Making Healthier Soups

Soup can be a complete meal. Load it up with meat, vegetables, and pasta, and you will have many of the vitamins and nutrients you need—in just one bowl. Soup can be healthy as long as you limit the fat and calories in the soup.

Remove fat

 One way to omit excess fats is to cook soup with lean meats. If you do end up with extra fat in your soup, here are some ways to remove it:

• Skim the fat off the soup as it simmers, using a large spoon.
• While simmering the soup, place the pot slightly off the center of the burner. Fat will tend to accumulate on one side of the pot because of the off-centered bubbling. This makes fat removal easier.
• Drop a leaf of lettuce in the pot of soup. The leaf will absorb the grease.
• Chill the cooked soup overnight. The fat will solidify at the top and can easily be removed. Reheat the soup before serving.

Thicken soup the smart way

Soup can be less enjoyable to eat when it is too thin. Cream can help thicken your soup, but it will drive up the fat and calorie content. To thicken the soup without adding as many calories, try other agents such as cornstarch. You can also thicken your soup with a roux made of equal parts of flour and butter. 

Go easy on the salt

To keep soup heart-friendly, cut down on salt. If you accidentally salt with too heavy of a hand, you can add a raw, peeled potato to your soup and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. The potato will absorb the salt in the soup, and you can take it out later—or reserve it for another recipe. 

Spoonful of Comfort

Spoonful of Comfort offers the homemade goodness of hot, hearty soups. They are made from simple, natural ingredients that will warm your heart and help keep it healthy, too. Our soups are free of preservatives and other additives, but they are full of flavor that is unmatched by any commercially processed soups. 

If you want to send someone your love on Valentine’s Day or simply to warm them on a chilly winter evening, send a soup basket from Spoonful of Comfort. If you’re too tired to cook but want a steaming hot bowl, order a basket for yourself, too.