National Soup Month

“Soup’s on” in January as we celebrate National Soup Month.  Keep the “brrr” cold outside and warm the tummy with delicious hot soup.  This meal-in-a-bowl can combine a multitude of food groups, providing a potent serving of nutrients in each spoonful. Here are a few ideas to make “soup” a fun meal!

SOUP MAT:

It's nice to have a placemat under your bowl of hot soup. Why not create your own "soup mat" using real vegetables. Give each child a sheet of light colored construction paper.  Gather vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers, celery, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, pea pods and more.

Prepare paint pads by placing a folded paper towel into shallow pans.  Pour the tempera (poster) paints on top.  The artist can dip the cut vegetable in the paint and then press down onto the placemat paper to make a print. Continue printing all types of vegetables using colors of orange, green, yellow, brown and white.

When the sheet is completely dry, cover the mat with a sheet of clear adhesive plastic.  The "soup mat" can be wiped clean and used over and over again.

NOTE:  Have each child personalize their mat with their name, and favorite soup names before laminating it.

TOP IT:

The fun of soup is what's floating on top.  Here are a few favorite garnishes:

*star shaped croutons (toasted bread)

*Goldfish crackers

*oyster crackers

*bacon bits          

*bagel chips

*crumbled tortilla chips

*dollops of yogurt or sour cream  (make a smile face)

*grated Parmesan or Cheddar cheese

*sesame seeds

*fresh snipped herbs (use a kitchen scissors)

“SOUP”ER TRIVIA:

*Americans consume more than 12 billion bowls or soup each year. January is the most popular month.

*Three most popular soups are Chicken Noodle, Cream of Mushroom and Tomato soup.

*In one year, Campbell's uses 1 million miles of noodles in its chicken noodle soup, enough to circle the equator approximately 40 times.

*Campbell uses more than 44 billion stars each year in its chicken & stars soup.  In three years, Campbell produces more stars than are in the Milky Way.

*In one year Campbell produces almost 11 billion letters for its alphabet soup.

TRIVIA COURTESY OF CAMPBELL'S SOUP COMPANY

Photo courtesy of Clarita

Previously posted on Caring For Kids