Soup is good food

November is here.  Can you believe it?  It feels like just a couple weeks ago that the Eco Women were writing back-to-school posts for this blog and now they’re planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One of Recycla’s many favorite things about this time of year is eating soups and stews.  To her, there’s nothing more comforting than making a flavorful vegetable soup or a thick, hearty beef stew on a chilly blustery day and having the good smells waft through her house.

When Recycla says soup, you do know she means homemade soup, don’t you?  Recycla does not eat canned soup.  Canned soups do not taste as good as homemade.  Canned soups contain more sodium, more fat, and less flavor than homemade soups do.

You might be thinking to yourself, “But Recycla, I work all day and don’t have time to make soup when I get home.”  On the contrary, soup is NOT time consuming.  If you keep your kitchen stocked with a few basic ingredients, you will always be able to whip up a good soup in less than thirty minutes.

For example, if you have vegetable broth, frozen veggies, some carrots in your fridge, and some potatoes in your pantry, you could have vegetable soup in no time at all.  Add some cheese and crackers and you have a meal that would put a smile on anyone’s face.

Another example:  Recycla’s elderly neighbor has been sick lately.  The neighbor’s wife called Recycla and asked if she would be willing to run to the store and pick up a few cans of chicken noodle soup.  Recycla said that she could make a chicken noodle soup that would be healthier and taste better in the same amount of time.  She got off the phone and got started:  Chicken broth, some roasted chicken from the freezer, a couple of diced carrots, pasta, and herbs and spices.  30 minutse later, she was walking across the street with two potholders and a steaming pot of soup.

Some meals do take longer, such as beef stew.  Recycla works at home, so it’s easy for her to get things started mid-afternoon and have dinner ready at 6:30.  If that isn’t an option for you, Recycla suggests either using a slow cooker or cooking in advance, such as on the weekends or the night before you want the stew.  You  could come home from work and start your dinner for that evening, as well as a stew for the next evening, and save yourself some time the next day.

Financially speaking, soups are a great way to feed yourself and your family.  Depending on the recipe, a pot of soup should only cost a few dollars to make.  It’s easy to make a large batch and freeze it in smaller containers — easy to defrost when you’re short on time.

Recycla normally doesn’t use recipes when she makes soups.  She just tosses ingredients into her soup pot and then sees what happens.  Luckily, things usually work out well.  If you’re interested in finding soup recipes that are good for you and also taste good, she suggests that you go to Cooking Light magazine’s website and search their soup recipes.

Recycla realizes that making soup is not going to save Planet Earth.  But she does believe that having a stronger, more direct connection with one’s food is important and will ultimately make a difference.  She has written on this blog several times about cutting back on fast food, eating seasonally and locally, and the Slow Food movement and hopes you’ll take a look at those posts to find tips that will work for you.    Recycla also suggests that you read about eating organic and not blowing your budget.

The Eco Women want to know:  What is your favorite kind of soup?

All photos courtesy of Yahoo Images.