What is your favorite soup? Mine: I have two favorites: Clam Chowder and French Onion Soup with that melted cheese hanging over the crock.
On the surface, “soup”, in general, appears to be a “healthy” contributor during a weight control journey. It is certainly not a sandwich. BUT…not all soups are created equal. Here are a few very popular soups that have a potentially negative impact on weight control:
1. Clam chowder. Anything with the word “chowder” in it is probably going to be high in cream, fat, and calories. Campbell’s Chunky New England Clam Chowder tops the list with 230 calories per serving, 13 grams of fat, and 890 milligrams of sodium. Plus each can contains two servings, so if you eat them at the same time, you’re up to 1,780 grams of sodium.
2. Potato soup. Potato soup can be healthy, but it’s often made with a cream base instead of a broth base, which means that it, like the chowder, can be loaded with calories and saturated fat.
3. Lobster bisque. With an average of 13.1 grams of fat (that’s 20 percent of the daily recommended serving), most of it saturated, and 896 grams of sodium, this is a definite diet don’t!
4. Chili. Chili’s actually not that bad: It often contains a lot of fiber, protein, and vegetables. However, most of the time it’s also accompanied by a huge chunk of cornbread on the side. If you’re going to have chili, skip the bread, and have a salad instead.
5. Broccoli and cheese soup. Soup using broccoli as a base? Healthy! Dousing that broccoli in cheese? Not so healthy. Most restaurant versions tend to feature a few tiny broccoli florets drowning in a bowl of cheese, so if you see this one on the menu, skip it.
And my favorite, French Onion soup (with that super cheese and bread): 260 calories, 28 grams of carbs and over 12 grams of fat
The best soups compatible for weight control: Broths and vegetable-based soups.
During your long-term weight control journey, the use of soup can be a positive contributing factor but this is dependent on the type of soup used.
No fun songs about soup…But there is certainly a fun one with SHOOP….here is Cher
