Are Instant Soups the Healthy Choice?

Most people have their schedules so full to the brim that they have to plan every last aspect of their day at least several weeks in advance. The busy lives which many of us live make it very difficult to plan for nutritional meals. Some people's idea of a healthy meal is a fruit rollup. As funny as this may seem, we have a severely skewed sense of what constitutes healthy food, and perhaps this is why people are being plagued by horrendous diseases like cancer in growing numbers.

When the majority of us hear the word "soup," we quickly associate it with positive images. After all, soup can contain vegetables and other nutritious ingredients that are good for our body. When it comes to instant soups, opinions begin to diverge as to whether or not they are the right choice. Conventional wisdom says they are the prime choice among competing alternatives, but a quick peek at the nutritional facts on the back of these popular instant soups says otherwise.

Let's take for example the instant ramen soup. Most of us have been guilty of consuming one or more of these tasty soups on a cold day while we were on the move, or possessed some other excuse not to make a home cooked soup. At first glance, there doesn't appear to be anything that's very damaging about the contents of the soup health-wise. Some noodles mixed with peas and carrots actually seems good for you. However, a quick look at the back of the packaging indicates large amounts of sodium that would make your doctor lapse into a coma. People don't realize that high MSG (sodium) content can severely dehydrate your body making various organs work harder. Where did you think all that taste came from? Obviously not from the vegetables.

You can enjoy these soups on a healthier basis by disposing of the seasoning packets and substituting your own ingredients, like garlic powder or something similar. The best thing to do is make some home cooked soup that won't have any of the negative health effects of processed instant soup. The ultimate choice is yours, just remember that over-consuming these types of soups will have a negative impact on your health in the long run.

Are Instant Soups the Healthy Choice?

Miso Soup Packets

Are Instant Soups the Healthy Choice?

Are Instant Soups the Healthy Choice?
Are Instant Soups the Healthy Choice?

Miso Soup Packets

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

I'm about to abandon my adult children in North Carolina and relocate to California. Sometimes a maudlin sentiMentality overtakes me, as if I am about to die and will never see them again, in this world. I feel compelled to leave behind something that will enrich their lives and make them feel as if I am still with them, even if I've only "passed over" to the other side of the continent. And so, to my daughters, and to you, dear reader, I bequeath my Vegetarian Soup Recipes.

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

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Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

I'm leaving at least two dozen vegetarian cookbooks. My daughters could easily use those or lend them to my son. They could certainly do an Internet search and find oodles of options for vegetable soups. But I rarely use published recipes. I invent my own soups, from whatever is available.

Some few key ingredients should be on hand in every vegetarian kitchen. For sauteeing vegetables, have extra virgin olive oil, and for seasoning, a bit of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and some unsalted Spike seasoning, or an assortMent of seasonings. I have found that a dash of Bragg Aminos and a tablespoon of Spike, thrown into a few cups of boiling water, makes an extra-delicious vegetable broth.

For a hasty, tasty soup, throw away the seasoning packets from RaMen soup. Use the Bragg/Spike combination in water. For nutritional value toss into the soup a variety of fresh or frozen vegetables-- whatever you have on hand. Broccoli is wonderful, and maybe a button or two of carrot, celery, a handful of frozen peas and corn, or maybe some string beans or asparagus. Spinach and mushrooms, sliced leeks or scallions (thoroughly soaked and washed) are all tasty additions to this 3-minute meal.

Stock up on dried beans, lentils and grains-- such as brown rice and whole-grain Pastas, and barley, some cans of tomatoes. By adding any vegetables (celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms, broccoli, or other favorites), many vegetarian soup recipes can be created.

Yesterday I created mushroom, barley, lentil soup. I sauteed mushroom slices until they were barely tender, and then I dumped in many cups of water, some whole-grain barley and some lentils. I squirted in Bragg Aminos and dumped in Spike until the broth tasted delicious. I added lentils, equal to the amount of barley. I continued to boil the soup for 55 minutes. Knowing the soup might be improved by a bit of potato and carrot, I cut one of each into 1/ inch dice and threw them into the pot near the end of the Cooking time.

For a bean soup, soak assorted beans overnight and boil them in the Bragg-and-Spike-seasoned water, until tender. Add desired vegetables.

For a vegetable soup, begin with cans of diced tomato. Add water, Bragg, Spike, ground pepper, brown rice or Pasta, and assorted veggies. Experiment with seasonings. Add sauteed onion or garlic sometimes. A dash of tobasco make it zippy!

And while your soup is Cooking, why not telephone your mother?

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups