About the only soup unworthy of the name is the one in the Cabbage Soup Diet (I tried it twice and couldn’t get past Day Two) which is vile, and a complete waste of time and effort – everybody knows you put the weight back on the first time you eat a Malteser. Having said that, if you want to lose weight sensibly and painlessly without reducing your energy levels, you could do a lot worse than including plenty of homemade soups in your diet.

All soups freeze well and can be stored in large and small amounts; for family dinners, or for taking to work and re-heating in the microwave – very handy when you want to avoid the temptations of the deli or sandwich bar. Make soup more appealing to children by adding croutons, grated cheese and pasta shapes, or give them a bit less soup (a little goes a long way in any case) with a hot dog or toasted sandwich on the side. You can’t go far wrong with soup whatever you do, so use these recipes as a guideline and make the rest up as you go along.

Tips

To thicken soup, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of potato purls (oh how much more respectable that sounds than ‘instant mash’), while the soup is still warm. Almost as outrageous as a celebrity chef using Knorr stock cubes, but there it is.

Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, add the herbs and spices mixed with the stock for even distribution.

Add a spoonful of Marmite or Vegemite to larger amounts of stock, instead of a second stock cube.

Use alternative herbs and spices if you like, but don’t miss them out altogether; they do make a difference. (Buy bouquet garni ready made-up in little tea bags to save time.)

For creamed soups, pour the cream over the surface in a circular movement, straight from the carton, or create a marbled effect by zigzagging a knife or the edge of a metal spoon through the trail of cream.

Orange Squash Soup

1 lb (500 g) carrots
1 butternut squash (any size)
1 large onion
1 small orange
1 1/2 pints (750 ml) chicken or vegetable stock
1 clove of garlic
Ginger, coriander, salt & white pepper
Sunflower oil
Butter

METHOD

1. Melt the oil and butter in a large saucepan while you peel the butternut squash (removing the pips and pithy inside completely) and scrape the carrots.
2. Roughly chop the squash, carrots and onion, put them in the pan with the crushed garlic and leave to soften over a low heat for a few minutes.
3. Add the zest of half the orange to the saucepan with the ginger, coriander, salt and pepper.
4. Cut the orange into quarters and make sure the pips are removed; give each quarter a little squeeze as you add it to the pan, then pour over the chicken or vegetable stock and give it a good stir.
5. Cover with a lid, turn the heat right down and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
6. Remove the orange quarters and throw them away.
7. Blend the soup and add salt and pepper according to taste.

Slug & Celery Soup

There’s an even quicker way to make this soup; just put the raw ingredients with the seasoning, milk and wine in the food processor, blend the whole lot until smooth (one minute, max), then heat it up in a large saucepan.

1 head of celery with leaves left on
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp plain flour
1 pint (500 ml) chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 pint (125 ml) milk
1 great big slug of white wine (say half a glass)
Celery salt or salt & white pepper
Sunflower oil
Butter

METHOD

1. Melt the butter and oil in a large saucepan.
2. Wash and chop the celery and onion and cook gently over a low heat for a few minutes with the crushed garlic.
3. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute.
4. Add the chicken or vegetable stock with the seasoning. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down, add the wine and milk and simmer gently for up to 30 minutes.
5. Adjust the seasoning and blend.