Soup is an inexpensive, nourishing food that is easy to prepare and won’t cost you a lot of money. Better yet, there are myriad of recipes out there to please every palate – vegan and carnivore alike.
It makes sense to prepare homemade soups. Canned soups are high in sodium and lack the texture and flavor of soups that are made in your own kitchen. When soups are canned, many of the valuable nutrients they once contained are killed making homemade soups more nutritious.
There is nothing like the tempting aroma of soup filling the air of our homes, especially on a cold winter day. Research has shown that there really may be something to the folklore that grandma’s chicken soup can make you well when you are ill.
University of Nebraska Medical Center researcher, Stephen Rennard, MD, discovered in 1993 that there actually were anti-inflammatory effects in his wife’s family chicken soup recipe. The soup actually significantly slowed cold symptoms from developing. When the chicken soup was used to bathe the cells, their cold-fighting ability was increased while the movement of mucus was improved. Chicken soup actually shortened the life of the cold.
Dr. Rennard was not able to exactly pinpoint which ingredient it was in the soup that helped the most. But, it was his theory that all of the ingredients worked together to make a difference in the severity and duration of a cold. However, it is not only chicken soup that provides these wonderful benefits.
A homemade soup containing organic garlic, onion and vegetables is full of nutrition and powerful anti-oxidants. Healthy vegetarian recipes will have the same healing effect as a chicken soup recipe.
A vegan or vegetarian version of a soup might actually be even more beneficial than one containing chicken or other meat substance. You can match the nutrient value by adding beans and brown rice pasta without all of the artery clogging saturated fat that you would have with a meat-containing version.
There is no match for healthy recipes of soup. Soup is nutritious, delicious and has healing properties. It truly warms the soul.