3 vegetarian soups for winter ails
Warming meals are veggie-heavy, can be home remedies
Chicken soup has long been touted as a soothing home remedy for the annoying colds and body-crushing flus of winter.
Filled with nutrients, a steaming bowl helps clear sinus congestion, and some research suggests it might also defend against infection. Chicken soup also makes us feel nostalgic — sipping a cup while curled up on the couch can feel like a big, embracing hug from someone you love, even if the noodlestrewn broth came from a can.
But what if you’re kicking off the new year by going vegan in the month of January, a concept known as Veganuary? Or maybe you’re just resolving to eat less meat, opting instead for a diet that incorporates alternate proteins such as beans paired with a wide variety of vegetables. You’re in luck, because soups made from veggies like celery, carrots, leeks, parsnips and/or onions can also make you feel better when you’re under the weather.
“There’s this aura around chicken soup and its special powers,” notes Rachel Kurtter, a dietician and wellness coach for Highmark Health. Yet its restorative properties are not so much about any supposed “magical” powers as simple nourishment.
People tend to lose fluids when they’re sick, and soup replenishes those losses, she says. It also does the body good by providing calories, proteins, and vitamins and minerals.
“At the end of the day, soup helps you hydrate and replace electrolytes,” she says, even if you’re only sipping a little at a time.
Kurtter says no one vegetable rises above others when making soup. Vegetables in general are low in calories and important sources of essential vitamins and minerals. And many of the most popular ones that go into the soup pot - leafy greens, carrots, potatoes, cabbage and garlic — are also high in antioxidants, substances that may protect your cells against unstable molecules known as free radicals.
They’re also loaded with polyphenols, plant-based compounds that help prevent disease and keep you healthy in a different way than vitamins, minerals or other nutrients. Spinach, red and yellow onions, shallots, potatoes, broccoli and carrots, which are all easy to find in winter months, are especially high in them.
“You want to eat a rainbow of colors, ” says Kurtter, because they all provide different benefits to the body in helping your immune system fight infection.
Carrots, for instance, not only add a touch of sweetness but are also a great source of vitamin A, an anti-inflammatory agent. Kale contains high levels of vitamin C, which is thought to reduce the symptoms of a cold (though not the chances of catching one).
Fresh ginger, meanwhile, is effective against vomiting and nausea, and garlic has antimicrobial, antiviral and antibiotic properties.
To help whatever’s bound to ail you this winter, we dish up three nutritious and nourishing vegetarian soups that are easy to make with easy-to-find produce and pantry ingredients.