Yes, you can use chicken broth instead of water.

960 mg sodium per serving, made with water. Soup mixes are not a good choice for someone who needs to restrict sodium.

One serving of the Bear Creek soup contains more than half of the daily limit for people who need to restrict sodium (less than 1500 mg per day.)

I know that, but unfortunately low sodium soups are not available in our stores. I thought that by using the unsalted broth that I would add just a little of the soup mix and add other veggies. Is this not a good compromise? Thanks for taking the time to answer. Barb

Soups are about the easiest thing in the world to make without needing a mix. Low sodium chicken broth is available just about anywhere or you can use vegetable broth, which is even lower still. And you can always use water which is zero sodium - you just need to add other seasonings or ingredients to provide the intensity of flavor you desire. If you make your own soup, you can then limit or restrict anything that would cause issues - sodium content, fat content, gluten content, etc.

I make broccoli soup by sautéing a chopped onion then adding a good sized head of broccoli chopped up. Add low sodium chicken broth (I make my own, which is zero sodium) and simmer until the broccoli is cooked. Whizz with a stick blender or regular blender and add a little cream and a large spoonful of pesto.

The thing is, Barb, if you need to watch your sodium intake, you need to cook more from scratch instead of relying on packets and cans. Most commercial products are loaded with sodium.

Another thing about making your own chicken broth...You now need to be careful in selecting your chicken. Much of the chicken in the supermarkets is injected with 'chicken broth' solution that is loaded with sodium.

That's why I've come to rely heavily on those 10# bags of chicken quarters. So far, they're just chicken w/ no additives. The quarters are extra work because they're untrimmed---gobs of fat and excess skin. I clean they up and freeze individually in fold-over sandwich bags then stuff them into gallon size Zip-Loc bags for the freezer. I make broth with the fat, skin, tails and bits of meat that come off with them. Chill, defat (use the fat in the firepit as an accelerant) then freeze in quart, pint, half-pint 'milk' cartons...the ones that originally contained Half & Half, cream, etc. Label with a Sharpie. Staple closed and fold the top down. The square shapes make for efficient use of freezer space.

When I need a carton of frozen broth, I remove the staples and zap in the microwave fro 3 minutes on high (for quarts.) The MW softens it up enough for the block of broth to slide easily out of the carton. You could just peel the carton away from a frozen block but I don't get enough new cartons so I need to save them for re-use.

I agree, if you need to watch your sodium, you can't rely on convenience foods, they're just full of sodium. I won't use canned "cream of" soups for that reason, they just taste like a big ole' can of salt to me.

I also make my own stock/broth, with the bones from chicken I've cooked and eaten, the trimmings and various vegetables, things like carrot ends and celery leaves. It's super cheap and easy to do, just dump everything in a pot or the crockpot, add a handful of peppercorns and whatever herbs you like (or none if you prefer), some water and cook it until it tastes good. I have a big batch in my Nesco roaster right now, it'll cook about 24 hours and then I'll can it, because I never have freezer room.

So take some of that broth and use it to cook the broccoli, add a bit of cream and it's done. It can also be used to make chicken noodle soup, or chicken rice, or vegetable soup, all types of stuff. Far healthier than the convenience mixes and much more delicious too, plus it's cheaper!

Annie

I have searched for a long time to find a restaurant here that even barely watches such things as healthy menu--even the local hospital cafeteria--to no avail. Nobody cares to help in any way. Of course, we are a small community--around 17000. Living alone, I love to go. out with my friends but it is very difficult to find anything that goes along with my health needs. .Now I find that I have macular problems with my eyes so have to magnify much of my reading. Because of the calorie thing, no cream in my soup. You are so lucky, Annie. Barb

If you add a spoon of 4%fat creme fraiche you'll get the creamy taste while adding virtually no calories. I'm sure you can find that or an equivalent.

Islay, what is creme fraiche? I have never seen it here. Also, I have been unable to find the unsalted vegetable broth. Barb

Barb, If you live in a town of 17,000 you surely have a Wal-Mart and I would think other grocery stores. My Wal-Mart carries unsalted chicken broth as well as other unsalted broths. They also may have creme fraiche. You might check with customer service if you have trouble locating the items in the store.

Barb, I AM lucky, as I am in a position to grow a lot of my own food and Grandma taught me to cook when I was very small. Broth is very easy, though, if you eat chicken. Even rotisserie chicken will do, as long as it has bones it can be stock, and if you have a crockpot it's even easier.

As for thickening a soup or making it creamier, I've found that some dried potato flakes will thicken a soup up nicely, or if you have chunks of vegetables you can mash some up and thicken the soup that way.

If you can't find creme fraiche, low fat sour cream is kind of similar, but it's easy to make a creme fraiche substitute. One cup of cream and one tablespoon of buttermilk. Stir together and let it sit on the counter overnight and at about the 12 hour mark it'll be nice and thick and creamy. Less time = less thick. After it's as thick as you want it, put it in the fridge, it'll keep for a week or so.

Annie

We do have a Walmart and they did not have any unsalted broths unless the girl did not know what she was talking about. I obtained the unsalted chicken broth from Martins but no unsalted vegetable broth. Thanks for the comments . Barb

A tablespoon of low fat sour cream would work fine. Creme fraiche is the equivalent of fresh all butter croissants, here. Ain't happening unless I make it!

Bumblebeez, this is a serious question (not snark)...what other kind of croissants are there besides all butter? (I assume that means in the dough, not a filling...)

Looking for croissants without butter is like looking for bread without flour...croissants are rolls/pastries layered with butter to produce the flaky texture...and taste.
I suppose you could have lard or Crisco croissants, but I don't want to go there!

I would think that some supermarket croissants (especially the frozen kind :-P) are made with fats other than butter.

The supermarket ones I have had are made with butter....but less of it...

I would double check Wal-Mart in the soup aisle. If they do not carry, go to Wal-Mart online. They have three different brands of unsalted broths and they do have vegetable. You can order online to pick up at your store in 2 days.

I have never seen all butter croissants in the grocery stores here, unless I go to a specialty bakery and those are over an hour away. The best bakery we have here locally is Publix and they do not use all butter.

If you really like it simple, Gordon Ramsay's broccoli soup is literally broccoli, water and some sea salt. He boils the broccoli for 4-5 min in salted water (I don't use salted water), until it cuts easily with a knife. Puts the broccoli in a blender and adds reserved broccoli "broth" and blends until smooth. I salt mine when serving with lots of black pepper and olive oil swirled on top. He served his on top of a few walnuts and slices of goat cheese. I like it plain.

When my sister told me about this, I was "no thanks". Figured, stop with the blow away before trying and now I make it. Not regularly though because I forget about it. No jokes about why I forget a simple 3 ingredient soup.

If you're watching sodium, rotisserie chicken would be a bad choice. It's loaded with sodium. One tablespoon of real sour cream has only 23 calories.

I make my broccoli soup with frozen chopped broccoli, easy peasy.