Soup Beware

anitabenson83
anitabenson83 Posts: 28
edited November 2 in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone,

I found this article on Yahoo today and wanted to share it with the community. Basically it talks about how unhealthy some brands of soups can be -- I don't know about you, but I was totally shocked and appalled reading this.... especially since some soups like tomato soup are typically sold as healthy.

Anyway, I find it so frustrating that there are so many tricks and that one really has to read between the lines to understand the true health benefits of food -- why should this knowledge be only for those who know where to look? Shouldn't we as a country take food production and more importantly healthy food production more seriously?

Anyway. Sorry for the rant -- just some morning thoughts... especially since I'm thinking about this with my own weight loss goals in mind.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/6-worst-soups-america

Replies

  • rundgrenfan
    rundgrenfan Posts: 211
    Wow, those numbers are really something! You could make homemade versions of all of those for a lot fewer calories!
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    The starch and fillers to thicken the soup is where they get you at.

    Make them at home without all the extra stuff ..........
  • livingonpurpose77
    livingonpurpose77 Posts: 29 Member
    I agree with the others. Make them at home. You can freeze it in individual containers or use freezer bags, lay them flat on a tray, and when they're frozen they're easy to stack! I'd double bag them though.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    What are they hiding, exactly? For the canned stuff, the nutrition information would be on the packaging by law (in the US). And most of those others are probably available on the web. If who buys cream soup expecting it to be heatlhy?

    But the first one, the Amy's lentil dahl, they focus so much on the fat. That does seem a bit much for a can soup, but it is nearly all healthy fat. The sodium content is the problem with that one. Unsaturated fat is not a bad thing.
  • irridia
    irridia Posts: 527 Member
    low sodium diet? or even reasonable sodum? you are now screwed for soup as an option. Good luck finding anything under 720mg/serving. Single serving? fuhgetaboutit almost all of them are 2 servings or more./can. The best I can do for convenience soup is Pacific Foods low sodium varieties as a base and then ad my own stuffs.
  • livestar
    livestar Posts: 140 Member
    Make your own soup in huge pots and freeze. Taste's better because you adjust to exactly what you want.
  • simplymily
    simplymily Posts: 62
    Homemade soup is your best bet!
  • prunerooney
    prunerooney Posts: 4
    Thanks for sharing this. It pays to read the label carefully, there are many delicious soup alternatives. Pea soup seems to be one of the best, tasty, and filling, while low calorie, and healthy....get's the green stuff in there.
  • LilMermaid6411
    LilMermaid6411 Posts: 28
    Call me spoiled, but I didn't eat soup out of a can until I hit college. My mother would make a huge pot of chicken soup on Sundays, keep some for the week and freeze the rest. Now that I live on my own I do the same thing. I will make a pot of chicken soup and then a pot of chicken broth to use for other kinds. The trick is to be careful with what kind of noodles you use. My husband used egg noodles last night and it set us both back 250 calories. Throw in a few crackers and some parm cheese and suddenly our low calorie soup was 630 calories. All of those things can be tweeked and we could easily halve the calories. Thankfully because of proper eating throughout the day and a long walk outside, I was still under my calorie goal.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    What are they hiding, exactly? For the canned stuff, the nutrition information would be on the packaging by law (in the US). And most of those others are probably available on the web. If who buys cream soup expecting it to be heatlhy?

    But the first one, the Amy's lentil dahl, they focus so much on the fat. That does seem a bit much for a can soup, but it is nearly all healthy fat. The sodium content is the problem with that one. Unsaturated fat is not a bad thing.

    Exactly. It's not like the information is not there for those who care to look at it.

    I make most of my soup at home, but I keep a couple of cans in the cabinet for those "oh, shoot" moments we all have.
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
    Not a real surprise. If a soup is creamy or cream based, it's probably calorie laden. You know, cream, butter, flour other unknown thickeners...

    except for the lentil soup - a bit surprising to see that there, but it's all listed on the can
  • livestar
    livestar Posts: 140 Member
    My soup freezing projects never include dairy, rice, or noodles. I always go with an assortment of vegetables, meat of any type, and/or lentils. Lentils will thicken and give a hearty creamy quality to all soups. When I do want noodles or rice, I make and dump in as I defrost. It's working really well to get more vegetables in my diet and makes my life a lot easier and more budget friendly.
  • idauria
    idauria Posts: 1,037 Member
    I never eat canned soups because I know they aren't healthy despite the labeling. They have way too much sodium and weird ingredients and honestly I haven't even found one that tasted good. I prefer to make my own. At least I know what's in it and I can control macros and I know it will taste good! I made a delicious lentil soup the other night that was only about 135 cals a cup.
  • Julesong
    Julesong Posts: 18 Member
    One of the greatest dangers in canned soups is the BPA. We don't get canned soup at all anymore, but only get it in the paper-packed boxes. It's more expensive, but having BPA out of the picture is worth it.

    Do an online search for "BPA canned soups" and you'll see what I mean.
  • anitabenson83
    anitabenson83 Posts: 28
    Thanks everyone for your insights! It's great that there is such an active community on here and always refreshing to meet like minded people.

    You've collectively convinced me to get a nice crock pot and big pot for homemade souping.

    Have a great day!
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