Healthy Choice Soups

By: Tanya Taylor, PhD | May 21, 2005

I was actually going to go the cheap way and get some of that 39 cent Cup-O-Noodles soup. They are cheap, easy to make and really ... how bad can just a cup of soup be for you? Turns out - very very bad! 296 calories, 14 g fat, 6 g saturated fat (30% of the daily value), and to top it all off, 1433 mg sodium (60% daily value)! Of course, the company (wisely) doesn't have the nutritional info listed on their website. I had to drop that soup - quick! But luckily I looked over and there were the Healthy Choice Soups. Although significantly more expensive at $1.38 per can, the price wasn't that bad.

I decided to try two flavors - Split Pea and Ham and Chicken Noodle. I tried the Split Pea first. When I attempted to pour it out of the can, a thick green glob plopped out. This was very unappealing, and made me not even want to go through with it. Nevertheless, I put it in the microwave, added a little water - even though it didn't say so on the package - and made it. When it came out, it didn't look that bad. I tried it and I immediately added salt. It was very bland. With the extra salt, the flavors came out a little bit more, and the soup was actually 'okay'. Not good - not bad - just okay. The chicken noodle looked a whole lot better. The were big chunks 'white meat' and it tasted delicious. Just like chicken noodle soup ought to taste.

Each can is 15 oz, or just a wee bit less than 2 cups (1 cup is 8 oz). One serving is 1 cup. I hate when they do this. Who is going to make just half of a can of soup and save the rest for later? Anyway, for the chicken noodle soup, 1 can (2 servings) is actually 220 calories, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 480 mg sodium (20% daily value), 8 g protein and 3 g dietary fiber. The split pea and ham soup is 340 calories.

Overall, some types of soups may taste better than others, but 1 can will provide a filling dinner on the go.

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