I’m a huge proponent of the home-cooked meal.
Tonight was an exception with a new frozen soup brand I decided to keep handy in case of a late night/no motivation situation, et voilà, a quick review makes its debut that is neither a recipe to skim nor hard to follow.
I’ll still say this– I always prefer having a homemade meal over anything at a restaurant or found in a frozen food aisle. There’s nothing like the comfort of knowing exactly where your food came from, how it was prepared, and explicitly what is going into it. I’ve worked in hospitality for over a decade and witnessed my fair share of grotesque fumbles and fails behind the scenes of otherwise notable establishments and operations. But alas, lazy and tired nights happen in the world of adulting, and so I bring you some SOUP!
Frozen food can leave much to be desired (we can all agree fresher is better) and this can be especially true with plant-based foods that lack a chemical shitstorm of preservatives and animal byproduct additives to give it the flavor and boosting that the freezing process takes away from otherwise tasty treats. I’ll reiterate in short: NOT ALL VEGAN FOODS ARE CREATED EQUALLY. Part of this blog’s purpose is to offer a shortcut to the plant-based masses and rifle through the many options available to help navigate the sometimes choppy waters of vegan products on the market and let you know what the best in town is for everythaaang.
Onto the soup: Tabatchnick brand soups are more than just a quick and affordable meal. Come to find out from their website, they are also philanthropically involved! “That’s why in 2012, we partnered with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, New York City’s largest emergency food service, to launch “Tabatchnick Fridays.” Over 500 gallons of Tabatchnick soup are served each week to 1,200 hungry, homeless New Yorkers who visit Holy Apostles every weekday.”
Pretty awesome to support a brand that supports a good cause, #amiright ?
Second cool fact: It was not until opening up my Barley & Mushroom soup to make dinner last night that I even noticed there are TWO packets/servings per box! And here I thought I just paid for one meal, but I got some for now and some for later. Again, props to this family-ran company for packing the love in.
Summary & Conclusion: This is my first time trying a soup of theirs (and I’ve got a black bean soup yet to try and review — stay tuned) and as the box blatantly says, it is “low sodium” so it was a bit on the light side of flavor for my humble preference, but I actually mixed mine in with some leftover quinoa/wild rice that I had in a tupperware, and in typical Al fashion, I also threw in some garlic powder and cracked black pepper to spice up my life (so punny, hee-hee), but no salt, and it was plenty flavorful enough at that point to enjoy thoroughly. It’s not a HUGE portion of soup, so for those seeking a post-workout meal, or for the hearty eater, you may want to mix this with some grains like I did or add some other foods on the side to supplement, but for the soup itself, I wasn’t mad. Not necessarily the most flavorful thing I’ve ever had to be sure, but for the price and getting two servings out of one box, I could add this to my regular “keep one on hand” freezer list for the aforementioned late/lazy night.
There you have it, my first review of Tabatchnick family soups. Available in many flavor varieties and many stores in the frozen food aisle (and oft near kosher options). Below I will include the nutritional information for those who are interested.
As ever, Happy Eating!
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