Canned Soup

Trader Joe's Organic Low Sodium Tomato Soup is decent. I add sour cream and a small dash of lemon pepper (note: contains sodium) to liven it up.

I love Progresso soup and can eat a whole can very cheerfully and, with many varieties, stay under three of four hundred caloies and 30 carbs. But even the low sodium varieties have almost 500 milligrams of sodium per serving. That's almost a thousand per can. It's just too much for me, at more than half my daily sodium budget.

However...a can of pureed tomatoes, for some reason, has very low sodium, and I'm fixing to see if I can make a decent tomato soup out of it by adding onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. If that works, I can mix it up in the microwave at work.

I sometimes eat the Progresso "lite" soups in a pinch. I can't say that I find them all that good. The fresh soups at Whole Foods are very good, but sometimes caloric and always expensive!

I have learned that making 1-2 servings of soup from leftovers myself is really fast and easy if you keep low-sodium chicken stock around (or you can make it yourself). You do this the day after you have chicken for dinner, for example. There is a myth that it takes a lot of time, but actually, if you have the leftovers, you can make it really fast and it's as simple as it gets, in terms of prep.

You start with heating the stock in the pot. Put vegetables in first, since they need a little time to cook. Can be anything you have on hand. Once that's cooked, add some left-over (cooked) pasta, rice, or potato. Then add your left-over (cooked, cubed or shredded without skin) chicken last, and cook it just until everything gets hot. Season with what you like (I add a little more salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes). Eat immediately.

Once you've tried fresh soup like the above, suddenly the canned stuff doesn't seem all that good.

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

I sometimes eat the Progresso "lite" soups in a pinch. I can't say that I find them all that good. The fresh soups at Whole Foods are very good, but sometimes caloric and always expensive!

I have learned that making 1-2 servings of soup from leftovers myself is really fast and easy if you keep low-sodium chicken stock around (or you can make it yourself). You do this the day after you have chicken for dinner, for example. There is a myth that it takes a lot of time, but actually, if you have the leftovers, you can make it really fast and it's as simple as it gets, in terms of prep.

You start with heating the stock in the pot. Put vegetables in first, since they need a little time to cook. Can be anything you have on hand. Once that's cooked, add some left-over (cooked) pasta, rice, or potato. Then add your left-over (cooked, cubed or shredded without skin) chicken last, and cook it just until everything gets hot. Season with what you like (I add a little more salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes). Eat immediately.

Once you've tried fresh soup like the above, suddenly the canned stuff doesn't seem all that good.

I want to preface this by saying I do keep a few cans of soup on hand for convenience. I'm not brand loyal however.

That said, I do make big batches of soup and freeze them in serving size containers, generally plastic containers that food had come in. (I save sizes from 1.5 oz to 4 cups for freezer use.)

I save bones in the freezer and make stock from them. I fill up a slow cooker with the frozen bones, zap for a few minutes in the microwave, then cover with water. I cook on high until it comes to a simmer, then turn to low for 5-6 hours. After it has cooled, I will refrigerate the amount I think I'll need over the next few days, and freeze the rest, in a variety of sizes of containers. I don't add any salt at this point and find it interesting that high sodium is an issue for chicken stock.

From Michael Moss's "Salt Sugar Fat," one reason excessive salt is used is to solve the problem of "warmed over flavor."

https://scalar.usc.edu/works/uiuc-food-networks/media/MichaelMoss_SaltSugarFat2013_2.1.pdf

...Among all the miracles that salt performs for the processed food industry, perhaps the most essential involves a plague that the industry calls “warmed-over-flavor,” whose acronym, WOF, is pronounced something like the dog’s bark. WOF is caused by the oxidation of the fats in meat, which gives meat the taste of cardboard or, as some in the
industry describe it, damp dog hair, when the meat is reheated after being precooked and added to soups or boxed meals. “Once warmed-over-flavor gets going, you are pretty well dead in the water, ” said Susan Brewer, a
professor of food science in the University of Illinois’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science.

...This is where salt comes in. Once WOF sets in, salt becomes a convenient antidote for the processed food industry, which is heavily reliant on reheated meats. One of the most effective cures for WOF is an infusion of fresh spices, especially rosemary, which has antioxidants to counteract the meat’s deterioration. But fresh herbs are costly. So manufacturers more typically make sure they have lots of salt in their formulas. The cardboard or dog-hair taste is still there, but it is overpowered by the salt.

I’m in Minnesota too. I usually have canned vegetable soup in the cupboard. They are low calorie and several brands have low sodium options. I make a big pot of soup/chili from fall through spring, for meals throughout the week. This weekend I’m making a Greek lemony chicken soup with veggies and orzo. I usually put in a lot more veggies and cut back on the pasta, just to lower calories a bit.

Another Progresso fan here too.

I stock Spli Pea, Lentil and Clam Chowder. Never paid much attn to the cals or sodium content but the Split Pea and Lentil are low in both

I also stock Campell's Chicken Noodle because the taste reminds me of my childhood; als are low but sodium is high.

Don't eat/drink any of these soups often enough for the cal/sodium content to matter to me.

Most canned soups are pretty easy on the calories. I don't really care for any canned soup but do keep some boxes of Pacific Red Pepper and Tomato soup I get from Costco, as well as a lentil soup I get there (can't remember the name) that comes in microwavable pouches that are convenient for those times I've not been able to prepare my lunch for work. They're both pretty good. Not sure about the sodium...I do have hypertension, but I experimented with a really low sodium diet for several months and it didn't really change anything and ended up getting a lot of cramps when exercising, so it's not something I worry about too much these days, though I don't go overboard.

mourvedre wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Most canned soups are pretty easy on the calories. I don't really care for any canned soup but do keep some boxes of Pacific Red Pepper and Tomato soup I get from Costco, as well as a lentil soup I get there (can't remember the name) that comes in microwavable pouches that are convenient for those times I've not been able to prepare my lunch for work. They're both pretty good. Not sure about the sodium...I do have hypertension, but I experimented with a really low sodium diet for several months and it didn't really change anything and ended up getting a lot of cramps when exercising, so it's not something I worry about too much these days, though I don't go overboard.

Speak to your doctor and see if he/she thinks a magnesium supplement might help with your cramps. I used to have cramps, at-night, even prior to lowering my sodium intake. I added more potassium to my diet (via food) and started to take a magnesium supplement (on the advice of my doctor), and I haven't had any problems with cramping since then.

I, personally, am not a big fan of most supplements, but if I find something THAT WORKS, then I use it. Again, speak with your doctor.

Yeah, I've been taking a magnesium supplement for years at night before bed. I also get quite a bit of potassium in my diet. I started at the end of 2012 and cut sodium down to less than 1500 Mg per day and that's when I started having issues with cramping. I'm an endurance road rider and a mountain bike weekend warrior and sweat heavily here in the desert. My blood work at the time showed my blood level potassium to be well within the normal range, but my blood level sodium was low...I assume I was sweating a lot out. They are both well within normal now.

OK, all this soup talk causes me to give my actual formula for Progresso Roasted Chicken Noodle.

Whole can.
Add 3/4 teaspoon Better than bouillon Roasted Chicken Base.
Add 1/2 Jalapeno pepper finely minced

cwolfman13 wrote: »

mourvedre wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Most canned soups are pretty easy on the calories. I don't really care for any canned soup but do keep some boxes of Pacific Red Pepper and Tomato soup I get from Costco, as well as a lentil soup I get there (can't remember the name) that comes in microwavable pouches that are convenient for those times I've not been able to prepare my lunch for work. They're both pretty good. Not sure about the sodium...I do have hypertension, but I experimented with a really low sodium diet for several months and it didn't really change anything and ended up getting a lot of cramps when exercising, so it's not something I worry about too much these days, though I don't go overboard.

Speak to your doctor and see if he/she thinks a magnesium supplement might help with your cramps. I used to have cramps, at-night, even prior to lowering my sodium intake. I added more potassium to my diet (via food) and started to take a magnesium supplement (on the advice of my doctor), and I haven't had any problems with cramping since then.

I, personally, am not a big fan of most supplements, but if I find something THAT WORKS, then I use it. Again, speak with your doctor.

Yeah, I've been taking a magnesium supplement for years at night before bed. I also get quite a bit of potassium in my diet. I started at the end of 2012 and cut sodium down to less than 1500 Mg per day and that's when I started having issues with cramping. I'm an endurance road rider and a mountain bike weekend warrior and sweat heavily here in the desert. My blood work at the time showed my blood level potassium to be well within the normal range, but my blood level sodium was low...I assume I was sweating a lot out. They are both well within normal now.

Isn't 1500 mg per day the recommended MINIMUM? As an endurance athlete, I'm guessing you would probably require more, especially due to the hot conditions.

Do you take any electrolyte solutions during training/racing?