Happy National Soup month. I adore soup. It’s like a hug in a bowl and I have been brought up on it most of my life. My Granny made an amazing vegetable and potato soup and my Mum has always carried on the tradition. If I am popping in for a visit there is one thing I can rely on, there will always be a pot of homemade soup on the go. It tastes great and it’s so healthy too.
On Monday the kids and I had an awesome mojo injection via Scotty Brand – a hamper arrived at our door full of soup, ingredients to make soup (I love the soup bags they do), and a lovely big soup bowl. A tip for you, the soup bags are also really handy when it comes to making a speedy vegetable curry. Simply throw the vegetables in with some fresh herbs, curry paste, turmeric (the superfood of spice) a can of chopped tomatoes and some stock. So tasty and again, healthy. It’s all about the healthy eating in January.
Scotty brand carried out a national soup survey which reveals that in Scotland, when it comes to soup, we love the classics. The winner was good old lentil soup, which happens to be my Mum’s favourite too. This was closely followed by Scotch Broth (Hubs fave) and Cream of Tomato.
The soup survey also revealed that Scots are very particular about how they eat their soup with 81% always choosing a bowl and the ceremony of eating at the table (61%) as opposed to a mug or on-the-go flask. And when it comes to making soup, 60% of the nation opted for convenience and a little helping hand in the kitchen choosing ready-made soups or soup mixes. That’s my one thing about soup, I adore it but sometimes the chopping gets a bit much during a busy week.
I remember an amazing talk at the Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival last year by Jasmine Hemsley (you can come and hear me speak at it in a couple of weeks) and the research shows that warm, nourishing food is much better for our digestion. I have always preferred a warm cooked lunch, over a cold sandwich or a salad. Escpecially at this time of year, we want comforting, nourishing, wholesome food and soup is amazing for that. I spoke a bit about batch cooking last year and I loved doing some videos with The Batch Lady, to give you ideas of meals to make.
I like to batch a soup for the start of the week. I tend to use shop bought soup like some of the ones we were kindly sent. The chicken rice and lentil ones have been eaten already are really tasty. Charlie liked the lentil as it’s smoother to eat). I also love to do a pasta sauce to save being tempted to use jars. If you do a basic tomato one with herbs then you can easily throw in extras to it such as olives, chilli and some roasted vegetables or meat. I love the Jamie Oliver 7 veg pasta sauce, but it does take a bit of time. It’s great to get the kids involved with the chopping and crank the tunes up. I love a bit of mindful cooking these days, I even give the vege a little kiss. Just for the bants and to keep the gratitude factor fun. Goals for 2019 – kiss your food. Love it. We should love the food we are putting into our bodies.
What is your favourite type of soup and why?
I don’t have one. I’m going to go with –
Chicken rice
Lentil
Butternut Squash and Ginger
Cheese and Brocolli
Tomato and chilli
Carrot and coriander but it has to be fresh coriander
Spicy tomato and lentil (the cumin gives this a nice lift)
Fire any great soup recipes my way please and I shall tag you in my stories and even sing your fave tunes x
