Food and Nutrition

6 Worst Soups in America

 

Soup may be the ultimate comfort food. It’s warm, it’s nourishing, and you don’t even have to chew it. No wonder Mom made it whenever you were sad, cold, or just plain under the weather.

But here’s a dirty little secret: A lot of soups out there aren’t comfort food at all. They’re discomfort food. That’s because they can make for a lot of discomfort every time you step on the scale, test your blood pressure, or try to squeeze into last year’s swimsuit. Everybody likes a nice, rich broth, but some soups are the Donald Trumps of food: too rich, too thick, and ultimately, full of nonsense. (And like the Donald, some are pretty darn salty, too!)

So whether you’re watching your weight, your blood pressure, or just your general health, take a second look at what’s in your bowl. Here’s how to spot a bad bisque, quick!

6 Worst Soups in America

6. WORST LEGUME-BASED SOUP: Amy’s Organic Soups, Indian Dal Curried Lentil (2 cups/1 can)

460 calories, 16 g fat (2 g saturated), 1,360 mg sodium

Dal is a healthy staple throughout the Indian subcontinent, but in Amy’s version, these legumes are awash in fat. 
Each can contains more than a full tablespoon of vegetable oil, which contributes nearly a third of the total calories. Switch to Amy's Light in Sodium Split Pea, instead. It cuts calories and sodium by more than half and provides a hunger-crushing 12 grams of fiber.

Eat This Instead!

Amy's Light in Sodium Split Pea Soup (2 cups/1 can)

200 calories, 0 g fat (0 g saturated), 660 mg sodium

 

5.  WORST POTATO SOUP: Pacific Natural Foods Organic Rosemary Potato Chowder (2 cups/1 container)

460 calories, 16 g fat (10 g saturated), 1,460 mg sodium

Pacific’s soup may be natural and organic, but with this much cream, it's certainly not light. With an escalated calorie count and half a day’s saturated fat, this chowder seems like it should be served from a fast food window. 
In fact, you'd take in fewer calories if you ate a McDonald’s 4-piece Chicken McNuggets with small fries.

Eat This Instead!

Pacific Natural Foods Organic Butternut Squash Bisque (2 cups/1 container)

220 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated), 1,020 mg sodium
 

4.  WORST SEAFOOD SOUP: TGI Friday’s New England Clam Chowder

500 calories, 18 g saturated fat, 1,560 mg sodium

When it comes to chowder, it's all about region: Manhattan-style relies on a tomato base, whereas New Englanders prefer a far fattier cream base. That detail makes all the difference, as evidenced here by Friday's 500-calorie chowder. Switch to Manhattan or, when at Friday's, this Chicken Noodle instead and you cut the saturated fat load by more than 80 percent!

Eat This Instead!

TGI Friday's Chicken Noodle

250 calories, 3 g saturated fat, 1,240 mg sodium
 

3.  WORST CHOWDER: Au Bon Pain Corn Chowder (large)

510 calories, 26 g fat (12 g saturated), 1,640 mg sodium

The other problem with chowders: They can be weighed down by high-calorie dairy ingredients. Milk and half and half sit atop this one's ingredient list, followed shortly thereafter by heavy cream and butter. The result is a bowl of soup that swallows up 60 percent of your saturated fat allowance for the entire day. Get your Tex-Mex fill for fewer than the half the calories by switching to the Southwest Vegetable Soup instead. 

Make a trade like this for lunch every day and you'll lose more than half a pound each week!

Eat This Instead!

Au Bon Pain Southwest Vegetable Soup (large)

250 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated), 580 mg sodium
 

2. WORST VEGETABLE SOUP: Cosi Tomato Basil Aurora (large)

597 calories, 54 g fat (33 g saturated, 3 g trans), 1,701 mg sodium

Tomato soup is one of the good guys, right? While typically this is true, a single bowl of Cosi's bisque will saddle you with more than 1.5 days' maximum allotment of saturated fat, not to mention a dangerous glut of trans fat. Here are a few foods than contain less saturated and trans fat: Burger King Triple Whopper, 13 Taco Bell Steak Nacho Cheese Chalupas, and an entire medium-sized pepperoni pizza from Domino's. Switch to the Moroccan Lentil Soup for less than half the calories and an impressive 15 grams of fiber. 

Cosi's soups tend to be on the salty side, though, so stick to a regular serving size to keep the sodium levels in check.

Eat This Instead!

Cosi Moroccan Lentil Soup (regular)

238 calories, 4 g fat (0 g saturated), 1,225 mg sodium

 

 

1. WORST STEW: Panera All-Natural Sonoma Chicken Stew with Mini Dry Jack Biscuit

630 calories, 34 g fat (20 g saturated, 1 g trans), 2,030 mg sodium

Panera’s chicken stew sinks to the bottom of this list thanks to its precipitous calorie count, a full day's saturated fat, and nearly a full day's worth of sodium. This stew fares poorly across every major nutritional category, which makes it the worst bowl in America. Switch to the Garden Vegetable Soup instead, which delivers three times the fiber with a mere fraction of the calories.

Eat This Instead!

Panera Low Fat Garden Vegetable with Pesto

150 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 930 mg sodium