Heart-Healthy and Tasty Soups

Heart-Healthy and Tasty Soups

Soups are known to be comfort foods among the winter months and many happy memories involve curling up with a bowl of piping hot soup. But did you know that they can also be the way to a healthy heart? If you follow some of the health guidelines and choose your ingredients wisely, then a bowl of soup can be just what you need to make your heart healthy as it contains few calories and can help bring down triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels.

Store-bought soups or packaged soups have earned a bad rap because of the large amount of sodium and the fats they contain, elevating your blood pressure levels and consequently affecting your heart. What one should opt for are broth-based soups, which are quite the meal in itself. The article below gives easy recipes for soups that are some of the top foods to prevent heart diseases.

Top soups to prevent heart disease

Celery soup
Most canned versions of soup are high on sodium, so it is always better to make healthy and nourishing soups at home. Cook up a large batch of this amazing low-calorie, low-sodium soup and it makes for a filling lunch or dinner. You can serve the same with sourdough bread or high-quality multi-grain bread.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil (2 tbsp)
  • Celery (300 gram, sliced)
  • Garlic (1 peeled clove)
  • Potatoes (200 gram cut into small chunks)
  • Vegetable stock (500 ml)
  • Milk (100 ml)

Method
Sauté the veggies in the saucepan with the olive oil and add a little water with a pinch of salt and cook. Continue to stir the contents of the saucepan for 15 minutes; add more water when necessary.

Next, pour in the vegetable stock and boil the ingredients as you let the broth cook at low heat. Continue to simmer for 20 minutes until the celery goes soft and the potatoes fall apart. Next, you can purée the soup to get a smooth texture and pour in the milk and use the hand blender again. Add seasonings of your choice and serve hot with crusts of warm bread. One of the top foods to prevent heart disease, this is celery soup for the soul.

Winter vegetables and lentil soup
When the temperatures start dipping, you need a warm, homemade vegetable soup, packed with generous amounts of vitamin C and the right nutrients to keep your heart healthy and happy.

Ingredients

  • Dried red lentils ( 85 gram)
  • Carrots (2, diced and quartered length-wise)
  • Celery (3 sticks)
  • Leeks (2, sliced)
  • Tomato purée (2 tablespoons)
  • Fresh thyme leaves (1 tablespoon)
  • Garlic cloves (3 large and chopped)
  • Vegetable bouillon powder (1 tablespoon)
  • Coriander powder (1 teaspoon)

Method
Add all the ingredients into a large pan. Add 2 tbsp tomato purée and fresh thyme leaves; add the rest of the herbs and spices one by one. Boil 1½ liters of water simultaneously and pour it into the pan, stirring it continuously. Cover and allow the broth to simmer for 30 minutes and find out whether the veggies and the lentils are tender. This soup is one of the top foods to prevent heart disease and can be had at any time of the year. Pour it into bowls and serve hot.

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