Soup as a meal? Following on from another post

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Just that really.
There seems to be very conflicting thoughts on soup as an evening meal.
We quite often have soup, with hotdogs, burgers (yep you read that right, thanks mum ) or toasties.....

If it makes anyone feel any better, I was a proper mummy (TM) and lovingly prepared organic home made meals for my dc. Lots of yummy/hearty/delish/wholesome meals with MASSIVE salads on the side. They are all older teens/young adults now and their favourite things to eat are pot noodles and other highly processed crap that I was hoiking my judgey pants at when they were all young. I think the sodium levels it all balances out in the end.

Haha, me too. I made everything from scratch, organic. They still get that for their dinners from me but go through that eating crap stage in their later teen years. They then come out the other side though, glad they can cook from scratch and know what is healthy.

We have a substantial soup - not blended - as an evening meal about once a week in winter. Lots of different veg, chopped small, plus red lentils or pearl barley or both - green veg added for just the last couple of minutes. Last night’s base was stock from the Christmas turkey carcass, out of the freezer. Some leftover mash from the night before - I’d made extra on purpose - thickened it nicely.

Love when people think reading shit online is the sa

Only on Mumsnet could a lighthearted thread about soup turn into a war about perceived poor parenting. 😂😂

I'd have it for lunch as a meal. Or in the evening if we'd had a big dinner type lunch. Like on a Sunday if you have a roast at lunchtime.
I'd probably have it for dinner if it was a chunky soup with lots of crusty bread.
I've never thought to have it with burgers or hotdogs! I know it's quite an American thing to have it with a grilled cheese sandwich, which I always like the thought of.

Bean soup as a lunch with bread for sure. Home made. Basically same ingredients as a casserole. Wouldn’t do it for a dinner though, except for the baby.

During the winter months, we have soup as a meal every other week or so. Usually a big pot which last for two evenings. Always homemade, full of veggies and pulses. No real recipe followed - it's what my grandma used to all "cheeky soup" - there's always some carrots in there but the rest of the veg will depend on what needs used up or yellow stickered. This is followed by either a hot filled roll (usually scrambled egg, sometimes bacon), some cheese and crackers, or a pudding.

We have soup as a main meal 2-3 times a week! All very hearty. One is more of a stew/soup crossover and has tiny pasta shapes in it; another is a fantastic butternut squash recipe with nacho chips and cheese on it (really). I love soup - I could happily live on it. It's the main way my DS aged 16 gets his vegetables too.

But in our house Heinz tomato soup is the go to favourite. No food is bad on an occasional basis.

I make a filling pumpkin or squash soup. But it's lunch, though at a push I could have it as dinner. But I would not give it to a teenager and expect it to be the whole meal. I do think the other poster you refer to was right in that she gave her daughter alternatives for her to make herself. but I don't agree that soup and bread is a proper dinner.

I am like that if I have soup as an evening meal, but at lunchtime during the week it has to be blended soup 🤷‍♀️

Only on Mn does everyone look from scratch!

Something like this is perfectly acceptable IMO.

Are you Jack Monroe?

Glad to see this thread! Saw the other one with a mum getting her arse handed to her for daring to serve her daughter home made tomato and lentil soup for dinner and thought I'd entered the twilight zone!

Of course soup can be a meal! Soup and part baked rolls is part of our typical weekly meal rotation. Nobody has starved yet!

Depends on what’s in the soup, what you serve with it, what else you ate that day, and what your nutritional requirements are.

If it’s a really substantial soup, it’s a perfectly good meal, @mondaytosunday . I usually serve ours with toast or naan bread, plus grated cheese to sprinkle on top.

Our soup last night contained whatever I had - onion, swede, celeriac (those two cut and come again from the fridge), carrot, celery, a leek, some broccoli, parsley, plus pearl barley and the leftover mash.

I like soup and a sandwich as a meal and am planning to have that today for dinner. For me I don't see that that isn't a decent meal tbh. My dc are all happy with soup and garlic bread/toast/ toastie/ sandwich as a meal for dinner. If they are likely to still be hungry I will have crumble or sponge and custard or ice cream as a choice of pudding ready to offer.

Don't want to derail the thread, but at what point does a soup become "substantial?".

Ugh no, it's a disappointing meal usually.

Absolutely yes. Love a good hearty soup. Often don’t have it with much else tbh. Going to have pea and ham at lunchtime with some houmous and crudite on the side. Aiming not to accompany it with the usual half a loaf….

A tin of shop bought soup is a snack or light lunch in my view.

Yes, I think soup is a meal - especially served with something else as you have suggested.
My DD likes soup and a cheese toastie for dinner, and suits me on a day we need to be quick. If it is filling and some nutritional value, then its a meal.

I don't consider soup to be a main meal, unless it's basically a stew, in which case the meal is stew and not soup.