Boost Your Health With Delicious Soups and Salads

Nutritious and superb dishes are the best weapon against any diseases and condition that could lead to health issues. You'll see different kind of soup and salad recipes you can be making to put more variety into your meals. Plants-based soups keep your body full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, while ensuring your body is maintained healthy. Scrumptious soups and salads pacify taste-buds and reduce your waistline.

The Health Benefits of Eating Soups

Nothing is more comforting on a cold day than a warm bowl of soup. But soup isn’t just hearty comfort food—it's actually really good for you. Here are some of the main health benefits of adding more soup to your diet:

Stay hydrated

The main ingredient of soup is water that will keep you hydrated. The water content in soups helps you full, results you eating overall less.

Reduce inflammation

Most of the soups contain anti-inflammatory ingredients such as onions, garlic, olive oil and leafy greens. The spices and herbs used such as turmeric, rosemary and ginger, also have thermo genic and anti-inflammatory effects. Soups help reducing chronic inflammation in the body.

Boost immunity

Mineral and vitamin zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D abundant broth soups are received by the human body into the immune response system. The chicken soup is known for the fact that it has the moderate anti-inflammatory property that could well help in alleviating the cold and fever symptoms. Get some garlic, ginger, mushrooms and green veggies on board – will keep your immune system happy for sure.         

Improve digestion

The warm temperature of soup helps stimulate digestion. Soups are easy to digest, softened veggies helps in digestion. Soups are high in probiotics, like miso soup; introduce good bacteria that aid digestion. Broths in keep you hydrated while providing essential electrolytes like sodium and potassium that are important for digestion.

Lose weight

Replacing a meal with a bowl of broth-based vegetable soup will keep your calories in checkand help shedding those extra pounds. Avoid creamy soups and amount of the sodium, as too much can lead to water retention in body.

Build Nutritious and Satisfying Salads

Start with a Base of Leafy Greens

Leafy greens such as romaine, spinach, kale, and arugula make a great base for any salad. They are loaded with vitamins A, C, and K as well as antioxidants. For extra nutrition, add veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, carrots and sprouts.

Add Healthy Whole Grains

Whole grains are high in fiber content and is beneficial for your cardiovascular health and digestive track. Try mixing in quinoa, farro, wheat berries or barley. A half-cup of cooked grains is a perfect salad topping making salad hearty and satisfying.

Include Fresh or Dried Fruit

Both fresh and dried fruits have their own natural sweetness, they add extra nutrition and lots of flavor to salads. Berries, apples, oranges and cranberries are all great options. For dried fruit, consider raisins, cranberries, apricots or cherries. Aim for 1/2 cup of fruit for every 4 servings of salad. Fruit helps balance the bitter notes from leafy greens and savory toppings.

Don't Forget Protein and Healthy Fats

Ingredients such as beans, nuts, seeds, Avocado and a light dressing will it a completemake, nutritious meal. Black beans, chickpeas, edamame or lentils add protein and fiber. Nuts like almonds and walnuts or seeds such as Pumpkin or Chia seeds provide healthy fats to keep you full. And of course, a drizzle of Olive oil and Vinegar or a creamy avocado-based dressing tops it all off.

A salad made with a variety of whole foods from each of these categories will give you a perfect balance of nutrients to boost your health and satisfaction. Mix and match your favorite ingredients to create delicious salads for any meal of the day.

10 Tasty and Nutritious Soup and Salad Recipes to Try

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is a perfect light yet satisfying meal. Packed with veggies like carrots, celery, onions, beans and pasta in a tomato broth, this soup is high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. For extra nutrition, add kale, zucchini and spinach.

Colorful Kale Salad

Kale salads are colorful, crunchy and delicious. Massage kale with olive oil and lemon juice to soften it, and then toss with cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese and light vinaigrette. Kale is a superfood high in vitamins A, C and K. Add chickpeas or beans for extra protein.

Lentil Soup

Lentil soup is healthy, budget-friendly and perfect for cold weather. Lentils are high in protein and fiber, and combine well with veggies like carrots, celery and onions in a flavorful broth. For extra nutrition, add kale, spinach or Swiss chard. Lentil soup freezes well, so make a big pot to enjoy for lunches all week.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Quinoa, in this salad, is a fantastic base that is both super rich in proteins and very easy to digest while black beans are a great choice for a healthy plant-based diet due to physiological properties such as fiber, low fat contents, prevention of chronic diseases and richness in essential minerals and vitamins.

This combination of protein chunks, which is really tasty, can be used as a light summer meal. The mix of nutty-quinoa with black beans, corn, avocado and lime vinaigrette creates a very healthy and tasty salad. Quinoa, the only grain being a complete protein, has fiber, while black beans, being an extra source of protein with some complex carbs, keeps the balance. Avocado can leave you fuller longer as it is a great source of healthy fats.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Spicy chicken tortilla soup draws its comfort from deep within the best. The chicken goes in the pan along with the ingredients of black beans, corn and veggies. They are simmered in a chili-spiced broth. Make it complete with avocado or some tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro or lime wedges. The blending of protein, fiber, vitamins and other nutrients will make you feel full for a long time as well.

Gazpacho

Chilled Gazpacho, a summer soup that willyou out from the hot days. A mix of tomato, cucumber, peppers, onions and olive oil, Gazpacho is one of the soups high in antioxidant nutrients such as lycopene, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and healthy fats. Let us add some crispy spinach or kale leaves for added benefits. Gazpacho is additionally 100% vegan, gluten free and low carb. As you can imagine, it's going to be very hard to find a diet that is 100% vegan, completely gluten free and low carb all at the same time.