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Which Soup Should You Warm up with this Winter?
Winter is a time for warm meals, and one of the first things that comes to mind with warm meals is soup. Homemade soup is a fantastic option. When made with lean meats and a variety of vegetables they can be jam packed with nutrients and contain very little kilojoules and fat. Add some wholemeal pasta, noodles or legumes and you also have a low GI and high fibre meal.
Unfortunately we don’t always have time to make our own homemade soups, but luckily there is a huge variety of soups available in the supermarket. If you choose wisely, they are generally low in kilojoules, low in fat and contain a variety of vegetables and fibre sources.
When it comes to choosing a store bought soup you have four options, canned, dried cup of soup, microwaveable tubs and fresh made microwavable soups. The table below gives a comparison of cost and nutrient content per 100ml for a Chicken and Vegetable Soup and a Creamy Pumpkin Soup across the variety of soup options.
When it comes to cost, the freshly made store bought options are the most expensive, which is expected when fresh ingredients are being used. The cheapest is the dried cup of soup options.
Nutritionally, the kilojoule, fat and saturated fat content is really quite consistent across the four store bought soup options. They are all relatively low in kilojoules, fat and saturated fat per 100ml. This changes though when you look at the actual serving sizes. Overall, the dried cup of soups will provide the lowest amount of kilojoules and fat per serve, as the serving size is the smallest at 250ml. The remaining options are all quite similar, except for the fresh store bought creamy pumpkin soup which is considerably higher in fat and is a 300g serve.
It is important to look at the sodium (salt) content of a store bought soup, as it can often be fairly high. A good soup would ideally contain less than 200mg of salt per 100g of soup. Unfortunately none of our store bought soups chosen here make the grade for sodium! The canned and dried cup of soup options contain the largest amounts of sodium per 100mls, close to or over 300mg/100mls. The microwaveable tubs and fresh made store bought tubs are closer to the 200mg/100ml mark but are still borderline high for salt content.
The table also contains a comparison of two homemade soup recipes. Cost can be difficult to compare as it depends entirely on the ingredients chosen. Once again, the kilojoule, fat and saturated fat content is relatively comparable to store bought soups. The fat and saturated fat contents do come out at the lowest across the range. What is noticeable is that the sodium levels are both below 200mg/100mls, the healthy guideline we should be aiming for. This is obtained by using salt reduced stocks and eliminating any additives or preservatives. In addition, nothing beats the taste of homemade soup. So if you have the time, homemade soup will always be the best option, nutritionally and tastefully!
Check out our Quick and Easy Chicken and Vegetable Soup recipe here http://www.perthdietclinic.com.au/recipe.asp?RecipeID=272
Soup | Cost per 100ml ($) | Cal per 100ml | KJ per 100ml | Fat (g) per 100ml | Saturated Fat (g) per 100ml | Sodium (mg) per 100ml |
Store Bought Can | ||||||
Campbell’s Chunky Chicken and Roasted Vegetable 500ml | 0.71 | 55 | 220 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 320 |
Campbell’s Country Ladle Rich and Creamy Pumpkin 500ml | 0.75 | 49 | 198 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 242 |
Store Bought Dried | ||||||
Continental Cup-A-Soup Hearty Beef and Vegetable 250ml | 0.43 | 55 | 219 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 318 |
Continental Cup-A-Soup Creamy Pumpkin 250ml | 0.43 | 52 | 208 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 298 |
Store Bought Microwaveable | ||||||
LaZuppa Hearty Chicken and Vegetable 420g | 0.98 | 41 | 164 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 247 |
LaZuppa Pumpkin 420g | 0.98 | 32 | 130 | 0.1 | 0 | 212 |
Store Bought Fresh | ||||||
Woolworths Home Style Chicken and Vegetable 300g | 1.10 | 53 | 211 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 240 |
Woolworths Home Style Creamy Pumpkin 300g | 1.10 | 84 | 337 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 175 |
Homemade | ||||||
Chicken and Vegetable | 39 | 157 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 184 | |
Creamy Pumpkin | 66 | 265 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 173 |
Added to site on : Monday, 24 June 2013