During winter, soup is one of the easiest way to reach your 5-a-day.

Yet the first time I tried I was not convinced that soup would be a hit with our children… but I was wrong, they just love it. It is such an easy meal that I have put together a little recap of our 5 top tips to eat soup with children. Fingers crossed they will all grow up to be soup eaters! 

Please do not hesitate to share any additional tips in the comments.

 

1. Diversity

As for every dish, I try to vary the soups I am making. At the moment, our favourite soups are butternut squash, carrot coconut, spinach, leek and potatoes. 

Every now and then I will go to the fresh counter of the supermarket however nothing beats homemade soup.

 

2. Consistency

This is really a matter of taste but I like to go for a light puree consistency. It is quite convenient because

  • the children can drink it or spoon it without making too much of a mess
  • they are the ones who decide if they want put “bits” or not in it  when choosing their toppings :-)

 

3. Bowl – cutlery

I have discussed this with a nutritionist and I am a big believer in the power of positive association to get children to eat healthy. As such offering soup in cute bowls they’ll love can go a long way.

And you know what? We just have super cute bamboo dinner sets on Croque-Maman shop:

Holly S. shared a great tip on Croque-Maman’s Facebook page: she uses Chinese soup spoons for her toddler, which results in fewer spills and excitement from her little one as she only brings them out for soup.

 

4. Toppings

In France, the traditional soup toppings tend to be the below:

  • Croûtons
  • Grated cheese
  • Crème fraîche

but you can definitely jazz things up with toppings like

  • little pieces of ham
  • chopped olives
  • seeds
  • herbs
  • tortillas…

 

5. Sides

I usually serve our soup with bread/cheese/ham soldiers and in the same way that you would do with soft boiled egg, the boys love to dip them in their soup.

Finally, as Laura P reminded me, letting them involved in the cooking always improves the eating.

Enjoy your soup! 

 

Oh and check out a family favourite: butternut squash soup  and my friend Katie’s latest post for plenty of soup inspiration :-)