Host a Soup Exchange

A soup what? Yes that's right a soup exchange. It's an easy and fun way to add variety into your diet with only having to make one kind of soup.
March is Nutrition Month and here at Diaries of a Dietitian we’re focusing on the potential of food to bring people together. Food is nourishment, of course, but it’s also so much more. Food unites us all. 

Our next idea - host a soup exchange. We loved the idea of a soup exchange. Who doesn't love soup and there are so many different types and flavors of soup. Most soups have lots of vegetables and some even have ingredients like beans or lentils, providing us with lots of fibre and important vitamin and minerals.

How to host a soup exchange:

•  Invite a group of friends, neighbours, family or even co-workers to participate in the soup exchange.
• Plan a date and time the exchange will take place and ask everyone to RSVP. 
• Give everyone enough time to plan, shop for and make their soup. 
• We asked everyone to share the type of soup they would make so we didn't end up with three broccoli cheddar soups. 
• Let everyone know how much soup will be exchanged. 
• We asked everyone to bring a 2 cup portion for each person. And suggested freezing the soup in a freezer bag because we didn't want to worry about having to return containers. 
• Have them bring a copy of their recipe to share with everyone.

We hosted the soup exchange at work and made the exchange over lunch one day. We had 10 co-workers participate and while we loved the thought of having nine different types of homemade soup in our freezer, it also seemed like too much to make 18 cups of soup. I know I don't have a stock pot big enough for that job. So we divided everyone into two groups and found a group of 5 and having to make 8 cups of soup way more manageable.

Why you might consider hosting a soup exchange?

• First it helps you to fill your freezer with a variety of healthy homemade soups that you can use for a quick healthy meal. Instead of just having a lot of one type of soup.
• It also gives you an opportunity to try a small amount of a new soups. Maybe a soup you would not have considered making because you were not sure if you would like. 
•  Lastly, it's great fun getting together with friends and family to share something you made. 

So host a soup exchange and let us know how it goes!

Shannon RD
Registered Dietitian