There is nothing like warming soup in the winter. Today (Saturday) is Israel’s National Home Soup Day. Dr. Reli Abel, a senior dietician at the General Health Service in the Central District, notes that soup has a number of nutritional benefits.
“The soup is one of the ideal nourishing and warming foods especially for the winter period”, she says – “Soups contain a high concentration of minerals, including potassium and magnesium, which are important for the heart and the bones”.
She explains that the nutritional benefits are when the minerals come from the vegetables that contain them, which contain, among other things, potassium, magnesium, iron, as well as various vitamins, such as lycopene and carotene that do not break down in heat and are preserved.
“The soups also contain a high amount of dietary fiber that is so important for the proper functioning of the digestive system,” she added and said: “The minerals do not break down in the heat, they are in the vegetables and during cooking they go out into the water and since you drink the liquids there is no fear of losing them.”
According to her, in order to have an ideal absorption of the minerals, you should add a teaspoon of canola, flax or sesame oil to the soup.
“A soup based on vegetables, of course, also contains many vitamins which are important, among other things, for maintaining a normal immune system and strengthening it”, she notes – “it is extremely important to cook all the vegetables with the soup with as many colors as possible and vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, onions, parsley root , dill and peppers, and you can thicken the soup with rice, grits, sweet potatoes or potatoes. All types of vegetables are rich in many vitamins and minerals, antioxidants which are antioxidants that help maintain the immune system and prevent diseases, etc. They also contain various dietary fibers.” .
Dr. Abel recommends that in order to preserve the vitamins as much as possible in the soup, it is important to eat the soup as close as possible to the time of its preparation. “It is better to add the vegetables after boiling the water, this way the nutrients of the vegetables are preserved,” she explained. portion out and freeze. What is important in soup are the minerals. There are also vitamins such as beta carotene (from the orange vegetables) that do not break down in the heat of cooking.”
According to her, soups like these are important, but are not a substitute for a meal. “If you want to eat a soup that will be a meal in itself, you should add, for example, cubes of tofu (after the soup is perfectly cooked). The tofu will absorb the flavors of the soup, it contains proteins, iron and calcium and definitely completes a meal.”
To finish, she mentioned that at the same time you can make soup in a three-liter pot, add a cup of green or orange lentils with half a cup of semolina or wheat during cooking and cook together with the soup. “This too can definitely be a meal in itself. You can also add small balls of meat to the soup and cook them while cooking the soup. It is clear that together it is a delicious and nutritious meal. Such a soup is relaxing during the winter with warming energy, not tiring, not burdensome and definitely healthy.”