Bet you didn’t know that January is National Soup Month, did you?  Soup is the ultimate comfort food for those long, cold days of winter, and we still have more than a few of them to get through before the arrival of spring. Not only is soup tasty and healthy, it’s one of the original fast foods. As early as 600 B.C., soup was sold as street food by the Greeks. Enjoy a bowl for lunch or dinner – or as a nutritious snack.

This tasty, easy and delicious soup recipe is one you can whip up in no time. Leftovers and frozen veggies have never tasted more scrumptious! And guess what? February 4^th is Homemade Soup Day.

Easy Thai Chicken Soup

The addition of condensed milk in this recipe lends a lovely creamy and velvety texture to this flavourful soup.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups       cooked chicken (dark & white meat),skin and fat removed, shredded or chopped
1 – 500 g       bag of frozen mixed vegetables
2                  cans condensed milk
I tbsp            chili paste
8 cups           chicken stock*
170 g            whole wheat egg noodles
3-4 sprigs      fresh Coriander to garnish–coarsely chopped

Method

1- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta for approximately 8 minutes.
2- Bring stock to a roiling boil and reduce heat.
3- In the meantime, prepare the chicken and coarsely chop the coriander.
4- Add vegetables, chicken and chili paste to the stock.
5- Stir in condensed milk.
6- Allow to simmer for 5–10 minutes, add the cooked noodles and heat for a few minutes more.
7- To serve, sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander as garnish.

*Note:  Use homemade chicken stock or buy stock from your local butcher or market.  Alternatively you can use packaged, low sodium chicken stock.

Yield: approximately 5 cups

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
½ cup (45 grams) raw pumpkin seeds
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup pure maple syrup

Optional – you can add dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, figs, apples or raisins) when the granola is ready to be stored or add dried fruits as you go.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325°F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine the rolled oats, nuts, seeds, ground cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
4. In another bowl, stir together the oil (or melted butter), and maple syrup. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well to be sure all is coated with the liquid.
5. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 – 45 minutes stirring occasionally, until golden brown.  The browner the granola gets, the crunchier it will be.
6. When done remove from oven and allow to cool. The granola may be sticky when removed from the oven but will become crisp and dry as it cools.
7. Be sure to break up any large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm.
8. When completely cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks.

These bars are such a tasty treats, kids won’t even miss the vending machine snacks they’re used to.

Yield: 48 bars

Ingredients

3/4 1cup          unsalted butter
4 tbsp              cocoa powder
1/3 cup            Liquid honey
pinch               sea salt
2 cups              puffed rice
1 ½ cups          cornflakes cereal
2/3 cup            Graham cracker crumbs
½ cup              unsweetened coconut

Method

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in large saucepan on low heat.
2. Stir until butter is completely melted and cocoa is well combined. Remove from heat.
   Add remaining 4 ingredients to the cooled butter mixture and incorporate well.
3. Press firmly in greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
4. Cover and chill approximately 1 hour or until firm.
5. Cut into 6 rows lengthwise and 8 rows crosswise.

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This week, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada declared Canadian youth the newest “at risk” group for heart disease, noting a stunning rise of hypertension in those who are in their twenties and thirties. 250,000 young adults suffer from high blood pressure, eighty per cent of young adults are inactive and forty per cent are overweight or obese, meaning more trouble is just around the corner.

Coming up behind them is a generation of children who are constantly exposed to unhealthy, processed snack foods which are high in fat and sodium. In fact, since 1977, snacking has tripled for children and adults alike.  According to a Government of Alberta Abstract, the demands that arise from both parents working, single parent families, and from escalating time pressures are also lessening how much time we are willing to spend on food preparation.

Compound that with the sense of obligation many parents feel to turn every kid-centric gathering into snack time, and there’s a problem. Too many kids spend their days grazing on salt and sugar loaded treats that have little to no nutritional value.

What’s an overworked, stretched parent to do, especially when snacks have become so much a part of landscape of a child’s life?  Robert Vidra, founder and CEO of Calgary’s Simply Elegant suggests keeping a supply of healthy, convenient, nutritious snacks or mini meals with you in the car, in your purse, or wherever you can.  Make healthy snacks easily available by packing them in lunchboxes and backpacks or by having them visible and ready to eat at home.

Load up on pretzels, fruit, baggies of your kids’ favourite cereal, Goldfish crackers and nutritious granola bars etc.  Veggie sticks with hummus,  apple sauce, fresh or dried fruit, trail mix and air-popped popcorn are also good alternatives. And you don’t need to confine yourself to prepared supermarket foods. Consider making some quick healthy snacks of your own, like this granola or soup recipe from Simply Elegant’s kitchen.

Listen to your kids’ likes and dislikes — no kid will eat what they don’t like.  If the right foods are offered at the right times, snacks can play an important role in managing kids’ hunger and boosting nutrition.  Don’t forget to keep these food allergies on the radar when sharing snacks with others: peanuts, nuts, wheat, dairy, strawberries, milk, and eggs.

Of course, there’s little hope of getting your child to eat healthy snacks if you’re not setting a good example. Telling them they can’t have that vending machine snack — but you can — won’t help you win them over to making positive changes.  That means making adjustments to your own eating habits as well.

Yes, it’s hard. But like any new habit, you need to stay at it until it takes. In this case, failure is not an option. Your kids’ lives depend on it. Setting the stage for healthful eating early on means your children will be more likely to make healthy food choices when they’re older. No one should be facing diet related heart issues in their twenties. Help them make sure they don’t.