SOUPS: For Health & Weight Loss

Soup is a great addition to any meal plan. It's satisfying, goes great with salads, kids love it, and you can make large amounts that can be reheated for meals in minutes.

Of course, the type of soup you eat is important. The right kind of soup can pack lots of nutrients and fill you up for very few calories. Vegetable & broth-based soups will be lower in calories than creamy soups.

Homemade soup is better than store-bought because you can control the ingredients. Most store-bought soups are extremely high in sodium.

If you don't have time to make your own soup, then look for "low-sodium" soups with lots of veggies. Check the food label for calories and sodium content.  When you prepare the soup, add extra frozen veggies for additional fiber & nutrients.

A recent study from Penn State found that eating low-calorie soup before a meal can help cut back on how much food & how many calories you consume. When participants in the study ate a bowl of soup before a lunch entree, they reduced their total calorie intake at lunch (soup + entree) by 20% compared to when they did not eat soup.

We tend to eat less following a bowl of hot, nutritious soup because we usually need to eat it slowly & it fills us up.   Try eating a bowl of vegetable soup before lunch or dinner and you will notice a difference.  If you get hungry in the evenings, you can snack on vegetable soup. Try our "Quick & Easy Vegetable Soup" recipe in this week's AAY! Newsletter.