Excerpted from "A Year of Health Hints"
365 Practical Ways to Feel Better and Live Longer
People sip, slurp, and spoon soup not only for basic
sustenance, but also to stay healthy. Chicken soup really does
help relieve the nasal stuffiness of a cold. And studies show
that soup can help you lose weight. Because soup is mostly
liquid, it takes longer to eat than solid food. By the time
you've sipped the last spoonful, your brain will have noticed
that you've eaten, and shut off your appetite. If you'd quickly
gobbled down a sandwich, your brain would still be asking
"What's for lunch?"
Here are some tips for making soup that's a bowlful of
nutrition.
Use skim milk
instead of whole milk for creamed or condensed soups. You'll save
calories and add
calcium, vitamin D,
and protein.
Soups that feature
vegetables, beans, or rice add fiber and nutrients to your diet.
Add the liquid
left over from cooking vegetables to soup stock.
Season homemade
soup with herbs and seasonings like parsley, pepper, garlic
powder, and onion
powder instead of
salt.
If you rely on
commercially prepared soup for convenience, try to stick with
low-sodium varieties.