Campbell's has been a part of Camden, NJ for 140 years and they are committed to nourishing people's lives throught the food that they make. I learned that not only does Campbell's make the familiar red and white soup, they also make Pepperidge Farm, Swanson, Prego and V8.

I'm a long time fan of the classic soup and I didn't realize what a fan I am (I'm really a fan, there's a even Facebook page). As a matter of fact, the products they had on display looked like my pantry

After a fabulous breakfast, we learned about the Campbell's Kitchen and talked about cooking challenges and enjoying cooking and putting a meal on the table that you feel good about.

Pat Montgomery, who is head of Global Nutrition and Health led a discussion about Campbell's commitment to health and wellness. Health and wellness has been integrated into every Campbell's brand. A lot of research has gone into nutrition, making sure labels are understandable and balancing health with what tastes good.

Some questions such as sodium content, MSG and high fructose corn syrups in soups were raised and Campbell's prides themselves on honest answers about consumer concerns. There are 85 low sodium soups available, up from only 25 on 2005, there are several products without HFCS and MSG is safe, and is sometimes necessary for flavor and texture. But, they do acknowledge that some people have reactions to it

Though some people have different preferences, there really is a variety of products available, something for everyone. There are even 100 soups that are 100 calories or less and some of the kids' soups have whole grain pasta.

You can find out a lot of information about nutritional value and ingredients at the Campbell's Kitchen website.

Speaking of soup, one of the highlights was Chef Tom Helsel demonstrating how Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup is made:

And you know bloggers are all over documenting stuff like that:

Fun soup facts: the aromatics used for Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (I'm trying hard to resist adding the line "with a soda on the side" for those of you have made it this far and know what I'm talking about) are: parsley stems (not leaves), bay leaf, 2 thyme sprigs, and 12 peppercorns, you should rinse any pasta in cold water to prevent sticking (don't use oil) and Campbell's chicken products use only the thigh and breast.

Like any good company, Campbell's is always looking for ways to make things better, and as we talked about above, sodium is always a concern.

We attended a taste test of kids low sodium soups:

In many cases, it was hard to tell the difference between the high sodium soups and the new, lower sodium ones. In case you're wondering if they taste good, all the kids' soups really are "kid approved" with them going through evaluations by hundreds of real kids, not just us.

After a fabulous lunch that highlighted creative ways to use Campbell's products, we talked a lot about the challenges and concerns of meals, meal planning and nutrition. I got a few ideas, but most of all it was nice to know I'm not alone when it comes to scrambling to get a decent meal on the table, sometimes.

Vegetable nutrition is also an important part of Campbell's and we spent the afternoon with the V8 team in the famed Campbell's Kitchen, what they describe as the "Heart of Campbell's". It's a real working kitchen and there's even a famed interoffice cooking competition, the "Iron Ladle" that happens in there.

One of my favorite parts though, was the shrine to the Green Bean Casserole (love that stuff):

Sophie Arselis, Brand Manager for V8’s V-Fusion welcomed us and we learned all about V8 products.

Vegetables should make up a large part of our diet, and Campbell's Wellness has ideas to help you meet your daily goals of fruits and vegetables: 2.5 cups vegetables and 2 cups of fruit/adults/day.

The original V8 juice is 76 years old and is indeed a whole serving of vegetables and there really are eight of them in there: tomatoes, carrots, beets, celery, parsley, lettuce, spinach, watercress. There's also a newly launched line of V8 Soups which provides a whole serving of vegetables.

Campbell's realizes that some people don't like vegetable juice and they also have some newer products that give you the same benefits by incorporating fruit juice.

You may have seen V8 V-Fusion and V8 Splash on the shelves in the grocery. I know I have, but I didn't really know what they were all about until I visited Campbell's.

V8 Splash is a fruit and carrot juice blend with Splenda that comes in lots of different flavors and it provides 100% of daily requirements of Vitamins A and C as well as 20% of daily Vitamin E requirement, while V8 V-Fusion is a 100% juice blend of many fruits and vegetables and contains no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. It even provides a while serving of fruits and vegetables!

Now, I'm one of those people who is squicked out by drinking vegetable juice (but I do cook with it) and I was wary of both these products, but they're really good! No, seriously, try it. My favorite was the V8 V-Fusion Strawberry Banana.

If you're wondering if the kids will drink it, I brought home several large bottles of the V-Fusion noticed 2 missing from the pantry. My middle child had consumed them both in less than 24 hours.

We got to try a large variety of the V8 V-Fusion drinks:

V8 V-Fusion is also great for smoothies! Make them with a cup of yogurt of your choice, a cup of frozen fruit and a cup of V8 V-Fusion. You can even add when germ, flax seed or protein powder to them. We made them in the Campbell's Kitchen and it was a blast:

Seriously, I'm not kidding, you should try this stuff.

Overall, we had a delightful time and Campbell's has so much to offer. I learned a lot to share with you and I loved Philadelphia, I'd never been before. Thank you so much to the wonderful people at Campbell's and Weber-Shandwick.