Julia Van Zandt, a resident of Greenfield by way of California, was spending a lot of time cringing as she fed her two kids chicken nuggets for dinner in between orchestra rehearsal, volleyball games and soccer practice. It wasn’t the healthiest meal, but it was cheap and fast, she thought.

“Standing outside these practices and rehearsals, I heard a lot of moms saying, ‘What’s for dinner?’" Van Zandt said. “It was time to do something new.”

Reading through her arsenal of cookbooks, she came up with a solution for her family and others, and the Saratoga Soup Company was born this fall.

The home-based business has her cooking gallons of a different vegetarian soup each week in a rented commercial kitchen at Temple Sinai and delivering $10 quarts of it to customers throughout Saratoga, Wilton and Greenfield.

“It is the chance to eat something fresh and flavorful and that is reasonably good for you on a weekly basis,” Van Zandt said. “It’s a healthy way to avoid going to fast food restaurants.”

The hearty soups — like minestrone, cream of spinach and Hunter’s Moon corn chowder — are made with ingredients from local farms and markets. For a few extra dollars, they can be paired with fresh-baked rolls and cakes.

Special orders of Van Zandt’s soup have made their way to Albany, Queensbury and Malta, into the kitchens of house-bound seniors and into the lunch rooms of office workers. Busy moms like herself are, of course, the bulk of her customers.

For ordering, e-mail Van Zandt at Julia@saratogasoup.com or call 321-2436. Look up Saratoga Soup Company on Facebook for more information.