National Soup Month is celebrated each January.  The act of combining various ingredients in a large pot to create a nutritious, filling, simple to prepare food has been around since ancient times and was considered one of the first fast foods. 

There is nothing quite as good as a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter’s day.  Soup is also a great way to eat a healthy meal.  Need to increase your vegetable consumption?  Try tomato basil, butternut squash, or lentil vegetable soup. Whether homemade, canned or packaged, soup can be a quick, enjoyable meal.

Not only is soup easy to make, but you can easily increase the health of it.  Consider adding skim milk, vegetables, and whole grains.  To decrease sodium in soup, rinse canned vegetables prior to adding them.  Add a can of drained, white beans to increase fiber and protein.  Choose broth and tomato-based soups which tend to be lower in calories than cream-based ones.

Search by recipe name at http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/, or do a general “soups” search for unique, appetizing and healthy soups from this USDA website.  There are numerous soups to choose from, each offering a wide range of nutritional benefits including apple carrot, Italian bean or the more traditional, hearty beef vegetable soup, just to name a few. 

Consider celebrating January with a warm, hearty bowl of nutritious soup and remember those early cooks who created this delectable fast food.