RECIPES
Healthy Soups and Salads, desserts and other meals.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information about ingredients and a healthy balanced diet.
HOME GROWN
Ideas, hints and tips for growing some of your own fruits and vegetables.
DESSERTS
Healthy puddings and desserts.
WELLBEING
A balanced life approach to wellbeing.
Mr Soup and Salad
What is Mr Soup and Salad?
Hello, I’m John — aka Mr Soup and Salad.
The nickname started at a slimming club. Somehow, it stuck.
This site is about eating better, not perfectly.
It is about colourful salads, comforting soups, simple ingredients, growing a little food, learning what works, and finding practical ways to feel healthier, fitter and more positive.
I have had my own ups and downs with weight, food and motivation. So this is not a site about quick fixes or perfect willpower.
It is about the long game, better habits, better meals, more movement, more energy, and enjoying real food along the way.
Welcome aboard.
My Quest For The Best Tomato Soup
For the last three years I have been on my Quest to make the Best Tomato Soup.
"Best" will be different for everyone.
Why not join in the Quest for Best to find what you think is the best Tomato Soup and share your recipe here on Mr Soup and Salad.
Eating better, not perfectly
Healthy eating does not have to be complicated.
For me, it starts with simple food that leaves me feeling better:
colourful,
vegetables,
fresh ingredients,
useful protein,
fibre,
good flavour.
Meals that satisfy rather than slow me down.
A bowl of homemade soup, a colourful salad, a baked potato with a good topping, or a simple meal made with real ingredients can all be part of eating better.
This site is about finding practical ways to make that easier — with simple preparation, batch cooking, less waste, and food that fits real everyday life.
We aim to base nutritional information on the "Eat Well Guide" from the NHS, scientific guidance from SACN (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in the UK) or the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) in the USA.
Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy
Feed the body, mind and soul...
Eating the Rainbow
More colours usually means more variety.
More variety helps with a wider variety of nutrients.
More nutrients helps with wider health benefits.
Soups and salads are a simple way to add colourful fruit, vegetables, herbs, beans, pulses and grains to everyday meals.
Better flavour.
Better texture.
More interest on the plate.
There are lots of ways to increase the amount of colourful food you eat.
Fruits come is a wide variety of colours so eating a wider variety of fruits will bring more colours to your diet.
Vegetables also come is a a wide variety of different colours so eating a wider variety of vegetable also adds colour.
Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, rocket, lettuce, watercress and spring greens can be a valuable part of a healthy balanced diet. They are usually low in calories but rich in useful nutrients, including fibre, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and a range of natural plant compounds. Darker leafy greens can also provide minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium, although the amounts vary depending on the type of leaf.
Adding leafy greens to soups, salads, sandwiches, omelettes, smoothies or side dishes is a simple way to increase colour, variety and nutrient intake without making meals feel heavy.
They are not a magic food, but they are one of the easiest everyday ingredients to use more often.
It's not just about Soup and Salad
This site is not about cutting everything out or focusing on a few things.
It is about better balance, more variety, colourful ingredients, satisfying meals,
Simple ways to eat well in real life.
Soups and salads are part of the story — not the whole diet.