Fall is the perfect time to stir up steaming bowls of homemade soup as an antidote to the cold. Filled with flavor, healthier than their sodium-heavy canned soups, and more natural without preservatives and MSG. Soup is easy to prepare in bulk and refrigerate for last minute meals and stretch the family budget, a varied roster of soup, stews and chili can be an invaluable weapon in any parent’s winter kitchen arsenal. Some children might not take to soup initially but using some of these tips will get your picky eater a soup lover.

1. Make it a Family Activity

Homemade soups usually require some preparation. This can be made fun by having the whole family participate in preparing vegetables and additions, measuring ingredients and stirring the soup. Many great family memories can be made in the kitchen making delicious soup for dinner when its cold outside.

2. Kids Respond to Smell and Color

When it comes to new foods, they respond to lots of the same seductive qualities that grown-ups do such as color, texture, and of course the smell of freshly prepared food.

3. Use Bread or Crackers for Dipping

Always serve bread or crackers with soup to make it a more fun eating experience. The action of dipping bread or breaking crackers makes eating soup an more unique activity. Try different types of bread such as cornbread so your children get to taste a variety of textures.

4. Immersion Blenders Work Magic

You can combine different fresh vegetables blended together that your children might not normally eat. Marialisa Calta, food columnist and author of the family cookbook, Barbarians at the Plate, says “kids will tend to accept vegetables — like broccoli, peas or even onions — mixed together in soup in a way they might shy away from if those same veggies were just sitting on their plate.”

5. Learn the Classics But Don’t be Afraid to Experiment

There’s no question that chicken soup is a kid favorite, but you shouldn’t be afraid to try new things. Use different variations or experiment from a cookbook or your own ethnic base. You could make a different version every once in awhile to keep it interesting. Try different soups based on what type of meats and vegetables your family enjoys.

Lastly, kids tend to be more sensitive to heat than adults so so serve your child’s soup slightly cooler than you might prefer. A quick fix: stir in a small, single ice cube to lower the temperature of a hot soup.

One of the unique features of Frontier Soups is the ability to add fresh produce to complete each soup mix. Take advantage of what’s in season at your local Farmer’s Market to prepare delicious homemade soup.

Pick up some little baby red potatoes to make Potato Leek Soup, fresh mushrooms for Mushroom Barley Soup, and try zucchini and peppers in our Indiana Harvest Sausage Lentil for a hearty soup supper.

Slow Cooker Recipe Directions:

Recommended slow cooker: 6-7 quart size

For this all day cooker, we suggest cutting up all the vegetables
and meats the night before or in the morning and refrigerate them
in large plastic container so they are ready to add to the soup
at the end of the day.

• Rinse, drain and pick over beans.
• Place beans into bowl of slow cooker.
• Add the bouquet garni, ham hock, and 12 cups water. (Leave out the salt.)
• Cover and cook on HIGH 6-8 hours.
• Add tomatoes, onion, green pepper, garlic, diced sausage and cut up chicken. Stir well.
• Cover and cook on HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 more hours, or transfer to the stove to cook more quickly.
• Serve this thick and hearty soup with crusty bread and enjoy.

Dakota Territory Beef Barley Bean Stew

Slow Cooker Recipe Directions:

Recommended slow cooker: 6-7 quart size

• In large skillet brown meat and onion a butter. Drain and transfer to bowl of slow cooker.
• Add contents of soup mix and broth. Stir well.
• Cover and cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours.
• Stir in sherry, mushrooms, turnips.
• Cook 1 to 2 hours longer covered on high, and serve.

This month with spring on the way we are looking for fresh ideas for adding nutritional punch to any Frontier Soups mix. Customers can submit their own ideas for inventive variations by replying below or posting them on the Frontier Soups Facebook page.

Winning ideas will be posted here on our recipes blog and receive a free sample of a new product we will be introducing later this year. You will be the first to try it and give us feedback on this new soup supper!

Here’s one healthy cooking variation on the Illinois Prairie Corn Chowder recipe.  Substitute pureed corn, carrots or cauliflower, or mashed potatoes as thickeners instead of cream!  Delish dish!

• Vitamin C: Works by increasing the production of white blood cells, which fight off infection. A good source is orange juice in our Washington State Squash and Lentil Soup or Texas Wrangler Black Bean Soup.
• Vitamin E: Enhances the production of immune cells that produce antibodies that destroy bacteria and is in grains like our Montana High Plains Wheatberry Chili
• Beta Carotene: Works by increasing the number of infection fighting cells and is in sweet potatoes like in our California Gold Rush White Bean Chili.
• Zinc: Studies have shown that a zinc deficiency can impair a number of white blood cells. Zinc is in beef, lentils, garbanzos, as in our Dakota Beef Barley Bean, Hungarian Goulash, Indiana Harvest Sausage Lentil, Italian Wedding Soup and New Mexico Mesa Spicy Fiesta Soup.

For more information on top ranked flu fighter foods visit Truestar Health.

To expand the Italian Wedding Soup to feed a family of four or more, simply add 2-3 cups more broth and add 1/4 pound more turkey sausage to the meat ball mixture.

Use your New Year’s ham bone and make Nebraska Barnraising Green Pea Soup or Minnesota Heartland 11-Bean Soup.

Feed your family or a crowd, or freeze half of the soup and have another easy meal ready to go on the stove a few weeks later.

A little bit of chicken goes a long way in a potful of soup!

Try only one split breast in our Wisconsin Lakeshore Wild Rice Soup or Oregon Lakes Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup for a satisfying supper for four to six.