Of all the items on the menu, soup is that which exacts the most delicate perfection and the strictest attention. - Escoffier

When you begin your meal with a first course of light veggie soup, it won't be so hard to rein in your appetite during the higher calorie part of the meal. In the time it takes to eat soup, your stomach can convince the brain that you are no longer starving and can slow down the speed of the meal. Eating at a more leisurely pace allows you to bring a different mind set to the table. Instead of inhaling dinner and speed eating until you burst, a bit of mindful paying attention transforms the meal into a win for your calorie log.

Broth based soups, heavy on the veggies, and light on the fatty elements make great first course soups. Avoid or update the recipe for a soup loaded with meat, rice, or noodles. The idea is to curb hunger, not to fill up completely. Adding soup is easy even on a busy work night. Simply do the cooking on any day you do have time and freeze portions in individual or family sized containers. Make your healthier by using low or no sodium stock - or better still, make your own stock. Let one of these recipes help you improve your nutrition analysis and reduce dinner calories!

Sewchick676’s very low calorie Butternut Squash Soup is the perfectly delicious way to curb your appetite before dinner. 

Who says you have to go out to enjoy a good Hot and Sour Soup; let Crazypotato98 show you how easy it is to make.

Or, you could set a few shrimps, cilantro, and jalapenos to simmering in Sandi’s Ginger Chicken Broth.

Adding mushrooms to Claire’s Cream of Anything Soup makes Mushroom Soup instantly delicious.

This Potato Cauliflower Soup works both as a first course and a main.

I found this delicious Tomato Soup using the recipe search bar right here at Calorie Count.

Let The Refined Chef show you how to create the goodness of Autumn Three Squash Soup.

Vegetarian Times Three Onion Asparagus Soup is definitely on my must make list.

Recipe by Request

Faceman707’s family recipe for Lithuanian Borscht already has a great nutrition analysis – a solid B with a mere 101 calories in each generous serving. Improving this delicious cold beet soup without ruining the taste or texture took just a few tweaks.

Replacements and Additions:

Doubling the low in calorie subtly flavored English cucumbers was an easy to change to make. Do not peel the thin nutritious skin. Next, I reduced the eggs to two - just enough to provide the right amount of body and bite. I replaced the egg with shredded carrot. A little more red from one sweet red bell pepper adds an abundance of vitamins including that ever sought after potassium.

Reducing sodium in a cold veggie soup is easy if you add a squish of fresh squeezed lemon juice. The amount of sour cream in the original recipe is just fine, but you may prefer to go low or fat free. Personally, I do not think fat free would work well here and suggest that the change be to low fat - either sour cream or the even lower calorie plain yogurt. The original recipes offered the choice of buttermilk or kefir, I changed that to low fat buttermilk.

Method Change:

Instead of boiling away all the nutrition in the beet, simply leave them whole, rinse, wrap in foil, and roast until tender.  

Result:

With the revised ingredients and cookery directions, Healthy Lithuanian Borscht now clocks in with an A for nutrition and the calories were reduced to a measly 78.

Your thoughts…

Do you serve a soup course in order to trick your tummy into feeling full? What is your favorite soup to eat as a first course? If you would like to get your own Recipe by Request, click here. To have your recipe considered for The CC Palate, please send it to me via pm.

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