Tonight is Barley Soup! Topic

Dietician 03/30/20
You may be cleaning out the cupboards and finding some items you'd forgotten about. We were doing this over the weekend and discovered a barley soup mix that was gifted to me several months ago. Tonight we are going to prepare it by following the package instructions, adding some sauteed onions, carrots, celery and diced canned tomatoes. If you are not familiar with soup mixes, this will provide some context: https://www.soupsonline.com/p-4589.aspx?searchEngineName=wildwood-classic-beef-barley-soup-mix&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7O6l-sHC6AIVyP_jBx3yFwJBEAQYBSABEgL08fD_BwE

What's on your menu for the week?

Be well, Joanna (MyNetDiary Dietitian)

Drinkmorewater 03/30/20
Love soups with barley! My fav is from Jacques Pepin. He uses lentils, barley, herbs de Provence, leeks and a small amount of hot sausage. The easy part is: it all gets dumped in the pot (raw sausage even), simmered for a while and is AMAZING!
Joanna, I DID have a soup question that I was going to ask you about so it works great that you started this thread. So today I am making a big batch of our fav Minestrone from Marcella Hazan. The recipe cooks for 3 hours- the cook time is necessary because it breaks down the veggies into an amazing thick, creamy soup. BUT I get that a long cook time isn’t great for vitamins. Can you give me an idea how much damage a long cook time does to the veg? Does it become essentially worthless other than basic macro values?

Dietician 03/30/20 replied to Drinkmorewater
Hi Drinkmorewater- Some vegetables are sensitive to heat. The one that often comes to mind is vitamin C. The best way to preserve vitamin C when cooking is to steam or microwave. Potassium is also sensitive to heat and is leached out when cooking and remains in the liquid. Since the recipe you are describing includes consuming the liquid, you will be ingesting the potassium in the broth. Lycopene on the other hand (from tomatoes) is higher after cooking. As a general rule of thumb you will lose some nutrients in veggies from boiling though if you have a generally nutrient dense diet you will be fine. I don't think you need to worry about developing a nutrient deficiency from having veggies in soup vs. consuming them raw. Hope this helps! Joanna
Thank you for your barley soup idea. It sounds awesome!

Drinkmorewater 03/30/20
Joanna, thanks so much! I love the soup and only make it once or twice a year. Glad to know it retains at least some value :) You’re right though...I am not worried about over all nutrient deficiencies. Thanks so much for answering my question!! Heather

Dietician 03/31/20 replied to Drinkmorewater
Hi Heather, Glad this provided a bit of reassurance. As you are likely aware :), eating a mix of fruits and veggies is important, both cooked and raw. Eating a colorful array of produce at each meal (which right now, folks may be choosing frozen at times instead of fresh to reduce trips to the grocery store or based on availability) is the best way to go to get in your vitamins/minerals/phytochemicals and dietary fiber. For example the anthocyanin content of blueberries (the blue pigment) is beneficial for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and protecting the brain as it ages. Red peppers (on the vine longer than other peppers) are a great source of vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, folic acid. At each meal try to have as much colorful produce as possible! There are lots of health benefits. Cheers to staying healthy, Best, Joanna (MyNetDiary Dietitian)

Tonight is Barley Soup!