Soup Swaps Provide Healthy, Nutritious Meals and Community Interaction

Now that fall is here and the weather has turned a bit crisp (it seemed all of a sudden here in Portland, Oregon), average salad intake seems to decline. In cooler weather, many of us crave warm comfort food. Well, there’s no reason to abandon your commitment to your daily serving of fresh veggies. Homemade, veggie-packed soups are a nutritious and flavorful solution.

The good thing about soup …. A few hours in the kitchen can yield several meals. But we know, not everyone is excited about leftovers. Not to worry. We have a solution. Plan a soup swap!

Soup swaps are a great way to ensure you and your family are eating healthy, nutritious meals without having to reinvent the wheel every day. Invite a few of your friends, family members, neighbors, or coworkers to make a batch of their favorite soup (about six individually packaged quarts). Then meet at a central location to swap. The benefits: Soup swapers get to share their favorite recipe and every one leaves with about a week’s worth of healthy, prepared meals. What could be better!

To help plan your first soup swap, check out the article “Soup swaps help stock your freezer and foster friendships” from The Oregonian.

Then, DOWNLOAD your ACHS Wellness Guide for holistic nutrition tips to help you plan your soups.

Have great recipes? POST them here! We’d love to start a soup swap cookbook everyone can share.

If you like this post, help us spread the word. Post a link to your Facebook. Digg it. Stumble it. Tweet it. And ... thanks!

More Great News about Strawberries

Back in March, we posted about how great strawberries are, including their unique flavor and nutrient-rich health properties. Here's the link for a quick review: http://achsnews.blogspot.com/2010/03/strawberries-sweet-vitamin-rich-health.html

Well, there's more great news about strawberries...

Turns out you don't have to waste over-ripe berries (though we know you never would!), nor do you have to become an expert canner if you don't want to. According to The Oregonian, over-ripe strawberries can be roasted in the oven like heartier fruits and veggies.

"The method is simple," Oregonian writer Danielle Centoni says. " Toss the berries with some sugar and slowly roast at moderate heat until much of the juices have been released and thickened, about one hour. The berries will shrink down considerably -- 2 pounds of berries (about 3 or 4 pints) will give you just 2 cups of roasted fruit. [...] It's a great way to turn berries past their prime, or a bumper crop, into something more versatile than jam that won't take up much real estate in your fridge or freezer.

You can also change up the flavors of your roasted berries in countless ways. Try adding the seeds of a vanilla bean and maybe a crushed cardamom pod to the roasting pan. Or add fresh herbs such as rosemary or thyme, maybe even some peppercorns or a cinnamon stick. A splash of balsamic vinegar adds brightness and dimension, too."

Give it a try and let us know how your strawberries turn out. We'd love for you to share your recipes with the ACHS Holistic Kitchen too! It just takes a moment to post here: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=99091122240&topic=13172