Cubicle Cuisine Test: Soup Cups from Fantastic Foods
Our goal for today is to find a single-serve, ready-to-eat, microwavable soup that needs no refrigeration, and is healthy and, most of all, is tasty too.
With hundreds of dry soups on the market it was hard to make a choice, but our tasters chose to review two of the twelve varieties of Fantastic Foods Soup Cups. Fantastic World Foods, Inc. of Petaluma, California is one of the first companies to offer all-natural, dehydrated soups. Their products are found in supermarkets and are available to order online.
In the quick soup market, the leading categories are just-add-water dehydrated soups, completely microwavable soups, and the ever favorite industry leader, canned soup. Consumer preferences for soup flavors vary by gender, ethnicity, age, and region. Still, chicken and noodles remains the clear favorite among all soups flavors. Ramen noodles, beloved by kids, are usually high in undesirable saturated fat and sodium, and nutritionists find them lacking in protein, fiber and vitamins and minerals - health attributes looked for in a soup.
To open our discussion, we reviewed Fantastic Food’s Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup Cup and Green Onion Miso with Tofu vegetarian soups. They go for $2.00 - $2.50 per one cup serving although certain vendors sell them for less.
Our soups contain the following ingredients:
Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup Cup - 0.9 oz:
Tagliatelle pasta (durum semolina enriched with niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin folic acid), dehydrated vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, garlic), vegetarian chicken pieces (textured soy flour, soybean oil, evaporated cane juice, salt), vegetarian chicken flavor (yeast extract, salt, molasses, olive oil), non-GMO corn starch, natural flavor, spices, expeller pressed canola oil, silicon dioxide. Contains soy, wheat.
Green Onion Miso with Tofu Soup Cup - 1.3 oz:
Baked ramen noodles (wheat, potato starch, brine, salt), miso powder (soybeans, rice, salt), tofu (soybeans, magnesium chloride), natural flavor, yeast extract, green and white onions, citric acid, caramel color, expeller pressed canola oil, silicon dioxide. Contains soy, wheat.
The manufacturer’s preparation directions are: Add boiling water to the fill line, cover, let steep for 7 minutes, or to cook in the microwave: Shake the cup before opening; remove the cover halfway; pour water to fill line and stir well; microwave on High for 2 minutes; stop and stir well; microwave for 1 minute more, stir well, cover, and let steep for 4 minutes; remove cover, stir again.
***
(1) Describe the taste (for both):
Our group of six reviewers cited “watery” most often, along with weak, plain, bland, not too salty, and, overall, “not too exciting“.
(2) Describe the texture:
Both soups were not as soft as they should be; “didn’t quite reconstitute” aptly describes the problem. For the Vegetarian Chicken Noodle, 80% of reviewers described the carrots as rubbery, leathery or uncooked; the “chicken was okay“.
(3) Did you like them? (for both)
75% of the tasters liked “nothing” about both varieties, but 25% “loved the noodles and the flavor”. The broth was found to be not overly salty.
(4) What didn’t you like about them?
The package directions were not accurate because “no amount of hot water, microwaving or added time” could fluff up the dry mix; “tasteless” surfaced several times; for the Vegetarian Chicken Noodle, those crunchy carrots were the spoiler.
(5) Did they satisfy your snack craving? (for both)
Forty percent of the reviews said, “Yes” and 60% said “No”. The small portion could “take the edge off hunger without spoiling supper.”
(6) Did you need something with it? (for both)
Crackers would have been useful to soak up the excess broth.
(7) Would you recommend these two soups?
Eighty percent of our reviewers would not recommend either variety of Fantastic Foods Soup Cups, but 20% (all vegetarians) would recommend both varieties.
See more customer reviews of Fantastic Foods Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup Cup and Green Onion Miso with Tofu Soup Cup at Amazon.com.
The bottom line:
Fantastic Foods Soup Cups are healthier than ramen noodles because the noodles in this case are baked, not fried, and less salt is added. They are vegan, with 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, and a decent source of protein and Vitamin A; however, the failure to reconstitute left an unpleasant dish-water quality that most reviewers could not overlook. Neither could they forgive the sky-high price nor understand how the product could be called "all natural" since it contains the anti-clumping agent, silicon dioxide.
Question for you:
Can you puleasee help us to find a soup-cup to love?
Nutrition Facts:
Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup Cup
Green Onion Miso with Tofu Soup Cup
Calorie Count follows About.com's Ethics Policy when it comes to reviewing products.
Comments
I agree. there is nothing better than homemade. At least if you do it yourself you know what is going into your body and can make it to your own taste. The effort involved really does not match to the savings to your waistline and your bank balance!
Way way way too much sodium in this soup. Better off making it yourself and reducing the amount. As sunbeam48 said, freeze it. Much heathier.
Why are over the counter soups so high in sodium? Great, I see that calorie and fat count has lower; but come on, why the high sodium? I've seen so many ready-made soups in Europe that have fantastic tasting soups yet barely under 5% of sodium! I used to think it's a must-have until I've traveled around and realized that's not the case. I too make my own soup now since I do not consume any soup that's not homemade! the sodium level is just insane!!!
I make all my own soups and freeze them in single servings then when I want some I just reheat. I don't add salt as I prefer to give my family the option of adding it at the table,but because they are used to me cooking with out salt they often don't add it. I live in Spain and here they call salt Muerta Blanca, white death. I know we need some in our food but no way the amount in processed foods.
Soup is too easy to make to bother with stuff like this. I am not a fan of things like 'vegetarian chicken' either. I make a big pot of vegetable stock, freeze them in something like 2 cup containers, so I always have some on hand. Can make a soup by adding just about any vegetables and rice/pasta/whatever on hand.
Don't need to add any oil or excessive salt, either.
When I need some quick comfort food (or want to watch Kung Fu Panda) I usually grab a bowl of Annie Chung's Miso or Udon noodle soup. It's expensive and about 400 calories if I'm remembering right, but it's definitely a full meal and tastes amazing.
My favorie soup cups for on the go, quick and healthy soups is the Nile Spice Foods line up of soup mixes. My favorites are couscous lentil, red beans and rice, and black bean. There are about 12 varieties to choose. I like these because they have less than 200 calories, low or non fat, and high protein.
Count my vote as another against these easy but ify nutrition dried soups. Any single food that contains that much sodium is not a good choice. If these companies retooled their equipment to add less preservatives, flavorings etc. they would cut down on the sodium. People can always add more. Has anyone tried Annie Chun's Teriyaki Noodle Bowl or Dr. Mc Dougall's Ramen Chicken? They are similar products listed in "Eat This Not That." Thye have less sodium.
I love 2 soups offered by the Eating Right brand at Safeway. Black Bean soup is good by itself, even better with 1-2 tablespoons of salsa added after it is cooked. Split Pea Soup is my other favorite, cooked by adding boiling water directly to the cup, it is very creamy and smooth.
Both soups have significant protein and fiber but have 400-460 mgs of sodium.
Uggh..."vegetarian chicken"? Why bother. Either eat chicken or eat vegetables. Yuck. Please review some soups that are real food.
Original Post by: mama342Uggh..."vegetarian chicken"? Why bother. Either eat chicken or eat vegetables. Yuck. Please review some soups that are real food.
Have you ever tried vegetarian "chicken"? Really, if you find the right brands (I reccomend Yeves) there is some really good vegetarian "meats." Also, as for your comment about "real food" you might want to consider that a chicken is an animal, not a food.
Original Post by: nlb235Original Post by: mama342Uggh..."vegetarian chicken"? Why bother. Either eat chicken or eat vegetables. Yuck. Please review some soups that are real food.
Have you ever tried vegetarian "chicken"? Really, if you find the right brands (I reccomend Yeves) there is some really good vegetarian "meats." Also, as for your comment about "real food" you might want to consider that a chicken is an animal, not a food.
I completely agree with you, nlb235! I went veggie because I discovered how delicious some of those vegetarian meats really are. Nobody should knock them until they try them.
As to the soup discussion, I like to freeze homemade soup too, but it would be nice if there was a soup cup out there that had a great taste, was healthy (must be low in sodium to qualify, IMO), and had the convenience of not having to refrigerate it.
I'm not much of a cook. For a fast, warm and filling soup I like Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Vegan Lentil Couscous Soup, Light Sodium. It's available on Amazon.com
OK, I agree, I haven't tried the vegetarian chicken, and I am not a vegetarian. I do eat lots of non-meat alternatives, I love portabella sandwiches, black bean burgers, lentils, tofu, etc, and eat way more veggies than meat in my diet, because that's what I prefer and because I believe that they can be a part of a healthy diet for me.
But, with all due respect, what I can't understand is why (especially if you consider chicken not a food) would you want to eat something FLAVORED to taste like that? I looked at the ingredient list and I don't see anything objectionable in there, however I guess I just don't trust "flavorings" in general.
I would prefer just noodle soup, or tofu, but not something that is flavored to taste like something that it is not, whether it is delicious or not.
Is sand natural? Silicon Dioxide is just sand, ground into an extremely fine powder. You eat more when the wind is blowing on a dry day. Other than that, I agree with the critiques.
I agree these are quick and tasty with not too much sodium. Very low in fat also. I'm still in the stages of forgetting to plan ahead and these have saved me from eating junk with a lot of fat and salt.
I would suggest that you research canned soups. Better value and more creative options. Example; tomato soup (no milk, low fat sour cream and tofu or pilenta.
BOB Fike
The BEST soup cups on the planet are made by Eating Right! These wonderful, delicious, healthy soups can be purchased at Von's Markets and at Safeway Markets on the West Coast. These soups are simply the best! They are usually priced at 4 for $5.00 on sale or $2.39 per cup. I never leave home without them!
For one, the Sodium is well over the USDA guidelines of 200 mg per serving. No wonder people get kidney problems with sodium disasters like that.
Well, you can't please everyone, can you? That's my take on what's good. It works for me, and I'm diabetic and have also lost 35 lbs. Go figure.
You ight prefer a less sodium filled product then as in time your diabetes could affect your renal function and overloading your body now ith sodium (which is also bad for your blood presssure and heart especially as a diabetic) is not goo dnews, sorry you have to look at your health holistically even if your diabetic.
Original Post by: deee333I'm not much of a cook. For a fast, warm and filling soup I like Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Vegan Lentil Couscous Soup, Light Sodium. It's available on Amazon.com
I agree, Dr. McDougall's is great for a cup soup. I personally like the Vegan Miso Ramen the best. Whole Foods also carries it.
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I make my own soup, freeze it in 12 oz. Rubbermaid microwaveable containers to take for lunch at work. Many veggies are from my own garden. You only need some good chicken stock, a can of beans or some chicken or sausage, whatever veggies and spices you like, but thyme & pepper usually work, most chicken stock is already salted. Doesn't need to cook long.