The American Heart Association recommends adults consume eight or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day and that is 4 ½ cups. Soups can contribute to that total. Almost any vegetable lends itself to use in soup, from creamy squash or tomato bisque to vegetable beef or chicken vegetable soup.
Soups made with beans and lean meats such as fish
provide lean protein. Beans also give you fiber. Tomatoes are a good source of
lycopene, an antioxidant that may help reduce the risk of cancer, particularly
prostate cancer, according to Penn State University. Vegetables in soup contain
many vitamins, such as A and C. Cream soups supply calcium and vitamin D.
Most soups, if made with lean meat, are low in fat,
making them a good choice for anyone concerned about fat in his diet. Use
fat-free broths and lean meat to reduce the fat content of soups and the skin
milk for cream soups; or, instead of milk, you can use pureed white beans to
thicken soup.
