Review of Dr. McDougall’s Ready to Serve Soups

I received all of the above soups from Dr. McDougall’s Right Soups about a month ago but kept putting off reviewing them because I kept feeling I should try them again. I’ve given up and might as well review them now. What I like about these soups is that they use environmentally-friendly packaging, are BPA-free, gluten-free, vegan, and most of them are very high in fiber and protein and low in calories. They are also purported to be all-natural and I approve of the ingredients listed on the cartons. The problem? I’m not a big fan of the taste. They’re a little too salty for my liking. Be that as it may, I am very picky when it comes to the food I eat, and packaged soup is something that I never go for, so I just don’t have a taste for it. I did, however, get the mother dear and the roommate to try this soup, as I figured they would be able to give a more fair assessment, and they were both very impressed by the “gourmet” quality of the soup. They both said that it was very tasty, considering it came from a box.

The rest of these cartons of soups are going to the Food Bank (although the roommate did snag a couple before they could be given away)- after all, the company was kind enough to send me a pile of them, too much for just me! And they also gave me a beautiful huge serving bowl, a napkin, and a napkin holder to go with it. They were a lovely company to deal with.

Slow-Cooking Roasted Chicken Soup Recipe

As I said, I’m not a big fan of packaged soups (at all, to be honest). It’s so easy to make your own soup at home, and it’s a million times more delicious! The best part about homemade soup is that you can do your own thing; no recipe required.

I went to the mother dear’s place for dinner on Sunday, and when I arrived she had a surprise for me: not only were we having a roast chicken for dinner, but she had put two chickens in the oven, one of which I was to take home with me (thank you mother dear)! I didn’t see any reason why I needed to eat an entire roast chicken, even a little one, so I decided instead to make soup out of it. It turned out incredibly tasty. Give it a try:

1. Take a roast chicken and chop it up into quarters. Toss the pieces into two big pots full of water (I had about five cups of water per pot). Add about 1/2 chopped red onion, some freshly ground salt and pepper, and a bay leaf to each pot. Bring the water to a boil on the stove, then reduce to simmer. I only let mine simmer for a couple hours, but it would be way better to let it simmer overnight, or even for 24 hours.

2. Scoop out the chicken from the broth and put the chicken on a cutting board to cool. Turn off the elements and put the broth in the fridge for about eight hours. Once the chicken is cool (you only need to wait about ten minutes from the time you remove it from the broth), take off all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Put the meat aside for later and throw out the grisly bits, skin, bones, and other such remainders.

3. After the broth has been sitting for those eight hours (you can let it sit for longer, if you like), remove the pots from the fridge very carefully (don’t shake them up!). Take a large metal spoon and skim the hardened fat from the top of the broth. This is a really disgusting process. As I was skimming the fat off, all I could think was this is why I am mostly-vegan!.

Some of the fat might not be hardened completely, but you can tell that it’s fat because it will be a big greasy spot on the top of the broth. Scoop it all out. Regardless of what your mother might say, it’s not really necessary to keep that fat for flavour 🙂

4. Bring the broth to a boil and add a couple chopped carrots, celery, parsnips, roasted baby potatoes (you can roast them when you roast the chicken), and about 1/2 bag of frozen peas (the ones that have been sitting, forgotten, in your freezer for two years. I know I’m not the only one with a bag of peas hidden at the back of the freezer). Cover and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

5. Add about 1 cup dry brown basmati rice and let simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Add the chicken and let it heat all the way through. When your rice is cooked and the chicken is hot, your soup is ready! Eat and enjoy.

A couple of notes:

– Put the excess fat (the stuff you skimmed off the top of the broth) into a container and refrigerate overnight so it hardens; you can throw it out the following day. If you pour it down the drain right away, it might clog up the drain.

– Use whatever veggies you happen to have on hand! The sky’s the limit.

– Add some extra chicken/vegetable broth, or whatever spices you like, if you want some more flavour. You can also try breaking the chicken bones into smaller pieces to get the marrow soaking in the broth, which is incredibly nutritious (I forgot to do this when I made my soup).

Day 11 of the 200 Reps Challenge

20 Goblet Squats (targets quads, glutes, and core)

20 Side Crunches (targets obliques and whittles that waist!)

Complete this set ten times for a total of 200 Goblet Squats and 200 Side Crunches!

For the Goblet Squats:

1. Stand tall with your abdominal muscles tight, your shoulders back, and your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell (positioned between your hands as though it is a goblet) in front of you at about chest height. Slowly lower your body so that your knees and your head remain directly over your ankles. Your butt should be sticking way out behind you as though there’s an invisible chair behind you that you’re trying to sit on. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor so that your bum and your knees are at the same height.

2. Slowly return to standing position. This is one rep.

TIP: Hold a heavier dumbbell for added resistance to this exercise. Make sure that your knees don’t go over your toes and that your body is all aligned; if performed incorrectly, this motion can be very hard on your body.

For the Side Crunches:

1. Lie down on a mat on your right side, almost in fetal position, with your knees bent. Extend your right arm out to the side, flat on the floor. Bend your left arm at the elbow and position your left hand just behind your ear (it can graze your ear but should not be putting any pressure on your head or neck).

2. Simultaneously raise your left leg and your right arm as you crunch upwards. Let your abs do all the work here, but envision your leg and arm touching. You will feel this in the sides of your stomach. Return to starting position. This is one rep; when you have completed all of your reps on this side, roll over and do the other side as well.

TIP: Let your abs do all the work; you can put pressure through the extended arm if need be to stabilize yourself more.