Ambrosia

I don't remember when I started eating this soup, but I was very young. It's always been one of my favorites, even though most other people in my house thought I was nuts. It has a warm, rich broth and is FULL of salt, which to me is one of the best parts.

Today, I was post-call and sniffly. I've had a scratchy throat and post-nasal drip since Friday. I didn't feel awful, necessarily, but I didn't feel good, either, and I felt just bad enough to whine a little. Well, hopefully only a little. My intern let me come home at 7 this morning since we'd already presented my patient to the attending and, um, since I whined a little. (Actually, it was non-verbal whining. You know, the well-timed sniffle or cough, the oh-so-pathetic offer to stay and help out in that annoying scratchy voice.) I came home and slept for 5 hours in my own bed--much better than the sofa I slept on last night (although I was glad to get that sleep, sofa or not). When I woke up, I knew what I wanted to eat for lunch. Only one thing would coat my scratchy throat and go down easily, and I would accept no substitutes.

While my soup was heating, I was thinking to myself "you know, this stuff has absolutely ZERO nutritive value. It's basically salt with beans." So I decided to read the label on the can. I realized that in at least one aspect, I was definitely wrong: the label declared that one serving of this soup contains 8 grams of fiber, or 32% of the daily value. By comparison, one serving of oatmeal contains 4 grams of fiber. I was shocked. Then, looking further, I realized that there were 2.5 servings of soup in this can; therefore, there are 20 grams of fiber, or upwards of 75% of the daily recommended fiber allowance.

I concluded that I will spend a large part of my day tomorrow in the fourth floor student library bathroom at the hospital. It was sooooooooo worth it, though.


Speaking of fiber, if you're ever interested, go check out your local medical book store. There, you can find pocket laminated cards with various types of information: EKG's, Spanish, ACLS, and fiber. Yes, this company sells pocket cards with information about daily fiber intake and amounts of fiber in various foods. Just in case you ever wanted to know...