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.
- 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.
- 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.
Healthy Canned Soups (Nutrition Information per 1-cup serving)
| Soup Brand and Variety | Calories | Fat (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fiber (g) |
Sodium (mg) |
| Amy’s, Alphabet | 80 | 0 |
3 | 2 | 580 |
| Amy’s, Black Bean Vegetable | 130 | 1.5 | 6 | 5 | 430 |
| Amy’s, Butternut Squash | 100 | 2.5 | 2 | 2 | 580 |
| Amy’s, Minestrone | 90 | 1.5 | 3 | 3 | 580 |
| Amy’s, No Chicken Noodle | 90 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 540 |
| Amy’s, Vegetable Barley | 70 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 580 |
| 140 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 480 | |
| 120 | 2.5 | 7 | 1 | 480 | |
| 140 | 2.5 | 8 | 3 | 480 | |
| 120 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 480 | |
| 110 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 480 | |
| 120 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 480 | |
| 100 | 2.5 | 7 | 2 | 480 | |
| 120 | 2.5 | 7 | 2 | 480 | |
| 130 | 2.5 | 8 | 3 | 480 | |
| 110 | 1.5 | 7 | 2 | 480 | |
| Healthy Choice, Bean and Ham | 180 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Chicken Dumpling | 140 | 2.5 | 9 | 3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Chicken and Rice | 110 | 1.5 | 7 | 3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Chicken Tortilla Style | 160 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 470 |
| Healthy Choice, Country Vegetable | 110 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Fiesta | 120 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Garden Vegetable | 120 | 0.5 | 5 | 5 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Hearty Chicken | 130 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice,
|
110 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle | 100 | 1.5 | 9 | 2 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Split Pea and Ham | 170 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Vegetable Beef | 130 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Zesty Gumbo | 100 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 480 |
| Pritikin, Chicken with Pasta | 60 | 0.5 | 3 | 2 | 290 |
| Pritikin, Chicken and Rice | 80 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 290 |
| Pritikin, Hearty Vegetable | 80 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 290 |
| Pritikin, Lentil | 130 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 290 |
| Pritikin, Split Pea | 180 | 0.5 | 12 | 7 | 290 |
| Progresso Healthy Favorites, Chicken Gumbo | 110 | 1.5 | 7 | 2 | 450 |
| Progresso Healthy Favorites, Chicken Noodle | 90 | 1.5 | 7 | 1 | 450 |
| Progresso Healthy Favorites, Garden Vegetable | 100 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 450 |
| Progresso Healthy Favorites, Minestrone | 120 | 2 |
5 |
4 |
470 |
Healthy Soups Cups and Microwavable Soup Bowls (Nutrition Information per 1-cup serving)
| Soup Brand and Variety | Calories | Fat (g) | Protein (g) |
Fiber (g) |
Sodium (mg) |
| 110 | 3 | 7 |
1 |
480 | |
| |
130 | 2.5 |
8 | 3 |
480 |
| |
120 | 3 |
7 | 2 | 480 |
| |
130 | 2.5 | 8 |
3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle | 110 | 2 |
8 |
3 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Beef Potato Roast | 110 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice, Chicken with Rice | 90 |
1.5 | 6 |
2 | 480 |
| Healthy Choice. Country Vegetable | 100 | 0.5 | 4 | 5 | 480 |
| Healthy Valley Fat Free, Chicken Noodle Vegetable | 110 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 390 |
| Healthy Valley Fat Free, Creamy Potato Broccoli | 80 | 0 |
3 | 4 | 390 |
| Healthy Valley Fat Free, Garden Split Pea | 110 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 290 |
| Healthy Valley Fat Free, Spicy Black Bean Couscous | 130 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 290 |
| Healthy Valley Fat Free, Zesty Black Bean Rice | 100 |
0 | 5 |
4 | 320 |
Healthy Dried Soups (Nutrition Information per 1-cup serving)
| Soup Brand and Variety | Calories | Fat (g) |
Protein (g) |
Fiber (g) |
Sodium (mg) |
| Fantastic Foods, Dutch Split Pea |
120 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 580 |
| Fantastic Cha Cha Chili Bean | 110 | 1.5 | 6 | 7 | 580 |
| Tasty Adventure, Black Bean | 210 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 530 |
| Tasty Adventure, Golden Pea | 220 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 500 |
| Tasty Adventure, Minestrone | 160 | 0.5 | 10 | 9 | 250 |
| Tasty Adventure, Navy Bean | 190 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 450 |
| Tasty Adventure, Split Pea | 220 | 1 | 16 | 16 | 500 |
| Tasty Adventure, Sweet Corn Chowder | 190 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 470 |
