The order in which we eat our food does have something to do with table manners and etiquette, but essentially, it’s about health. Yes, the way you eat your food and the order in which you have it can have an impact on your digestion.
Most people don’t realize that the digestive troubles they experience could be improved just by changing their eating order or food sequencing.
Nutritionists tell us that starting with certain foods, such as proteins, and then finishing with carbohydrates can also have an impact on how satiated you feel. If you feel full, the desire to snack on junk foods will be reduced.
Etiquette with what is served first has changed
Traditions and etiquette have changed over the decades, and many strange ideas about health and noms have changed. Even in the hospitality industry, nobody insists on a particular order.
It’s similar to how cutlery is arranged. Some people insist on a formidable array of knives and spoons to the right and all forks to the left, while others will try to avoid having too much cutlery. The same goes for soups and salads as starters—nothing is set in stone.
Do You Serve Soup or Salad First?
Salad or soup first – a lot depends on the season
Most restaurants and hotels serve soup or salad as a starter. For those who prefer to sever salad first, they know that there are few dishes that look nicer than a varied and attractively arranged salad. But who wants a cool salad on a cold, wintry day? So a lot depends on the season.
If it’s a winter meal, a nice bowl of hot soup will be welcome, while on a hot summer day, a crisp, cool salad will be the preferred choice.
When looking at the dietary needs of guests, you can safely say that salad is easier to tailor to people with their variety of dietary needs because meat and gluten, unlike with soups, are often omitted in a salad. That may be all well and good, but what about soup as a starter?
After all, there is scientific evidence that suggests that soup be included in the diet and eaten before a meal. A bowl of soup decreases hunger for the main meal, but the soup also helps with proper digestion.
The flavored liquid food at the beginning of a meal increases the flow of gastric juices and stimulates digestion. Cream soups and broths are useful for increasing the variety of nutrients in a meal.
It’s as easy as choosing what you prefer
Having said that, it now becomes necessary to decide whether your starter should be salad or soup. There is no definite answer to this question.
You can start with soup or a salad. Any starter is made up of hot soups or cold salads before the main meal, and you simply serve what you prefer.
| Pros for soup as a starter | Pros for salad as a starter |
|---|---|
| Soup hydrates and also calms hunger. | Raw salads contain live enzymes to spur digestion. |
| People love the comfort of a hot starter and the way it stimulates digestion. | Garnishes provide color and flavors to salads. |
| Soup is a low-calorie liquid food. | High in fiber and nutrients. |
| Soup is easy to digest. | Very satisfying, depending on ingredients such as chicken and cheese. |
| Soups can be served hot or cold. | Most salads are served cold but there are some such as spinach salad served wit a hot sauce. |
Some people who host a meal will prefer to start with a salad. In some parts of Europe, the salad is served after the main course. However, it is becoming the norm to serve the salad first.
Served as a starter to the main meal, a starter salad is usually made up of light, fresh, crisp ingredients to stimulate the appetite.
Many people prefer a salad as a starter, saying that the fresh colors and flavors of a salad get people in the mood for dining, and that the salad adds sparkle to a meal. They say the salad provides bulk and roughage to aid with digestion and elimination.
A good starter salad can have the following ingredients, bearing in mind that the secret to a great starter salad is that it is fresh and crisp.
- Mixed salad greens such as lettuce and rocket
- Chopped onion and garlic
- Peppers of various colors—green, red, yellow
- Chopped tomato
- Feta cheese is preferred, but gouda cheese blocks can also be used
- Finely chopped up chicken pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Balsamic vinaigrette
With soup as a starter, it can be a delicious homemade vegetable soup or a savory chicken soup, or something else. A delicious lentil soup is a great starter soup and its ingredients might include –
- Lentils
- Celery
- Parsley
- Bay leaf
- Butter
- Flour
- Onions
- Carrots
- Olive oil
- Garlic, salt, pepper, herbs, and spices
- Curry powder
Vegetable- and broth-based soups are packed full of nutrients and fiber while being low in calories. Any soup made with the right ingredients can be a great starter and provide a variety of nutritional benefits.
These kinds of soups also provide great flavor, and the vegetables always have lots of vitamins. Eating soup can also help you stay hydrated, and any soup requires several cups of water.
Both salad and soups are the number one starters
Soup is easy to prepare and such a tasty, versatile dish, that it retains its position with salad as the number one starter. In fact, soup can be positioned as a starter, or the thicker varieties can serve as the main meal.
While vegetable, tomato, and chicken soup remain the most popular flavors, there are so many other awesome flavors that include some unusual ingredients.
A sweet chilli and chicken noodle soup remains a popular choice too, as it tempts people into choosing stir-fry as their main meal.
The choice is entirely yours
Do you serve soup or salad first? It can be quite a toss-up, but in the end, it’s not going to make much of a difference, and it’s entirely up to you.