Soup is the ultimate comfort food. It’s easy to make, filling and full of nutrition thanks to the fact that it’s often made with nutrient-dense vegetables, legumes, and other fiber-filled ingredients that combine to deliver appealing textures and great flavours. In addition, soup consumption is linked with lower obesity risk, and eating soup before a meal can help control body weight.
Yep, that’s right: a recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that soup eaters tend to weigh less and have smaller waists than those who don’t eat soup: their findings were based on reports of more than 20,000 Americans surveyed by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 2003 and 2008. They also found that soup eaters also had better overall eating habits that included more protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and fewer calories and fat (we assume all the fatty, creamy soups like French Onion were not favourites of these skinny subjects!)
Soup makes you feel full due to its high water content, and studies have shown that eating soup as an appetizer can decrease calorie intake at a meal by about 20%: quite simply, starting with soup means you'll feel fuller faster, and be less inclined to pick at the bread basket.
Vegan soup recipes are especially excellent for health and weight loss. They contain very little in the way of saturated fats, but are high in proteins, fibre, micronutrients and vitamins. To add even more benefits to your bowl, garnish with detoxing coriander, omega-rich roasted pumpkin seeds, iodine rich seaweed sprinkles or sea salt, calcium rich sesame seeds or a dash of metabolism-kicking hot sauce.
With soup season on the way, why not enjoy at least of few of the 11 most scrumptious, nutritious and utterly delicious soups that the vegan world has to offer?
1. Curried Butternut Soup with Ginger
So rich and thick there’s simply no need for cream! This dense soup is a tummy warmer, and an immunity-booster: the garlic staves off colds, the ginger improves circulation, and the coconut milk adds a sweet touch.
Get the recipe at SheilaKealey
2. Avocado & Coconut Soup
Of all our vegan soup recipes, perhaps this is the most unusual. Thick, rich and ridiculously satisfying, you could say this is the ‘David Beckham; of soups! Avocado and coconut make a surprisingly perfect match with bloggers deeming this soup ’hydrating and luscious’.
Get the recipe at: Lunchboxbunch
3. Parsnip & Split Pea
Split peas carry important nutrients and are a great, tasty way of adding protein and fibre into your diet. This hearty soup can be prepared either by throwing the ingredients into the slow cooker and waiting for the magic unfold, or making it equally easily on the stovetop.
Get the recipe at: SimpleVeganista
4. Creamy Miso Soup with Mushrooms
Protein-packed and tangily tasty, miso has a list of nutritional benefits that you can’t afford to be missing from your diet. High in antioxidants and with the ability to strengthen your immune system thanks to the fermentation process, this delicious soup will satisfy your tastebuds while it works wonders on your interior.
Get the recipe at: SimpleVeganista
5. Chipotle Fall Soup
Butternut squash, pumpkin and roasted sweet potato with sultry cinnamon and nutmeg notes are just some of the flavours combined to create this spicy, cosy bowl. Topped with crouton-like tofu cubes, this recipe is guaranteed to fill you right up!
Get the recipe at: KBlog
6. Black Bean, Sweet Potato & Red Quinoa Soup
It’s a whole meal in a bowl! Full of flavour and bursting with loads of vibrant vegetables, this recipe is easy to execute and gives you plenty of room to experiment – adding and removing different veg and flavours depending on your preference. This soup just made meal times that little bit more exciting.
Find the recipe at: OhSheGlows
7. Creamy Kale with Roasted Chickpeas
This creamy kale soup is infused with a rich cashew cream and finished with deliciously crunchy cayenne pepper roasted chickpeas. Sounds amazing right?
Get the full recipe at: Connoisseurusveg
8. Carrot and Coriander
A popular choice for soup lovers, carrot and coriander make for the perfect winter-warming dish. There are loads of recipes available for this soup but this one is particularly thick, creamy and very very tasty! Bonus: add lots of coriander to help your body detox from heavy metals.
Find the recipe at: VeganVillage
9. Raw Cauliflower Crème Soup
Are you on a raw diet? You can still eat soup! This is an unusual mix of almonds and cauliflower and one we had to trial out of pure curiosity! Full of earthy flavours, thick and creamy in texture – It really does work!
Get the recipe at: OneGreenPlanet
10. Vegetable Miso Soup
A Japanese classic and a great cleansing recipe, enjoy this healthy one-bowl meal that’s substantial and hearty enough to be classified as a comfort food. Add more vegetables/noodles if you so wish and enjoy this recipe with some chopsticks!
Go here for the recipe: Onegreenplanet
11. Proper Eastern European Borscht
Our Editor has Ukranian blood and is obsessed with borscht. She swears that this recipe is one of the best, and says: “Borscht should normally be made with beef stock and have some sour cream in it, but as a vegan, I’ve been looking for a veggie version that tasted like my Baba’s. This is pretty close!” It’s tempting to just toss all the ingredients into a blender, but grating by hand really gives this the texture it needs. The soup is almost sweet due to the beets and carrots, and packs a strong anti-cancer punch. You can skip the sour cream and add soy yogurt instead.
Get the recipe here: FabLunch
This article was originally published on www.eluxemagazine.com. Read the complete article here.
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