The Scoop on Soup Serving Sizes
Dear HG,I love canned soup. I do NOT, however, like when the "servings per container" amount comes to "about 2." If I want to eat the entire can as a full meal, what's the best way to account for it? Do I count two full servings? Do I grab my measuring cups and find the exact amount? Thanks so much!
In-the-Soup Shannon
Hi Shannon,I'm with you. I pretty much never look at the nutritional label on a standard soup can without automatically doubling the amounts in my head when the per-container amount isn't listed. Here’s how to calculate the stats if they aren’t included on the label…
As for the exact amount in the can, the average 1-cup serving of canned soup weighs in at about 8.5 ounces. So those 14.5-oz. and 15-oz. cans actually have closer to 1 3/4 cups each. But to make things easy, I'd just double the per-serving stats and know I'm accounting for a little extra.
There are larger cans -- 18 to 19 oz. -- that list "about 2 servings" too. Those typically contain just barely more than two 1-cup servings -- I wouldn't worry about the extra few calories.
If you really want to be exact about it, divide the total weight in grams (typically on the front on the can) by the grams per serving (usually in parentheses after the serving size on the nutritional panel) -- then multiply all the stats accordingly.
While we're on the subject, my favorite soup of all time is Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque, and an entire can of it has 240 calories and 7g fat. Thankfully many brands show the nutritional values for the entire can, like this one does.
By the way, if you're looking for ways to bulk up your soup and make it more meal-like, add cooked veggies and/or lean protein -- spinach, shrimp, broccoli, mushrooms, soy crumbles, skinless chicken breast, etc. SOOO GOOD!
Chew on this:
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