Warm soups are made by boiling various ingredients in broth or water until they become tender and the flavor of its ingredients are extracted. When consuming soup, the body can absorb and assimilate the nutrients it contains rapidly without having to digest and break down the ingredients. It is a perfect way to get nutrients and consume less calories! A great benefit of soup is that it can be made from almost any thing and can be prepared in just minutes.

Have a nice warm cup of soup to sip away the day’s difficulties. Preparing soup at home is best because homemade soup recipes consist of only ingredients that you put into it – no additives, preservatives or unnecessary fillers. Cooking at home is better than going to restaurant or opening a can. Recipes can be found in books or by surfing on the internet. You can even switch on to cooking shows on television.

Here are two tasty and healthy soup recipes.


Image courtesy of yogiclarebear.com
Vegan "Chicken" Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Filtered water to cover
  • A handful of small broccoli florets
  • Chicken substitute torn up into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 pack of whole grain or brown rice pasta noodles
  • 1 cube vegetable bouillon
  • 1 leek, finely chopped
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, thinly sliced
Method:
Put all the vegetables apart from peas in a big pot and then cover with the water. Bring to a boil and then turn down the flame to simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the noodles, vegetable bouillon, garlic and peas, add more water if required and bring back to boil and then swap off and leave to slow cook for about ten minutes. Season and then serve hot.

Lentil, Garlic and Rosemary Soup

Ingredients:
  • Sea salt to taste
  • 2 cups red lentils
  • 1 clove garlic, thinly chopped
  • Big twig of fresh rosemary, thinly chopped
  • Approx 9 or 10 cups of water
  • 4 carrots (medium) cut into small dice
Method:
For this lentil soup recipe, put the lentils in a large pot and cover then with water – bring to a boil while you prepare the other ingredients. Reduce to a simmer and then add the rosemary, carrots and garlic. Cook for about twenty minutes until everything is prepared and then add the salt to taste.