I guess we are at that time of the year now where we need all the warmth we can get. The calories start piling up as our food gets heavier and more comforting. I’m sorry, but I’m one of those people who never bought the “summer bodies are made in winter” philosophy, just because it entails me cutting down on the carbs and elevating fruits and vegetables and all the other summer stuff. I eat with the seasons. If it’s winter, comfort food every other day. The body will get itself in shape at some time. #unpopularopinion. There is a reason why your body craves the heavy food during the colder months. It’s nature’s way of telling you you need to bulk up to make it through the winter. Chances are, our ancestors took the same approach that some animals take during the colder months: storing and gorging themselves for the leaner times, when your metabolism increases to keep you warm. However, if you still want to play it light, I have a solution for you. Soup. Not gravy, soup. You see, the stuff we make with our meat is usually gravy, but for all intents and purposes, we decide calling it soup suits us better. You know when you go to those fancy, slightly old-school restaurants or well-established eateries that have the killer buffet at breakfast and a never-ending dessert menu? Yeah, those places definitely offer soup before dinner. Special mention: Kokerboom at the Windhoek Country Club as well as Dunes at Avani have killer soups as starters, especially to the buffet dinners. I’m sorry, when it comes to a good buffet, I am still biased towards hotel restaurants. Simplicity Soup is simple. Not attention seeking, not pretentious, like that friend who doesn’t need much attention but is always there when you need them. So even if you’re nursing a cold (I actually am during the writing of this article), a heartbreak or just a general “life is a bit much today” mood, soup gets it. It gets you! Warm, forgiving and endlessly customisable. I mean, consider the time when you had vegetables that were looking a bit too soft to eat raw but too good to throw out, they were calling for a soup! Health in a Bowl Nutritionally speaking, soup holds its own. Depending on what you throw in the pot, you’ve got fibre, protein, vitamins, minerals and hydration all dancing together in one bowl. And because the ingredients cook gently over time, you keep a lot of those nutrients that would otherwise disappear into thin air in high-heat cooking. Soups are often lower in fat and calories – so that summer/winter body worry of yours gets tossed out the window. A One-Pot Wonder I hate doing dishes! I loathe doing dishes. With soup, I get one pot, one spoon, one plate and maybe my blender, with minimal washing up. In the age of 30-minute meals that still somehow leave you with three pans, a baking tray and a sink full of dishes, soup just works. It respects your time and your water bill. You can easily batch cook it, freeze it and reheat it. Creamy Potato & Veg Soup Ingredients: * 4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped * 1 onion, diced * 2 cloves of garlic, minced * 2 carrots, chopped * 1 zucchini or baby marrow, chopped * 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or fresh if you’re fancy) * Salt and pepper to taste * 4 cups vegetable stock (or water + stock cube) * 2 tablespoons oil * Optional: a splash of milk or plant milk for extra creaminess Method: * Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onions and garlic until soft and fragrant. * * Add carrots, zucchini and potatoes. Stir for a few minutes. * * Pour in the stock and add thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. * * Lower the heat and simmer for about 20–25 minutes, until soft. * * Use a stick blender (or regular blender) until smooth and creamy. * Add a spoon of cream, taste and adjust seasoning. The post Souped Up appeared first on The Namibian.