While cutting back on food intake and more exercise is one of the best weight-loss strategies, eating certain types of foods can help you lose weight. These among others include smoothies for weight loss, weight loss shakes, and weight loss soups. This article is going to look at soups for weight loss.
What are weight loss soups?
A weight-loss soup is a low-calorie, high-fiber, flavorful and healthy recipe that fills you up to boost satiety, curb craving, and eventually help weight loss.
While there are many canned weight-loss soups available, mixing up your own at home guarantees as much of the good stuff (veggies, lean meats, and nutritionally-dense grains) as possible while cutting down on sodium, chemicals, and empty calories. Soups are very easy to prepare, its just a matter of mixing, cooking, and eating.
The soups for weight loss are; chicken and sausage gumbo, roasted tomato basil soup, French onion soup, clam chowder, gazpacho, vegan cream of broccoli soup, the green detox soup, simple vegan detox soup, roasted cauliflower and kale soup, carrot ginger soup and the ultimate immune-boosting soup.
In our next paragraph, we shall talk about the weight loss soups in detail
What are the best soups for weight loss?
Here are some of the best 10 homemade soups for weight loss.
1. Chicken and sausage gumbo
This was developed in 1983 by Paul Prudhomme, the New Orleans chef who put Louisiana on the American culinary map. It is a hearty, rich Creole stew generously seasoned with black and white pepper, cayenne, paprika, and file powder, a spice made from the leaves of the sassafras tree.
For those of you who crave a creole classic, this healthier version maybe the best for you. It uses nutritionally-dense okra to thicken the soup instead of roux (a mixture of flour and fat).
Per 1-cup serving: 160 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 12 g carbs, 4 g sugar, 550 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 22 g protein.
2. Roasted tomato basil soup
This recipe can work as a snack or starter. It has about five grams of fiber per serving which can help you bust cravings. If you’re hankering for a creamy soup this season, but you’re looking to stay away from heavy cream, look no further.
Per 1-cup serving: 174 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated), 24 g carbs, 12 g sugar, 711 mg sodium, 5 g fiber, 4 g protein.
3. French onion soup
This is a type of onion soup usually based on meat stock and onions and often served with croutons and cheese on top of a large piece of bread. It is easy to make, only that you have to fight back the tears as you chop the onions. It’s better to deal with a few errant tears than with a lackluster, overpriced bowl of soup that packs as much saturated fat as 20 strips of bacon
4. Clam chowder
Clam chowder is a very simple soup to prepare with a few pantry ingredients. It has always been about the clams, with a thin but bracing broth of clam juice and a hint of dairy. We use milk, which makes a light, clean, low-calorie chowder that won’t sit in your stomach all afternoon.
There is, however, one item that should not miss, this is bacon. Bacon’s smoky flavor pairs perfectly with the brine of the clams. You only need one piece per serving.
5. Gazpacho
According to Wikipedia, gazpacho is a cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables. A classic of Spanish and Portuguese cuisine originated in the southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula specifically Andalusia, Algarve, and Alentejo. Gazpacho is best in August and September because tomatoes are at their peak in late summer when they’re sweet and ripe and cheap.
6. Vegan cream of broccoli soup
This is an easy and healthy recipe made with tons of veggies, has the most luxurious texture, and tastes like it has cheese. Unlike many creamy soups, this one is thickened without flours or starches. It is vegan, paleo, and gluten and refined sugar-free.
The recipe calls for seven cups of veggies, and each serving has almost eight grams of fiber. When you replace heavy creams with unsweetened almond milk the soup is transformed into a lighter and plant-based option.
7. The green detox soup
This type of soup is filling, nutrient-dense, wholesome, and tasty. It is made of spinach, zucchini, avocado, and apple cider vinegar. You can lighten the soup with water or add richness by mixing in coconut milk and nutritional yeast.
8. Simple vegan detox soup
With the flavorful and colorful vegan detox soup, you are assured of total satisfaction. The ginger, garlic, and herbs de Provence are simple enough seasonings to let the natural flavors of the six vegetables shine through.
9. Roasted cauliflower and kale soup
This recipe gets two of the trending veggies and blends and blends them up into one irresistibly creamy concoction. Kale gives the soup its color while cauliflower gives the soup texture.
10. Carrot ginger soup
Its nutrients ginger and carrots help the body to fend off flu, and a sprinkle of golden raisins adds a subtle, unmistakable sweetness that takes the classic carrot and ginger combo to new levels of tasty.
The soup can boosts your immunity, anti-inflammatory and works well on cold winter days.
11. The ultimate immune-boosting soup
This consists of garlic, kale, shiitake, mushroom, and turmeric. Taking a bowl or two of this will boost your immune system and tackle any pathogen that it finds in the body. The soup is also good at fighting infections due to the presence of some antimicrobial elements like garlic.
How do weight loss soups work?
Weight loss soups can help you lose weight because of their low-calorie density, or a relatively low number of calories compared to their serving size. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Individuals who eat broth-based soups have a higher chance of controlling their weight.
Fiber and protein are filling nutrients, when you choose a soup with ingredients like vegetables, beans, and lean proteins; you will feel full longer which reduces the amount of food intake which enhances weight loss.
Are weight-loss soups healthy?
The idea of eating soup for weight loss has existed for quite some time. Although dieticians agree that eating vegetable-packed soups is filling, nutrient-dense and low in calories, experts argue that all-soup diets lack nutrients and are therefore not sustainable.
Are soups for weight loss a good way to lose weight?
The best-recommended way to lose weight is by creating a calorie deficit. This means that you have to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. Eating soups alone may not effectively work for weight loss; although they are low in calories and suppress hunger. In case one eats too much weight loss soups, he or she may have more calories than they can burn due to a lack of body activity. Therefore weight loss soups can only be effective when combined with regular body exercises.
Advantages of using weight-loss soups
- The advantages of using weight loss soups include;
- The weight-loss soups may promote the consumption of vegetables for those who are not vegetable-friendly.
- Research shows that plant-based diets decrease the risk of heart disease since they can be good replacements for
- The soups help in hydrating the body since they contain a good percentage of water.
- Weight loss soups are nutrient-dense. These provide a variety of nutrients the body including; vitamins, minerals, protein, low fat, and more.
- Weight loss soups promote mindful eating since it emphasizes the consumption of healthy foods
- Weight loss soups promote satiety
The downsides of using weight-loss soups
Having looked at some of the benefits of soups for weight loss, let us now change our arrow to the risks of these diets
Short term results
One of the major setbacks of weight loss soups is the question of sustainability. They only work for short term periods like 10 days and less and of which the decrease in weight may be water weight during that period. We, therefore, cannot rely on weight-loss soups for long term results.
Too low calories
Soups may reduce calorie intake to unsafe levels. This reduces body activity, leads to fatigue, poor mood, and more.
Discourages consumption of whole grains
The restriction of certain foods like whole grains may bring about nutrient deficiency as the soups cannot provide all the necessary nutrients for a healthy body.
Weight loss soups are high in sodium
High levels of sodium consumption are linked to several health risks such as blood pressure, water retention, and heart diseases.
Bottom line
Although soups make you feel full longer, they may not help you lose weight if it is high in calories. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that you avoid soups with cheese, such as cheddar cheese or broccoli and cheese soup, as well as cream-based soups, such as cream of mushroom, cream of tomato or clam chowder.
Eating alone for example the weight loss soups may not effectively work for weight loss; although they are low in calories and suppress hunger. Therefore soups can only be effective when combined with regular body exercises.
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