5 Amazing benefits to eating soup for weight loss (plus a tasty, new, go-to recipe you'll love)
- 3 Minutes Read
These are our top reasons you should eat soup to lose weight. Enjoy the benefits of soup and avoid common pitfalls when choosing a healthy one to make or buy.
Soup and weight-loss diets go hand in hand. People who eat soup tend to weigh less. Why? One theory is that eating foods high in volume and low in calories, such as brothy soups, can increase your sense of satisfaction. No matter what weight-loss plan you follow, soup makes a great addition. Check out the top 5 benefits of soup.
High sodium: The main drawback of commercially prepared soups is high-sodium content. Fortunately, many soup companies have reduced the salt in their products or offer reduced-sodium versions.
Solution: Check the label for words that indicate lower sodium: "light," "reduced sodium," or "low sodium." Add extra fresh or frozen veggies to dilute the sodium content.
Caloric creamy soups: Cream-based varieties, such as clam chowder or cream of broccoli taste great, but at a high-calorie cost. A serving of Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup has 360 calories and 21 grams of fat (and that's not including the baguette on the side).
Solution: Blend in cooked cauliflower, white beans, or tofu to add a creamy consistency to your soup without too many calories. When eating out, choose brothy, vegetable-based soups. A serving of Panera's 10 Vegetable Soup boasts a mere 100 calories and 2 grams of fat.
Not enough protein: Don't shortchange yourself on protein when you eat soup to lose weight. It is difficult to get enough protein from most canned soups. Two cups of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup will only give you 3 grams of protein per cup, far short of the 20 grams of protein we recommend for meals.
Solution: Add additional chicken or beans to the soup, or include a high-protein side, such as a hard-boiled egg, string cheese, or edamame.
Most soup recipes are quite flexible, allowing for ingredient substitutions based on your preferences and what you have on-hand.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
15-oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
15-oz. can kidney or garbanzo beans
1 cup cooked, diced leftover chicken or turkey, or crumbled tempeh or cubed tofu
2 cups frozen vegetables, (green beans, broccoli, or chopped spinach)
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup cooked, diced leftover chicken or turkey, or crumbled tempeh or cubed tofu
Directions:
Nutritional value depends on the ingredients used. Enter your soup creation in MyNetDiary as a Custom Recipe for complete nutrition analysis.
Chicken Vegetable & Bean Soup
Easy Lentil Soup
Slow Cooker Beef & Barley Soup
Black Bean Tortilla Soup
Slow-Cooker Black Bean Mushroom Chili
Mexican Cabbage Soup
Vegetable Minestrone
Tip: You can import, customize, and log these recipes and others using MyNetDiary's Recipe Import Feature.
Reviewed and updated by Sue Heikkinen MS, RDN, CDCES on September 22, 2020.
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Foods & Recipes->Soup