Low Calorie Vegetable Soup

Soup is one of the most widely consumed appetizers all over the world. It is generally made by combining certain ingredients together and boiling them in a pot of broth, or water, until they become tender. When this happens, the flavor from the ingredients is extracted and added to the broth or water. Soup can be prepared in several different ways and almost every country comprises some form or type of soup in its cultural cuisine; some varieties of soup are thick, whereas others are more watery. When people want to make thick soup, they generally need to add cornmeal, flour, cream, butter, starch, eggs and rice.

In fact, there are a couple of commercial diet programs, in which a tasty low calorie vegetable soup is an integral part of the eating plan. In fact, there is an entire diet that is based on a very low calorie vegetable soup recipe, which is known as the Cabbage Soup Diet. There are some weight loss programs that also offer the 50 calorie soup, which can be had as a snack, to help people lose weight. However, the low calorie vegetable soup recipe that is included by each of these diets may be unique to each diet plan, which means that the ingredients and preparation styles for these types of soup may vary. When it comes to making homemade vegetable soup, there are many people who use frozen vegetables. However, those who are more health conscious have the tendency to use fresh vegetables in the preparation of the soup. Given below is the recipe of an easy low calorie vegetable soup, which can be prepared within a short span of time, using common ingredients that are easily found at home:

Easy Low Calorie Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

2 Stalks of celery, diced
2 Carrots cut into thin slices
1 Can or 14 ounces of vegetable broth
1 Can or 14 ounces of tomatoes, diced
1 Can or 11.5 ounces of tomato cocktail juice
1 Cup of corn kernels
1 Cup of fresh green beans, chopped
1 Potato, cut into small piece
A cup of water
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Method

• Place a large pot on a high flame and pour the broth, water, tomato juice, corn, beans, potatoes, carrots and celery into it.
• Add the caned tomatoes to the pot, without further chopping them, along with the water from the can.
• Add the salt and pepper to the soup, for seasoning
• Allow the soup to cook on a medium, low flame for at least 30 minutes, or till all the vegetables are tender.
• Serve while it is still hot.

Calories per serving: 116
Total Fat: 0.6 g
Cholesterol: 2 mg

Golden Lentil Soup

Golden Lentil Soup is a dish that is made from lentils, mainly the red or the orange variety. This type of soup is a favorite of many because of its unique taste and flavor; at the same time it is quite high in nutrition too. There are several different variations to the golden lentil soup recipe, as people add or modify a few ingredients to suit their personal tastes and preferences. Given below sis the most widely used golden lentil soup recipe:

Ingredients

1 Cup red or orange lentils
6 Cups vegetable or chicken stock
4 Carrots, finely chopped
2 Teaspoons curry powder
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Pinch Cayenne to taste
Salt to taste

Method

• Place a large pot on a high flame and add the stock, lentils, carrots, garlic and onion to it.
• Sprinkle the curry powder, salt and cayenne for seasoning the soup
• Allow all the ingredients to cook together for at least 30 minutes, or till the lentils are tender
• With a hand blender, mash all the lentils, to make a thick soup
• Serve it while it is still hot

Calories per serving: 159
Total Fat: 0 g

Spicy Lentil Soup

Lentil soup refers to a widely consumed soup, which is low in fat and calories, but very high in nutrition. Even though it is known as lentil soup, almost most of the commonly used lentil soup recipes comprise a wide variety of vegetables, which are great for the health. There are some people who also prefer soup with a few bits of meat, like chicken or ham instead of having plain vegetarian lentil soup. Moreover, lentil soup recipe is quite easy to execute, as most of the ingredients just have to be combined in a pot and cooked together for a while. Given below is the recipe for a spicy vegetarian lentil soup:

Ingredients

7 Cups water
2 Cups of red lentils
3 Cloves of garlic, mashed
1 Large tomato, chopped
1 Serrano chili pepper
1 ½ Ginger, grated and peeled
¼ Cup fresh cilantro
¼ Cup Greek yogurt
¼ Teaspoon ground turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Method

• Place a large pot on a high flame and pour the seven cups of water into it. Allow the water to boil, till it gets warm
• Add the lentils to the water and cover the pot, allowing it to boil for a few minutes
• Add the garlic, tomato, chili pepper, ginger, turmeric and salt to the pot and let all the ingredients cook together for around 20 minutes or till the soup thickens a bit.
• After the soup thickens, add the cilantro and let it cook for a few more minutes
• Beat the yogurt in a bowl for a few minutes and after pouring the soup into the serving bowl, top it with some beaten yogurt and garnish with some cilantro

Calories in lentil soup (one serving): 369 calories