KTK-Nutrition : Enjoy some soup

As the weather turns colder, who doesn’t like a hot bowl of
soup?  Is soup healthy?  What nutritional value does soup have?  Actually, soup can be a healthy addition to
your diet.  What are some health benefits
of enjoying that bowl of soup on a cold day?

• Vegetables – many soups are either loaded
  with vegetables or the base of the soup is made from vegetables.  Many Americans are low on veggies and soup is
  an easy way to add some veggies to your day. 
  If you have a toddler
  who is fussy about eating vegetables, that toddler may eat the smaller pieces
  of the soft vegetables in vegetable soup. Even kids who won’t eat tomatoes
  might enjoy a bowl of tomato soup.  And
  as I have noted before, cooking some vegetables actually makes them
  healthier.  The lycopene in
  tomato soup is better absorbed than the lycopene in a raw tomato.  Enjoy some split pea soup and you added
  veggies and beta carotene (vitamin A) to your day.  As noted in last week’s blog (Foods
  for Healthy Skin), foods rich in lycopene and beta carotene are good for
  healthy skin.  

Add some vegetables to your day with vegetable soup.

• Bone broth soups – A new rage in
  nutrition is getting more collagen and one way to do so is eating soups made
  with bone broth.  This used to be done
  years ago.  People would take a ham bone
  and make soup with it.  What are some
  benefits of bone broth?  Bone broth
  soups contain important vitamins, A and K, and minerals including some
  calcium, magnesium, selenium, manganese, iron and phosphorous.  An interesting article in the journal, Sports Medicine,
  found that collagen may help protect the joints.  Interesting that bone broth may also promote
  a healthy gut as some of the proteins have anti-inflammatory properties.
• All-in-one – many soups provide carbs,
  protein and fat – all the major nutrients in one bowl.  Think noodles, potatoes, or rice as the
  carbs.  Protein from the chicken, beef,
  beans or peas.  Some soups have added
  oils.
• Chicken
  Noodle Soup – often recommended for those with a cold or recovering
  from the flu.  What is so great about
  chicken noodle soup?  First, it has some
  protein (chicken) and carbs from the noodles. 
  But it really is the chicken broth that packs the nutrition punch.  As noted above, the broth adds in vitamins
  and minerals.  If you have a cold,
  chicken noodle soup is great as it helps relieve some congestion.  How? Breathing in the steam from the soup and
  the salt in the soup does help to ease your congestion.  And the soup with its liquid and salt is
  hydrating.  Some say chicken noodle soup
  may even help prevent
  the common cold.  If you are making your
  own soup, add in some cold-fighting ingredients of garlic, onions, carrots and
  some celery.  

Chicken noodle soup, a healthy choice.

There is a downside to soup and that is the sodium
content.  If sodium is a concern, look
for reduced sodium soups.  These soups,
by law, provide 25% less sodium.  And
some soups are cream-based so loaded with fat and calories.  I always prefer the tomato-based or
broth-based soups. 

Many dietitians note that soup is an easy way to add some
nutrition to your day. And an easy way to boost your vegetable intake.  Many people are into cooking these days, and
there are many easy to make soups.  Check
out the Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.  We
substitute turkey for the chicken, especially good with leftover dark turkey
meat.  So, on the next cold day, either
heat up some soup from a can or make your own soup.  So many varieties to choose from.  

 

Sources: toddler,
 lycopene, Foods
for Healthy Skin, Bone broth
soups , Sports
Medicine, Chicken
Noodle Soup , prevent
, Chicken
Noodle Soup Recipe   Image Sources: Chicken
Noodle, Vegetable
soup , cold
fighting

Chicken
Noodle Soup Recipe (6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, chicken fat or olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
• Heaped tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or use 1/2 teaspoon dried
  thyme
• 1-pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs (4 or
  5 thighs)
• 8 cups chicken stock or broth, (low sodium if
  you wish to cut back on sodium)
• 5 ounces egg noodles (or use a pasta of your
  choice)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Water or more stock, as needed

 DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a
   large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery.
   Cook, stirring every few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften; 5 to 6
   minutes.
2. Stir in the
   garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, while stirring the garlic around the pan, for
   about 1 minute.
3. Pour in the
   chicken stock and bring to a low simmer. Adjust the seasoning with salt and
   pepper to taste. You may need to add 1 or more teaspoons of salt.
4. Submerge the
   chicken thighs into the soup so that the broth covers them. Bring the soup back
   to a low simmer then partially cover the pot with a lid and cook, stirring a
   few times until the chicken thighs are cooked through; about 20 minutes.
5. If the broth
   seems low, add a splash of more stock or a bit of water. Turn the heat to
   medium-low. 
6. Transfer the
   cooked chicken to a plate. Stir the noodles into the soup and cook until done,
   6 to 10 minutes depending on the type of noodles used.
7. While the noodles
   cook, shred the chicken into strips or dice into cubes. Slide the chicken back
   into the pot and then taste the soup once more for seasoning. Adjust with more
   salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the parsley and serve.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: Serving Size 1/6
of the recipe / Calories 298 / Total
Fat 11.4g / Saturated Fat 4.4g / Cholesterol 97.7mg / Sodium 748.7mg / Carbohydrate 22.9g / Dietary
Fiber 1.7g / Total Sugars 7.5g / Protein 24.8g

AUTHOR: Adam and Joanne
Gallagher

 

source https://betterweightloss.info/ktk-nutrition-enjoy-some-soup/