For many good reasons, we always have soups on our dinner menus!
As a soup lover, Emma could easily slurp down a small bowl after her main course. She has always been quite a picky eater and used to take 45 mins to finish up her meals when she went on food strike. So, you can imagine how happy I was when she finished up her first bowl of soup in less than a min.
From then on, I always turn to soups to top up her diet intake. Soups are nutritious, rich in vitamins and minerals, and never fail to warm up our tummies. They also help to restore the necessary water balance, aid in digestions and spice up appetite.
I normally brew the soups in the morning and if everything fails, we still have a soup ready to go with some rice/noodles and eggs after work. Somehow, these simple soups keep me going and reminds me to provide Emma as much healthy home cooked food as possible. I strongly believe in providing children with a well-balanced nutrition (solid food and milk) right from the start to help in their growth and development. It's only when they are healthy and strong, they can take on more learning and challenges.
Last year, I started off with 5 easy and nutritious soups and gradually introduced Emma to more different types of soup. Today, I'm happy to have 5 more tried and tested soups to share.
Once again, I don't have any proper recipe to share but I promise brewing soups is easier that you thought with the 10 simple steps at the end of the post.
5 More Nutritious and Easy Soups
1. White radish, red dates and chicken soup
I was so used to eating orange carrots and it took me a long while to try these white radish.
Little did I know that these white radish helps digestion and improve bowl movement. Give this a try if any of you or your little ones suffer from indigestion.
I find them juicer and sweeter than the orange ones. I remember them being "cooling" good so I added some "warm" red dates to balance and sweeten it.
2. Old Cucumber & Pork Soup
I've always love this soup but I failed at the first try. Silly me removed the skin and it didn't taste good. So, keep the skin after scrubbing the skin and removing the seeds is the way to go!
With its cooling properties, it's a perfect soup on the sweltering hot weather or when one eats too much heaty food.
3. Egg Drops Mixed Soup
On days when I couldn't wake up early, I will cook this quick soup when I'm back. It probably takes about 25 mins to get it ready. Don't forget to leave the egg to the last.
Some days, I will cook a big pot of chicken soup and refrigerate a small portion for the next day. Then, add in the egg to the heated chicken soup just before serving. Emma loves the smooth egg drops. It's good source of protein!
4. Pearl Beans, Lotus and Carrots Soup
Now that we are pretty sure that Emma isn't allergic to legumes, I added more beans like pearl beans in soups.
Pearl beans have an unique nutty and creamy taste. You can mix it with corn instead of lotus roots too.
By the way, I couldn't find any pearl beans at the supermarket and had to buy them from the wet markets.
5. Black Beans Soup
Black beans are good for the heart as it helps to lower cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease.
At the first look, Emma didn't want to try it but she eventually finished up a bowl!
Don't forget to wash the beans thorough before cooking.
Unlike other dishes, soup is probably the most forgiving one as it still tastes good even if the amount of ingredients go a little off. So, I usually do it without standard recipes and use the following 10 simple steps. By the way, I skipped the salt as it's already tasty enough! I usually brew it in the morning before work and heat it up when I got back from work.
10 simple steps to brew soups:
1. Grab a few of each items
2. Wash them
3. Peel and chop into pieces
4. Blanch the meat
5. Throw everything in a pot of water
6. Boil for 5 mins on high heat
7. Simmer for 30-40 mins on low heat
8. Warm up the thermal flask by adding boiled water
*It helps to keep the soup warmer for a longer period of time
9. Store the soup in the thermal flask
10. Pour on bowl and serve at meal time
These days, I skip the thermal flask and leave them covered on the stove. Then, heat it up when I reach home in the evening. My mother-in-law shared that she had did that for years and it works well for our family too.
Let's cook together!
As one who can't cook well and still trying hard to improve my cooking skills, I know how hard it can be for parents like me to prepare home cooked meals for the little ones. So, I hope these 10 soups ideas and 10 simple steps will inspire you in preparing a meal or two for your little ones and family.
Happy cooking!
*****
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