Soups, A quick and healthy meal solution

Nutrition and Health information supplied to GrownUps by Wattie's

Being able to eat your way to a healthier you sounds too good to be true, but that's just what the annual Wattie's National Soup week aims to teach us.

There are many important health and nutritional reasons to reach for a bowl of delicious soup - they provide vitamins, antioxidants and some varieties can help add fibre to the diet too. Plus many soups are packed with vegetables helping you reach your daily goal of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables!

Soups come in so many varieties that the actual nutrient composition differs depending on the ingredients used, but here are some examples of the goodness that soups can provide:

• Tomato soup is a good source of vitamin A, Bs, C and the powerful antioxidant called lycopene.
• Pumpkin soup is also packed with potassium and Vitamin A
• Sweetcorn & Potato soup is a great fibre boost
• Minestrone soups can contain as many as 8-10 different vegetables

Soups are also a great way to increase fluid intakes over the colder winter months when it is less appealing to drink cold water.

The great news is soup is not only a good way to boost your intake of nutrients but it fits perfectly within a healthy balanced diet too. A bowl or mug of soup with a couple of slices of wholegrain toast is meal generally low in fat. More and more it is becoming important to lower energy and fat intakes to help lessen the risk of becoming overweight or obese.

So do yourself a favour - choose soup as a quick, easy AND healthy meal solution!

print