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Too busy to grab a healthy beverage? Give soups and broths a try

Keep your soup spoon-ready

Over the last few years, we’ve developed a great affinity to certain kitchen gadgets, including but not limited to the soup maker, the mixer grinder, the juicer, et al. We keep going back and forth to these gadgets, with a hope to find newer ways to eat healthier, rather drink healthier. Juices have led the popularity charts for a bit, but lately we’ve become huge fans of having soup for lunch, dinner, in between and beyond. And numbers prove so, according to a 2021 study by tastewise.io, soup popularity changed by 22.12 per cent over the past year. On an average, soup is consumed 2.61 times every year, and the market adoption for soup in restaurants is 48.13 per cent and it is 2.85 per cent of recipes. Rewind a bit and you’d learn that commercial soup became popular with the invention of canning in the 19th century, and today a great variety of canned and dried soups are available in the market. Also, broths are giving soups a tough competition. We dig deeper as we get our soup and broth spoon-ready.

Soup versus broth

Nicci Clark, CEO and founder, Re:Nourish, a brand that offers microwaveable grab-and-go soup bottles with health benefits, says, “The benefits of consuming soups are that it reduces bloating, reduces portion intake, which in turn reduces calorie intake leading to weight loss and eases digestive issues.” Their fresh soups are sans additives, preservatives and allergens, and have no added sugar. Interestingly, it’s not just soup that’s on the healthy beverage menu, its counterpart, broth is there too. “The recommendation of incorporating broth in one’s diet lies in its ability to enhance the body’s ability to detoxify, particularly the liver, by providing it with an amino acid called glycine (from collagen content and in abundance in bone broth). It is generally made by the liver, but due to today’s lifestyle and hectic daily routines, we do not produce enough at all. Hence any extra you get through incorporating broth in your diet gives your liver something it needs to naturally clean itself. The whole world has gone sluggish if you ask me. Hence incorporating this liquid gold as a mug-a-day has tremendous impact on the body simply by cooking with it or incorporating it as a liquid snack between the solid regular meals,” says Hadil Al-Khatib, founder, The Broth Lab and co-owner, The Roost Rotisserie. Hadil, who is also an Institute of Integrative Nutrition-certified gut health coach, recommends enthusiasts to give the one-week cleanse by The Broth Lab a try, which is mainly solid meals that incorporates liquids in the form of broths to enable the body to detoxify and lose weight the healthy way.

So, what’s a full-on liquid diet?

The Mayo Clinic defines a liquid diet as a diet consisting of clear liquids — such as water, juices, broth and plain gelatin — that are easily digested and leave no undigested residue in the intestinal tract. A few of us, especially weightwatchers, have found ourselves tempted to go on a liquid diet, with the hope to lose the kilos and inches faster through shortcuts. “I would not recommend a completely liquid diet for more than five days, as you will end up missing important nutrients, including fat, fibre and protein. This is especially true with juice only cleanses,” advises Nicci. “Having differentiated the two types of liquid meal plans, the full liquid meal plan (with no solids) is not suitable long-term unless the benefits outweigh the risks of being on it for more than one month under strict doctor’s or dietitian’s supervision,” advises Hadil.

I don’t want to lose weight; shall I still go in for a soup?

“Incorporating broth in one’s diet should be mainly for its delicious flavours and profound health benefits,” says Hadil. “It should not be aimed for weight loss solely.”

“Swapping a sandwich of white bread with processed meat for a healthy soup that is packed with fibre and vitamins helps the body,” agrees Nicci. “Yes, weight loss is a positive consequence for eating clean and healthy, it is obvious, but also because broth is low in calories — 50 calories only in a broth serving which is the recommended snack between the meals. Further, it is also rich in amino acids and high in protein, so it gives one the feeling of being full — hence the weight loss,” adds Hadil. “They are light on the stomach and great for the digestive system as well,” remarks Juan Pablo Rey Nores, executive chef, Weslodge Saloon City Walk and Business Bay.

Isn’t it better to eat vegetables and fruits versus liquid-ifying them?

Juan adds, “The vegetables in this liquid food are easily assimilated into the body, and vegetables don’t lose nutrients in this kind of preparation.” One bottle of Re:Nourish digest carrot and ginger soup has half your daily fibre intake needs and all the vitamin A you need, which is essential for the immune system and eye health. Beetroot, cranberry, cucumber, spinach, tomato and celery are best used when juiced out, suggests Hadil. “Absolutely. Our brothies are smoothies that are blended and broth-infused, so the fiber is still in. Similarly, broth-infused soups, contain blended veggies, such as spinach and beetroot, which when liquefied, allow for their enzymes and minerals to be easily absorbed by the gut,” says Hadil. “It’s all about the absorption of sugar into the blood stream, with juices rather than eating fruits. The sugars (glucose and fructose) in the juice will cross the intestinal wall far quicker without soluble fibre present in whole fruit because the barrier will be missing. Vitamins A, D, E and K require fat absorption. Hence soups have a lower sugar content than juices, making them healthier and less of a sugar spike in the blood,” adds Nicci.

purva@khaleejtimes.com