Soups

Eating soup is a good way to get more liquid and vegetables in your diet. Patients on a mechanical soft diet can tolerate some of these soups without any processing. The soups must be put through a blender or strainer for patients on a puréed diet. Try some of these recipes or substitute ingredients to make it right for you.

 

Creamy Soup

This is a recipe for a basic creamy soup. Add whichever vegetables and spices you like.

 

1 cup of cooked Basic White Sauce (see recipe below)

½ cup of puréed vegetables or baby food vegetables

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Follow the recipe for Basic White Sauce. Mix in the puréed vegetables. Add salt and butter to taste.

Variations:

• Try adding green beans, carrots, broccoli, squash, peas, mushrooms, or asparagus.

• Try adding dill, garlic, thyme, onion, or celery.

 

Basic White Sauce

1 cup of skim, 1%, whole, or fortified milk

2 tablespoons of any kind of oil or butter

2 to 3 tablespoons of flour

 

Mix the flour and oil or butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in the milk. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. After a few minutes, it will begin to thicken. The more flour you add, the thicker the sauce will be.

Variation: to make a basic brown sauce, substitute ⅔ cup of low-sodium beef or chicken broth for the milk.

 

Vegetarian Creamy Tofu Soup

2 ounces of tofu

8 ounces of creamy soup (see recipe above)

 

Place in blender and process until smooth. Heat and enjoy.

 

Avocado Soup

1 ripe, medium avocado (flesh only)

1 small onion, cut up

½ teaspoon of salt

3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup of yogurt

3 tablespoons of lemon juice (strained, if fresh)

 

Purée the avocado and onion with 1 cup of broth. Add the salt, remaining broth, and lemon juice, and mix for a few seconds. Then add the yogurt and sour cream and blend until smooth. Serve cold.

 

Spa Vegetable Soup

This is an easy way to make vegetable soup. You can change the vegetables as much as you like.

 

3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1 carrot, sliced

1 cup of broccoli florets

1 cup of cauliflower florets

½ cup of red cabbage, thinly sliced (or try spinach)

1 green onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

 

In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the carrot and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and simmer until completely cooked through. Place in a blender and purée. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Variations:

• Add other herbs and spices, as you want.

• Try adding tofu chunks to increase the amount of protein.

• Drizzle some olive oil into the soup as you purée it for extra calories.

 

Egg Custard

2 slices of white bread

2 slices of whole-wheat bread

1 ¾ cups of eggs

½ quart of milk or fortified milk

 

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Remove the crusts from the bread. Lay the bread into a baking dish, forming a checkerboard with the white and the whole-wheat breads. Combine the eggs and milk and pour the mixture over the bread. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes. Cover with foil. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165° F. Remove the foil and cut into squares.