Are Soups Good for You in Winter
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There is a moment many people know well. You come home on a cold winter evening, your hands are cold, your shoulders are tight from the wind, and the house smells of something warm cooking on the stove. Someone puts a bowl of soup in front of you, steam rising from it, and you wrap both hands around the bowl before you even pick up the spoon. That small moment explains why soup and winter belong together in almost every country in the world. It is not a fashion or a diet trend. It is one of the oldest habits people have, because it is warm, it is simple, and it makes a cold day feel easier.
So the question is a fair one: are soups actually good for you in winter, or do they only feel good? For most people, the honest answer is that a good homemade soup is one of the healthiest winter foods there is. It gives you vegetables, water, warmth and steady energy in one bowl, and it is gentle on the stomach. But not every soup is equal. A bowl of fresh vegetable soup and a packet of instant soup are very different things, and the salt, cream and fat in some soups can undo much of the good. This article explains the difference in plain words, so you can enjoy soup all winter and know what you are really eating.
Why a Bowl of Soup Feels Right in Winter
Winter changes how the body feels. The air is cold, the days are short, and most people spend more time indoors. In cold weather, the body works harder to stay warm, and warm food feels more satisfying than cold food. A cold salad on a cold day can feel like a chore, while a hot bowl of soup feels like exactly what the day asked for. That is not just a feeling. Warm food helps your body feel warm from the inside, and the steam from a hot bowl warms your face and hands before you take a single spoonful. It is a small comfort, but in winter, small comforts matter a lot.
There is also something calming about the way soup is eaten. You cannot rush a bowl of soup the way you can rush a sandwich. You have to sit down, pick up a spoon, and take it one mouthful at a time. That slower pace gives your stomach time to tell your brain that you are getting full, and it gives your mind a few quiet minutes in the middle of a busy day. In winter, when people often feel tired and low, that pause is worth more than people think. A bowl of soup at lunchtime can feel like a short rest, not just a meal, and many people come back from their break feeling a little steadier.
Soup also fits the way winter eating works. In summer, people want light food, cold drinks and fresh fruit. In winter, people want food that is warm, filling and easy to make in a big pot. Soup meets all three needs at once. You can cook a large pot in the evening, eat some for dinner, and keep the rest for lunch the next day. That saves time and money, and it means there is always something warm ready when someone comes home cold and hungry. For a busy family, that is one of the most practical things about soup. It does not need a special occasion or a lot of skill. It just needs a pot, some vegetables and a little time.
The habit is also shared across the world, which tells you something. Every country has its own winter soup, from lentil soup in the Middle East to chicken soup in Europe and America, from miso soup in Japan to hearty vegetable stews that are almost soup. Different ingredients, same idea: take what you have, cook it slowly in water, and share it while it is hot. That is a habit that has lasted for thousands of years, and it has lasted because it works. It feeds people well, it uses simple ingredients, and it brings people to the table together, which in winter is half the point of a meal.
What Soup Actually Gives Your Body
A good soup is mostly made of things your body needs. At its base is water, and then vegetables such as carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, spinach or whatever is in season. Each of these brings something different. Carrots give you vitamin A, which supports your eyes and your immune system. Tomatoes give you vitamin C and a natural sweetness. Onions and garlic add flavour and small amounts of minerals. Leafy greens like spinach add iron and folate, which your body uses to make healthy blood. None of these is a miracle on its own, but together in one bowl they give you a wide mix of vitamins and minerals in a form your body can use easily.
Then there is fibre, which is the part of vegetables and lentils that your body cannot digest, and which matters more than most people realise. Fibre slows down digestion, so the energy from your meal lasts longer, and it helps your stomach and gut work normally. A vegetable soup gives you a good amount of fibre without you having to think about it, because the vegetables are already soft and cooked. That is one reason soup suits people whose stomachs are sensitive. It is easy to digest, it does not sit heavy, and it rarely causes the discomfort that fried or very spicy food can cause.
Protein is the third part, and it depends on what you put in the pot. A lentil soup gives you plant protein, which helps you feel full and supports your muscles. A chicken soup gives you animal protein, and a bean soup gives you both protein and fibre together. A plain vegetable soup on its own has less protein, which is why it works well with a piece of bread, a boiled egg, or a small bowl of yoghurt on the side. The point is that soup is flexible. You can build it up with lentils, beans, chicken or eggs, or keep it light with vegetables only, and either way you know what is in it, because you chose the ingredients yourself.
It is also worth saying that soup is one of the easiest ways to eat more vegetables without feeling like you are on a diet. Many people know they should eat more vegetables, but they find plain boiled vegetables boring. In a soup, those same vegetables become a warm, tasty meal, and you can easily eat two or three different vegetables in one bowl. For children, that matters even more. A child who will not touch a plate of carrots may happily eat a bowl of carrot soup, because it tastes good and it does not look like a lesson. That is a real benefit, and it is one of the best things about soup.
Warmth, Water and Feeling Full
One of the most useful things about soup is something people rarely think about: it is mostly water. A bowl of soup is often more than half water, and that water counts towards what your body needs each day. In summer, people drink a lot because they feel thirsty. In winter, people feel less thirsty, so they often drink less, even though the body still needs water. Warm indoor heating dries the air, and cold weather can leave you slightly short of water without you noticing. A bowl of soup helps with that quietly. You are eating a meal and drinking water at the same time, without having to remember to fill a glass.
Warmth also changes how full you feel. A hot meal tends to satisfy you more than a cold meal of the same size, because the warmth itself is comforting and because you eat it more slowly. That slower pace matters. When you eat quickly, you can finish a large plate before your stomach has time to signal that you have had enough. When you eat soup slowly, spoon by spoon, your body has time to catch up, and you are more likely to stop when you are satisfied. That is why a bowl of soup can feel like a proper meal even though it is lighter than a plate of fried food, and why it suits people who want to eat a little less in winter without feeling hungry all the time.
There is another side to this, and it is about the kind of fullness soup gives. A soup made with vegetables and lentils fills you with fibre and water, which is a gentle, comfortable fullness. A heavy meal of fried food and bread also fills you, but it can leave you sleepy and sluggish afterwards. Soup rarely does that. It gives you steady energy without weighing you down, which is why it works so well as a lunch on a working day. You can eat a bowl of soup, go back to work, and still think clearly, instead of fighting the heavy feeling that comes after a large fried lunch.
It is fair to add that soup is not a weight-loss treatment, and anyone who tells you that a soup diet will melt weight away is selling you a story. Soup is simply a food that is naturally light and filling, and if you eat it instead of heavier food, you will usually take in fewer calories without feeling deprived. That is a sensible, honest benefit. It does not work by magic. It works because water and fibre take up space in your stomach, and because a warm, slow meal is more satisfying than a cold, rushed one. In winter, when people tend to eat heavier food and move less, that is a useful thing to know.
Chicken Soup, Vegetable Soup and Other Kinds
Not all soups are the same, so it helps to know what each kind really gives you. Vegetable soup is the simplest and one of the best. It is made from whatever vegetables you have, cooked in water with a little salt and oil, and it is light, full of fibre and vitamins, and easy to make in a large pot. It suits almost everyone, it costs very little, and it keeps well for a day or two. If you want it to be more filling, you can add potatoes, lentils or beans, which turn a light soup into a full meal without adding anything unhealthy.
Lentil soup is one of the strongest choices in winter. Lentils are cheap, they cook quickly, and they give you protein, fibre, iron and steady energy all at once. A bowl of lentil soup with a piece of bread is a complete, satisfying meal that costs almost nothing, and it keeps you full for hours. In many parts of the world, lentil soup is the everyday winter food, and that is not an accident. It is filling, it is nutritious, and it is made from ingredients that almost every household already has. If you could only pick one soup for the whole winter, lentil soup would be a very good choice.
Chicken soup has a special reputation, and some of it is deserved. A real chicken soup, made by simmering chicken with vegetables in water, gives you protein, warmth, and a light, salty broth that many people find soothing when they have a cold or feel run down. The steam from a hot bowl can help a blocked nose feel a little clearer, and the warm liquid is easy to swallow when your throat is sore. That does not mean chicken soup cures a cold. It does not. A cold is caused by a virus, and no food can cure it. But chicken soup is a kind, gentle food when you are ill, because it gives you water, warmth and some nourishment when you do not feel like eating anything else. That is a real comfort, even if it is not a medicine.
Then there are the other kinds: tomato soup, bean soup, pumpkin soup, and mixed vegetable stews that are thick enough to be a meal. Each has its own strengths. Tomato soup gives you vitamin C and a bright, fresh taste. Bean soup gives you protein and fibre. Pumpkin soup is smooth, sweet and gentle on the stomach. The main difference to watch is between a clear, light soup and a thick, creamy one. A clear soup is usually lighter and healthier, while a soup made with a lot of cream, butter or cheese is much heavier, and it can turn a healthy meal into a very rich one. That does not make creamy soup bad, but it does make it a sometimes food rather than an everyday food.
When Soup Is Not as Healthy as It Looks
It would not be honest to praise soup without naming the ways it can go wrong, because the difference between a healthy soup and an unhealthy one is often large. The biggest problem is salt. Many ready-made soups, restaurant soups and soup powders contain a lot of salt, sometimes more than half of what a person should eat in a whole day in a single bowl. Salt makes soup taste good, and makers use plenty of it. But too much salt over time is linked with higher blood pressure, and it can leave you feeling thirsty and bloated. A homemade soup, where you add the salt yourself, usually has far less salt than a shop-bought one, and that alone is a strong reason to make your own when you can.
Cream and fat are the second thing to watch. A soup made with a small amount of oil is fine. A soup made with large amounts of cream, butter or full-fat cheese is a different food altogether. It may still taste wonderful, but it carries many more calories and much more saturated fat, and it can leave you feeling heavy. The same goes for soups that are served with a lot of white bread and butter on the side. The bread is not a problem on its own, but a large pile of it can turn a light meal into a heavy one. None of this means you should never eat a creamy soup. It simply means that a creamy soup is a treat, while a clear vegetable or lentil soup is an everyday food, and it helps to know which one you are eating.
Instant soup packets and instant noodle soups deserve a special mention, because they look like soup but they are not the same thing. They are usually made from dried powder, flavourings and a great deal of salt, with very little real vegetable in them. They are quick and cheap, and on a busy night they are better than skipping a meal, but they are not a healthy winter habit. They give you salt and flavour, but almost none of the fibre, vitamins and protein that a real soup gives you. If you eat them often, you are filling your stomach without giving your body much of what it needs. A simple homemade soup takes only a little more time, and it is a far better meal.
There is also the question of what goes into the pot at home. A soup made with fresh vegetables and lentils is very different from a soup made mostly from fatty meat, with little vegetable in it. The meat is not the problem by itself, but a soup that is mostly fat and salt, with almost no vegetables, is not giving you the balance that makes soup healthy. The rule is simple to remember: the more vegetables and lentils in the pot, and the less salt, cream and fat, the healthier the soup. That is true for every kind of soup, in every country, and it is the easiest way to judge a soup without needing to read a label.
How to Make a Simple Healthy Soup at Home
Making soup at home is much easier than many people think, and you do not need a recipe book or special skill. Start with a large pot. Put in a little oil, add a chopped onion, and cook it gently for a few minutes until it softens. Then add whatever vegetables you have: carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, or peas. Add a cup of red lentils if you want the soup to be filling, and then pour in enough water to cover everything by a few centimetres. Add a little salt, bring it to the boil, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for twenty to thirty minutes until everything is soft. That is the whole method. You can blend it smooth with a hand blender, or leave it chunky. Either way, it is ready to eat.
The beauty of this method is that it works with almost any vegetables, so you can use what is cheap and in season. In winter, root vegetables like carrots and potatoes are cheap and keep well. Cabbage, spinach and peas are also easy to find. If you have leftover vegetables from yesterday’s meal, you can put them in the pot too, which stops waste and saves money. A soup is one of the best ways to use up food that would otherwise be thrown away, and that is one of the reasons it has always been a food for careful households. Nothing is wasted, everything goes in the pot, and the result is a warm meal.
If you want your soup to be even better, there are a few small habits that help. Use a little oil rather than a lot, and taste the soup before adding more salt, because it is easy to add too much without noticing. Add the salt near the end of cooking, so you can judge the flavour properly. If you want more flavour without more salt, add garlic, black pepper, a squeeze of lemon, or fresh herbs if you have them. These give the soup a brighter taste without adding anything unhealthy. And if you make a large pot, keep the extra soup in the fridge for the next day, or freeze it in small boxes. Frozen soup keeps for weeks, and it means you always have a healthy meal ready on a night when you are too tired to cook.
For people who are new to cooking, soup is one of the kindest places to start. It is hard to ruin a soup. If it is too thick, add a little water. If it is too thin, let it simmer a little longer. If it tastes plain, add a little more salt or lemon. There is no exact timing and no delicate technique, and that is why so many people learn to cook by making soup. It teaches you the basics: how to chop, how to simmer, how to season, and how to trust your own taste. A person who can make a pot of soup can feed themselves well all winter, and that is a skill worth having.
Soup in Real Daily Life in Winter
The best thing about soup in winter is how easily it fits into a real day. A worker can carry it to work in a flask and eat it warm at lunchtime, without needing a kitchen or a microwave. A student can eat a bowl between classes and feel satisfied without spending much money. A mother can cook one large pot in the evening and feed the whole family, with enough left over for the next day. An older person living alone can make a small pot that lasts two or three days, so there is always something warm ready without cooking every day. Few foods are this flexible, and that flexibility is one of the reasons soup has survived as a winter habit for so long.
Children and soup are a good match too. A bowl of soup is warm, soft and easy to eat, and it does not need a knife or much effort. A child coming home from school on a cold day will often eat a bowl of soup happily, especially if it is a kind they like, such as tomato or lentil soup. It is also a gentle way to give children vegetables without a struggle. A child may refuse a plate of boiled carrots, but the same carrots, cooked soft in a soup with other flavours, taste completely different. Parents who worry about their children eating enough vegetables often find that soup is the easiest answer, and it is one that children rarely fight against.
Soup is also a kind food on days when someone is unwell. When you have a cold, a sore throat or a stomach upset, heavy food feels impossible, but a bowl of warm, light soup is often the one thing you can manage. It gives you water, a little salt, some warmth and gentle nourishment, and it does not ask much of your stomach. That is why soup is the food people bring to a sick neighbour or a new mother. It is not a treatment, and it will not cure anything, but it is care in a bowl, and that care matters when someone is feeling low. The same is true for older people, whose appetite is often smaller in winter. A small bowl of soup is easier to finish than a large plate, and it still gives them vegetables, water and warmth.
Finally, soup is honest about money. A pot of vegetable or lentil soup costs very little, often less than a single takeaway meal, and it feeds several people. In winter, when heating bills are higher and money can feel tight, that matters. Eating well does not have to mean buying expensive food. Sometimes it means buying a bag of lentils, a few carrots and an onion, and turning them into a pot of soup that feeds the family for two days. That is not a poor meal. It is a sensible, nutritious meal, and it is one of the best examples of how simple food can be good food.
My Take:
If you ask me whether soup is good for you in winter, my answer is yes, and I say that without hesitation, because soup is one of the few foods that is healthy, cheap, warm and easy all at the same time. Most healthy foods ask something of you. They cost money, or they take time, or they need skill to prepare. Soup asks almost nothing. A pot, some vegetables, a little water and half an hour, and you have a meal that feeds a family. In winter, when days are cold and people are tired, that combination is hard to beat, and I think it is one of the reasons soup has never gone out of fashion in any country.
I think the real strength of soup is that it makes healthy eating feel normal instead of feeling like a project. Nobody sits down to a bowl of lentil soup and feels like they are on a diet. It is just dinner. It is warm, it tastes good, and it fills you up. Compare that with the way healthy eating is often sold: expensive ingredients, complicated recipes, powders and plans. Soup does not need any of that. It is the opposite of complicated. You take simple vegetables, you cook them slowly, and you eat them while they are hot. That simplicity is not a weakness. It is the reason soup works in real life, for real people, on real budgets, and I think we should value it more than we do.
I also think soup is honest in a way that a lot of winter food is not. A bowl of homemade vegetable soup does not pretend to be anything else. It is vegetables and water, with a little salt and oil, and you can see exactly what is in it. A packet of instant soup, on the other hand, pretends to be soup while giving you mostly salt and flavouring. I would rather eat the real thing, even if it takes twenty minutes longer, because I know what I am eating and I know it is doing me some good. That is a small choice, but it is a choice that adds up over a whole winter. Twenty bowls of real soup instead of twenty packets of instant soup is a real difference to your body, and it costs you very little extra effort.
There is something else I like about soup, and it is the way it slows you down. In winter, people rush. They rush to work in the cold, they rush home in the dark, and they rush through meals because there is always something else to do. A bowl of soup does not let you rush. You have to sit down, you have to use a spoon, and you have to take it one mouthful at a time. Those few quiet minutes are a small rest in the middle of the day, and I think they matter more than we admit. A meal that forces you to slow down is a gift in a busy life, and soup gives you that gift without asking for anything in return. I have noticed that when I eat soup for lunch, I go back to work feeling calmer than when I eat a sandwich standing up, and I think that is not a coincidence.
I want to be honest about what soup cannot do, because exaggerated claims help nobody. Soup will not cure a cold. I know people say chicken soup cures colds, and I understand why they say it, because chicken soup is a kind, warm food when you are ill, and it can make you feel a little better. But a cold is caused by a virus, and no food can cure a virus. What soup can do is give you water, warmth and some nourishment when you do not feel like eating, and that is enough. It is care, not a cure, and I think we should say that plainly. When people expect a food to cure them and it does not, they stop trusting good advice, and that is a loss for everyone.
The same honesty applies to salt, and this is the part I most want readers to remember. The biggest difference between a healthy soup and an unhealthy soup is usually the salt. A homemade soup has the salt you choose to add. A shop-bought soup or a soup powder has the salt the maker chose to add, and that is usually a lot more. I am not saying you should never eat a ready-made soup. Sometimes you are tired, sometimes you are in a hurry, and a tin of soup is better than no meal at all. But if soup is something you eat every day all winter, it is worth making your own most of the time, because the salt alone makes a real difference over weeks and months. Taste your soup before you add salt, add it near the end, and use herbs, garlic, pepper or lemon for flavour. These small habits cost nothing, and they make your soup both tastier and healthier.
I think lentil soup deserves a special mention, because it is the soup I would choose if I could only have one. Lentils are cheap, they are filling, they give you protein and fibre, and they cook quickly without soaking. A bowl of lentil soup with a piece of bread is a full meal that costs almost nothing, and it keeps you satisfied for hours. For a family watching its money, that is not a small thing. I know that healthy food has a reputation for being expensive, and that reputation puts many people off. Lentil soup proves the reputation wrong. It is one of the cheapest nutritious meals in the world, and it is made from ingredients that almost every shop sells. If you are looking for one simple change this winter, making a pot of lentil soup once a week is a very good place to start.
I also want to say something about children, because soup is one of the best foods a parent can give a child in winter. Children come home from school cold and hungry, and they need something warm and filling that they will actually eat. A bowl of tomato or lentil soup is soft, warm and easy to eat, and it gives them vegetables without a fight. Too many parents struggle to get their children to eat vegetables, and too many give up and serve the same few foods every day. Soup is a way through that problem, because the vegetables are cooked soft, mixed together, and served in a form children enjoy. If a child grows up eating soup in winter, that habit will stay with them, and it will protect their health far more than any lecture about vegetables ever could.
Money is another reason I recommend soup, and I do not think we should be shy about saying so. A pot of vegetable soup costs very little, and it feeds several people. In winter, when heating costs more and budgets feel tighter, that matters a lot. Eating well does not have to mean buying expensive things. Sometimes it means buying a bag of lentils, a few carrots, an onion and a potato, and turning them into a meal that feeds the family for two days. That is not a poor meal. It is a smart meal, and it is one of the best examples of how simple food can be good food. I would rather a family ate a pot of homemade soup than spent the same money on a single takeaway that leaves everyone hungry again in two hours.
I also think soup brings people together in a way that few other foods do. A pot of soup sits in the middle of the table, everyone takes a bowl, and everyone eats the same thing at the same time. In winter, when the days are short and people spend more time apart, that shared meal matters. I have noticed that the meals people remember are rarely the fancy ones. They are the simple ones: a pot of soup on a cold night, eaten together, with steam rising and hands wrapped around warm bowls. That is not a health claim. It is a human one, and I think it is part of why soup belongs in winter. It feeds the body, yes, but it also feeds the feeling of being at home, and that feeling is worth something too.
So here is my final view, in plain words. Eat soup in winter, and eat it often. Make it yourself when you can, because your own soup has less salt and more real vegetables than a packet or a tin. Use lentils and vegetables, keep the cream and butter for special days, and taste before you add salt. Eat it slowly, enjoy the warmth, and share the pot with your family. Do not expect it to cure a cold or fix your health on its own, because it will not. Do expect it to give you warmth, water, fibre, vitamins and steady energy in one bowl, at very little cost, and that is a lot for one simple food. In my view, soup is one of the best winter habits a person can have, and it is a habit worth keeping for life.
I also think it is worth talking about leftovers, because soup is one of the few meals that actually gets better the next day. A pot of soup made in the evening tastes even richer at lunch the next day, because the flavours have had time to settle together. That means one evening of cooking gives you two meals, and on the second day you do not have to cook at all. For a tired worker or a busy parent, that is a real gift. I would rather cook one large pot twice a week than cook a new meal every single night, because the time saved is time you can spend resting, and in winter, rest is not a luxury. It is part of staying well. Freeze a few portions too, and you will always have a healthy meal ready on a night when you come home late and cold.
There is another comparison worth making, and it is soup against takeaway. On a cold night, it is tempting to order food in, because it feels easy. But takeaway food is usually salty, oily and expensive, and it often leaves you feeling heavy and thirsty. A bowl of soup from your own fridge costs almost nothing, it is ready in five minutes, and it leaves you feeling satisfied without the heavy feeling. I am not saying you should never order food. Everyone deserves a treat now and then. But if ordering food has become your normal winter evening, a pot of soup is a better normal, and it is one you can afford every day. The money you save over a whole winter is real, and it can go towards something your family actually needs.
I also want to mention older people, because soup is one of the kindest foods for a person living alone. Cooking a full meal for one person can feel like too much effort, and many older people end up eating very little in winter, or eating the same dry food every day. A small pot of soup solves that problem. It lasts two or three days, it needs no hard chewing, it is warm and gentle on the stomach, and it gives vegetables and water in every bowl. If you have an older neighbour or a parent living alone, a pot of soup left at their door is one of the kindest things you can do in winter. It is not a grand gesture. It is a warm meal, made with care, and it tells them someone is thinking of them.
If I could give one practical suggestion for this winter, it would be this: make one pot of soup a week, every week, from now until spring. Do not aim for perfection. Use whatever vegetables you have, add lentils if you want it filling, taste it before you add salt, and share it with the people around your table. After a month, it will feel like a habit, not a task. After a winter, you will wonder why you ever thought healthy eating was difficult or expensive. Soup is proof that it is neither. It is simple, it is cheap, it is warm, and it is good for you, and in my view, that is everything a winter food should be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is are soups good for you in winter something I should think about every day?
Not in a worried way, no. Soup is a simple, healthy winter food, and if you eat a homemade vegetable or lentil soup most days, that is a good habit that needs no daily checking. Think of it as a regular part of winter meals, like bread or rice, rather than something to analyse each day. The only thing worth keeping an eye on is the kind of soup: homemade, low-salt soup every day is a good habit, while very salty ready-made soup every day is worth cutting back on.
How long does it take to notice anything from are soups good for you in winter?
The warmth and comfort are immediate, you feel them with the first bowl. The other benefits, like feeling fuller on a lighter meal or eating more vegetables without trying, build up over a few weeks of regular soup meals. Soup is not a quick fix and it will not change your health in a day. What it does is quietly improve your winter diet over time, because a bowl of soup each day adds vegetables, water and fibre that you might otherwise miss.
Can are soups good for you in winter fit into a busy workday?
Yes, and this is one of soup’s best strengths. Make a large pot in the evening and carry the next day’s portion to work in a flask, where it stays warm until lunch. That takes no more time than making a sandwich, and it gives you a hot, filling meal in the middle of a working day. If you have no flask, a small container of soup can be warmed in a few minutes. Soup is one of the easiest hot lunches to prepare ahead.
What is the simplest way to start with are soups good for you in winter?
Start with one pot of lentil or vegetable soup a week. Chop an onion, a few carrots and a potato, add a cup of lentils and water, simmer for half an hour, and you have a soup that feeds the family. Do not worry about getting it perfect. If it is too thick, add water; if it tastes plain, add a little salt or lemon. Once you have made it once, you will know how easy it is, and making it a second time will feel natural.
Does are soups good for you in winter work the same way for everyone?
The basic idea is the same for everyone: a warm, homemade soup with vegetables is a healthy meal. But the details differ. A person who needs to watch their salt should be careful with ready-made soups and soup powders. A person with a sensitive stomach may prefer a smooth, blended soup to a chunky one. Children may like a mild tomato or lentil soup, while adults may prefer more flavour. The soup itself is flexible, so you can adjust the salt, the spice and the ingredients to suit the people eating it.
What should I do if are soups good for you in winter does not suit me?
If a particular soup leaves you feeling bloated or uncomfortable, try a different kind before giving up on soup altogether. A very salty ready-made soup can cause bloating, while a simple homemade vegetable soup may suit you perfectly. Some people find cabbage or beans cause wind, so a plain carrot or lentil soup may be a better choice for them. If you keep feeling unwell after eating soup, or you have a health condition that affects what you can eat, speak to a qualified health professional for personal advice.
Sources
- NHS — Eat Well
- World Health Organization — Nutrition
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Nutrition
- Healthline — Nutrition
- Mayo Clinic — Nutrition and Healthy Eating
This article is general information only. It is not medical advice and it does not diagnose, treat, or cure anything. For personal concerns, speak to a qualified health professional.