[blindweightwatcher] Souper Economics

From: "Jan Bailey" <jb021951@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blindweightwatcher@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:45:13 -0600
Souper Economics
By Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

While the federal government is trying to pass an economic stimulus package in 
the hundreds of billions of dollars, there are families right now struggling
with feeding their families and getting through the money with too much month 
left! We have some very personal economic stresses right now and could sure
use our own personal economic stimulus. How can we do that you ask? 

One of the most obvious ways to do that is to cook at home. There is a 
three-pronged proposition that results in three huge positives: 1) we save gobs 
of
money; 2) we better nourish our families bodies; 3) we nourish their hearts and 
souls. 

We have over the years, in the name of saving time, thrown our cooking aside in 
favor of convenience. That looks different for many of us- for some, it
could mean drive-thrus and restaurants and for others it could mean ready to 
eat frozen foods or just add water convenience via dried instant foods. 

The way to wisdom is through knowledge. We get that knowledge when we're 
willing to admit there are things that need to be changed up. Perhaps your 
family
budget needs changing up? The best and most dramatic way to get there is 
cooking at home. Eating healthy via eating seasonal whole foods will save you
money. The notion that healthy foods are more expensive than eating unhealthy 
is a myth - there are ways to do it and save more than you ever thought 
possible.


One of my favorite methods for doing this is through soup. Yes, soup is good 
food according to the people at Campbell's. But making it yourself is a whole
lot cheaper and healthier, too. Add to that, the ability of soup to be a 
forgiving meal - you really can't make a bad soup unless you burn it! Yes, there
may be better tasting soups than my Cream of Green soup (my daughter gagged 
over it, but I liked it okay...not great, but okay!), but there is always a
next soup if you're willing to go there.  

To make soup, you need to start with a good liquid base. That means you need a 
stock or broth. You can do that with chicken, beef or vegetable broth to
cook nearly any soup. In some soups, you can even use a fish broth, but you're 
limited on that one. I make mine with chicken bones from Rubber Chicken
(it's on my website!) and carrot, onion and celery, simmer in water for about 
an hour. Then...ta da! You've got chicken broth. 

Another way to get broth quickly is to buy it. I buy low sodium chicken broth 
and keep it in my pantry if I can't make a homemade one. Obviously, the way
to keep soup at it's absolute frugal-best is to make your own broth, but that 
isn't always possible. 

I have a wonderful soup recipe that I haul out this time of year and keep on 
hand - I've published it here before and it's here again. It's wonderful for
cold weather, the sniffles and just watching your family's wallet. Here it is, 
in all its glory. Feel free to play with the ingredients - you can add just
about anything. Just keep the broth in mind and the core ingredients of onion, 
celery and carrot and the rest is up to  you! Here's my soup:
[blindweightwatcher] Souper Economics

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