Give Healthy Eating a Boost With These 3 Healthy Soups

It’s easy to fall into the pattern of eating the same thing over and over again. We are creatures of habit, after all. In your quest to find something different to pack for lunch or make the family for dinner, don’t forget to include soups in the rotation.

Having soup on the menu is an easy way to get closer to your health goals. It’s a great way to fill up on nutrient-dense meal with relatively few calories. A common trend now is to take heavier soups and replace them with blended vegetables so that your creamy, comfort food indulgence isn’t all that bad. Not to mention, it can help you get closer to the recommended three to four servings of vegetables a day.

Adding ingredients, such as additional vegetables or bone broth, comes with many health benefits. There are nutrients that are absorbed much better when cooked, such as beta carotene or vitamin A found in orange veggies or, lycopene, which is found in tomatoes. When you steam or boil vegetables like spinach and other greens, the B vitamin folate can be lost in the discarded water used for cooking. But since soups retain the water, you get to keep all the nutrients. Studies on bone broth cite advantages such as protecting your joints, improving quality of sleep, increasing bone strength and supporting an overall healthy immune system.

We invited Chef Tyson Bohoney, assistant food service director for Sage Dining Services in Dallas, to share some delicious and healthy soup recipes. Whether you see soup as a side dish, a starter, or only good for cold, rainy days, these recipes will have you craving soup as a main staple of your diet all the time.

Creamy pumpkin and kabocha korma soup

Preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Number of servings: 6

Ingredients

2 cups roasted pumpkin
½ cup roasted kabocha squash
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 ounce fresh peeled garlic cloves
½ onion
1 chipotle pepper canned in adobo sauce (adjust for spice level)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup plain soy milk

Instructions

• Set oven to 400 degrees. Using a vegetable peeler, carefully remove the skin of pumpkin and squash, cut in half, and remove seeds. On a clean and sanitized cutting board, cut pumpkin and squash into 1-inch cubes, toss with olive oil, place on a baking tray, and roast in oven for 20 minutes or until tender.
• Peel garlic and onion; chop fine. Remove pumpkin and squash when tender; place mixture with 1 chipotle pepper into a blender or food processor along with 1 cup of vegetable broth. (Chipotle peppers are extremely hot, so be advised to go sparingly if you do not enjoy the heat, or go heavier if you enjoy it.)
• In a small stockpot, heat oil; sauté garlic 2 minutes. Add onions; cook until translucent.
• Add masala, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix well. Cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Carefully add chipotle-pumpkin-squash puree into the garlic onion mixture. Add remainder of broth and soy milk and bring to a boil. Check for seasonings and consistency. If soup is too thick add a splash of vegetable broth to desired viscosity.

Nutrition information
Serving size: 1 cup. Amount per serving: 110 calories; 4.5g total fat; 0.5g saturated fat; 0g trans fat; 0mg cholesterol; 260mg sodium; 14g total carbohydrates; 3g dietary fiber; 6g sugars; 0g added sugars; 3g protein; vitamin D, 2%*; calcium, 6%; iron, 6%; potassium, 2%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Beef bone broth

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus simmer for 48 hours
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients

1 pound of high-collagen bones (beef oxtail, beef short rib, beef knuckle, beef neck bones)
1 tablespoon high-heat-stable oil (e.g., canola, grapeseed, safflower, sunflower)
1 small carrot, chopped
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon vinegar (e.g., sherry, apple cider, rice wine)
Aromatics (e.g., sprigs of fresh thyme, a spring of rosemary, bay leaf)

Instructions

• If using a convection oven, set temperature to 400 degrees, 450 degrees if using a standard oven.
• Arrange bones on a baking tray or roasting pan (NO parchment paper), making sure not to crowd the bones together. Drizzle bones with a tablespoon of oil.
• Place bones in oven. The goal is to roast the bones until uniformly caramelized.
• Check bones every 15 minutes and give them a good stir to prevent burning and imparting a bitter flavor to your broth.
• After approximately one hour in the oven, carefully transfer roasted bones into a heavy soup pot or crock pot. Add cut vegetables, vinegar, and any other aromatics, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, skimming all the while, then reduce temperature till barely simmering.
• Check broth regularly, keeping a ladle and bowl for skimming and to ensure the bone-vegetable mixture is fully covered in water. Let the mixture simmer for a full 48 hours to ensure optimal flavor and nutrition. This is a labor of love, but totally worth it!
• After cooking a 2 full days, carefully pour broth into a strainer lined with cheesecloth to filter out any particulate. Serve immediately, or store cooled broth in the refrigerator in a lidded container for up to 5 days. If making larger batches, broth can be frozen in zipper bags for up to 3 months.

Nutrition information
Serving size: 1 cup. Amount per serving: 80 calories; 4g total fat; 0g saturated fat; 0g trans fat; 36mg cholesterol; 80mg sodium; 1g total carbohydrates; 1g dietary fiber; 0g sugars; 2g protein; vitamin A, 0%*; vitamin C, 0%; calcium, 0%; iron, 0%; potassium, 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Garden vegetable soup

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients

¼ cup onions
⅔ cup carrots
2 tablespoons celery
¼ cup cabbage
⅓ cup green beans
¼ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
¼ cup fresh or frozen baby lima beans
1 small potato
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon vegetable oil
2 cloves fresh peeled garlic
5 cups vegetable stock
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• On a clean and sanitized cutting board, peel and chop onions, carrots, and celery. Remove outer layer of red cabbage, and cut into small bite-sized strips; chop to uniform dice. Trim ends from green beans and cut down to the same size as other vegetables. Thaw corn and lima beans if using frozen; cut corn off the cob and husk lima beans if using fresh. Peel and dice potato.
• Heat oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add vegetables, except potatoes, and garlic; sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.
• Add stock, potatoes, and pepper. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender (about 8 to 10 minutes).
• Check for seasoning and serve.

Nutrition information
Serving size: 1 cup. Amount per serving: 70 calories; 3g total fat; 0g saturated fat; 0g trans fat; 0mg cholesterol; 35mg sodium; 11g total carbohydrates; 2g dietary fiber; 3g sugars; 0g added sugars; 2g protein; vitamin D, 0%*; calcium, 2%; iron, 2%; potassium, 6%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.