Soup: it does a body good.
Oh wait, that's milk, right?
Well, I believe soup's pretty good, too, especially this time of the year, when it's cold in many parts of the world. As a person who seeks out 'clean' food (few to no preservatives, as few ingredients as possible, pure, simple, and tasty), I'm always on the look-out for prepared foods that fall into the clean category (so few do!) - something quick and easy to prepare, but also healthy. The problem with most soups, however, is that they are loaded with sodium. Yuck!
Campbell's, however, has done a pretty good job at lowering the sodium content, sticking to natural ingredients, and still making a tasty product with their Select Harvest line. With all-natural ingredients, sea salt, and no msg, many low in fat and calories, how can you go wrong?
As a diabetic and a runner, all of these factors are extremely important to me! As a 'nearly vegetarian' (I eat fish or a little chicken a few times a month), I can also find plenty of soups that are meat-free as well. When I take them to work, add some garlic powder, and pop in the microwave for a minute or two, someone always says, "Oh, what are you fixing? It smells soooo good!" (I'm a 'spicy' gal - always adding garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper to my foods.)
I've been enjoying the Select Harvest line of soups for about a year, and recently have been on a tomato soup kick (never touched the stuff until six months ago!). This craving recently led to a new discovery, though, when I made a dash into our grocery store for a quick lunch item and grabbed what I thought was my 'regular' tomato soup, only to find out later it was a new flavor... uh oh! Was this going to work??? Would it go well with my grilled cheese sandwich??
Turns out...
Yes! The flavor I grabbed by accident is part of their new "Mediterranian-style collection." Described as a 'zesty tomato bisque,' this soup is a little thinner than its basic 'tomato soup' cousin, has a little kick to it, and even has a few veggies/tomato chunks added. Nice! And the sodium content? The label says 20% of the RDA, but I don't notice it at all, and I'm pretty salt-sensitive since I cook with it in very limited amounts.
COST: $2.49/can at our grocery store, a little less at Target (often on sale, BOGO...stock up!)
TEXTURE: Pleasantly thin (not watery) with a few veggies and tomato chunks
FLAVOR: "Zesty" as described. I added about an 1/8 of a tspn of basil to the pot on the stove..no garlic on the first try, but might add a pinch, though I don't think it really needs it.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: 120 calories and 2.5 gr of fat/serving Click here for more info.
WILL ADD: Small cheese tortellinis - our cafeteria at work offers a similar soup one day a week with the tortellinis, and I can't get enough of it (!), so I'm looking forward to making my own. Maybe 4 -5 really crispy croutons, too, to bulk it up a little... wow!
WEBSITE: I particularly like companies who offer a nutritionally comprehensive, interactive website that's user-friendly and chockful of helpful information. Campbell's hits the mark on this one, too. Their website is loaded with useful info from prep ideas to product info and everything in between, and is very easy to navigate.
NEED RECIPES? Look no further. Many of you mentioned recipes as your #1 need/look-for when you visit EGS, and I want to make sure to provide as many as I can. Even for our EGS friends with special dietary needs (such as my own), Campbell's Kitchen has you in mind with their Nutritious & Delicious category. I see plenty of options that can be further tweaked.
Click here to enter the Campbell's Kitchen and have
- hundreds of recipes at your fingertips
- all categorized just for you - from budget-friendly to family favorites and lots more
- with reader reviews (so important!)
- your own online recipe box (love this feature... I use this a lot on the Food Network site)
And to take us back to a recent EGS post, I put my leftover soup in a repurposed glass jar for later use, writing the date with a dry erase marker.
For those who missed that green tip, you can read about it here. And for our EGS giveaway winner, Paige, she will be receiving dry erase markers for her own kitchen use. :-)
By the way, a BIG thanks to a few of our anonymous readers who e-mailed me about their repurposed glass jars and how they use and store them. One reader said storage was an issue, but that she would be asking her wonderful husband to build her a new shelf just for her jars. I happen to know he's a pretty awesome hubby, so I'm betting he did!
Another reader shared that she uses her glass jars all over the house, for lots of items, in spite of having three youngsters under the age of 8... amazing! No broken glass and everything is stored neatly. Thanks for sharing, guys!
Sooo.... love soup, but not sodium?? Try Campbell's Select Harvest Soups... plenty of flavor without all the extra stuff!
Happy eating and cooking, friends....
Robin
2 comments:
I thought I was the only one on the planet who likes tomatoes but won't go near tomato soup. Well maybe I am now...
Teamarcia,
Yep - kind of a weird thought, but LOVE tomatoes, and wouldn't touch tomato soup for the longest time...so who know? There may still be hope for you. LOL Try this one... its 'zest' makes it a little less 'tomato-y.' Is that a word?? :-)
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