Quick and easy, a ready-to-go-soup can make a healthy lunch, dinner or snack option, provided you know what to look for... Why not pull this guide out next time you're in the soup aisle?
Whether you’re vegan, dairy free, gluten free, on a lower salt or low FODMAP diet, we’ve found a clean supermarket soup option for everyone...happy slurping!
Hart & Soul Chicken & Mushroom Soup
Why we love it
- Dairy free lactose intolerants rejoice! Coconut milk is used here instead of milk, butter or cream for a rich ‘n creamy, super satisfying flavour, without the gut ache.
- All natural ingredients we love the short and sweet ingredients list, featuring ingredients we recognise and would keep in our fridge and pantry - like shallots, shiitake mushrooms, galangal, garlic and coconut sugar. In comparison, a super commercial cuppa soup brand with a similar flavour has a lengthy ingredients list with some suspicious sounding ingredients - like hydrolysed corn protein, creamer (made with glucose syrup and vegetable oil), caramel colour and flavour enhancers (read: MSG!).
- Gluten free While many soups available from the supermarket contain gluten-containing wheat noodles, this Hart & Soul soup is gluten free - a healthier choice for coeliacs, or if you don’t do wheat or gluten for other reasons.
Find Heart & Soul Chicken & Mushroom Soup in your October GoodnessMe Box
Pitango Free Range Spring Lamb Soup (in the fridge section)
Why we love it
- You knew we were gonna say ‘cause it’s free range!
- Veggie-loaded More than half of the ingredients in here are veg (hello filling fibre!) and the flavour and texture of the pumpkin in here works a treat with the lamb.
- Real ingredients Again, no weird and wacky ingredients in here: think veggies, lamb, red wine, herbs and spices.
- A higher protein and iron option we love our lamb!
Darikay Thai Pumpkin Soup (in the fridge section)
Why we love it
- Lower salt this one has a surprisingly low sodium content for a ready-made soup - only 120mg of sodium per 100ml. If you’re trying to cut back on salt, Nutrition Australia recommend opting for packaged foods with a sodium content no higher than this exact amount - 120mg per 100 ml or grams.
- Wholefood ingredients like fresh lime juice, coconut milk and pumpkin, a flavour combo that works a treat - proof that often simple works best, and that real foods provide all the flavour you need.
- No added sugar Thai soups typically contain a decent amount of palm sugar, but there’s zilch in this one.
The Stock Merchant Bone Broth
Yes to bringing bone broth to the supermarket! Why we love this one
- Onion and garlic free therefore ideal for anyone with IBS trialling a low FODMAP diet, or if you find your gut can’t tolerate onion or garlic.
- It’s 24-hour cooking process this means more gut-loving minerals and amino acids from the chicken or beef bones will have leached into the broth.
- High Protein With 19 grams of protein per 250ml cup of broth, this is your blood- sugar-stabilising snack. Ethical ingredients Choose from free range chicken or grass-fed, free range beef bone broth.
- Salt FREE at last, a salt free broth does exist! Who said broth has to be super salty? Add a pinch of salt to taste if you’d like – finally a soup base that allows you to control how much salt is in your meal. The chicken and beef bone both are equally rich and umami (the fifth basic taste that translates to the savoury flavour protein provides), reducing the need to add salt in the first place.
Hart & Soul Coconut Pumpkin Soup
Why we love it
- The lowest sodium VEGAN soup option we’ve managed to find on the market, with only 169 mg sodium/100ml.
- Easy to jazz up with protein-rich toppings try grilled firm tofu (cooked in coconut oil and a dash of soy sauce), chickpeas, or a scoop of natural crunchy peanut butter (trust us!)
- Preservative free it’s hard to find a packaged, shelf-stable soup without preservatives but Hart & Soul have figured out how to do it, sticking to natural ingredients only.