Let's Analyze This....... Cream soups

[justmarvi]

Originally Posted by kristikae

Thanks guys for the great recipes!! BTW Can we have cream of mushroom soup on SBD??

We all seem to question the addition of cream of mushroom/chicken soups and kind of dance around it in our minds, wanting to use it... and I saw Kristi asked if they were legal in the recipes section so let's analyze it to know.... if, when and how it might/might no can be eaten in re the SBD, definitely not P-1, but maybe P-2 and P-3?

I looked in the SBD new updated handguide and it lists Cream of Chicken Soup made with water, 1 cup serving size as G in P2 and P3......Good or to enjoy.......(understanding that we all know all good choices aren't created equal)

and Cream of Mushroom Soup made with milk, 1 cup serving size as A in all phases......Avoid......

I don't have any in the pantry so I went to the Campbell's website for nutitional info on cream soup products:

http://www.campbellwellness.com/prod...2310&catID=294

Let's do a comparison here.......

This is how they are listed:

Cream of Chicken Soup
Nutrition Facts*
Amount Per Serving (serving size) = 1/2 cup

Calories 120
Total Fat 8g
Sat. Fat 2.5g
Cholesterol 10mg
Sodium 870mg
Total Carb. 10g
Dietary Fiber 2g

Sugars 1g
Protein 3g


% Daily Values**
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%

__________________________________________________ _________


Cream of Mushroom Soup
Nutrition Facts*
Amount Per Serving (serving size) = 1/2 cup

Calories 100
Total Fat 6g
Sat. Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 870mg
Total Carb. 9g
Dietary Fiber 2g

Sugars 1g
Protein 1g


% Daily Values**
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%
Iron 0%

This is the explanation in the SBD handguide as to cream soups......

"Avoid cream soups in restaurants because they are usually made with saturated fat-laden heavy cream or whole milk. At home, make cream-type soups with water......"

Could this possibly mean that we might could add these soups into our recipes occasionally if we didn't add milk or heavy cream to them as 1/2 cup of either without milk are almost equal?

Curious minds want to know.

ETA: Quote

[Darkfire]

well so many use these soups for recipes, not many people even eat them anymore. I am one of those people. Now back in college when I was really really broke I ate saltines with cream of mushroom soup....the idea seems gross to me now. Esepcially with what Campbells puts in the soups. But for cooking, making stuffing and some other dishes I like it. What I do not like is empty food and that isn't all that great. Now to thicken dishes and soups there are so many ways the easiest of which is using more veggies and after they have cooked a bit take some out and blend them up. You can totally control the thickness this way. You could do that with mushrooms or with chicken as well to make it thicker.

Now if you use the soup in a can you can use about 1/2 a can of water with a wisk and make a thick sauce with it. I have done that in a pinch but not in years.

[justmarvi]

Okay guys, I'm going to go ahead and cast my vote.......Since Dr. A. gave the Cream of chicken soup with water a rating of G in P2, I think it as well as Cream of Mushroom is SBD legal to use occasionally undiluted in Phase 2 and Phase 3 recipes as long as we take the sodium content into consideration.

If our weight loss stalls or we gain then we know to back off. Further, I also think if we use water or ff or low fat milk, it's SBD legal to eat it diluted as a soup on occasion.

ETA: Serving size: probably should be 1/2 cup or less per serving if added to a recipe. Also, due to the carb count, I'll probably count is as a bread serving as well if I use it. JMO

[TraciLew]

I think I agree that in P2 & 3 that adding them into recipes might be ok. My only concern is the fact that I wonder what they use to thicken these soups - is it things like flour and cornstarch? If so, I'd be hesitant to use them in even P2! But I can see the fact that since you'd be using so little per serving that it might be ok - I'm kind of torn on this one! But I would have to admit that the thought of having something w/ cream of mushroom soup sounds so yummy!

[sanderson76]

I think that they are fine to use in P2 and P3 as long as they are added into recipes. I am thinking like Traci did on this one. Since you would use a can in an entire recipe you would probably not even be getting a serving size of the soup at a meal

[Shalbrihil]

If I were going to use cream soup I would look for the low sodium and use water if needed to be deluted. I haven't had canned soup in years so it isn't something I would go buy but for the gals that would like to add some I don't see a problem in weight loss with it this way.

[justmarvi]

Great! I think we can now put this to bed unless someone else has a different opinion.

Phase 2 and Phase 3 - The final conclusion being that we think it can be used occasionally in recipes as the portion eaten would be very little when divided up in the whole of it and using low fat, low sodium varieties is even better.

I will add that I looked on the sf pudding box and the chocolate has 8 grams of carbs as packaged which I think mostly are from the modified food starch listed as the first ingredient .....so since we have the option of a serving of that once a day, if one does want to do a switcheroo with that, it might could be a toss up? Even though we don't count carbs, without whole milk or cream being added, this does seem to be the deciding factor.

I know I'm usually the first one to think no.....when sometimes the option for others might be okay in moderation.

It's just another perfect example of finding what works for you.

Thanks to all for your input!

[zeraspride]

Marva - thanks for bringing this subject to light and getting everyone's opinion. I use the cream of mushroom soup each week in my beef stroganoff recipe and have wondered for a long time if I should be. Now I have my answer. Thanks so much for analyzing this for us!