## Myths about soup __Myth 1: Soup water dilutes gastric juice, which harms digestion__. In fact, the opposite is true: warm broth stimulates the release of digestive juices for digestion, so it is recommended to eat soup at the beginning of the meal. This is beneficial for those seeking to lose weight: you will already be satiated with soup and eat less food, or perhaps limit yourself to just the soup. Many meat and vegetable soups are low calorie yet nutritious — and offer a complete two-in-one dish. It also helps the person to stay hydrated thanks to the liquid content. __Myth 2: Meat in the broth contains harmful purines, salts of heavy metals, and carcinogens__. By cooking meat, you can make sure the meat is safe to eat. This is often done by boiling in one batch of water, then dumping that water and boiling in cleaner water that has less grease. This rule applies to fish and chicken, but chicken should still be skinned. __Myth 3: Meat broth is high in fat and cholesterol__. Soups are only high in fat and cholesterol if heavy ingredients such as lard, fried vegetables, mayonnaise, or cream are added. To avoid this, use fresh broth and medium-fat meat instead of high-fat meat. As you age, you should give preference to vegetarian soups—they are easier to digest and contain less cholesterol. ## What soups are among the healthiest? __Italian minestrone (5 servings, 1 serving has 247 calories)__ __Ingredients__: red beans — 1/2 can, white beans — 1/2 can, canned tomatoes — 200 g, chicken broth — 250 ml, wholemeal pasta — 100 g, spinach — 150 g, onion — 1 pc, celery — 1 stalk, carrot — 2 pcs, garlic — 1 clove, olive oil — 2 tbsp, grated parmesan — 60 g, oregano, basil, rosemary, pepper, salt to taste. __What to do__: Add oil, chopped onion, garlic, carrots, celery, as well as oregano, rosemary, and pepper to the pot. Braise for 5 minutes, stirring. Drain the liquid from the beans, rinse them with water, and add them along with the tomatoes and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes. Boil the pasta separately and then add it and the spinach to the pot, simmer until cooked for another 10 minutes. Serve, sprinkle with parmesan and basil leaves. __Colalak — Armenian soup with meatballs (6 servings, 1 serving has 114 calories)__ __Ingredients__: 3 l water, 700 g ground beef, 3 eggs, 2 onions, 60 g vegetable oil, 200 g rice, 20 g coriander, 20 g tarragon, 5 g dried mint, 5 g basil, salt, and pepper to taste. __What to do__: Add finely chopped tarragon, 1 raw egg, and 90 g of boiled rice to the mince. Make 40 balls. Finely chop the onion and fry it in oil. Add fried onions, uncooked rice, and meatballs to boiling water, cook for 40 minutes, then add finely chopped coriander, basil, and mint. Make a funnel in the center of the soup with a ladle and pour in beaten eggs, stirring. Allow standing for 2–3 hours. __Finnish-style soup (2 servings, 1 serving has 284 calories)__ __Ingredients__: red fish filet — 150 g, onions – 1 pc, water or fish broth — 800 ml, 10 % cream — 100 ml, potatoes — 150 g, carrots — 1 piece, lemon — ¼ g, garlic — 2 cloves, bay leaf — 1 piece, parsley, dill, salt to taste. __What to do__: Dice fish, onion, potatoes, and carrots in pieces, and chop garlic and dill. Put carrots and potatoes in the boiling broth along with salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes. Sauté onion and half of garlic with the bay leaf for 3 minutes and add to broth. Then add garlic and fish, cook for 2 minutes, add cream, bring to a boil, chop greens and remove from the heat. Serve with a slice of lemon. __Caldo de papa — Mexican chicken soup (6 servings, 1 serving has 396 calories)__ __Ingredients__: chicken breast — 2 pieces, chicken broth — 3 l, ground cumin — 1 tsp, garlic — 5 cloves, onions — 150 g, green onions — 30 g, coriander — 50 g, potatoes — 1 kg, avocado — 1 piece, lime — 1 piece, salt, ground black pepper to taste __What to do__: Put the chicken breast and cilantro in a saucepan with the broth. In a blender beat the onion and garlic with 1/4 cup of water and add this mixture to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add half of the chopped coriander and chopped potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Take the chicken out of the soup, remove the bones if it is bone-in, cut into large chunks and return to the soup. Add fresh coriander and serve with a sprinkle of avocado cubes and a slice of lime. __Gazpacho — Spanish tomato soup (8 servings, 1 serving has 387 calories)__ __Ingredients__: tomatoes — 1 kg, garlic — 1 clove, green bell peppers — 1 pc, cucumbers — 150 g, red wine vinegar — 50 ml, olive oil — 250 ml, stale bread — 100 g, salt, pepper to taste. __What to do__: Soak stale bread in water for 10 minutes. Make cruciform incisions on the tomatoes and throw them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Then put them in ice water. Peel them, cut them into quarters, and remove the base of the stalks. Coarsely chop the pepper, peel the cucumber and cut it into several pieces. In a blender, put the vegetables, garlic, wrung bread, vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Beat until smooth. Serve chilled, garnished with cucumber cubes and drops of olive oil.