Ditch the Campbell s Fish and Noodle Casserole I have a confession I HATE canned soups! What I hate even more is browsing Pinterest and viewing recipes that are using the slogan Healthy only to click the link to find it is actually just another recipe using cans of 98% fat free cans of soup and adding extras. Yes these recipes may be low calorie but they aren t low sodium or by any means healthy due to the fact that your getting a whole lot more then just mushrooms and milk. Here are the ingredients in a can of Campbell s Cream of Mushroom Soup: WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.
What these ingredients tell me is that Campbell s wants to make their soup out of highly refined soybean oil instead of real cream or milk because it is cheaper for them to produce. Then to make you think you are actually getting cream they add some fillers to thicken it up as well as two forms of MSG and flavoring (whatever that means). Obviously this soup can stay on the shelf because there is nothing remotely healthy about it. That was the bad news. But now I have some good news to tell you. You can make a fresh, creamy mushroom sauce in about the same time it would take you to open that can and heat it. It isn t much more expensive either because other then buying the mushrooms, which run in the $1.78 range, you probably have the other stuff on hand. I know the classic Campbell s Tuna Casserole recipe that everyone is familiar with also includes canned tuna, but since canned tuna contains soy and chicken broth we stay away from that as well. The chicken broth is a huge unknown because the ingredients in the broth are not labeled.
I know the process of making this is not that picture worthy but these pictures basically spell out the steps. Melt the butter while cooking the mushrooms, add flour until gritty, add milk and stir until it thickens and THAT S IT! If you have other recipes that include canned soups you can easily switch the ingredients up to copycat the canned version. If you aren t using mushrooms just melt butter, add flour, add milk. Super easy! As I mentioned I don t use canned tuna so I baked some wild caught Flounder and topped the pasta with the fish. Alternatively, you could break it up in the mixture (my kids like it that way). I called this a casserole even though I didn t bake mine but you could throw it in the oven for a few minutes if you wanted to and top with some sharp cheddar or homemade bread crumbs. That would be even more delicious! Toddler Lunch: Day 2 Fish is one of those hit or miss items with toddlers. I served these fish bites to my toddler and sure enough he gobbled them down without question. I used flounder for these which is the perfect fish for bites because it is slit right down the middle and great for cutting into chunks. It has a light texture and great taste. These fish bites are a great alternative to frozen fish sticks that kids are more commonly served because after reading the ingredient list on a package of Gorton s Crunchy Fish Sticks I would never consider eating them myself or serving them to my children. These are the ingredients in the frozen product: INGREDIENTS: Minced pollock, enriched bleached wheat flour (flour, niacin, iron, thiamn mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid),
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (canola and/or soybean), water, yellow corn flour, modified corn starch, sugar, salt, dried yeast, whey (milk), dextrose, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), caramel color, hydrolyzed corn gluten, monosodium glutamate, colored with paprika, annatto and turmeric extracts, autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, natural flavoring, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, sodium tripolyphosphate (to retain moisture), TBHQ added to protect flavor. Not only do they contain hydrogenated oils (trans fats!), they also have enriched flour, caramel coloring, MSG (monosodium glutamate), autolyzed yeast extract (another form of MSG), preservatives, and a bunch of other stuff that I can t pronounce. Not exactly the healthy fish consumers may think they are purchasing. The good news is the fish bites in this toddler lunch are 100% natural and super easy to prepare in only a few minutes. I paired the potato wedges with this fish and yes, I served ketchup with them because I can t deny my children ketchup on occasion! We are choosey when it comes to ketchup and do not purchase the conventional ketchup that contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. I also served this with fresh mango (my favorite fruit!!!), blueberries, and apples. For the potato wedges, all I do is cut the potatoes, pre-boil, season, and bake. The key to a crunchy wedge on the outside and soft on the inside is pre-boiling. Essentially I cook the potatoes almost the whole way by boiling (about 15 minutes), then transfer them to a baking sheet and bake to get that crunchy shell. If your kids are used to frozen French fries at home this is a great transition to an unprocessed version.