Soup for Healthy Eating

Live Holistically is a multi-author site.
This post was written by: Pat Kennelly

This month’s Cooking Light magazine had a beautiful picture of soup on the cover. Chicken, pasta, and chickpea stew. Great marketing because even though I make a pretty good bowl I’m always looking for new recipes, and I picked up a copy. Now that autumn is here, I start thinking soup. For starters, the farmers markets are winding down and the veggies are even more plentiful and cheap. Also the fall produce is coming in…curried pumpkin soup, butternut squash soup, wild mushroom, split pea, white beans and greens.

To choose a healthy soup when dining out don’t choose anything with a cream base. As a chef, I know that kitchens are heavy handed when it comes to butter and cream ( fat is flavor) and this simple bowl of soup could hold more calories than a cheeseburger.Choose purees, broth based and legume soups. Avoid the crackers, unless they’re trans-fat free.

When cooking at home experiment with different beans and grains for heart-healthy, flavorful soups. One of my favorite soups is Chicken with fall vegetables. Just add chunks of butternut squash, turnips, carrots, and fresh or canned cannellini beans to your favorite chicken soup and you won’t miss the noodles.

A bowl of soup and a salad is the perfect fall meal.

• Minestrone
• Lentil
• Tomato Basil
• Pumpkin