People eat a lot of soup. According to the soup industry, we swallow more than 9 liters of ready-made soup per person each year. We are in a hurry, hungry, and don’t feel like cutting and chopping, and with ready-made soup, you simply have to open the can and heat it up.
Quickly reheating canned soups can be easy, but if you have a little extra time on your hands, then why not prepare a delicious homemade soup? Not only are they super healthy, but they’re also fun to make. These six reasons will make you opt for homemade soup more often!
1) Too Much Salt or Sugar
Pre-made soups contain ingredients that are not needed by the person making them. For example, there is often a lot of salt and sugar added, not to mention binders and various E-numbers. Salt and sugar can also quickly become too much, which is undoubtedly not good. Besides, no extra salt or sugar is needed to flavor the soup. Herbs can make the soup much richer in flavor. Think of garlic, (smoked) paprika, ginger, turmeric, pepper, parsley, cilantro, cumin, lovage, marjoram chives, dill, tarragon basil, thyme, and onion.
2) Low Nutritional Value
Soups that are industrially produced generally meet different requirements than those made at home. It often contains ingredients that are useful only for the manufacturer or seller (and sometimes the buyer) and have no beneficial nutritional value. This makes them less nutritious than soups from vegetables, garlic, and onions alone.
3) Contains Additives
Canned soups are not only about the contents but also about the can itself. Many canned and packaged foods contain bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting substance. While there is no immediate harm from ingesting this substance, it can cause health problems, which is why in some countries, the use of packaging containing BPA is banned (for children).
4) It Is (Slightly) More Expensive
Although not the most crucial aspect of food, it is a tremendous advantage that homemade soups are often cheaper than canned soups.
5) Various Healthy Ingredients
If you prepare your soup, you can choose your own ingredients. Squash, parsnips, mushrooms, etc. You can choose vegetables that are in season or from a nearby farmer. On the other hand, canned soup contains vegetables, meat, salt, sugar, and other ingredients from many countries worldwide. Something to think about.
Making your own soup is also a great way to use up leftovers; half green onions, sliced peppers or… you can put almost anything in it.
Fresh soups can also be frozen, so if you just can’t bring yourself to make soup, you can always prepare it before and ready-made fresh soup whenever you want to consume it.
Tip: Let the soup cool down before placing it in the refrigerator. Do not leave soups at room temperature for long periods of time and do not heat them up several times in a row. This allows bacteria to move freely and increases the risk of food poisoning.
6) Make Soup is Fun & Easy
It’s no surprise that buying canned food is much faster than making it by hand with fresh ingredients. But what’s the problem: 10 or 15 minutes? The result is pure, fresh, homemade soup. With delicious fresh herbs! Worth the extra 10 minutes, right? And while the pot is simmering on the stove, you can get ready for a night out or just relax on the couch. Then all you have to do is pour it into a blender or use a hand blender and pour it into a bowl.
Do you like having soup? Let us know in the comments below!