Soups for the Great Outdoors

“There are many reasons why I love winter and the best one is soup,” according to a popular saying. For the same reasons, soup is a perfect outdoor meal. Let’s explain.

1- Cooking soup is simple. At its most basic soup is about tossing a bunch of ingredients in a pot and slow cooking them. Of course, pre-cooking some ingredients and frying others will add taste to the soup. But the idea with soup is that you can make it as complicated as you want, or as simple as you want. In the outdoors, simplicity is often the answer.

2- Soup keeps you warm. That’s why it’s the perfect meal for winter. It’s hot liquids! Put your soup in a cup and warm your hands before you warm your stomach. Hard to beat the feeling of liquids warming your very core. The colder outside, the better the soup tastes.

3- Soup helps fight hypothermia. Not so much because it’s hot, but because you ingest liquids! Adequate hydration maintains the most important body functions, thus keeping your body temperature comfortable.

4- Keeps you well fed. You can mix so many hearty ingredients in a soup! Potatoes, vegetables, meats, tofu will keep you satiated for many hours. Furthermore, they are generally easy to digest! Always a plus for backpackers or campers!

5- Soup boosts your veggies intake! Not a veggie eater? Remember that vegetables are especially easy to ingest in a soup! Liquids help for sure. Of course, veggies are good for you! However, you may prefer to prepare them at home rather than in the field, since it will make the prep easier and faster. Clean them first, chop them to the right length, and store them in a reusable freezer bag.

6-Slow cooking keeps more of the good stuff. Vitamins, minerals, nutrients retain much more of their nutritional value in a soup. If you avoid putting too much salt in your servings, you get one of the healthiest meals possible.

7-Soups are inexpensive. They are often made of leftovers, yet they are delicious. And they are easy to freeze as well! So if you love cooking outdoors in winter, just freeze your soup and warm it in a titanium pot in the field. Choose a larger pot, this one would be perfect for the task.

8- Soup is medicine. Miso soup, for example, is a traditional Japanese meal said to relieve fatigue, lower blood pressure and heart rate, help prevent inflammation as well as help your digestion and protect from some types of ulcers. Potato soup is also packed with nutrients, contains antioxidants and vitamin C, and may improve blood sugar control. Soup boosts the immune system. Some people believe pumpkin and chicken soup help fight cold and flu. Trust garlic, onions, celery, and carrots to have your back!