Soups are a complete meal that can be low in fat.
Soup can be a light meal option with many different variations. Whether you are on a diet or just trying to eat healthier, low-fat soups can be an excellent dietary choice. Use fresh, canned and leftover ingredients to help create a variety of different soups.
Canned Soups
Canned soups are often an option for people who don't have the time for or interest in making it from scratch. Although canned soups are convenient, many are loaded with fat and calories, so read labels carefully when shopping. Many cans contain two or more servings, which cause the calories to add up. Buy soups that contain less than 250 calories and 3g of fat per serving. Choose broth and tomato soups because they generally contain less fat than creamy soups, according to WebMD. Select soups that are labeled as natural, organic or healthy, but still keep nutrition information in mind.
Homemade Soups
Making homemade soup is the best way to be sure that your soup is really low in fat and other unhealthy ingredients such as preservatives and salt. Choosing the right ingredients is an important part of making low-fat soups. Prepare your soups using chicken or beef broth, tomatoes, tomato juice or vegetable puree whenever possible because these ingredients contain the least amount of fat and calories. One cup of each of these ingredients generally contains 1g or less of fat and less than 70 calories per serving, according to WedMD. Cream soups made with light whipping cream or half-and-half contain as much as 27 times more calories and 74 times more fat. Use fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables to eliminate extra fat and sodium. Add a can of beans to the soup instead of meat to give the soup a heartier taste without the added fat and calories.
Substituting Ingredients
Substituting high fat ingredients for those lower in fat can help you create healthier soups. If you want to prepare a creamy soup, use whole milk --- which contains 150 calories and 8g of fat per serving --- for the base instead of half-and-half or light whipping cream, which contain 315 calories and 28g of fat and 698 calories and 74g of fat per serving, respectively. When using meats, use skinless chicken breast, leaner cuts of pork and steak or lean or reduced-fat turkey sausage or ground turkey. Use olive oil or canola oil to saute meats and vegetables instead of shortening or butter. Add fresh herbs to soups for additional flavor.
Recipes
Combine 4 1/2 cups water, 1 1/2 lb. broccoli stalks, 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk, 3/4 cup chopped celery, 1/2 cup chopped onions, 1 tbsp. chicken bouillon, 2 tbsp. flour, 1 tbsp. olive oil and seasonings to create a low-fat broccoli soup.
Low-fat lentil soup can be created by combining 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock, 1 1/2 cups red lentils, 4 medium-sized carrots (sliced), 4 celery stalks (sliced), 1 medium onion (chopped), 1 leek (chopped), 1 tomato (chopped), 3 cloves garlic (crushed) and seasoning such as, fresh parley, bay leaf, ground thyme and black pepper.
Prepare a hearty low-fat chicken & barley soup using 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 2 cups sliced mushrooms, 1 1/2 cups skinless chicken breast (chopped and cooked), 1 cup chopped carrots, 1 cup chopped celery, 2/3 cup pearl barley, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1 tbsp. minced garlic and 1 tbsp. olive or canola oil.
Tags: calories serving, less than, chicken breast, chopped celery, contain less, contain less than, cups low-sodium