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For many of us, following a strict weight loss diet is accompanied by a constant feeling of hunger and discomfort. The state of restriction during a diet complicates life for many and affects psychological comfort. However, there is an alternative diet with vegetable soups. Nutritionists recommend vegetable soups as the perfect combination of vitamins and minerals for the body without harming the figure. Vegetable soups are ideal not only for those who want to lose weight, but also for people suffering from gastritis, diseases of the stomach and intestines.
Initially, vegetable broths were prepared by the French, but several centuries later this simple dish became the founder of the famous Italian Minestrone soup. In the 15th century, hot vegetable broths gained wide popularity in Europe. Nowadays, this dish is the main first course in the daily diet of every person.
The essence of losing weight with vegetable soups
Soup is usually called a liquid dish in the form of a decoction of meat, vegetables, fish and herbs. Soups include dishes such as puree soup, borscht, cabbage soup, beetroot, hodgepodge, fish soup and others.
According to medical research, vegetable puree soups, chicken broth with noodles, fish soup, mushroom cream soup are most useful.
Vitamin vegetable soups are good to eat at any time of the day. Light dietary soup is quickly absorbed in the body, saturating it with useful substances. The calorie content of vegetables in soups is very low, and the energy expended by the body on their digestion is quite high. Therefore, a “negative calorie” process occurs, in which the energy for processing the soup is much higher than the amount of energy in vegetables.
The main rule of this diet is that it is important to eat vegetable soup for 7 days, and after that take a mandatory break. You can repeat the course of the diet several times. On average, for a week of staying on vegetable soups, you can get rid of 4 to 7 kilograms of excess weight.
Calorie content and composition of soups with vegetables
A vegetable soup diet is very useful not only for weight loss, but also as a prophylactic against gastrointestinal diseases. Any vegetable soup contains many vitamins and nutrients.
Soups for weight loss are cooked from vegetables, which are divided into several main groups: low-calorie – broths from cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes that prevent the accumulation of fat cells – soups from legumes, carrots and apples that burn fat accumulations – first courses from avocados, cabbage and any burning spices.
The average calorie content of vegetable soup is about 43 kcal per 100 grams of dish. According to its composition, soups can be from different vegetables, mushrooms and herbs. Different types of vegetable soups include several ingredients.
The most common are potatoes, cabbage, beets, carrots, sweet peppers, onions and herbs. Potato contains vitamins B, PP, E, D, U, which are stored in the broth after cooking.
Onions added to the broth contain the maximum amount of minerals, essential oils, vitamins A, B and C, acetic and phosphoric acids, enzymes.
But in carrots, during heat treatment, coarse dietary fibers are converted into starch, and vitamins are completely digested. However, the superiority of boiled carrots is that they have much more antioxidants than raw carrots. And this means that boiled carrots are also useful for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and the development of cancerous tumors. Diabetics should be careful with boiled carrots, as they contain a high glucose content.
Therefore, it is obvious that vegetable soup diets are used not only for weight loss, but are also prescribed for medicinal purposes. Such soups are cooked only in water or chicken broth. Meat broth is not used to prepare such a first course. As part of the first dishes for weight loss, onion and carrot roasts are also not added. These ingredients are boiled in broth. You can add salt, spices or herbs to taste.
Useful properties of vegetable soup
Soups are useful in any form, regardless of whether they are dietary or for the daily menu. For the normal functioning of the body, in particular for the functioning of the stomach and intestines, soups are simply irreplaceable.
Vegetable first courses perfectly restore the balance of fluid in the body, have preventive and stimulating properties.
In addition, soups stabilize blood pressure. They contain many useful trace elements, vitamins and fiber. During the cooking process, fiber is digested from vegetables, which remains in the broth. Fiber helps stimulate gastrointestinal motility. For sick people, broths are also beneficial because they are easy for the body to digest. With a cold, vegetable soups in chicken broth greatly facilitate the course of the disease, easing coughing attacks and acting as an auxiliary antipyretic. Soups, thanks to their ingredients, remove harmful toxins and serve as protection in the body from infections and bacteria.
By improving the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and intestines, soups prevent the appearance of such unpleasant consequences in the body as constipation, flatulence and gastritis. For dietary nutrition, such dishes are indispensable and useful, because they help to accumulate energy for the full functioning of the body.
The main benefits of vegetable soups are:
- activation of digestion;
- normalization of blood pressure;
- warming effect;
- improved appetite;
- high absorption rate in the stomach.
No less useful are vegetable puree soups. A diet on such soups is useful for stomach diseases and diabetes.
The benefit of chicken soup is that it can reduce the inflammatory process in the body. This is especially important when you have the flu, sore throat or SARS.
Chicken broth perfectly activates the work of the stomach, gallbladder and pancreas, which is especially useful for low acidity, pancreatitis and diabetes. It also dilutes sputum in the bronchi, which helps to eliminate mucus through a wet cough and inhibition of infectious processes. In addition, chicken soup has a positive effect on the nervous system and increases the overall tone of the body.
Puree soups, due to their creamy consistency, have a positive effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. They effectively unload the body, which is important when dieting. Due to their homogeneity, they are quickly digested and absorbed.
An additional advantage of puree soups and cream soups is that they regulate the water-salt balance in the body.
One of the popular vegetable soups all over the world is pea soup. This first course is often used when losing weight and dieting. This soup contains a variety of vegetables and spices. In addition, even bacon, smoked sausages, pork and beef ribs can be put into it. However, the recipe for such pea soup is not suitable for weight loss. In general, the benefits of pea soup are as follows:
- normalization of metabolism;
- help in stabilizing blood sugar levels;
- positive effect on the work of the heart;
- strengthening the immune system;
- normalization of blood pressure;
- help in the fight against depression.
In addition, pea soup helps to effectively and correctly reduce body weight by supplying the body with potassium, magnesium, protein, carbohydrates and phosphorus.
For vegetarians who want to lose weight, a vegetarian soup is ideal. It contains few calories, but it is quite nutritious. It is also useful and is prescribed for a diet for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (in the form of soup-puree), for diabetes. Vegetarian or lean soups can be based on vegetables, cereals or rice.
It is worth noting the huge benefits of onion soup. Onions contain the maximum amount of useful substances that have a pronounced bactericidal property. It is rich in calcium, vitamins and iron. It strengthens teeth, bones and stabilizes the amount of hemoglobin.
Onion soup is ideal for those who want to lose weight and improve metabolism. For medicinal purposes, it is useful for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diabetes, pancreatitis, inflammatory processes and oncology. In addition, onion soup has a very refined taste.
To maximize the preservation of useful properties in soups, when preparing them, it is necessary to chop vegetables more coarsely. This will allow you to save the maximum amount of nutrients in vegetables. Also, chopped vegetables should be used immediately for making soup, as chopped ingredients quickly lose their beneficial properties.
Harm of vegetable soup
Despite the obvious beneficial properties of vegetable soups, in some cases there is a certain harm to their use. The fact is that the broth during a meal, getting into the stomach, dilutes the gastric juice, which leads to a decrease in digestive processes. In this regard, it is not recommended to mix solid and liquid food at the same time at one meal. It is not recommended to drink after meals. It should also be borne in mind that heat treatment reduces the amount of nutrients in vegetables.
Chicken broth can be harmful for acute pancreatitis, ulcers and acidity due to its stimulating properties. Also, nutritionists prohibit its use in urolithiasis and gout.
It is important to remember how to cook the broth correctly. Modern meat products may contain antibiotics and growth stimulants based on hormonal components, so during the cooking process they go into the broth in full. Therefore, it is important to drain the first water during cooking and replace it with new water.
Vegetable soup base
When preparing a healthy vegetable soup, it is important to choose the right ingredients. If meat is taken as the basis of the broth, then several rules should be followed for cooking a healthy broth:
- remove the skin from the bird before cooking the broth;
- use lean meat;
- stew vegetables and add to soup at the very end of cooking;
- use melt water;
- drain the first water and refill clean water into the stockpot;
- choose young meat.
Vegetable soups for weight loss and diets are prepared independently at home exclusively from fresh products. Natural herbs and spices are used as seasonings, a minimum amount of salt is added. Cooking soup should not take much time, otherwise it loses nutrients. Such broths and soups are prepared for one meal. It is not recommended to boil them again.
For a sparing diet, it is better to prepare mashed soups by chopping vegetables in a blender. In order to effectively lose weight, it is important to prepare soups from combined foods. In particular, you can not combine fish and eggs in one dish. Some nutritionists do not recommend combining tomatoes in soup with potatoes, bread or cereals that contain starch. Therefore, reviews of soups with tomatoes are not always positive.
The weight loss diet menu using vegetable soups is designed for a week. The standard menu includes the following order:
- Day 1 – soup, fruit juices, tea or coffee without sugar, fruits;
- Day 2 – soup, greens, vegetables;
- Day 3 – soup, fruits and vegetables;
- Day 4 – soup, milk, vegetables;
- Day 5 – soup, 4-5 tomatoes, 500 grams of boiled fish or chicken fillet (can be replaced with eggs);
- Day 6 – soup, vegetables, 500 grams of boiled beef;
- Day 7 – soup, fresh juice, brown rice, fruit.
The menu can be adjusted depending on the needs of the body and taking into account possible contraindications. It is recommended to eat soup 5-6 times a day in small portions.
Classic vegetable soup recipes
For a diet to lose weight or improve your health, there are several classic recipes for vegetable soups.
The most popular is onion soup. For its preparation, 6 onions are taken, which are fried in olive oil. Then cut cabbage, a couple of carrots, a couple of bell peppers and a couple of celery stalks. The fried vegetables are placed in a bowl for soup, spices and salt, water are added and brought to a boil.
An interesting and delicious soup for weight loss is soup with basil. To prepare it, cut the onion, fry it in butter or olive oil until a golden hue appears.
Then peas, vegetable broth or boiled water are added to the onion and kept on fire for about 15 minutes. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, add a little broth, salt and spices and boil. Then add a little low-fat cream, chopped basil and parsley to the cooling soup.
Carrot soup is considered a very useful soup for a diet. To prepare four servings, you will need 500 grams of carrots, 1 onion, 1 potato, 0,5 liters of water or broth, cilantro or parsley. Olive oil is heated in a saucepan, chopped onions, potatoes and herbs, carrots, broth are added with an interval of 5 minutes. The soup is brought to a boil and kept on low heat for about 20 minutes. After the soup has cooled, grind it with a blender.
Vegetable soups are very useful for weight loss. Diets based on vegetable soups mainly contribute to the work of the stomach and intestines, get rid of harmful toxins, saturating the body with useful substances. The results of the diet are visible after seven days. If after the end of the diet you continue to eat sensibly, you can save the result for a long time.