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Soup's on.

Another day...another struggle to find something different, delicious, and healthy to put in your sandwich.

Ditch the sandwich. Have a bowl of soup instead.

Americans need to eat less meat and cheese and more grains, vegetables, and beans. No one's saying you can't get beans and carrots between two slices of bread. But it's a good deal easier to spoon them out of a cup. You can still have the bread - and maybe even a salad - on the side.

The trick is finding a soup that's healthy...and tasty. If you steer clear of most creamed soups and ramen ra·men  
n.
1. A Japanese dish of noodles in broth, often garnished with small pieces of meat and vegetables.

2. A thin white noodle served in this dish.
 noodles noo·dle 1  
n.
A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water.



[German Nudel.
, it's not too tough to dodge the fat. But finding a nutrient-packed, flavorful soup without half a day's worth of salt is quite a feat.

That's why we did it for you.

CAN THE CAN

To most people, the word "soup" conjures up a single image: the red and white Campbell's can that has dominated the U.S. soup market for decades. Unfortunately, Campbell's regular line of condensed con·dense  
v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es

v.tr.
1. To reduce the volume or compass of.

2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten.

3. Physics
a.
 soups has, on average, more than 800 milligrams of sodium and only 85 calories.

That's a third of your daily sodium limit in a food that has less than a twentieth of the calories in a 2,000-calorie diet. And that's if you eat only one cup.

Campbell's Chunky and Home Cookin' Home Cookin’ is a horn-based soul band that played in the Las Vegas local scene from 1989 to 2000. Described my drummer Frank Klepacki as "just a good-time, funky dance band", the band has been compared to Tower of Power and featured a five-man horn section.  lines are about as salty. Ditto for the average Progresso, Hain, Snow's, Baxters, or Andersen's.

In recent years, the Years, The

the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109]

See : Time
 soupmakers' salt shakers Shakers, popular name for members of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also called the Millennial Church. Members of the movement, who received their name from the trembling produced by religious emotion, were also known as Alethians.  have lightened up...a little. Healthy Choice averages 560 mg per cup, while Campbell's Healthy Request line hits about 465 mg, and Progresso Healthy Classics clock in at 455 mg. With those line averages, several soups hit the 300-to-500-mg range they needed to get an "Honorable Mention."

The taste? Of those we tested, Progresso's Healthy Classics Lentil lentil, leguminous Old World annual plant (Lens culinaris) with whitish or pale blue flowers. Its pods contain two greenish-brown or dark-colored seeds, also called lentils, which when fully ripe are ground into meal or used in soups and stews.  and Healthy Classics Beef Barley, Campbell's Healthy Request Split Pea split pea
Noun

a pea dried and split and used in soups or as a vegetable
 with Ham, and Bearitos Fat Free Black Bean black bean

see castanospermum australe, erythrophleumchlorostachys.
 Soup were quite good. Health Valley's Fat-Free Black Bean & Vegetable, Fat Free Split Pea & Carrots, Organic Minestrone, Organic Mushroom Barley, and Organic Potato Leek leek: see onion.
leek

Hardy, vigorous, biennial plant (Allium porrum) of the lily family, native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. It has a mild, sweet, onionlike flavour.
 were not.

Of course, to stay under the recommended 2,400 mg a day, you may seek a still-lowersodium soup. Watch out.

For some reason, most low-salt canned soups Canned soup is soup that comes packaged in a can. It can be condensed, in which case it is prepared by adding water (or sometimes milk), or it can be ready-to-eat, meaning that it only needs to be warmed. Canned soup can be prepared by heating in a pan or in the microwave.  by Health Valley, Pritikin, and Hain taste...well, like the can. Of the "Best Bites" in our chart, only Pritikin's Navy Bean navy bean

phaseoluslunatus.
 and Tomato were passable pass·a·ble  
adj.
1. That can be passed, traversed, or crossed; navigable: a passable road.

2. Acceptable for general circulation: passable currency.

3.
. In general, if you want good flavor in a low-salt soup, you're better off with dried than canned.

HOW DRY I AM

Just as canned soup used to mean Campbell's, dried soup used to mean Lipton's. No longer.

Taste Adventure, Fantastic Foods, and Nile Spice now sell a different breed of dried soup. They're typically lower in salt and richer in beans, grains, and flavor.

Only two - fantastic Foods' Only A Pinch Lentils & Couscous cous·cous  
n.
1. A pasta of North African origin made of crushed and steamed semolina.

2. A North African dish consisting of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stew.
 and Spanish Rice & Beans - met the 300 mg sodium cutoff for "Best Bites. Both also got a thumbs up for taste.

Among the "Honorable Mentions" - which could hit 500 mg of sodium - we also liked most of the dried soups we tasted: Taste Adventure's Minestrone and Navy Bean; Nile Spice's Black Bean, Lentil, and Split Pea; and Fantastic Foods' Black Bean, Cha-cha Chili (language) CHILI - D.L. Abt. A language for systems programming, based on ALGOL 60 with extensions for structures and type declarations.

["CHILI, An Algorithmic Language for Systems Programming", CHI-1014, Chi Corp, Sep 1975]
, Laughin' Lentil, Minestrone and Lentils Over Couscous.

In contrast, our tastebuds gave a thumbs down to Fantastic Foods' Barley Vegetable, Broccoli'n Cheddar, and Corn & Potato Chowder chowder, stew of fish or shellfish with potatoes, onions, and pork (usually salt pork), thickened with crumbled hard bread. The name chowder seems to have originated from the French word chaudière .

A bonus: these newer brands of dried soups have fewer additives like MSG MSG: see glutamic acid.  and disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate (E631), chemical formula C10H11N2Na2O8P, is the disodium salt of inosinic acid. It is a food additive often found in instant noodles, potato chips, and a variety of other snacks. . If you can't find them in your supermarket, try a food co-op or natural foods store.

SAY FREEZE

Frozen soups? They may cost a bit more than canned or dried, but they taste like homemade. Tabatchnick's No Salt soups (Barley and Mushroom, Pea, and Vegetable) and Jaclyn's Vegetable, Lentil, and Split Pea all met our criteria for "Best Bites."

That means they not only had no more than 300 mg of sodium and no more than three grams of fat, but also had enough nutritious ingredients to meet our vitamin-mineral-and-fiber criteria (see chart). What with all that real food, they didn't need the usual flavor enhancers" like MSG.

A soup made of nothing but fresh, flavorful food? What a novel idea. Maybe it'll catch on.

BLAMIN' RAMEN

Dried ramen or noodle soups Noodle soup refers to a variety of dishes with noodles served in stock and other ingredients. The dish is an Asian staple. Varieties
China and Taiwan
There are a myriad of noodle soup dishes originating in China, and many of these are eaten in, or adapted in
 seem so innocent. What could be wrong with a bowl full of noodles and broth broth

liquid media for culturing microorganisms.


cooked meat broth
a medium useful for culturing anaerobic bacteria.

enrichment broth
one modified to permit growth by selected bacteria.
? Plenty.

Companies like Campbell, Nissin, and Maruchan apparently fry their noodles in fat before the soup is dried. And it's often saturated palm oil.

So an individual serving - which ranges from one to two cups - delivers 10 to 18 grams of fat. Adding salt to the wound, those manufacturers typically throw in 1,000 to 1,800 milligrams of sodium. Few foods are worse than that.

Campbell's Low Fat Ramen Noodles are lower in fat, but the sodium is still sky-high. If you want noodles, add some very thin spaghetti to a lowersodium chicken broth Noun 1. chicken broth - a stock made with chicken
chicken stock

broth, stock - liquid in which meat and vegetables are simmered; used as a basis for e.g. soups or sauces; "she made gravy with a base of beef stock"
.

From Souper to Salty

Our "Best Bites" had no more than three grams of fat and 300 milligrams of sodium in an eight-ounce serving (for multiple-serve containers) or per serving (for individual-serving containers). They also had at least 10 percent of the Daily Value for at least two of the following: vitamin A vitamin A
 also called retinol

Fat-soluble alcohol, most abundant in fatty fish and especially in fish-liver oils. It is not found in plants, but many vegetables and fruits contain beta-carotene (see
, vitamin C vitamin C
 or ascorbic acid

Water-soluble organic compound important in animal metabolism. Most animals produce it in their bodies, but humans, other primates, and guinea pigs need it in the diet to prevent scurvy.
, iron, calcium, and fiber. "Honorable Mentions" met the same criteria, except that sodium could hit 500 mg. The number in parentheses See parenthesis.

parentheses - See left parenthesis, right parenthesis.
 following the name of each individual-serving soup is how many ounces you'd get by eating the entire container. Products are ranked from lowest fat to highest, before rounding.
Soup                                            Calories Sodium
(8 oz.)                                                   (mg)


Multiple-serving Containers

0 Grams of Fat
/ Health Valley Organic No Salt Added(1)                   83      78
/ Health Valley Fat-Free Corn & Vegetable                  75     235
/ Health Valley Fat-Free 5 Bean Vegetable                 107     246
/ Health Valley Fat-Free Tomato Vegetable                  54     246
/ Health Valley Fat-Free Vegetable Barley                  64     246
/ Health Valley Fat-Free 14 Garden Vegetable               54     268
/ Health Valley Organic Lentil or Tomato(2)                91     284
/ Health Valley Fat-Free Lentil & Carrots                  96     289
* Health Valley Fat-Free Black Bean & Vegetable            75     310
* Health Valley Fat-Free or Organic Minestrone(2)          91     310
* Health Valley Fat-Free Split Pea & Carrots               86     310
* Health Valley Organic Mushroom Barley                    75     310
* Health Valley Organic Potato Leek                        64     310
* Conrad Rice Black Bean                                  140     370


* Bearitos Fat Free Black Bean, Lentil, Navy Bean,
   Split Pea, or Vegetable(2)                              94     480
  Baxters 100% Fat Free(1)                                 90     887


1 Gram of Fat
* Taste Adventure Minestrone or Navy Bean(2)              136     327
  Lipton Soup Secrets or Recipe Secrets(1)                 47     619
/ Hain 99% Fat Free No Salt Added Lentil                  118      50
/ Hain 99% Fat Free No Salt Added Split Pea               126      59


/ Pritikin Lentil, Minestrone, Navy Bean,
   Split Pea, Tomato, or Vegetable(2)                      98     161
* Progresso Healthy Classics Lentil                       120     420
  Healthy Choice Lentil or Minestrone(2)                  161     535
  Healthy Choice Garden Vegetable or Chili Beef(2)        134     599
  Campbell's Soup and Recipe Mix(1)                        96     714


2 Grams of Fat * Campbell's Healthy Request Split Pea with Ham 150

400

Campbell's Healthy Request Chicken Noodle,

Minestrone, or Tomato(2) 80 430

Progresso Healthy Classics Chicken Noodle,

Chicken Rice, or Minestrone(2) 93 463

Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken,
   Cream of Mushroom, or Vegetable(2)                      73     490
* Healthy Choice Bean and Ham                             182     492


3 Grams of fat
  Knorr, regular or Chef's Collection mix(1)               87     856
  Campbell's Healthy Request Hearty Chicken Rice          110     480
* Progresso Healthy Classics Beef Barley                  140     480
  Hain, regular(1)                                         98     783
  Campbell's, regular(1)                                   87     811
  Snow's(1),(3)                                           113     698


4-6 Grams of Fat
  Campbell's Home Cookin'(1)                              129     789
  Progresso, regular or Pasta(1)                          111     758
  Andersen's(1)                                           173     783
  Campbell's Chunky(1)                                    164     822


Individual-Serving Containers

1 Gram of fat
/ Jaclyn's Vegetable (7.5)                                 90     195
* Nile Spice Black Bean, Lentil, or Split Pea(2) (10.0)   190     460
  Spice Hunter Quick & Natural Lentil (10.5)              160     580
/ Tabatchnick No Salt(1) (7.5)                            121     167


2 Grams of Fat
/ Fantastic Foods Only A Pinch(1) (10.0)                  217     120
* Fantastic Foods, regular(4) (10.0)                      190     487
  Tabatchnick, regular(1) (7.5)                           110     626
 / Jaclyn's Lentil or Split Pea(2) (7.5)                  135     182
* Weight Watchers Chunky Beef Stew (7.5)                  120     450


Fantastic Foods Cream of Mushroom or
   Snow Peas & Rice(2) (10.0)                             125     485
  Campbell's Low Fat Ramen Noodle Cup(1) (12.4)           223   1,448
  Lipton Cup-A-Soup(1) (6.0)                               78     639


4-5 Grams of Fat
  Campbell's Low Sodium Split Pea (10.8)                  230      30
  Campbell's Microwave(1) (7.8)                           141     930


10-18 Grams of Fat
  Campbell's Ramen Noodle in a Cup(1) (12.4)              273   1,350
  Nissin Cup O' Noodles(1) (8.0)                          285   1,520
  Maruchan Instant Lunch(1) (14.0)                        290   1,050
  Campbell's Sanwa Ramen Pride Cup(1) (12.4)              333   1,453
  Nissin Top Ramen or Oodles of Noodles(1) (16.0)         395   1,865


/ = "Best Bite." * = "Honorable Mention." (1) = brand average. (2)= average for soups listed. (3) = if made with 1% lowfat milk. (4) = entire line except Cream of Mushroom and Snow Peas & Rice. * All information obtained from manufacturers. The use of information from this article for commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission from CSPI CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest
CSPI Corporate Service Price Index
CSPI Cumulative Schedule Performance Index
.
COPYRIGHT 1993 Center for Science in the Public Interest
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1993, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Article Details
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Title Annotation:Brand-Name Comparison
Author:Liebman, Bonnie
Publication:Nutrition Action Healthletter
Date:Dec 1, 1993
Words:1531
Previous Article:Name that deception.
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