Soup: How to make the best comfort food of all

Diabetics do best when they cook for themselves.  When we cook for ourselves, we can control the ingredients and make the food to our tastes and to our needs.

It's been cold, so naturally thoughts go to warm, comfort food.  Most comfort foods are starchy or sweet.. bread, pie, donuts, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy.  They are also high in fat.  For diabetics, the comfort these foods give is dangerous.  Even soup can be dangerous comfort with cream and thickeners.  If it comes from a can, it will also slam your system with salt.

Homemade soup is easy to make and tasty.  Soup for diabetics has four main components:  broth, the liquid part; vegetables, like onion, carrots, celery; protein, usually meat, but also soybeans, dried beans or peas or cheese; seasonings, you know, salt and pepper, herbs and spices.  Soup can be made from canned, frozen or fresh ingredients.  Here are soup making techniques.

Easiest Chicken and Mushroom Soup Ever
Anyone can whip up this soup in minutes with a few ingredients you can keep in your kitchen cabinet.  Serve with a small salad and you have a tasty, diabetes healthy meal.

1 carton chicken stock
1 can mushroom stems and pieces
1 can chicken

Empty contents of all ingredients into a medium sized sauce pan.  Add your choice of seasonings from the list below.  Heat over medium heat.  Stir to break up chicken pieces.  The ingredients are all cooked.  So, just heat them.   No need to salt, but you might want to add pepper. 

Jazz it up with your choice of spices.  Here are some seasonings to experiment with.  The amounts are starting points.  You can always add more of seasonings you like:

• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp each onion and garlic powder
• dash of cayenne pepper, more if you like heat
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• all of the above

Vary the basic recipe by adding other canned vegetables.  Diced tomatoes work well and basil is a good choice for seasoning when you add tomato.  Canned mixed vegetables have high carbohydrate vegetables, like corn, making them acceptable for people with good blood sugar control.   Green beans go well in this soup, too;  they go well with thyme.  Green beans and mushrooms together, seasoned with onion powder and thyme, make a tasty soup.  Experiment to see what you like best. 

Change the protein from canned chicken to canned shrimp, 1/2 carton of cubed firm tofu, or 1/3 c of canned chickpeas.  Use the same soup making technique to make an entirely different soup.  Think about adding 1/2 tsp of dill weed to this soup made with shrimp.   With chickpeas, top the soup with a teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese. 

Tomorrow, I'll continue with soups that take a little more effort, but are still easy.
Fresh Vegetable Soup
Cioppino from the Freezer
Clam Chowder
Beef Stew