Weekly Food Prep #1: Soup

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Save for the hot hot summer months (and even then I often make a summer soup of sorts) I am a lovable soup eater.

Soup is great when you're thirsty, hungry, sleepy, tired, sick, excited...I could go on for days about the AWESOMENESS of soup. I will spare you my ramblings and get to the point.

Every week, and I mean every week, I make a pot of soup. It's my creed. It's my sanity.

Now for those who say, "Meh, I like soup but I get bored if I have to eat the same thing everyday." I say: stick with me...you'll see. I will offer options for modifications that will entertain even the miser-iest of us all, my bubby.

Now, as I was saying...ah, yes SOUP.

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Reasons why I like making soup:
1) Pour it all in a pot and walk away. (for the most part)
 - Soup usually cooks itself, minus a bit of stirring here or there and the occasional check that it's not boiling too vigorously, it usually requires minimal "kitchen work." This is a HUGE bonus for me, and will be for you too if you're the kind who has a bit of time to chop and prep and then other things to do. Soup is a good option for those strapped for time.

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2) You can make soup out of just about ANYTHING.
 - You've got carrots, peas, corn, potatoes and garlic on hand...let's make some soup! No carrots, okay, no problem. Throw lentils, pumpkin puree, onions, and some celery in, add water and season to taste...and we've got soup! Leftover rice and stirfry in the fridge, throw it in there...add some chopped kale, seasonings, and chopped red peppers...and we've got soup! The list goes on and on...

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3) It's filling.
 - Anyone responsible for feeding themselves can easily say, "once I eat, I don't want to be heading back to the kitchen in an hour or so in search of food." You cook, you eat, you get on with your day. No one has days and hours to spend cooking and cooking on end just to survive. Soup is the answer of all answers. You eat some, not yet full, eat some more.

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4) It's cheap.
 - Most of the time when I endeavor to make soup, I look in the fridge, cupboards and crisper, see what's around, make a pile on the counter, pick out some options and "throw it in a pot." I'm not kidding. Once it starts cooking I season to taste, put the lid on and walk away. I don't tend to grocery shop to make soup. You can very often use what you already have in your pantry and reduce your trips to the store.

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5) It's healthy.*
 - Now this one is tricky, depending on what you put in it. If we're talking ham hocks and fried butter onion soup...or mac n' cheese soup (there exists such a thing)...not so healthy. Just because you cook it down and throw in a veggie or two doesn't necessarily make it good for you. We CAN however, make our soup choices largely veggie-based, limit the salt and try not to over cook them. These suggestions can help to preserve the nutrients in our soups and make them a very healthly alternative.


So, there you have it. My humble plea for weekly soup-making. I encourage you to make some yourself this week! Share your "spontan" recipe below!

Afraid of making TOO much soup? here's a tip on how to freeze leftovers.

REnaming foods to get kids to eat them...?

Repost from http://inventorspot.com/articles/branding_vegetables_so_kids_will_eat_them

Photo by worldcommunitycookbook.org

Would George H. W. Bush have liked broccoli if his mother referred to it as "Power Bunch Broccoli" instead of just plain (hold your nose) broccoli? Research from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab says he would.

Brian Wansink and others had already concluded in previous research that people perceive food more positively when it has a 'fancy' name, rather than a plain or non-descriptive name. (Wansink et al, 2005) This time Wansink and other Cornell researchers tested that theory on kids and precisely the foods kids seem to hate: vegetables.

First, the team tested the effect of positive branding on kids in their choice of one vegetable: carrots. For three days, in 5 school lunch rooms in economically diverse areas, cooked carrots were served. On days one and three, no descriptive labels were placed on the carrot area, but on day two, the carrots were labeled, 'Food of the Day' or 'X-Ray vision carrots."

Perhaps you've guessed that the 'X-ray vision carrots' won the carrot-eating contest. Sixty-six percent of the students chose the 'X-ray vision carrots', while 32 percent ordered the 'Food of the Day; 35 percent ate the carrots without a sign on days one and three.

Expanding the 'jazzy' descriptions to other vegetables, the same researchers explored the effects of re-naming carrots, broccoli, and string beans in two New York City schools. For two months the number of students choosing each vegetable was tracked. In one school, however, the veggies were labeled 'X-ray vision carrots,' 'Power Punch Broccoli,' and 'Silly Dilly Green Beans."

You guessed it again, but maybe you underestimated the effect of this round of vegetable branding.
In this study, the experimental school students made 99 percent more vegetable purchases than they did the prior month! In the control school, where no branding changes were made during the second month, vegetable purchases went down by 16 percent.

The authors emphasized that appealing descriptive branding had a positive effect on purchases in all age groups tested.

Well, President Bush, would you like to try some Power Punch Broccoli?