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

Foods for Healthy Skin

Many of my students and blog followers ask, “What foods can I eat for healthier skin”?  There are many topical beauty products one can buy for healthier skin but eating healthy foods should be a first step.  Eat This, Not That! has a great article, 25 Healthy Foods That Give You Glowing Skin.  Besides eating healthy, keeping the sun off your face by wearing a hat and using sunscreen are also wise ideas. 

The article makes the point that having healthy, “hydrated skin starts from within” by eating healthy foods.  Healthy foods can help build up collagen in your skin, and help strengthen your skin. Collagen is important as one New York dermatologist says, “It’s the glue that holds the body together.  “Collagen makes up about 75% of the dry weight of your skin, providing volume that keeps skin looking plump and keeps lines at bay.” 

What are some foods that promote healthy skin and what is in these foods that works that magic?

• Tomatoes – plants have chemicals in them that help protect the plant.  These chemicals are called phytochemicals.  Research have found that phytochemicals are not only good for plants but also good for us.  Tomatoes have the phytochemical, lycopene, which acts as a potent antioxidant.  (See Antioxidants and good health.)  Lycopene helps strengthen the collagen in your skin.  Interesting, lycopene also helps your skin fight off the harmful rays of the sun which can age your skin, even helping to prevent sunburn.
  

• An interesting thing about tomatoes is that cooking tomatoes makes the lycopene even more absorbable.  Don’t like raw tomatoes? No problem. Enjoy salsa, tomato sauce on your spaghetti, tomato soup, tomato juice, gazpacho, and even ketchup.

Full of healthy lycopene.

• Carrots – some people eat carrots for good eyesight and carrots do help your eyes.  But carrots are also great for your skin because the orange color is loaded with carotene which your body turns into vitamin A.  Carotene is another antioxidant that helps your skin appearance and health and may even help protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun.  We buy the baby carrots in the bags and I eat a few baby carrots for lunch every day.  This is to be sure that every day, I get some healthy carotene in my diet.

Full of carotene, so good for your skin.

 

• Sweet Potatoes – many restaurants offer baked potatoes but fewer offer baked sweet potatoes. If sweet potatoes are on the menu, they are a healthy choice as like carrots their orange color means they are loaded with carotene.  Not going out, then buy some sweet potatoes and pop them in the microwave.  An interesting study in the journal of Evolution and Human Behavior found that people who ate more foods with carotene and who ate more fruits and vegetables had a “healthier, more attractive, and more radiant glow than you would get from sun exposure”.  
• Turmeric – not really a “food” but a spice.  Many people now take supplements of turmeric as it is an anti-inflammatory. (See Anti-inflammatory foods.) Turmeric provides the antioxidant called curcumin.  Researchers have found curcumin to be a powerful anti-inflammatory.  NIH reviewed 234 articles on turmeric and concluded that turmeric “may provide therapeutic benefits for skin health”.
• Salmon – always very popular on the menu at restaurants. Who knew salmon would promote healthy skin?  Why?  Salmon provides a healthy fat, called omega-3’s.  It also contains DMAE – a substance you may never have heard of but it promotes healthy skin and protects your skin cells.  “Strengthening the cell membranes guards against their deterioration that causes premature aging”.  This is some substance as DMAE also helps your skin look more toned and firmer.  So, if salmon is on the menu when you are going out to eat, order the salmon.  And find some ways to incorporate salmon into your home menu.
• Eggs – not hard for me to add eggs to my day as I love boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, and deviled eggs.  What is so great about eggs?  Not only do eggs provide a high-quality protein but they provide a B vitamin called biotin.  Some people take biotin supplements for healthier hair and fingernails. But biotin also protects the skin and helps prevent dryness.  Some other food sources of biotin include dairy products (real dairy, not fake dairy), whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals (any General Mills cereal), peanuts, salmon and chicken.
• Green Tea – a favorite during cold days of winter.  Green tea provides antioxidants called catechins.  These have “anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties”.  Drinking green tea can actually help protect your skin from sun damage and help your skin repair damaged cells. 

This week plan on adding some foods that promote healthy skin to your diet.  Make them a habit.  Almost every day, I have those baby carrots at lunch and a handful of peanuts.  A few times a week I have some hard-boiled eggs or a fried egg sandwich with cheese.  Enjoy some Green Tea on those cold winter days.  Have some salsa and corn chips for a snack.  So many easy ways to eat for healthier skin.

Sources:  25 Healthy Foods That Give You Glowing Skin , dermatologist , potent antioxidant , Antioxidants and good health, cooking, skin , Evolution and Human Behavior , vegetables, Anti-inflammatory foods , NIH , cells , biotin , catechins, protect Image sources: Tomato soup, Baby carrots  , Green Tea

What are Some Healthy Frozen Meals?

Many people opt for a quick meal and choose a ready to eat frozen meal.  The good news is many of these frozen meals are a healthier choice than they used to be.  Consumer Reports has a great review of frozen meals.  They reviewed 30 different frozen meals and rated them for price, packaging, nutrition, and flavor.  In their article, they noted the sales of frozen meals have soared, up a whopping 48% compared to last year. 

Choices – so many healthier options are now available.  Frozen meals used to be focused on meat and potatoes or low-calorie dinners for the dieting crowd.  Now there are many options to choose from.

Processed Foods – frozen meals are processed but the good news is, manufacturers are now offering options less processed ingredients which usually means a healthier choice.  And, manufacturers haven’t given up on taste in their less-processed frozen meal offerings.

What are some healthy ingredients to look for?

• Whole grains – look for brown rice, quinoa, red rice, farro, and some have wheatberries. 
• Additives - look for real, whole food in the ingredient list, such as vegetables, beans, lean chicken, lean beef, seafood and not a list of chemicals that are hard to pronounce.
• Spices – any spice in the ingredients is a good thing as spices as Johns Hopkins notes “Spices are concentrated sources of antioxidants.” And as I written about before, (Antioxidants and good health) antioxidants have many positive health benefits.  Some super healthy spices include turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cayenne but all spices have some health benefit.
• Sodium – many frozen meals can be high in sodium.  Americans are almost always “over the limit” when it comes to the amount of sodium in our diets.  Look for frozen dinners that have 600 mg of sodium or less.
• Added Sugars – one wouldn’t think that frozen dinners would have added sugar, but many do.  Luckily, new food labels are better at informing consumers how much added sugar in now in a packaged food.

What are some frozen dinners recommended by Consumer Reports?  Vegetarians will like some of the top recommendations.  Meat lovers, not so much.  So, I have broken out the recommendations for vegetarians and for those who like their meat and poultry.

·         Vegetarians may like:

o   Amy’s Light and Lean Quinoa and Black Beans – my daughters and others have often said Amy’s makes a good frozen dinner.  Consumer Reports says this dinner has “hints of garlic and ginger”.  Not only does it have whole grains (quinoa), but also some healthy vegetables and 2 spices full of antioxidants- ginger and garlic.

o   Performance Kitchen So Cal Kale and Bean – some say Kale is a power food as it is full of good nutrients.  Personally, I am not a fan, but if you are, this is a good choice.  Interesting, this dinner contains mushrooms and raisins.  And it provides some whole grain as it has red rice. 

o   Kashi – Bowl – Sweet Potato and Quinoa – I noted in a blog that sweet potatoes are an anti-inflammatory food. They also provide so many vitamins and minerals like the all-important beta-carotene (vitamin A), so important for healthy skin.   Red Quinoa, is the first ingredient and brown rice is an ingredient so this dinner provides a serving of whole grains.

o   Healthy Choice Power Bowls – Falafel & Tahini – This is not only for vegetarians but also vegans. Whole grains include red rice and black barley.

·         Meat Lovers – some of the frozen dinners rated by Consumer Reports have meat (actually poultry) but many are so low in calories, the entrée would not fill up many people. 

o   Frontera Chicken Fajita Bowl  - Does have chicken along with some vegetables: tomatoes, black beans, onions, red peppers, yellow peppers, etc. Has a blend of some white rice and the whole grains, brown rice and red rice.  Pretty low in calories at 260 calories a bowl.  Many people will need to supplement this entrée with other courses to add some calories to their meal.  

 

o   Healthy Choice Power Bowls Chicken Feta and Farro - This dinner offers a few more calories at 310 per serving.  It provides a good amount of protein at 23 grams.  Ingredients include chicken cooked in olive oil which is healthy.  Another ingredient is Farro, an ancient grain,  that not only is a whole grain but is more like quinoa in that it is higher in protein than white rice or brown rice.

o   Saffron Road Chicken Pad Thai with Rice Noodles – ingredients include roasted which chicken meat and sauteed vegetables including carrots, celery, onions.  It does have garlic – so a good antioxidant spice is included.  And this dinner provides more calories than other frozen dinners at 430 calories per serving. 

Consumer Reports did note that portion sizes in many frozen dinners are small. I told my husband how few calories some of the frozen dinners had but they were healthy.  He said he would still be hungry after eating some of these frozen dinners and would head to the pantry to polish off a box of Cheez-Its and then maybe a sizeable dessert like chocolate cake.  My daughter says she has been eating a lot of home delivered vegetarian meals.  She noted there is a lot of chewing in vegetarian meals and although there seems to be enough food, afterwards she is still hungry.  It is good that manufacturers are cutting back on additives and sodium and offering more frozen dinner options.  However, be prepared to supplement the frozen dinners with an appetizer, a side of bread and butter, and a dessert so you take in enough calories that you aren’t hungry after the meal.

Sources:  frozen meals , Johns Hopkins , Antioxidants and good health , spices , Amy’s Light and Lean Quinoa and Black Beans, Performance Kitchen So Cal Kale and Bean, Kashi – Bowl – Sweet Potato and Quinoa, sweet potatoes, Healthy Choice Power Bowls – Falafel & Tahini , Frontera Chicken Fajita Bowl, Healthy Choice Power Bowls Chicken Feta and Farro , Saffron Road Chicken Pad Thai with Rice Noodles  Image sources:  Amys   , Frontera Chicken Fajita , So cal