Why Soup Is The Easiest Solution to Get Families to Bond Together

For many parents, in between jobs, children, after-work social life, forgetting about family mealtime is common. Although these days, while being in lockdown, more and more parents are realizing the importance of family bonding and sharing time and meals together at the dinner place.

Here in Malaysia, we always bond over food. Often you hear people greet each other with “Hi, how are you? Have you eaten?”. In fact, many will catch up with one another over a meal. Most children too, if you asked them, will say they are more likely to talk to their parents over meals.

Everyone leaves behind their work, house chores and games with no gadgets or distractions in sight, just to sit down and relax, laugh, tell stories with each other as a family.

Family Dinner Means Better Family Bonding

Looking at every family drama on television, family dinner is often for an occasion with rice, lauk-pauk, soup and few discussions about how hard school was. Although it is cliche, the familiar scene highlights an important part of being a family, the togetherness and the meals that brought them together.

Parents with busy schedules will often find themselves looking for the perfect time to strengthen family bonds, and eating together provides just the perfect platform. Younger children will feel a sense of security while older children will feel a sense of belonging in the family.

Research examining 5,000 teenagers has shown that when children eat with their parents regularly, they are more likely to be emotionally strong and have better mental health. Teens who ate regular family meals were also more likely to be adjusted have good manners and communication skills¹.

The Most Versatile Meal: Soup!

Credit: iStock

Often forgotten or toss to the side, you can never deny the versatility of soup. Whether the weather is cold out, or sunny bright, you’d be happy to savour a bowl of soup with wondrous flavour. 

In addition to its marvellous taste, soup has also long been lauded for its health benefits. In just about every culture from an early age, if we get sick, we were often told to eat chicken soup to feel better.

In fact, this has been hailed as a remedy dating back to the 12th century when Moshe ben Maimonides, an Egyptian Jewish physician and philosopher praised its health benefits².

Soup is often eaten as a side dish or a meal on its own. These days, with many recipes to try, you can even make a savoury dish out of soup! That warm bowl of goodness serves perfectly as a little pick-me-up. When we feel too tired to cook, coming down with a cold or simply in the middle of a busy day, we can always rely on tasty soup to make our stomach happy.

In Asian dishes, soups are prepared beyond your regular chicken and cream. We incorporate many spices that are passed down from one generation to another. Our soups are hearty as we want to convey the feeling of fullness to people that eat our cooking.

As a mom myself, I enjoy preparing soup as it is the easiest and healthy meal to prepare for my son. He might be a picky eater, but he won’t know that I have added nutritious vegetables and spices to it! All he knows is that the meal is warm, yummy and makes him happy!

Soup is also an easy meal for children to help prepare, all they need to do is put everything in the bowl while stirring gently! Allowing children in the kitchen create a great opportunity for parents to bond with them.

In addition, children that help out in the kitchen hone their basic math skills in measuring and reading when they are asked to check out the recipe.

Many know children are notoriously picky eaters, however, letting them help you cook to get them to open up to a new palate. Encourage them to try the new ingredients you’re working with and share their benefits.

My personal favourite when it comes to soup is the leftovers! Soups always come in a big batch, once you’re done with your meal, you can freeze them and cook them again for the next day. 

If I make chicken soup the night before, for the next day, all I need to do is thaw it in the pot, add in some pasta and more seasoning and garnish with some cheese and voila, here comes a new meal!

Go Down Memory Lane With Campbell’s Soup

Making a meal together with your child does not have to be complicated. What matters most is the food tastes good and memories are built for eternity. 

Get ready to create #countlesspossibilities in your own kitchen with Campbell’s Condensed Soups. We even prepared  a simple recipe for you to try yourself:

15 Minute Chicken & Rice Dinner

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Serving size: 4 people

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (4 small or 2 large cut in half lengthwise for thinner pieces)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup 
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 cups uncooked instant white rice (for creamier rice, decrease to 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets (about 6 ounces)

Methods:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes or until browned on both sides (to prevent sticking- make sure the skillet and oil are hot before adding the chicken).
4. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
5. Stir the soup, water and paprika in the skillet and heat to a boil.
6. Stir in the rice and broccoli.
7. Reduce the heat to low. Return the chicken to the skillet.
8. Sprinkle the chicken with additional paprika.
9. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is done and the rice is tender.
10. Season to taste before serving.

You can also view more recipes to start exploring #countlesspossibilities on Campbell’s Soup Malaysia’s Youtube channel. 

There you go, mums! We’re pretty sure these yummy and easy recipes will save you from another episode of “menu burnout”.

Choose convenience and enjoy more quality time with your loved ones. Get your favourite Campbell’s Condensed Soup flavours, heat up your pots and pans and enjoy a delicious gastronomic journey with #CampbellsMY Condensed Soup because #OneCampbellsCountlessPossibilities! 

For more recipe ideas, exciting contests and product info, follow Campbell’s Soup Malaysia on Facebook now. 

Ready to stock up your pantry with Campbell’s Condensed Soup? Buy now at your nearest convenience store.

Reference:

1. (August 2004) Eisenberg M., Olson R., Neumar-Sztainer D., Correlations Between Family Meals and Psychosocial Well-being Among Adolescents from jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/485781
2. (n.d.) Dr Harold Gunatillke, Healing Powers of Chicken Soup from www.doctorharold.com/articles/soup.html

Disclaimer: You are not allowed to share this article on any other website or on Facebook without providing proper credit and the original article link on theAsianparent Malaysia website.

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