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Soups are for all seasons and all times. They are a comfort food that everyone loves to indulge in. Not only are they extremely delicious and filling, they work wonders for your health too. What about healthy soups for diabetics? Is that possible? Yes! Soups strike a great deal in diabetes management as well. .
Diabetes can be managed well with certain lifestyle changes, which includes a healthy diet. Let’s find out how soups are favorable for diabetics and take a look at 5 healthy soup recipes.
Contents:
Are Soups Healthy?
Soups are filled with a whole lot of goodness and make for a wholesome meal. They are packed with nutrients and are tasty at the same time. As soups can be customized in whichever way you like, they are easy to make and it also keeps you satiated.
You can add your favorite vegetables, legumes, and spices to your soup to make it tastier and healthier. Soups are high in fiber and other nutrients and can be made low-calorie by choosing the ingredients wisely. Thus, they form a healthy addition to your diet.
How to Make Your Soups Diabetic-Friendly?
Being a diabetic, it becomes vital to manage your blood sugar levels and keep an eye on what you eat. Also, it is not necessary to let go of all the foods you love. The key is to find what works best for you.
Soups are a great way to add some nutritious and fiber-packed vegetables, herbs, and legumes to your diet. Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. At the same time, they are low in carbohydrates and fats, which lowers its calorie count.
For making your soups diabetic-friendly, you can add non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, and beans to your soup. You can also add lean meat such as skinless chicken and legumes such as lentils to soups to up their protein-quotient and make them more filling.
5 Healthy Soups for Diabetics
Here are 5 healthy soup recipes for diabetics:
1. Herb-Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- Chopped tomatoes: 1 cup
- Garlic hummus: ¼ cup
- Pepper: ½ tsp
- Snipped fresh parsley: 1 tsp
- Salt: to taste
Directions
Add the first three ingredients to a pan and stir on medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat, add salt and simmer for 5 minutes before switching the flame off. Once it cools down, transfer the contents to a mixer and blend well. Transfer the blended mixture back to the pan again and heat for 2 to 3 minutes on low flame. Once done, transfer to a bowl, garnish with parsley, and serve hot.
2. Mushroom Soup
Ingredients
- Thickly sliced mushrooms (any kind): 1 cup
- Chopped onions: ½ cup
- Whole wheat flour: 1 tsp
- Low-fat milk: ½ cup
- Oil: 1 tsp
- Salt: to taste
Directions
Add oil to a pan and saute the onions on a medium flame for 1 minute. Add the whole wheat flour, mushrooms, add salt to taste and add half a cup of water to the pan. Cook well for 5 to 6 minutes and stir occasionally. Remove from the flame and allow it to cool. Add milk to the mixture and blend in a mixer until smooth. Transfer the mixture back to the pan and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve hot in a bowl.
3. Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- Finely chopped onion, bell pepper, and carrots: ½ cup each
- Chopped celery: ½ cup
- Brown lentils (massor dal), rinsed and drained: ½ cup
- Dried oregano: 1 tsp
- Water: 1 cup
- Salt: to taste
Directions
Add onion, bell pepper, carrots, and celery to a pan, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until tender. Add salt to taste and keep stirring occasionally. Add the lentils, water, and oregano to the pan, mix well and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer for another 10 minutes until the lentils are tender and stir occasionally. Let the mixture cool down and then blend well in a mixer. Transfer the blended mixture to the pan, heat for 2 to 3 minutes, and serve hot.
4. Broccoli Spinach Soup
Ingredients
- Chopped onion and broccoli: ½ cup
- Chopped spinach: ½ cup
- Chopped potato: ½ cup
- Butter: 1 tbsp
- Parmesan cheese: 1 tsp
- Black pepper: crushed
- Salt: to taste
Directions
Add butter to a pan, add the chopped onions, and saute on a medium flame until translucent. Add chopped broccoli and potato to the pan, add salt as needed and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add spinach, cook on a medium flame while stirring occasionally. Once the vegetables are cooked through, remove the mixture from the pan and allow it to cool down. Blend the mixture in a blender until it is smooth. Transfer the contents back to a pan and heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle pepper and parmesan cheese on the soup and serve hot in a bowl.
5. Kale Barley Soup
Ingredients
- Chopped onion, carrot, and tomato: ½ cup each
- Chopped kale: 1 cup
- Minced garlic: 2 cloves
- Cooked barley: ½ cup
- Ground cumin: 1 tsp
- Turmeric, salt and pepper: ½ tsp
- Olive oil: 1 tsp
- Salt: to taste
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the onions on a medium flame until they become translucent. Add carrots and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until they become tender. Add garlic, tomato, barley, cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Add half a cup of water and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes. Add kale and cook until it turns bright green. Once done, cool and transfer the mixture to a blender and blend well. Heat the contents again on a pan for 1 to 2 minutes and serve hot in a bowl.
What is the Best Time for Diabetics to Have Soup?
There is no one best time to have soups for diabetics. Soups are light on your stomach and easily digested. Thus, they can be had at any time of the day. However, having a bowl of soup before your meal is known to improve your metabolism and is found to be favorable for diabetics.
How Much Soup Can be Consumed in a Day With Diabetes?
You can have 2 to 3 bowls of soup a day. The nutritional value of your soups depends upon the ingredients you choose. Healthy ingredients such as vegetables, lean meat, or pulses can boost your health and improve digestion.
Adding a bowl of soup before your meal will increase the nutritional value of your diet. If you have 2 to 3 bowls of soup in a day, try to include soups made of different ingredients in your diet to make sure you get nutrients from a wide range of sources.
Don’t Have Time To Read?
- Soups are easy to make, yummy, and healthy at the same time. Soups are for all seasons and all times. They are a comfort food that everyone loves to indulge in.
- You can add your favorite vegetables, legumes, lean meat, and spices to your soup to make it tastier and healthier. Soups are low in calories and high in fiber and other nutrients. Thus, they form a healthy addition to your diet.
- For making your soups diabetic-friendly, you can add non-starchy vegetables to it such as broccoli, tomatoes, beans, corn, and peas.
- Some healthy soup options for diabetics include herb-tomato soup, lentil soup, mushroom soup, and kale barley soup.
- Having a bowl of soup before your meal is known to improve your metabolism and is found to be favorable for diabetics. You can have 2 to 3 bowls of soup a day.
- Use the Phable Care App to consult India’s leading diabetologists, order medicines, book lab tests, integrate blood sugar monitoring and other devices to get real-time remote care from the comfort of your home. Also, check out our Diabetes Management program which provides 360º care. Let’s treat diabetes together.
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Friendly Asked Questions
Soups that contain low-starch vegetables such as broccoli and mushrooms, and fiber-rich carbohydrate sources such as beans and legumes are good for diabetics. Soups made with fresh ingredients, without added salt, are great for your health.
Soups form a nutritious meal by themselves and are good for diabetics. They contain ingredients that are high in fiber and low in calories, making them ideal for diabetics. They can also keep you full for longer and help prevent unhealthy snacking. However, try to include soups among other healthy meals in your diet, as eating only one type of food can restrict the type of nutrients you consume.
Tomatoes are rich in fiber and have a low glycemic index (GI), making it ideal for diabetics. The glycemic index of a particular food refers to the increase in your blood sugar levels after consuming it. Freshly made tomato soup is a good choice for diabetics.
Lentils are low-starch legumes that are high in soluble fiber and protein, and low in calories. They slow down the breakdown of the carbohydrates into glucose in the blood and thus do not cause spikes in blood sugar levels. Therefore, they are perfect for diabetics.