Eat Healthy Monday – Make a Pot of Soup!

This tip comes us from the Eat Well Guide’s Green Fork blog.

Today’sTip: Make a pot of soup!

These days, everyone is looking to save money. Luckily, if you are smart about it, you can make your local, sustainable and organic food go a long way! One action that has been helpful for me is to devote time on Sunday to cooking a big meal so I am set for the part the week. Not only will it save you money, but the time you put in over the weekend will make meal planning during the week a whole lot easier.

During the winter it can be difficult to eat seasonally, but with soups the possibilities for using winter vegetables are endless-winter squash, sweet potatoes and cabbage to name a few. Our friends at Smitten Kitchen provide two great recipes to use these veggies: Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons and Sweet Potato and Sausage soup. A good vegetarian option for a hearty full-bodied soup is the “Not-Chicken” Noodle Soup from the Meatless Monday archives.

Yesterday I made a pot of carrot soup from a great recipe recently posted in the New York Times. We all know it’s important to get our fill of veggies and soup provides a very convenient option. Carrots are a wonderful source of fiber and beta carotene. They help your eyes too (yes, that age-old saying is true!) because of their vitamin A content, they protect vision and prevent cataracts. For more on the nutritional benefits of carrots, check out the Organic Facts website.

Although I enjoyed the carrot soup, when I make it again I would experiment with different spices (I only threw in tarragon and parsley this time). Try using recipes as a guide and then work on putting your own unique signature on them. It’s good to experiment in your cooking so you know what to tweak the next time around. With this carrot soup, you can go savory or sweet. For savory I’d suggest adding ginger, garlic and maybe some curry powder or cumin. For a sweeter soup, I think cinnamon would work well. Happy cooking!