Souping: What You Need to Know About This New Diet

Chances are you've had a friend who went on a "juice cleanse" in hopes of losing weight or flushing out her system. The cleanse probably cost her upward of $200 and left her asking, "Was it worth it?"  Honestly, I did it and I was not getting enough protein or nutrients. And it felt like it. "Souping," an all-soup diet, as the healthier alternative to juicing. It sounds interesting, 

Soup is healthy. Soup can be a wonderfully delicious way to achieve fullness and get disease-fighting antioxidants and phytochemicals. Vegetable and broth-based soups provide a big bang for their buck because of the high water content mixed with the carbs, fiber and protein from the ingredients. It's a high-volume meal, so you'll feel full longer as compared to a dense, low-volume food such as a protein bar, for example.

But, not all soup is healthy. It is important to stay away from cream-based options because they tend to be loaded with saturated fat and calories.

Short-term diets often come up short. Turning to an all-soup diet isn't ideal, because short-term diets aren't usually long-lasting. When you go 'on a diet,' you are bound to 'go off a diet.

Will a souping diet work? The moral of the story is that a soup cleanse probably won't return the results you're looking for, but incorporating vegetable and broth-based soups into an otherwise healthy diet is a great way to give your body loads of nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals (as well as keep you nice and full, too!).

Here are 2 soups to love:

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup diced carrot
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups bone broth (any flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups diced green cabbage
• 1/2 cup green beans
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup diced zucchiniDirections:
1. In large saucepan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, sauté the carrot, onion and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano and salt. Bring to a boil. Simmer, covered about 15 minutes or until beans are tender. You can even blend half of it to make it a creamier texture.
3. Stir in the zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• Olive oil
• Cinnamon
• 2-3 cloves garlic, diced
• Small piece of ginger, diced
• 1 (32-ounce) can/box chicken stock or bone broth preferably

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the stem off the squash and cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and place the halves face up on a cookie sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil over both halves and sprinkle with cinnamon.
2. Bake the squash in the oven until you can easily stick a knife through the squash (about 45 minutes). Remove the squash and let it cool. When cooled, spoon out the squash flesh (no skin) and put it in a bowl.
3. In a large soup pot, sauté the garlic and ginger for 3-5 minutes. Add the squash and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 to 3/4 container of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off stove and let it sit for 10-15 minutes or until slightly cool. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth consistency. Place soup back in the pot and warm before serving.

These are only 2. Make sure you use a good bone broth or stock for that added protein, bright veggies, no legumes or grains. If you need any help w/ diet or exercise just comment on this post.

~Tiffanyxx