Is it healthy to eat only soup for dinner?

Soup, broth, velouté, mouliné… In all its forms, soup is a great classic of the cold season. Gone are the ancestral and often bland versions with cabbage or leek-carrot-potato; the dish now becomes delicious and comforting thanks to many conjugations. Quick to prepare, reputed to be healthy… Some even just make soup for their dinner. But is it enough? Does it provide everything the body needs? And can we eat every night?

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Yes, under conditions

The soup has many advantages. It is a good way to consume vegetables, especially for those who are used to eating them in summer salads, but less so in autumn and winter meals. “It’s also an excellent way to hydrate a French population that doesn’t do enough,” adds Corinne Chicheportiche-Ayache, nutritionist. From a nutritional point of view, the soup provides minerals and vitamins thanks to its vegetables. “Its thermal treatment destroys some of the vitamins, but the minerals are found in the broth and the cooking water,” informs the doctor.

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So can we just eat it? “Yes, soup is a complete meal, as long as you make sure to slurp it up,” answers Dr. Corinne Chicheportiche-Ayache. As a reminder, a plate called “complete” contains vegetables, proteins (vegetable or animal) and a part of starchy foods. So, a minestrone composed of vegetables and in which you slide a few pasta and a few pieces of meat is perfect, says the doctor. A lentil soup enriched with a little cream and topped with a boiled egg, or a split pea soup enriched with smoked turkey and a little ricotta, can also be a tempting option. And by varying the recipes, it is possible to eat soup every evening.

I prefer home

Unsurprisingly, the “homemade” version is ideal, but supermarkets and stores that sell frozen foods can be an interesting alternative if you lack the time to cook, and the desire. The main thing is to make sure you read the labels of the products, avoiding those that contain additives and ensure the right amount of vegetables in the preparation.

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Only a soup composed only of vegetables is not complete, due to the absence of starchy foods and protein. “It becomes so if you add potatoes and eat a slice of fresh cheese on quality bread next to it,” informs the nutritionist. And if our meal consists of a large amount of protein, we can do without cream cheese. Add to this a fruit for dessert and the evening menu is impeccable.

Two warnings to keep in mind according to Dr. Corinne Chicheportiche-Ayache: you will add more or less starches to your soup or to your food in general depending on the physical activity of the day and that of the following day, and you are sure to consume some very creamy variants in moderate quantities, such as cream cauliflower.

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