When the weather turns cold and windy, warm up with our hearty and healthy winter soups. Homemade soups are easy to prepare, they’re fun for kids to slurp, and they taste great too. Our black bean and sweet potato soups are made with lots of vegetables, so every spoonful brings great nutrition to your family’s diet.
Making Sense of Soups: Easy Black Bean Soup
This recipe takes just five minutes to put together because it calls for two convenient ingredients: canned black beans and frozen corn. You can spice it up by adding more cumin and chili powder or by choosing a spicier salsa. Serve a variety of toppings on the side, and let your kids choose their favorites.
Easy Black Bean Soup
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
- One 15-ounce can black beans, undrained
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels
- ¾ cup salsa
- ½ cup water
- Juice of 1 lime (2 tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Place the undrained beans, corn, salsa, water, lime juice, cumin, and chili powder in a medium pot and stir to combine.
- Place over high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 5 minutes
- Serve with optional toppings.
TOPPING CHOICES: Shredded, reduced-fat cheese, light sour cream, diced avocado, fresh cilantro.
TIP: If you don’t have black beans, you can substitute with pinto, kidney, or black-eyed peas.
Nutrition Information per Serving (About 1 cup):
140 calories, 0g fat, 210mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 6g protein, 10% vitamin CMaking Sense of Soups
Many homemade soups are made with beans, proteins, and lots of vegetables, so every spoonful is packed with nutrient-rich flavor.
Here are a few things to consider to smartly shop and sip soups:
Watch the Salt:
Store-bought soups are among the top-10 sources of sodium in a child’s diet, and too much salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure. To help, when buying canned soups, read labels, compare brands, and choose the lowest sodium options at the market.
According to the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, sodium should be limited each day to:
- Adults and teens ages 14 and older: no more than 2,300 mg
- Children ages 9 to 13: no more than 1,800 mg
- Children ages 4 to 8: no more than 1,500 mg
- Children ages 1 to 3: no more than 1,200 mg
- Add Vegetables:
- Soups offer an easy way to add a variety of nutritious vegetables to your family’s diet. Choose canned soups with ingredients like beans, lentils, carrots, peas, green beans, and tomatoes. If you open a can of soup and it’s light on the veggies, mix in some frozen vegetables or canned beans.
- Be Smart about Condensed Soup:
- When preparing condensed soups, add milk instead of water to increase the bone-building calcium. You can also add extra ingredients to condensed soups. For example, sliced, sautéed mushrooms make cream of mushroom soup even heartier; chopped, cooked chicken adds extra protein to cream of chicken soup.
