Soup Does the Body Good

It’s been an up-and-down kind of week. Monday was great, had lots of energy and got a lot done on the ‘To Do List’. Tuesday was sluggish and I spent most of the day asleep on the couch. I’m still reintroducing some of my ‘evil foods’ to see what my body can tolerate and accept, and what it rejects. Monday night’s dinner was spelt pasta with homemade tomato sauce. Although spelt is technically a wheat grain, it’s an ancient one and for some reason many with a wheat allergy can tolerate it. I could for years, but in the last two I noticed a difference. And Tuesday told me that those ancient grains I could have with abandon (kamut, spelt and rye) were to be avoided. I was disappointed, not because I absolutely love kamut and spelt, but because it was another item for my ‘Can’t Have’ list. Like Monday, Wednesday was a wonderful day and went out to enjoy the nice weather and enjoy feeling healthy. Then Thursday hit me and it hit me with a vengeance. I should have guessed what the day had in store for me when I woke up for a horrible night’s sleep with a headache. I won’t go into all the details; there are just too many to keep this a decent length. I met a friend Thursday evening and she wanted to hear every detail. Her own life often appears like a roller coaster and so she was sympathetic in agreeing it was a terrible day. She was taken aback when I told her that had only been the morning.


At lunch I felt I needed a treat and so decided to go to Bridgehead for a nice pot of mint tea. I thought some aromatherapy could help me deal with the chaos popping up. Then I remembered hearing that their soups were quite good and decided I deserved one. The choices that day were Creamy Tomato Basil and Creamy Cilantro; both sounded delicious. The wonderful clerk searched for the ingredient list and happily told me what was in each soup; both were flour free (the people who work here are always so nice). I settled on the cilantro and was pleasantly surprised. Although I have used cilantro in my cooking, it was the first time I’d had Cilantro Soup so I didn’t really know what to expect. There was a sweetness I hadn’t expected, mingled with a nice flavour of herbs. The creaminess wasn’t overpowering, as this sometimes puts me off cream soups, so there must have been some potato in there to help make it so rich. At the end of my lunch I felt rejuvenated and ready to take on whatever else Thursday was going to throw at me.

Upon returning home I sent a little email to Bridgehead enquiring if they have any other gluten-free soups and was pleased with their response. Since their products are homemade they don’t add gluten additives and they understand people’s dietary challenges. There are two soups that aren’t friendly for celiacs: Two Bean Vegetable Chilli contains bulgur; and the Mushroom with Wehani Rice contains soy sauce (which normally contains wheat). I also got an additional email with an apology for a mistake; the Cilantro Soup did have a bit of flour in it. It made me think how much flour is ‘a bit’ because I didn’t have one single reaction. Maybe I should just consider it a fluke and count myself as lucky. Other than the three above, all the other soups, including the new ones, are gluten free. The ingredient listing is readily at hand for the employees so they can easily provide the information to customers (soups come with a bun, so ask for it without). I’m looking forward to going back another day and trying another.


Friday arrived, and as The Cure song goes…’It’s Friday, I’m in Love’. What a nice day, a little windy, but nice and sunny. What a day to spend doing some errands and end a crazy week.