Keep Soup Season Going Strong

Valuable Ingredients

Soups are a great way to get important, much-needed, often-missed vegetables, beans and whole grains. There are key vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients within all those ingredients that keep your body strong. Studies show that soup eaters tend to get more fiber, vitamins A and K, magnesium and iron in their diets.

Health Benefits

It's critical to be hydrated year-round, and soups are a tasty way to do that. Drinking water is wonderful, but sometimes adding a little more oomph to your fluid intake is a welcome, nourishing change of pace.

Soups have a weight management perk, too. Studies suggest that adding a broth-based soup to a meal can reduce the number of calories you consume in one sitting by as much as 30 percent. There's also a hypothesis that the weight of food may affect our sense of fullness. The theory: more water-dense foods, like soup, sit heavy in our stomach, which triggers a sense of fullness in our brain more quickly than “lightweight” foods with little water in them. You need to eat a lot more crackers, chips or cookies (calories) to catch up to the weight of water-rich foods.

Sodium is often a concern with soups, as many packaged and ready-to-eat soups contain a fair amount. Making your own soup can erase that worry because you can control the types of ingredients you use. To keep sodium – and your blood pressure in check – choose foods rich in potassium as your soup ingredients, including vegetables, potatoes and beans. Add potassium-rich accompaniments to your meal, too, such as nuts, fruits and dairy foods.

Cost-Efficiency

Soups are often made from reasonably priced ingredients, yield many servings and can be frozen and enjoyed over time. That's the trifecta of criteria for a winning budget.