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Nutrition Snapshot
- About 34 grams of protein and a full day’s worth of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA in one bowl, from salmon, in a soup soft enough for any teeth.
- Barley, carrots, and spinach bring about 8 grams of fiber, and the dill, lemon, and vegetables bring polyphenols.
- The trade-off: broth is the salty part of this soup even in the low-sodium version. The card shows the amount, and the notes show how to lower it.
Leek, celery, and frozen carrots softened in a pot, then pearled barley and low-sodium broth, simmered until the barley is tender. Chunks of salmon and a block of frozen spinach go in for the last five minutes, just long enough to cook the fish through without toughening it.
A handful of chopped dill and the juice of a lemon finish it: a soft, pale green soup with pink pieces of salmon, six bowls.
Why This Soup Is Great for Everyday Omega-3 After 65
A low, steady level of inflammation rises with age in almost everyone, and it is part of what stiffens joints, wears on the heart, and slows recovery from a cold or a fall.
Two groups of foods push back on it in the research. One is the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA, which come almost entirely from fatty fish. The other is the polyphenols in colorful vegetables, herbs, fruit, olive oil, and tea.
The evidence is strongest when these foods are eaten regularly, which means they have to be in everyday meals rather than saved for a special dinner.
A Soup That Carries Both
This soup carries both groups in one bowl. Four ounces of salmon supply about as much EPA and DHA as most guidelines suggest for a whole day, and the dill, lemon, leek, carrots, and spinach carry the polyphenols. It also carries about 34 grams of protein, which is the other thing a body past 65 needs more of and gets less of.
How to keep protein up when appetite is small, and which foods do the most work per bite, is in Protein Density: Eating Enough When Appetite Is Small.
Why Twice a Week, From Food
Most heart and aging guidelines land on fatty fish twice a week, and a fish oil capsule is the common substitute. Food has an edge. The salmon comes with protein, vitamin D, selenium, and B12, all of which older adults run short on, and a bowl of soup is eaten where a capsule is often forgotten.
A capsule has its place for people who will not eat fish, and the evidence on when it helps is on the supplement side of this site.
Canned salmon has the same omega-3 fats and costs less. It works in this soup when fillets are out of the house; stir it in at the very end so it holds together.
Frozen Salmon, Cut in the Bag
Frozen salmon fillets are the practical way to keep fish in the house for a soup like this. Thaw them halfway, about twenty minutes on the counter, and they cut into clean chunks far more easily than fully thawed fish. The chunks go into the hot soup nearly frozen and cook through in five minutes.
Barley cooked in the soup swells as it sits, so add a splash of broth or water when reheating the leftovers.
Salmon and Barley Soup
Equipment
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 leek white and light green parts, sliced, or 1 onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 2 cups frozen sliced carrots
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup pearled barley rinsed
- 7 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet skin removed, cut in 1-inch chunks (frozen, half-thawed, cuts easiest)
- 1 bag (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dried
- juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt added at the end
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the leek, celery, and carrots until the leek is soft, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and stir 1 minute.
- Add the barley, broth, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.
- Add the salmon chunks and the frozen spinach. Simmer gently until the salmon is opaque and flakes when pressed, about 5 minutes; do not boil hard or the fish toughens.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust.
- Serve hot. Keeps 3 days in the refrigerator; add a splash of water when reheating, since the barley keeps swelling. Freezes 2 months, though the salmon is softer after freezing.
Notes
Nutrition
Gluten Free
Barley contains gluten, so this soup is not gluten-free as written. Brown rice or a half cup of quinoa in place of the barley makes it so; add rice at the same point as the barley, and quinoa in the last 15 minutes. Salmon, vegetables, dill, and lemon are naturally free of gluten. For people with celiac disease, also check the broth for wheat or barley-derived flavorings.
People who avoid gluten by preference can use either swap.
Go deeper
- Protein Density: Eating Enough When Appetite Is Small (food.nutriscape.net)
- Aging Adults (nutriscape.net)
- Omega-3 (supplement-sciences)
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