Broth Based Soups a Great Filler

I go through phases with soup. Right now, I’m going through a soup phase where I have soup almost every single day. I’ll blame it on the colder, more blustery weather and an instinct to sort of burrow my head in the blankies and forget about the cold outside world.  And they happen to be great accompaniments to one of my all time lazy dinner favorites, the grilled cheese sandwich.

Not only that, but the broth based soups are truly one of the lowest calorie, most filling things you can eat and accompany with your dinner or lunch to help you eat less of the calorie-dense fattening stuff like breads, cheeses and so on and so forth.  Broth based soups basically act as a sort of natural appetite suppressant since they fill your belly with warm liquid, which creates a feeling of satiety.

I really love the line by Campbells that is in a larger can that you don’t water down, it’s the Naturals line, and occasionally they will go on sale for a dollar each at Giant Eagle. I’ll load up on the broth soups like their southwest style veggie soup and the french onion one, because they only have anywhere from 50-80 calories per serving, for a total of only about 100-160 calories per can. That’s quite filling too, so you’re getting a big bang for your buck with these soups as far as keeping you full and helping you consume less calories.

You can even make your own simple broth soup and save a little more money, plus you can put whatever veggies you want in it. Generally, you just need chicken broth, which you can purchase as low sodium if you need to, maybe some extra boullion cubes if you like extra flavor, and a few bags of frozen vegetables that you think might make a nice soup.  You can add your own seasonings as well, or maybe a few chunks of chicken breast too, for a cheap, home made, low calorie and fulfilling side or even a main course.

I love to add a soup to a Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice entree for lunch. Especially if that Lean Cuisine only consists of less than 300 calories, since I like to keep my lunches at about 500 calories so it keeps me full until dinner (at least almost until dinner).  It really helps make you feel fuller faster, because soup is hot or very warm when it’s served, so this has been proven to make you feel fuller since it’s all hot liquid, and veggies are all fiber.  Unless you are watching your sodium broth based soups are a diet staple!