all day. You can use fresh vegetables or frozen meat or noodles, or rice. You can make cream soups and clear soups and rich meaty vegetable soups. By making it yourself you can control the fat, the carbs and calories. There are as many soups as there are people; you have endless opportunities to experiment with soups.


I like soup because I am picky about vegetables. Like my toddlers I do not like to eat whole cooked veggies but am perfectly willing to eat pureed vegetables. My husband views soup as something to dunk bread into. We eat a lot of cream of assorted vegetable soup in our house. Cream of veggie soup is very easy. Fresh or frozen broccoli, some frozen spinach, a carrot (chopped or grated), a small chopped onion or a couple cloves of garlic (or both) and a can/box of chicken broth. (one small potato is optional) Simmer until everything is tender and then puree. Replace the broccoli with peas, or cauliflower or carrots for variety.

I also like it because it is a good use of the leftover chicken or ground beef from dinner the night before. Bake an extra breast when you make chicken for dinner one night. The next day you can shred it up and add it, some grated carrot and spaghetti broken into small pieces to some chicken broth and you have homemade chicken noodle soup. Use precooked ground beef (Brown extra when making tacos or chop up a leftover hamburger), a bag of mixed frozen veggies and beef stock and you have beef vegetable soup.


One of my favorite soups comes entirely out of cans. A can of black beans, a can of crushed tomatoes and a can of chicken broth (I like roasted garlic flavor because then I don’t have to worry about having garlic or onions in the house to add flavor), also a can of water or additional can of chicken broth. Pour it all in a pot and let simmer for about 30 minutes. You can eat it as is, puree some of it for a nice mix of smooth and chunky or puree the whole thing. Just buy a couple cans of each ingredient and you are always ready to make a hot, fast, nutritious meal at the last minute. You can also make this with 2 cups of dried black beans instead of canned and let it simmer all day in a crock pot or on the back of the stove.


Soup alone is a filling meal. It also pairs well with a salad and bread. Soup and sandwiches are an excellent dinner. Try some soup this week!



Black Bean Soup #1 – serves 4-6 people

15oz can black beans

28oz can crushed tomatoes

2 - 12oz cans chicken broth (or half water)

2 cloves garlic smashed

and/or one small onion chopped fine

Drain & rinse the beans. Add everything to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Puree all or part of the soup as desired. Optionally, if pureeing all the soup add some yogurt or sour cream as you are pureeing to add creaminess and additional flavor.



Black Bean Soup #2 – serves 4-6 people

2 cups dried black beans

28oz can crushed tomatoes

2 - 12oz cans chicken broth (or half water)

2 cloves garlic smashed

and/or one small onion chopped fine

2 small potatoes cut into small pieces

Soak dried beans in cold water to cover for an hour & drain them. Add them and the other ingredients to the pot. Cover the pot, bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 5 hours. Alternatively put it all in a crock pot and let simmer for 7-8 hour (low) or 5-6 hours (high). . Puree all or part of the soup as desired. Optionally, if pureeing all the soup add some yogurt or sour cream as you are pureeing to add creaminess and additional flavor.



This is a base vegetable soup recipe using broccoli. It can be varied for cauliflower, peas, frozen spinach or any root vegetable

Creamy Broccoli Soup – serves 4-6 people

1 head of broccoli – chopped small (a couple of cups approx) fresh or frozen

2 cups water

2 cups chicken

1 small onion and/or 1-2 cloves garlic crushed

1 medium potato cut in small pieces


Add all to pot, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for one hour. Puree, salt & pepper to taste and serve.


Variations – add some half and half when pureeing for extra creaminess. Leave out the potato to reduce the carbs (if you do this you may need to pour off some broth before pureeing to increase the thickness of the soup).


Baked Potato Soup – serves 4-6

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion (or large leek, white part only)

4 large potatoes peeled & diced

5 cups of water

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Melt butter in soup pot, add onions & sauté until soft, stir occationally over low heat (about 2 minutes). Add potatoes and continue stirring for another minute until lightly browned. Add water and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Add milk & cheese and bring soup to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Mash as you would for mashed potatoes or serve as is. Salt & pepper to taste