Soups can often be an excellent choice for low carb dieters. Regardless of the diet phase in which you find yourself, there is probably a soup that can fit your requirements. This is especially true if you are willing to make the soup yourself. However, the range and variety of prepared soups have expanded greatly in recent years.
What makes soups so attractive on a low carb diet is that they tend to be tastier than the typical choices available. And you can often eat larger portions than you might otherwise expect on a diet. The carbohydrate content of soup is directly and solely related to the ingredients you add. Vegetable soup can be very low carb as long as you avoid adding starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes. Another real plus for vegetable soups is their generally low amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol coupled with high levels of fibre.
Of course, from a carbohydrate content point of view, adding meat to your soups doesn’t create any problems. Meats are naturally high in protein with negligible carbs. So in terms of impact on your daily carbohydrate budget, adding meat to your soup is free and flavourful. Just make sure you don’t add too much fat or sodium with the meat. Choose leaner cuts and avoid processed meats.
Sauces are great taste enhancers to all the foods you eat. However, most sauces used today are commercially pre-packaged and ready-to-eat. Great for convenience, but not so good for salt and sugar levels. Ready-made sauces also tend to have high amounts of saturated fats and calories. This unbalanced fare isn’t good for anyone, but dieters and diabetics could face higher risks.
The better option is to make your own sauces using organic ingredients and controlling the amount of salt and sugar. You will be surprised how easy it is to make your own healthy sauces and how much more intense and satisfying their flavours will be. Often sauces can literally be prepared in seconds. Once you've found a favourite, you'll be whipping it up without a second thought. All those “boring healthy” foods suddenly become more appetising, and diet control becomes so much more easy as a result.
Gravies are a specific type of sauce made from pan drippings or meat broth. In terms of healthy nutrition, gravies are probably not the best thing in the world. Thickened gravies usually include extra fat and the thickening agent usually adds carbohydrates. However, if you do choose to have gravy, try to stick to home-made recipes instead of giving in to ready-made mixes.