Soups are one of the most healthy and nutritious snacks, if prepared at home. They are known as the best appetizers and are generally used for small babies, expectant mothers and patients. Soups can be prepared in a variety of ways according to our taste and style. The best part is that vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians can enjoy the soup by adding vegetables of their choice or by putting chicken shrimps. Apart from that, soups are gaining immense popularity as one of the best diet foods. It is easily digestible because of its low calorific and high fiber content. Also, it can be easily cooked at home. However, some people find it difficult to spare time for cooking and prefer canned soups which are readily available in the market. But many of us don’t know that preserved soups contain high amount of sodium, which is almost three times higher than the required amount. You can read on further to know its harmful effects.
Consuming salt in excess is detrimental for our health as it can causes the following side effects.
1.Risk of high blood pressure
2. Cardiac problems
3. Heart attack
4. Cardiac stroke
5. Osteoporosis
6. Obesity problem
Not just canned soups are high in sodium content but they are also rich in trans fats which are known for causing obesity in people. Apart from canned soups, there are dried soup packets available in the market which are again not a very healthy option. Several canned soups available in the market are not very healthy. Some of them are listed below.
1. Canned tomato soup
2. Mushroom canned soup
3. Canned chicken soup
4. Vegetable cream soup
5. Sweet corn ( veg and non veg) canned soup
6. Hot and sour canned soup
For a healthy and smart living you must opt for better choices in food. Try to minimize the intake of canned soup and invest some time to make healthy and delicious soups at home for your family and yourself. It will require a few minutes of our time to prepare a delicious and a very healthy appetizer. Furthermore, you will save some bucks when you make it at home rather than buying it from the market. Some easy soup recipes are as follows.
1. Tomato soup: Loved by all especially kids
Take five to six fully ripe red tomatoes and put them in a cooker with three glasses of water. Cook it from five to seven minutes. Then take out the tomatoes and peel out the outer surface. Blend them in a blender and put it in a pan and put the gas stove on. Add the left over water in the cooker and bring it to boil. Add salt, sugar and pepper as per your taste. Serve hot with a little cream or butter and garnish it with coriander leaves. You can have soup sticks or fried bread crumbs if you are not on diet.
2. Chicken stew: The most healthy option.
Boil chicken with black pepper balls, cloves , cardamom and salt. Take out the excess water. Take a pan and put the excess water to it, add a few pieces of chicken. You can add corn kernels and small chopped broccoli to it. Bring it to boil and add fresh cream after switching off the gas stove. Serve hot. It is very healthy and nutritious. It tastes amazing in a cold weather. You can prepare it in advance if you want. The best thing is that you can keep it in the fridge also and can eat them later on. As they are home- made and have no preservatives therefore they will not cause any adverse effect to your health.
3. Spinach soup: Best for a cold evening.
Take fresh leaves of spinach and put them in a hot boiling water for three to six minutes. Take out the leaves and blend them well in a grinder. Now take a pan and add the spinach puree and the water in which you boiled the leaves. Don’t waste the water as it contains many vitamins and minerals. Add finely grated ginger and crushed pepper balls to it. Add salt to your taste and serve it hot garnished with a spoon of fresh cream.