Super Healthy Soups

How to Make a Healthy Selection

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Take stock the next time you walk through the soup aisle at your local grocery store. Soup can be good and healthy food. It can be a tasty way to add healthy beans, legumes, grains and vegetables to your diet. It's a convenient, yet inexpensive way to add protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet. And soup is both comforting and filling—a hot, savory bowl can help take the chill out of the fall and winter seasons. Want more reasons to ladle up?

Soup may curb your appetite. Studies show that people who eat broth or vegetable-based soups (not creamy or high-fat ones) as the first course of a meal consume fewer total calories during their meal. In fact, study participants consumed 20% fewer calories when they started their meal with soup!
Soup can help you slow down. Eating a bowl of soup involves spooning, slurping, smelling, tasting, chewing, and swallowing. This helps you slow down your eating time instead of inhaling your food. Slower eaters tend to notice signs of fullness sooner and consume fewer calories by better enjoying their food in the moment.
Soup stimulates the senses. These warm concoctions have unique aromas, tastes, enjoyable temperatures and visual interest, which add to the pleasure you experience when eating.

But beware! Canned soups can be loaded with sodium and fat. But you can make healthy choices in the soup aisle by going straight for the nutrition label. Pay attention to serving size, as many cans contain two or more servings. Look for soups with the following nutrient levels per 1-cup serving:

250 calories (or less) per serving, to keep your diet in check.
3 grams of fat (or less) per serving, to protect your heart.
3 grams of fiber (or more) per serving, for filling power.
600 mg of sodium (or less) per serving, to help keep blood pressure in check.

In addition to these guidelines, you can boost the nutrition, flavor and filling power of your soup with the following additions:

Add your favorite herbs and spices to boost the flavor of reduced-sodium soups. Experiment with pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic, ginger, or salt-free seasoning blends like Mrs. Dash.
Add calcium and protein (without extra fat) by reconstituting your soup with skim milk, evaporated skim milk, non-fat dry milk powder, or calcium-fortified soymilk instead of water, whole milk or cream.
Add frozen or leftover veggies to increase the fiber, vitamins and minerals in your soup. Spinach, broccoli, corn, celery, carrots and potatoes work well in most soups.
Add beans and whole grains for more fiber, protein and filling power. Try potatoes, beans, lentils, lima beans, brown rice, barley, or whole wheat pasta.

The following list contains some popular soups (in alphabetical order) that fit the recommendations above. These brands and varieties are available at your local grocery store or online. This product information may change, however, so always check nutrition labels before you buy.
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About The Author

Becky Hand
Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. Through her company, An Ounce of Prevention, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy to apply and fun. See all of Becky's articles.

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Member Comments

DEBBY4576

Silly me, I thought I was gonna see healthy soup recipes. I hate soup in a can. - 3/22/2013 6:37:34 PM
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ZUMAPEEK

I have been making homemade soup for a few years now - each batch turns out slightly different, but the process is the same! Take a mixture of any veggies you have in your fridge and roast them with a bit of olive oil and seasoning. Add to a stewing pot with 2 cans of tomatoes, cook for a bit, throw in blender and done! Very healthy and great way to get your veggies each day :) - 3/12/2013 12:26:17 PM
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COCOMAMA2

To Mary1964 - Smart- not only delicious, low NA, but portion controlled too. - 2/23/2013 5:42:35 PM
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MARY1964

I have been making my own soup for about a year. It enables me to control what goes into it and that helps me stay on track. I have a five quart crock pot and I use it almost every Sunday for some kind of soup or stew, especially in the winter.

I make it and then I portion into these soup and salad bowls and freeze them. - 2/6/2013 9:31:43 AM
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RENATA144

I Love to eat soups ! I especially Love to make my own. I make a big pot of soup with all of my favorite ingredients & then it lasts for several meals. That makes soup even more economical & a great time saver ! - 2/3/2013 10:49:45 AM
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NELLJONES

Funny that the list covers only commercial soups. I only eat soup I make. Homemade soup is easy, better for you, and (very important) taste better. - 12/15/2012 7:39:17 AM
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SPARKMOO

Love your charts but you've left out CARBS!! As a Type 2 diabetic, I must know how many carve I'm going to eat. Would you consider adding the carb content to these lists? Thank you. - 11/10/2012 7:35:09 AM
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NOSUGARADDED87

My darling mother is a Weight Watchers Lifetime Member. She buys the Progresso Light soups. My entire family enjoys those, especially my darling father, who eats them for supper practically every night. He adds rice and reduced fat turkey sausage to the gumbo soup to make it heartier.

I love them, but I prefer making my own soups when I can. - 4/12/2012 11:03:30 PM
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KOALA_BEAR

I made some dairy free chowder over New Years so I know that almost all of them can be improved and made healthier if prepared from scratch at home. I cook lots of different soups & stews - it's my favorite way to get more veggies into my diet any time of year but especially now. I use a salt substitute, too which adds flavor but cuts the sodium. And if fat is needed, using olive oil is better than animal fat. Then I make sure there is plenty of fiber. You just can't beat soup for a healthy lifestyle whether "dieting" or not. - 1/6/2012 3:50:00 AM
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RHARVILLE

Ok, I started my diet last February and I still eat lots of soup and I have lost almost 50 lbs. I didn't see Progresso on that list but that's what I buy. Especially the Progresso light. Some of them are 200 or less for the whole can. I am not watching my sodium intake though. Anytime of the year my family does a soup/salad/sandwi
ch meal for lunch or dinner, you just watch the portion sizes. Half a can is actually 1 serving.

http://progressos
oup.com/healt
hy-soup.aspx
- 11/4/2011 2:33:12 PM
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TERESA159

Yes, please, include the carb info. Am not diabetic but am wisely watching my carb intake. - 11/4/2011 11:57:42 AM
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FLORIDALARK

250 calories per serving is too much for my Eating Plan! 250k for 2+ cups of soup is my goal when buying ready-made or making soup.

Of course, the soups we make ourselves generally are more healthy and satisfy our tastebuds better. I make 10-12 cups at a time and freeze the rest for another meal. This is wonderful for those nights when you just don't want to cook! - 11/4/2011 11:23:42 AM
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DEADEND-DREAMER

I agrree! When evaluating food choices please include the carbs. This is a very serious issue for many of us. - 11/4/2011 10:03:00 AM
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DIANNADZ

Ditto on needing the carb count. There are too many of us with diabetes to leave it out. - 2/8/2011 1:05:25 PM
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LYON77

Pacific and Imagine brands that come in a box are delicious and dont have the can taste! Organic roasted red pepper and tomato is our favorite. Eat 2 servings plus a whole grain roll and its a great filling low calorie dinner! - 1/18/2011 11:45:36 AM
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