Soup as defined by Merriam Webster is “ a liquid food especially with a meat, fish, or vegetable stock as a base and often containing pieces of solid food”. In today’s nutrition context we can describe it soups as : “super foods” united!
Simply eating soup can be one of the fastest and tasty ways to meet the US Dietary Guidelines’ recommendation for eating nutrients that promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases. Also advised is to include a wide variety of foods in one’s diet, without exceeding caloric needs, to improve the chances of getting the best nutrition. A bowl of warm hearty soup, offers an easy and inexpensive way, to quickly satisfy many of our nutritional needs.
Home made soups, are a great choice to help control sodium and fat intake, while bulking up on fiber intake. Starting a soup base with selected oils like “Enova” and or olive oils can promote healthier ( reduced saturated/ increased monounsaturated ) fat intake. Skipping the salt shaker and being creative with wonderful, health promoting herbs (garlic, thyme,oregano, curry, cumin, onion, cloves, etc.) can add great flavor, and help redirect our unhealthy sodium consumption habits. Adding assorted vegetables, beans, lentils, and or slit peas as choices, leads to the addition of vitamins , minerals, and phytochemicals.
Perhaps equally important, soup can also serve as a great calorie controlled comfort food. Studies have shown that starting the meal with a broth- or vegetable-based soup will help decrease the amount of total calories eaten at that meal. Choosing wisely means selecting the lower-calorie, higher-fiber soups like vegetable bean or minestrone. Avoid the creamy or other high-fat options. Commercially prepared soups are increasingly more available with lower calorie and sodium offerings. Look for Campbells reduced fat and salt soups, Progresso’s lite options and Healthy Choice Brand to name just a few. Read labels carefully and choose options with less than 3 grams of fat, less than 800mgs of sodium and around 75 to 125 calories per serving.
To most people a bowl of soup brings thoughts of satisfaction. Full of water and flavor and often “chewy” bits of food, soup stimulates many of our senses and bring about eating satisfaction. Eating time is slowed, one spoonfull at a time, as the stomach gets stretched the brain to get its “full” cue, and helps us stop eating. There are abundant resources for great soups. The major food distributors all have their own web sites with lots of coupons. Many organizations offer on line healthful recipes:
americanheart.org, ww.weightwatchers.com, www.healthrecipes.com , www.foodfit.com, www.eatingwell.com, www.sparkrecipes.com
Eat well and be healthy!!
