Chicken Soup for the Soul: Real Soups to Warm Your Soul

Kids sometimes totally surprise you with the things they’ll eat. My 2-year-old will turn up his nose at carrots and didn’t take but two bites of a sweet stir fry I made, but roasted asparagus? I can’t get him to stop shoveling it down. He even steals mine, and I’m loathe to share my asparagus. Both of my kids love soup, too. Whether it’s the slurping or the mess or the taste, they love the entire soup experience. So when I found out that Chicken Soup for the Soul was now actually making chicken soups and broths rather than just reading material, I was totally game to try them.

We first tested out the Tomato Basil soup alongside grilled cheese for lunch one day. I wasn’t sure how the tomato would go over because my kids typically turn up their noses at tomatoes, but the soup version? Well, they loved it, as did I. The sweet, chunky tomatoes combined with the basil and garlic with just a touch of cream made for a warm soup perfect for a cold day. With nothing artificial about it, you can pronounce everything on the ingredient list, and at just 110 calories for a one-cup serving, you can have the whole container for less than 250 cals.

Next, I used the Thai Style Chicken Broth as a base for the soup recipe below. It made making a Thai soup a breeze because the broth seasoning is done for you — no tracking down obscure ingredients in the grocery store. The broth has a really nice lemongrassy, coconutty spiciness that gives you a great head start to a soup.

Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Thai Chicken and Shrimp Soup Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients
32-ounce box Chicken Soup for the Soul Thai Style broth
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp, split
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut in matchsticks
1 cup sliced carrots
3 cups Nappa (or white cabbage), cut ½ inch thick
3 ounces vermicelli pasta or rice noodles

Directions
1. Heat oil in a 12-inch/4-quart pan over high heat. Add chicken and shrimp and sauté lightly for 2 minutes.

2. Add onions, garlic, red pepper, carrots, cabbage, salt and Chicken Soup for the Soul Thai-Style chicken broth. Mix all ingredients. Cover and gently simmer on the stove over low heat for 10 minutes.

3. Add pasta and mix. Simmer for 5 minutes longer and serve.

With a prep time of just 15 minutes and a cook time of of the same, this is a fairly quick soup to get on the table in 30 minutes. I opted out of the shrimp because my husband’s not a fan and I figured the kids wouldn’t touch it anyway. Overall, I really liked it — it was light and just a little spicy, and I loved the cabbage and wish I’d added more. It could have used just a bit more broth because by the time I got to my leftovers the next day, it was more of a thick stew than a soup, but tasted great all the same. My kids were a fan of the noodles, but I think it may take a few tries before they’re into the Thai taste!

Do you love the idea of a seasoned broth to give your soup a jump start? —Erin