Dr. Joanna: The Benefits of Soup

In the colder winter months it’s easy to let good nutrition slip as you seek more comforting, hearty meals. Chopping up a whole bunch of vegies to throw together into a salad probably doesn’t appeal and so vegie intake can really take a dive. This is where soup comes to the rescue. A hearty meal in a bowl that warms you up, while when made with the right ingredients, packs in good nutrition. Here are 5 benefits of soup.

 1.     Gets you well on your way to your 5-a-day for vegies

I think of soup as my winter salad. It’s an easy way to pack a whole host of vegies into the week in a deliciously warming way. I also find I consume different vegies that I don’t often use otherwise, particularly in summer. For example leeks, pumpkins, parsnips and turnip are all terrific in soup, but I tend to eat them infrequently when salads dominate my menu plan. The greater variety of plant foods in your diet the better and soup is the perfect meal to facilitate this.

Try Dietlicious Winter vegetable soup

 2.     Helps you to get your recommended 3 serves a week of legumes

 Lentils and beans are classic ingredients in heartier soups and they make for a beautifully balanced meal. Legumes provide plant protein, known to be good for health, fibre including lots of fermentable fibres that fuel good gut bacteria, slow-release, energy giving carbohydrates and an array of vitamins and minerals.

Try Dietlicious Vegetable + lentil soup

 3.     Helps to keep you hydrated

When it’s cold drinking your 2 litres or so of water every day can be hard. A glass of cold water really doesn’t appeal. Our fluids don’t need to come from pure water however and soup can make a significant difference. Effectively soup delivers water as an ingredient helping you to stay hydrated. Just be sure to check the sodium levels in any soup you buy and use minimum salt in soups you make at home. Reassuringly the Dietlicious chefs are careful with their use of salt. All of the soups on the menu have 220mg sodium or less per 100g.  

Try Dietlicious Thai spiced pumpkin soup

 4.     Can deliver lots of nutrition for very few calories

One of the things that fills us up and helps us to feel satisfied with a meal is the volume of food. This stretches the stomach, sending signals to the brain that in turn dials down appetite cues to eat. You feel full as a result and stop eating. Soup made with the right ingredients can really help you to lose weight and keep it off, by providing lots of volume for few calories. For example Dietlicious Carrot + ginger soup has only 114 calories for a 400g bowl of soup. Such low calorie soups are ideal therefore as a mid-afternoon snack to help keep the temptation of the biscuit tin at bay.

 5.     Soups are ideal for fasting days

For those of you incorporating fasting into your weekly health plan, soups are ideal for fast days. Highly processed meal replacement shakes are often promoted for fasting, but a soup is really so much better as it is the whole food option.

Try Dietlicious Broccoli + almond soup incorporated into the 5.2 plan

With endless varieties to choose from you’ll never get bored and there are so many benefits of soup to enjoying a bowl of deliciousness.