Are Soups a Healthy Lunch Choice?

As the cold weather approaches, many city girls and guys are looking for a lunch to warm them up. Salads aren’t that appealing when temperature drops to 35 degrees ! If chosen wisely, soup can be the perfect lunch choice. Studies have also shown that soup can help you lose weight. It takes longer to eat which will enable the stomach to tell your brain that you’re getting full.

I frequently get asked “How nutritious are soups?” It depends – they can be quite healthy or can be loaded with fat and sodium. Some can have more fat and calories than a Big Mac!  Compare these lower calorie lower fat soups to the higher ones (nutritional content is based on a 8 ounce portion of soup from Hale and Hearty):

Three lentil chili: 160 cal/ 1.5 gm fat / 11 gm fiber / 10 gm protein
Chicken vegetable: 70 cal/ .5 gm fat/ 2 gm fiber/ 12 gm protein

BBQ beef and cheddar: 380 cal/ 16 gm fat/ 6 gm fiber/ 25 gm protein
Tomato cheddar 350 cal/ 26 gm fat/ 3 gm fiber / 13 gm protein

Tips for choosing soup for lunch:
1. Remember that lunch should be adequate in size to hold you for the rest of the afternoon. If your lunch doesn’t have enough protein, fiber or overall volume, it is likely that you will be soon be wandering to the nearest vending machine in search of a not so healthy treat.

2. If the soup will your main meal, try to select one that contains protein (chicken, seafood, meat, beans, tofu) and fiber (veggies, beans, barley, etc). For example, while a cup of vegetable soup is a very healthy choice, I doubt it will fill you up as a meal.

3. Another good lunch option would be to have a small soup and 1/2 sandwich. If you are trying to watch your weight, I generally recommend a lunch that is approximately 400 – 450 calories for women and 500 – 600 calories for men.

4. Many soups come with bread. Avoid those large Kaiser white rolls, bagels or oyster crackers (264 calories, 8 grams fat and 0 fiber!). Instead opt for the 7 grain roll. Whole grains contain more nutrients and will also help keep you feeling full longer.  If you have selected a higher calorie soup, you may want avoid the bread if you are trying to watch your weight.

5. Keep in mind that even the healthier soups tend to be fairly high in sodium. This is a consideration if you need to limit your sodium intake for medical reasons (or if it is the meal before you go to see your nutritionist to get weighed …. sodium holds in water which “looks” like weight gain on the scale!) If you are buying canned soup, look for one that is reduced in sodium.

6. The obvious … avoid “cream of” soups as well as bisques. These soups can have over 500 calories and 35 grams of fat for a 12 ounce portion.

7. Check online to see if your local lunch store provides nutrition information for their soups. Many chain restaurants provide this info. We are lucky in NYC as it is mandated that chain restaurants provide nutritional information.

Stay tuned for the nutritional content of Hale and Hearty Soups as well as Soup Surprises from Pret a Manger!