Soup Up your Lunches with this Quick and Easy Soup

This time of year, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to find truly fresh ingredients for lunches. You might find yourself turning away from the salad bar and opting for a quick can of soup. Unfortunately, like my office-mate, Sarah Morrison pointed out to her husband recently, you simply "cannot find healthy soup in a can, so you better make your own." I love her spirit! You might be saying, hey, there are many health minded options with low sodium and lots of vegetables. However, if you look closely at the label, you'll find items like modified food starch (to increase viscosity and texture) monosodium glutamate (MSG anyone?), and autolyzed yeast extract...sounds delicious. All sarcasm aside, even vegetable based, low-sodium soups are less than healthful because of the added ingredients that add not to the nutrition but to the "flavor and texture" of the soup.   The additives yeast extract and MSG, concentrated flavor enhancers, are present because they are made up of almost all glutamate. Glutamate refers to a number of forms of glutamic acid (responsible for the umami or fifth taste of savory, meatiness in food), an amino acid found naturally in many foods like cheese, milk, peas, seaweed, mushrooms, miso and anchovies. However, MSG and autolyzed yeast extract are so powerful that just a few drops can change the flavor of a dish. Perhaps this is why they are found in most all canned soups? What would these canned concoctions taste like otherwise? My guess? Salt, the other big flavor enhancer. Let's avoid all of them and clean up our lunches (or dinner) with some healthful and easy weeknight soups. Make a large batch on a Sunday and "can" in little glass jars. Healthful, easy and inexpensive.

This recipe is so easy to prepare (as evidence, I made it when I was sick). I have complete faith you can make and enjoy this.  If you don't have all the exact ingredients on hand or would like to add more, go for it! Mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes, butter beans, green beans would all go really well with this basic soup. In the recipe below, the peas add to the umami flavor enhancement, no MSG needed.  Enjoy!  Chicken, Wild rice, Pea and Spinach Soup -1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast -1/3 cup wild rice -1 cup water -1 TBSP salt -1 small onion, chopped -1 TBSP. olive oil or butter -32 oz. unsalted chicken stock -3 cups water -1 cup frozen peas -3 cups baby spinach In a small stock pot, add wild rice, salt and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and turn heat to very low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, add whole chicken breast to a large pot of water. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes until completely cooked. Drain and using 2 forks, shred the chicken by pulling the meat in opposite directions. Add 1 TBSP oil and the onion to the large pot over medium low heat. Cook for five minutes, add the shredded chicken, stock, water and the wild rice. The rice might not be completely cooked but it will have time to finish in the large pot. Cook for another 15 minutes and right before you are ready to eat, add the peas and spinach. Turn the heat off and stir the greens into the soup. The heat of the soup will wilt the greens and warm the peas through without overcooking and leaking out the nutrients. Ladle into a bowl or a little glass jar for your lunch. Serving size is 1 cup.

Kelly Bowlin Administration Director & BAC Foodie :)  Bay Athletic Club 989.356.5600

Maillard Reaction = Flavor and a Great Fall Soup

This week's recipe joins my two loves, science and cooking, together in the Maillard Reaction.  The Maillard reaction gives toast its distinctive flavor, beer its dark color and self-tanning products the power to turn skin brown. It is responsible for literally hundreds of flavor compounds including artificial maple syrup! Simply, this special reaction naturally makes food taste better and also gives a signature brown color (grilled steak or fish, pretzels, baked bread).  How does it work?  When amino acids (the building blocks of all protein) and sugars are heated, they interact with each other and combine to form new aromas and flavors. The Maillard reaction occurs in cooking almost all kinds of foods, although the simple sugars and amino acids present produce vastly different aromas. This is why baking bread doesn't smell like roasting meat or frying fish, even though all these foods depend on the same Maillard reactions for flavor. The Maillard reaction, or its absence, distinguishes the flavors of boiled, poached, or steamed foods from the flavors of the same foods that have been grilled, roasted or anything cooked at temperatures above the boiling point of water. Using this information, your cooking at home can be raised to a better and more flavorful place without adding fat, sugar or salt. In my opinion, it separates a meal that could be amazing into one that actually is.

This recipe is going to double down on the Maillard Reaction for optimal flavor. We are adding a whole host of flavor combinations by first browning the chicken and then the mushrooms and garlic. You get the flavor off the bottom of the pan by deglazing with broth or water and then scraping up the bits with a wooden spoon.  You could certainly take all the ingredients and place them in the pot at the same time and cook it till tender, but it would not taste the same since it is lacking the Maillard Reaction. This soup is fast, slightly sweet and 100% wholesome. Toss it together in about 30 minutes and enjoy a hearty weeknight soup that will satisfy all the mouths in your home. Chicken , kale, wild rice and root vegetable soup -2 Breasts of chicken, chopped -1 head of kale, chopped, discarding the tough spine -½ cup of wild rice -1 cup cremini or baby portabella mushrooms -2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped -1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed -8 cups of low-sodium chicken broth -Black pepper to taste -1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional) -2 TBSP olive oil, divided In a large pot, add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned. Remove from the pan and reserve. Add second tablespoon of olive oil, mushrooms and garlic then cook until the mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes.  Deglaze the pot with 1 cup of broth. Scrape up the browned bits of flavor with a wooden spoon. Toss in cooked chicken, wild rice, butternut squash, black pepper and cayenne (if using). Bring the soup to a boil and then lower heat, simmering until the butternut squash is fork tender.  Add the washed and chopped kale and cook an additional 4 minutes. Ladle into your bowls and enjoy.

Kelly Bowlin Administration Director & BAC Foodie :)  Bay Athletic Club