Slimming soups: Avoid these high-calorie ingredients on your diet
Being on a weight-loss diet doesn't mean you need to eliminate soups from your diet. On the contrary, soups can be an excellent addition to your meals. However, it's crucial to avoid incorporating certain ingredients during preparation that can significantly increase your meal's calorie count. This article will guide you on what ingredients you should exclude from your soups to avoid hampering your diet.
6:22 AM EST, November 28, 2023
Soups can be highly beneficial within a weight loss diet for numerous reasons. Firstly, many soups are low in calories, allowing you to consume larger portions without increasing your calorie intake significantly. Soups are also rich in water, which aids in making you feel full quickly. Vegetable soups, which are packed with fiber, contribute to healthy digestion and promote regular bowel movements. Additionally, it's noteworthy that soups contain an abundance of nutritious components such as vegetables, plant proteins, and healthy fats, essential for a balanced diet.
Avoid these high-calorie ingredients in your soup
Despite soups being flavorful and nutritious, certain ingredients can make soups significantly high in calories and challenging to digest. This can be particularly objectionable for individuals trying to lose weight. So, what soup ingredients should you avoid? Here are a few:
- Cream - consider replacing it with natural yogurt, a lower-calorie alternative,
- Bacon, pancetta, fatback - though these add flavor, they are high in calories. Opting for chicken breast pieces can be a healthier choice,
- Cheese - while flavorful, it is high in calories and can be fattening if consumed in excess,
- Sausage - although a traditional ingredient in sour rye soup, it's extremely high in calories,
- Flour- often used as a thickener, it can negatively impact the healthiness of the soup.
Furthermore, tortillas are another soup addition to be wary of, especially those often served with Mexican soups. Cheese toast can also counteract weight loss efforts. However, controlling portion sizes and choosing nutritious ingredients such as vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats can significantly aid in achieving weight loss.
What are the best ingredients to add to your soup?
If you're on a weight-loss diet, feel free to add as many vegetables to your soups as you'd like. This is a fantastic way to add volume to your meals without increasing the calorie count. You can use vegetables such as carrots, celery, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, or zucchini. Fresh herbs, spices, and lean proteins such as boiled chicken breast, turkey or tofu, are also great additions. Alternatively, you can consider adding quinoa or millet to your soup.
