Flourish with Food: Go-To Warming Winter Soups

Go-to implies readily available, shelf-stable, long shelf life, reliably useable - qualities of pantry staples. Think canned tuna, diced tomatoes, chickpeas, pasta, rice, bottled pasta sauce, oil, peanut butter, rolled oats, etc.

Do your winter pantry essentials include ready-to-heat canned, jarred or package soups?  Soups warm one up when the temperature drops.  Along with comforting, the ideal go-to soups will be nourishing and stick-to-your-ribs substantial.

Ideally, nourishing soups include ample protein, vegetables, and fiber.  A whole grain ingredient is a bonus.  Nourishing soups can be a quick meal item, especially when paired with whole grain bread or crackers, cheese, tossed salad, etc. Leftover soup makes an ideal warm snack.

Prepared soups are infamously known for their high sodium content.  Many have around 700-1000 mg per 8 oz serving.  When exploring new soups, compare the sodium content of assorted soups and go with the lowest.

Reduced (or lighter) sodium soups are, admittedly, an acquired taste. Progresso, Amy’s, Pacific and Healthy Choice offer reduced sodium soups that are under 500 mg per serving.  My tip: add ample coarse ground black pepper to compensate.

A few ways to lower the sodium: (1) dilute with low sodium broth, (2) extend with added fresh or frozen veggies or a lean protein. Another way to adjust for the soup’s sodium is to balance the day’s sodium with lower sodium foods the rest of the day, such as with fresh produce, meats, poultry and skipping salt in seasoning.

Cream or cheese-based soups generally have a good amount of saturated fat.  Broth-based soups are a better choice.

To consider soup a nourishing meal item, aim for 6-10 g protein in 8 oz.  If less, include other protein foods, such as peanut butter or a glass of milk, in the meal. Protein can be bumped up by adding leftover cooked protein, canned chickpeas or frozen shelled edamame.

Ideally, look for 4-8 g fiber per serving.  Soups with legumes and plenty of veggies can easily meet this target.

Tip: The FDA-defined 8 oz serving size may be less than you’re craving.  Increase the protein, sodium and fiber values accordingly if your portion is larger.

A few soups with meal potential: minestrone, split pea, lentil, chicken noodle/rice/wild rice, vegetarian chili, black bean, beef barley, Southwestern vegetable, creamy tomato basil.

https://www.eatingwell.com/best-canned-soups-for-blood-sugar-874730

https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/healthiest-canned-soup