Creamy Macaroni soup

Soups are very comforting during lazy, cozy evenings. A rainy day or a cold evening is best enjoyed with a warm bowl of soup. Macaroni soup is a rich, creamy and heart-winning soup that will please kids and elders alike. My kids are a big fan of this soup. The best part is you never have to ask them to finish the soup... coz its already gone before you have to even ask them to drink some. 

This soup has little bit of veggies and loads of macaroni seasoned with mild seasonings and enriched with cream. Its not one of those spicy hot soups but instead gently seasoned
A bowl of soup is pretty filling and sometimes we end up having just this soup for dinner with a small serving of fruits. Light to the tummy it sounds perfect to me. A bir treat for kids

Olive Garden Potato Gnocchi soup.... not chicken and gnocchi but just vegetarian

Olive garden is a perfect place to try out some delicious flavor-filled Italian delicacies. The best part or I should say my favourite part is the fresh, soft and warm bread along with a bowl of creamy soup made with traditional Italian dumplings, chicken and spinach. Yes.... I love Olive garden's Chicken and Gnocchi soup and I have been in love with it from the first time I tried it. Its rich, creamy, bursting with flavors in every spoonful

Its been very very long since I had some so was really eager to make some at home and enjoy a big serving. When checking out some video on youtube I stumbled upon a video saying "olive garden copycat gnocchi soup". I was really tempted to have some so just went through the video to check out the recipe. The recipe was pretty much very simple and I had almost all the ingredients except celery. But I remember from of the tv food shows that we can use coriander stalks chopped finely as an alternative to celery if not as an exact substitute. So I thought y not giving it a try. Now the next part was the gnocchi part. The recipe called for store-bought ones which ofcourse I did not have so did a quick search for homemade potato gnocchi too. The recipes were simple and I could bring the soup together in no time

This soup recipe is definitely a keeper. I enjoyed it till the last drop ;) But next I am planning to make some breadsticks as well to go with the soup.... say .. I want it to eat it the Olive garden way ;)

  

Green Peas and Spinach Soup

With nice cozy evenings outside, its time to enjoy warm soups. Children are getting very bored with regular milk evenings these days. They want to skip milk but promise they will have something healthy instead. Most of the time I think of the simplest option of soup. They love soup with croutons served alongside. Taking advantage of their liking and to give them a little choice in skipping their boring milk, I let them enjoy warm soups

Green peas is in season now so we are enjoying a lot of peas in all curries, parathas, soups, rice and every way possible. My kids love green peas and their sweet taste. They love them in all the recipes. Last week we had a very large packet on green peas at home... I saw them at the market and picked some, the same evening my hubby picked some when he saw them arrive fresh at the store and guess what my father-in-law also bought a big batch of green peas that day on his way back from work. So we all ended up working on peeling the whole batch and at the end got a big box full of fresh green peas

I love this soup as it has a nice texture and sweetness to it. Kids love it too. My younger kid is a big fan of soups and when he has green peas soup one day, he will sure ask me for some more over the next couple of days. This has become a regular habit of his but never mind I never feel like saying no as I enjoy watching my kids drink it. They just love it  so much that they can even skip their favorite cartoon show for this wonderful soup. Last week I had to make this soup 3 times as they got to see the big batch of peas hanging around the fridge right in front of their eyes. So every time they see it they will sure ask "When are we making green soup". We enjoy this soup and hope you enjoy it too

Beetroot soup...

Soups no longer need an explanation to be included in healthy lifestyle. Kids who love to stay away from veggies can get the same nutrients in without making fuss. Yes many kids dont like eating their vegetables the regular and my kids are not an exception either. I have to follow lots of tips and tricks to get nutrition into their regular diet. Yes I do have to remember that I should see smiling faces when they eat it and they dont intend to waste it

For me the best option to get beetroot into our routine is through this soup. They have always liked it. Initially I remember my elder kiddo did not like the color as it was too deep to convince our senses. But we started with lots of talks before we got into the process of drinking. I still remember the day when i first made this for niks. He was not even three then. He was at a learning stage when he loved guessing colors of anything and everything around.  So yes we tried the colors game together. We tried to guess the color of all the soups we had till then... say orange, white, brown, green and so on. Finally we said today is a new color for our soup .... and it is darrrkkkkk red. He liked the stress in it. Well he was reluctant to try for the first time but he did try and yes he liked it. We enjoyed it till the last drop

The recipe is simple as for most soups. I hope you and your kids like it too

Bread croutons ... topping for soups

Bread croutons are a must for us to enjoy our soups. We love adding them more than we enjoy salt crackers in them. We love this homemade, delicious and crispy croutons. Making  them is simple and we can store it an airtight container to keep it crisp for a while. My kids enjoy them so much that they sometimes eat them alone just as snacks. Even I love to pop a few in when I see them around ;)

Clear soup ... a healthy option for hungry tummies

A simple clear soup that will satiate your taste buds and those of your hungry little kids who turn you crazy after they are back from school. After school snacks are a must and also finding a healthy substitute instead of the store bought ones is a necessity to instill good eating habits among kids. 

Everyday a glass of milk when kids wake up from naps doesnt work for me. The milk glass either sits on the table for a whole long while or it lazily rests between those tiny little fingers. Even I find it annoying when it takes repeated requests to finish off their drink. It really shoots up my temper when they make faces or they spill it. Thinking of something different we got down to little changes in this habit. Instead of everyday milk immediately after a nap we change it to fresh juices or soups. After that there is a little snack and lot of outdoor play which makes them hungry again and gets in the right time for a hot glass of milk. 

My kids love soups though they like it a little thin or really clear. I also have a lot of soup-loving friends. Whoever has had it has always asked for more again or recipes for sure. This is a simple and delicious soup

Spinach stalks soup... thin n clear

Are you among those who throw away the stalks leftover after using spinach leaves from a pretty good bunch? I sure was one like that but not anymore... yes i make the best and tastiest use of it. I try to use most of them in the gravy if it involves blending as I feel it all blends together nice and smooth. But in case when I am into sauteing or doing some stir fry I never feel like adding the stalks. Its just that I dont feel like adding them in. I was wasting all the stalks until the day my mil told me not to and use it in some kind of soups. She told me that it had all the nutrients that the leaves would have so why waste it. This gave me the idea to make this soup. 

My elder kid is a little fussy when eating spinach gravies. Its not that he doesnt eat but I am pretty sure he doesnt like it and eat it for the sake of eating. So the no-stalkwasting  business gave me a simple idea of a clear soup. Clear soup is my kids favorite and they drink loads of it. So there we were, both in the same happy boat this time.

I threw the usual ingredients that go in a soup and loved the outcome. Now happy that nutrients are getting in more without any fussy or funny faces

Carrot soup - second version

I have already shared a carrot soup version some time back. This is a very similar one but a few little changes here and there. My family loves this version too. Soups are fun to serve and very healthy to eat. I find this a very good way to serve some nutrition to my kids who are sometimes fussy about healthy eating styles. But when it comes to soup there is no saying NO here :) 

This is a very good way to help your kids with the goodness of vegetable that they need without having them fussy about it. Simple and quick and easy to make is the secret to keep you and your family happy. Try this version too and enjoy the goodness

Carrot soup.. a nutrition top-up for kids...

Nikhil, my elder kiddo has started liking soups these days. I noticed lately that whenever we are at a restaurant he makes sure he orders his soup first before any other of his favorites. He is usually a picky-eater like many other toddlers at this stage. I always have to think of new ways and hide-n-seek ways to give him few specific vegetable supplements. When i say hide-n-seek I mean I have to play white lies many a times to make him eat some veggies say - beetroot, spinach, beans, sweet potatoes and many more. Thinking of such ways sometimes give me wild ideas or sometime very simple ideas.  Sometimes I mash some veggies and add them to chappathi dough, something mash it give a gravy consistency, sometimes deep-fry for an extra effect but this one here is a wonderful and healthy alternate if the kids like it.

This soup-liking story sparked my silly nutrition-seeking mind to take advantage of this nice little healthy like. Ideas flashed making my eyes sparkling bright and smile getting mischievous that I could feed them some more veggies easily. Nowadays it has been a regular habit to serve them 3-4 unadulterated soups a week, which is very good.

When I discussed this with my friends one day, I could see so many faces brightly lit that were sure many requests for a recipe forward. I could see that many mothers were really very happy to get this recipe getting into their kitchen tables right away. I had so many smiles that I had to post this with a smile on my face.

This is a very simple recipe .. of course fool-proof. Yes, I am sure you can never go wrong with it. Enjoy and let me know.

Tomato soup

Tomato soup is one of my favorite soups. I love the homemade version so much that I cant just have one cup. The butter and bread crumbs add up to the taste. Its no hassle to make it so its almost always on my menu when I have friends coming over for lunch. A bread roll or chicken thighs on the side is what we prefer. Worth a try and sure to win hearts. 

This is what u'll need....

Tomatoes 2 big
Onion 1 big
Garlic 3 big cloves
Salt to taste
Pepper 2 tbspn
Cumin seeds 1 tspn
Butter 1 tbspn
Heavy cream 1/4 cup - optional
Bread slices 3

Here is the stir....

• Cut the bread slices into half inch cubes and fry in little butter till they are brown and crispy
• Chop up tomatoes, onion and garlic.
• Add it to a pressure cooker along with salt, pepper and little water
• Cook for 5-6 whistles
• Let it cool down and grind it to a smooth paste
• Heat up a pan and add butter. Follow it with cumin seeds
• When you smell the aroma add the soup mixture and bring it to a boil
• Add the cream(optional) and boil another couple of mins
• When serving, top it with bread crumbs
• Some may not want the cumin seasoning and that can be skipped too

Chicken soup - my mom's style

Chicken clear soup is simple to make and yet loaded with flavours. This chicken soup is what we usually make at home on weekends. Its quick and easy and also got the spice to kick your appetite. Its not too heavy so you can have even a little more than you would want to. Add more pepper and cumin to enjoy it spicy or just keep it low for a subtle flavour. Its all about ones taste

My mom used to make this for us almost every weekend. Sundays were always special and mummy always made sure to make non-veg. Special chicken gravy, rice, rasam, chicken fry, sometimes biryani and dessert too in case we have guests. My mom is a great cook and I can never deny that. Now internet and especially google have made it tad easy for all of us to check out recipes and try them out. If one doesnt click well then we try out another recipe. Also not to mention the blogs of recipes and the videos on youtube to assist us all further. But thinking about my moms days of cooking... I should say genius. I always wonder how in the world did she learn such good cooking and so many recipes. Hats off to you ma

Coming back to the recipe. All you need is just a handful of ingredients. Toss everything into the cooker and let it do the job for you... now that sounds really really easy and dont worry it is easy to make too as good as it sounds