Mmm, soup. Nothing hits the spot more than a piping hot bowl of soup on a rainy or cold day. Puréed or chunky, creamy or spicy, is there such thing as a bad soup?

When I saw Campbell's new V8 soups, I thought they'd be worth trying. The commercials say there's a full serving of vegetables in every portion of soup.


What Campbell's says:
"Campbell’s V8 soups are a deliciously satisfying line of soups made from high-quality ingredients that provide a full serving of vegetables in every bowl. These ready-to-serve, velvety smooth pureed soups contain no artificial flavors or preservatives."

There's a full serving of vegetables in each serving and no artificial flavors or preservatives.



What we say:
Southwestern Corn
150 calories, 3g fat, 0.5g sat fat, 0mg cholesterol, 620mg sodium, 26g total carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 7g sugar, 3g protein

"It was delicious! It was more of a chowder type of soup than I guess I had expected it to be. The flavor was awesome--it had the perfect amount of kick/spice and was a great quick meal at my desk. I will add it to my grocery list at home to have on hand for when I am running crazy and need something quick."

Serving suggestions:
Add canned crab meat or tuna, plus some leftover baked potato. Sprinkle paprika over the top.
Crumble tortilla chips, add a dollop of salsa and a drizzle of sour cream.

Golden Butternut Squash
140 calories, 2g fat, 1g sat fat, 5mg cholesterol, 750mg sodium, 28g total carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 6g sugar, 3g protein, 40% DV vitamin A, 10% DV potassium

"I didn't like the box size. It's basically two generous servings of soup, I only wanted one for lunch. It was high in sodium. I had butternut squash and thought it was pretty bland, I added my own extra spices."

"I adore butternut squash soup, so I had to give this one a try! I liked the color, smell and even the consistency of this soup, which was thick like I'd expect a butternut squash soup to be. It wasn't runny or chunky--it was pretty smooth. Overall, I thought its flavor was OK--not bad, but not stellar either. It had a decent, very mild flavor but not much in the way of salt of other seasonings. I don't mind minimally-flavored foods sometimes--you could really taste the squash--but this might be too low in flavor for most people's taste buds. If you like butternut squash soup, then you'd probably like this one."

Serving suggestions:
Add cooked sweet potato and chopped apple.
Add chickpeas or some cooked maple and sage turkey sausage, then serve with cornbread.



Sweet Red Pepper
120 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g sat fat, 5mg cholesterol, 620mg sodium, 22g total carbs, 4g dietary fiber, 10g sugar, 3g protein, 25% DV vitamin A, 10% DV vitamin C, 10% DV potassium

"I tasted the tomato more than I tasted the pepper. After a few bites, the overwhelming flavor was salt. The soup reminded me of the base for most canned vegetable soups. It was more substantial than just broth, but this was not filling. I would recommend adding some frozen spinach, a slice of whole-grain toast and perhaps a poached egg to make a heartier meal. I think I would eat it again."

Serving suggestions:
Place a serving of cottage cheese in the middle.
Add leftover vegetables to further boost the soup.
Drizzle with pesto and serve with bruschetta or garlic bread.

The soups are packaged in aseptic boxes, which make for easy storage. However, unlike similar boxed soups, there is way to close the top, and you have to use scissors or a knife to open the box. The soups have two servings per package, and it would be easier to store them if the top was resealable. Those soups also have more servings per package.

Suggested price: $2.99

Have you tried these soups? What did you think?