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MY SEARCH FOR SOUP
Private Notes
Private Notes
Notes
One of the only foods I can stomach anywhere, anytime is soup. I’ll eat hot soup in the summer or winter. The same goes for cold soup. I’ll eat it out of a bread bowl, a mug, or even a measuring cup. I’ll make soup and then eat the whole batch in one sitting. I like Japanese soup, Thai soup, Indian soup, Russian soup, Ethiopian soup, soup from the East coast, and soup from the West. It always seems to go down easy.
It’s nearly always healthy (except maybe beer cheese soup) and no matter how sick to my stomach I am or how full my stomach is, I can always go for a bowlful. The complication is this - I’m a vegetarian. So, if I’m out and about, getting soup can be a challenge. If I’m at a restaurant and I ask my server about the contents of a particular soup, they tend to pause, roll their eyes and rhetorically offer to “go check.” That’s if I’m lucky. Sometimes they just take their best guess. Now that I’ve got the Alpha-Gal allergy (an allergy to meat spread by ticks - no, it’s a real thing), accidentally ingesting beef products might send me to the hospital.
You might be thinking, “how hard is it to just read the menu?” Most of the time, if the menu says anything more detailed than “soup of the day,” it only mentions the name of the soup and not every ingredient. If there are ingredients listed, good luck finding one that indicates what the base is, like “beef broth” or “chicken broth.”
Let’s take a trip to the grocery store. We’re perusing the soup aisle and roll up on the Campbell’s soup display. There are some obvious choices, like Cream of Mushroom. But I’d better not pick up Golden Mushroom (beef stock and beef fat) or Cream of Cremini and Shiitake Mushroom (beef stock). There’s a Vegetarian Vegetable soup that looks safe, but the Old Fashioned Vegetable soup has beef stock. The Healthy Request Vegetable Soup? Also beef stock. Potato Broccoli Soup contains both chicken stock and chicken broth, (although I don’t know what the difference is between the two).
I don’t mean to pick on Campbell’s. Let’s shop their competitor - Progresso. Their Broccoli Cheese soup has chicken broth and chicken fat. Southwest Style Black Bean & Vegetable has the same problem (to be fair though, they do have a decent meat-free selection).
I think you might be starting to see my point. Soups that may seem vegetarian-friendly on the surface, often contain a base derived from some animal. At least in the grocery store, I can quickly scan the ingredients list. At a restaurant, I’m at the server’s mercy.
Some places, thankfully, are starting to realize my soup-related stomach pains and have taken to labeling their soups accordingly. Chains like Panera Bread and Jason’s Deli clearly mark their vegetarian soup, taking the guesswork and awkward questions out of the ordering process. Depending on what area of the country you’re in, a lot of the small shops will indicate their level of friendly-to-vegetarians as well.
Over the past 23 years, the veggie scene has improved in leaps and bounds. Now, we have vegetarian sections among the frozen meals and non-dairy milks in the coolers. Restaurants serving vegetarian fare are on the rise in some parts of the country. Access to these resources varies largely based on what city you might be in. Austin, Texas for example, caters much more to the non-meat crowd than, say, Amarillo. I’m willing to bet that Brooklyn has more options than Kansas City.
I’m certainly willing to make sacrifices to live a meat-free life and I’ve had plenty of practice at it. I can scan an ingredients list in the blink of an eye and spot a stray bit of bacon a mile away. I’m a fairly competent cook and have an arsenal of recipes at my disposal. I’ve managed to convince most of my family at this point that I’m not going through a phase. And don’t worry - my blood tests never show a lack of iron or vitamins.
But I just can’t seem to go out very often and get a decent soup. It’s all in the labeling folks. So if you’re a restauranteur or a server, please don’t hate us, vegetarians. Just tell us what’s in the soup.
*photo by Marco Verch via Flickr
Comments
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I can stomach anywhere, anytime is soup. I’ll eat hot soup in the summer or winter. The same goes for cold soup. I’ll eat it out of a bread bowl, a mug, or even a measuring cup. I’ll make soup and then eat the whole batch in one sitting. I like Japanese soup, Thai soup, Indian soup, Russian soup, Ethiopian soup, soup from the East coast, and soup from the West. It always seems to go down easy.It’s nearly always healthy (except maybe beer cheese soup) and no matter how sick to my stomach I am or how full my stomach is, I can always go for a bowlful.
I absolutely love soup. It's one of my favorite pre-packaged meals. It's definitely pretty much always healthy, it's low calories, and it does get you full. I don't eat it a lot, but when I do get a chance to buy some, I love it and I want more. lol -
Now that I’ve got the Alpha-Gal allergy (an allergy to meat spread by ticks - no, it’s a real thing), accidentally ingesting beef products might send me to the hospital.You might be thinking, “how hard is it to just read the menu?” Most of the time, if the menu says anything more detailed than “soup of the day,” it only mentions the name of the soup and not every ingredient. If there are ingredients listed, good luck finding one that indicates what the base is, like “beef broth” or “chicken broth.”
I don't have allergies, but I do have high food intolerance and gastritis, so a lot of things I can't eat. It can make me extremely sick. Also, it's definitely a struggle to go out to eat because they don't tell you exactly what's in each meal on the menu. I do tend to go online before visiting any restaurant however, but the most you can get is, calorie content. Every once and now and then, they'll state some ingredients or things like if it's gluten-free, etc. I also have the same issues with you with certain labels. No vegetarian for me, but healthier soups, and they'll make it seem like they're okay for me, but aren't, and have certain stuff in it. Like I remember this fascinating soup, it was like carrot, apple, sweet potato, but for some reason, it had tomato puree in it, which is the main thing I can't eat with gastritis (due to the acidity). It's always a struggle. I wish more intestinal issues were taken into account when these companies make their food products.-
I like that they've changed the package labeling standards to be a little more realistic - like when does two potato chips count as "a serving?"
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Now, we have vegetarian sections among the frozen meals and non-dairy milks in the coolers. Restaurants serving vegetarian fare are on the rise in some parts of the country. Access to these resources varies largely based on what city you might be in. Austin, Texas for example, caters much more to the non-meat crowd than, say, Amarillo.
This is so true. Stores have improved drastically to include healthier sections like natural, organic, vegetarian, non-diary, gluten-free, etc. I love shopping at Meijers, they are like the best for grocery shopping for healthier options, and still affordable. It's definitely dependent on your geographic location. The Kroger's next to my house doesn't have a huge natural section, and not carry a lot of the items I like, but a few miles away to the east, the other Krogers does. Some people don't notice this, but I've picked up on it in the last few years. Hope things continue to improve for you in your vegetarian life. -
I'm not a vegetarian but my girlfriend is. I understand it can be pretty hard sometimes and many places are pretty inconsiderate. Also a big soup fan here. It must be pretty painful to not find a decent vegetarian soup!
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It totally is! It seems like non-vegetarians can eat vegetarian soup just fine, so it wouldn't hurt their bottom line to offer a couple of options or at least be clear about what's in the soup.
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If I’m at a restaurant and I ask my server about the contents of a particular soup, they tend to pause, roll their eyes and rhetorically offer to “go check.” That’s if I’m lucky.
I know this response all too well. When I had Graves disease, I developed multiple sensitivities to a variety of foods. Gluten and dairy especially triggered an autoimmune response. Some servers are polite about it when you ask questions, and then there are some that would take a tone with me and ask questions like, "Is this an actual allergy or just your preference?" Not a terrible question, but it's all in the way they say it. Some restaurants have menus posted on their websites, so I tend to look at those prior to going to a restaurant and call ahead to ask questions. I noticed you mentioned in a comment that you like ramen. I found a brand of ramen noodles at Whole Foods that I like a lot. The noodles are black. It doesn't have any seasoning packets, so you can add whatever flavor you like. Good luck on your hunt for good soups!-
I can always tell when a server is vegetarian themselves or have friends and family who are, because they're not only familiar with the menu, but readily come up with alternatives. Sometimes, they'll tell me that they can ask the chef to come up with something special for me, which is really nice. So, not all servers are jerks about it. When the restaurant doesn't have a veggie option - or has a "hidden" veggie option - I like to go on Yelp or Google and leave a review for other vegetarians.
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Oh - What's the name of that ramen? Do they use squid ink to make the noodles black? I know that's a common culinary practice.
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The brand is Lotus Foods Organic Forbidden Rice Ramen. It's black because it is made with black rice flour. It's vegan too ;-)
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I really like ramen, but the two main store brands - Maruchan & Top Ramen - all have meat in their soup base, even the "oriental" flavor.