You know what actually can stir up your soul in this chilly weather? A warm bowl of soup! Truly speaking, there’s never a good season or reason to have a comforting bowl of soup. Also, don’t we love ordering soups at our favorite restaurants before the main meal? But can you have soups on a weight loss diet and would having soup daily hamper your weight loss goals? Let’s find out:
Homemade soups, whether it’s tomato, pumpkin, spinach, beans, mushroom, vegetable broth or spicy chicken soup, they are all good because they increase satiety, stretch the tummy and keep it full, and help to slash calories in the subsequent meals. It’s actually a good idea to start your meal with a soup because studies show that preloading with soups decreases hunger, increases fullness, and therefore helps to control subsequent food intake in the main meal. Also read: “10 Ways to Cut Hundreds of Empty Calories Through The Day.”
When made with fresh vegetables, spices like black pepper, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, oregano etc., you not only get loads of flavour, but the nutrients, and metabolism-boosting benefits (from the spices) as well. Unlike fruit juices, which shoot up the blood sugar, having a soup helps to fill the stomach without causing too much blood sugar fluctuation. In fact, Koreans, who have a low obesity rate, love their vegetables, salads and soups.
However, be wary of fad diets that require you to survive entirely on soups, for example, cabbage diet, where you can have only cabbage soup to lose weight! Also read: “25 Vegetarian Metabolism Boosting Foods For Weight Loss.”
Also, avoid instant soups because one popular brand’s packaged soup has these main ingredients – potato Starch, Dried Glucose Syrup, Salt, Sugar, Flavour Enhancers , thickeners, and artificial colors as well. So, ripping open an ultra-processed packet of soup should be avoided since they have preservatives, artificial colors, sugar, and flavour enhancers – this you cannot have on a daily, especially when trying to lose weight.
Now, since we have established that homemade soups are totally okay while dieting, here’s one soup recipe that you could try making at home.
1. Red Lentil Soup:
Red lentils are comforting and easily available kitchen ingredient to prepare soup. You need the following ingredients to prepare the soup:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large carrot cut in slices
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped in slices
• 1/2 teaspoon common salt
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 3 cups water
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Take olive oil in a pan and heat it. Add sliced carrots, onion, and salt and stir to combine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook them for 5-10 minutes until the vegetables become soft. Now add red lentils, bay leaf and water to the pan and start boiling it on low flame. Keep stirring them occasionally until lentils begin to fall apart. Now, turn off the flame and add lemon juice as topping. You may add more salt as per requirement.
So, the next time someone offers you broccoli soup, do not scrunch your face in disgust. A simple homemade soup, helps to keep your stomach fuller for longer and also helps in weight loss. Also, if weight loss is on your mind, do check out the Rati Beauty app for weight loss diet plans.
10 Ways to Cut Hundreds of Empty Calories Through The Day
25 Vegetarian Metabolism Boosting Foods For Weight Loss
