The Only Weight-Loss Soup Recipe You Need

Cooking up a satisfying pot of vegetable soup can help your weight-loss efforts for a few reasons. For starters, research has found that soups might help you lose weight. In one study, published in the journal Physiology & Behavior, people consumed the fewest calories on days when they ate soup rather than the same ingredients in solid form. Soup has a high water content, which can help you feel full and stay hydrated—both of which are important for weight loss. Broth-based soups packed with veggies give you the biggest bang for your caloric buck. And, just like salad, soup is a good vehicle for vegetables (the fiber in vegetables also promotes feelings of fullness). And in a study published in Appetite, people who started lunch with vegetable soup ended up eating 20 percent less than those who skipped the soup.

Joyce Hendley, co-author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook The EatingWell Diet, developed the ultimate vegetable soup recipe. The light, super-satisfying vegetable minestrone soup is inspired by a favorite Weight Watchers (now WW) recipe: "I'll never forget the moment in a Weight Watchers meeting when the conversation turned to 'The Soup.' Everyone in the room, it seemed, owed their success to the Garden Vegetable Soup recipe in the program booklet. Words like 'easy,' 'yummy' and 'filling' kept coming up. I practically sprinted home to make it that night.

"The soup was simplicity itself: carrots, onions, cabbage, tomato and spinach simmered with seasonings in broth. It tasted fantastic. And it worked: I ate the soup for lunch most days (and for dinner some busy nights) and lost 15 pounds in a few months without feeling deprived."

Pictured Recipe: Veggistrone

Joyce's version of "The Soup," which she calls Veggistrone, comes in at just 161 calories for a big 2-cup serving that's packed with at least two servings of vegetables in every bowlful. The recipe makes a big pot of soup, so keep some in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freeze the rest of the vegetable minestrone soup in single-serve portions. That way you always have an easy, delicious vegetable soup to start your meal or to eat for lunch. Think of this vegetable minestrone recipe as a starting point for other healthy soup variations, too: toss in leftover chopped cooked chicken or whole-wheat pasta or brown rice to make it even more satisfying. Top it with a generous spoonful of Parmesan cheese, bringing the Italian flavor to the forefront and keeping any feelings of diet deprivation at bay.

Must-Try: Cabbage Diet Soup