A dietician educated her followers on TikTok with an informative video about how to turn a simple can of soup into a filling and budget-friendly meal.
Whether soup is a meal or not is a topic often debated in the halls of social media. Though some passionately believe in soup’s meal status, others have argued that it’s simply not filling enough without a basket of bread.
How to turn soup into a meal
Registered dietician Abbey Sharpe (@abbeyskitchen) is no stranger to hitting the headlines having earlier appeared in The Focus for trashing the rising pickle juice trend.
Earlier this week, she addressed her 800k followers in a video that she hoped would aid people trying to up the nutritional value of their soup.
“Folks, I have an amazing hack for you. Simply add your can of soup to the pot along with a drained and rinsed can of white beans,” she explained. “Bring to a simmer and then puree until smooth.”
To finish off your meal, Abbey suggested topping the soup with some Greek yogurt, nuts, seeds, and “whatever crunchy thing you like.”
Costing less than $2 a serving, Abbey said it’s the perfect meal for those wishing to spend a little less but still feel full and satisfied.
People had even more soup suggestions in the comments, as one person explained: “Cook chicken apple sausage in a pot (just to get it browned), then dump in butternut squash soup and kale.”
“Campbell soup with a grilled cheese hits home,” another person wrote, and a third added, “As someone who hates the texture of beans, but loves the health benefit of them this is AWESOME.”
The great soup debate rages on
Though we now understand that soup can be a meal if you try hard enough, the debate is still very much raging online. Admittedly, there are logical arguments on both sides of the argument.
One person wrote online: “In my eyes, a meal consists of multiple food groups. So, if a soup had vegetables, meat, and a grain like noodles, as long as you had a large enough quantity of it, it should be considered a meal.”
“Chicken soup (with the chicken, veggies, and Matzah ball optional in it), Krupnik, Borscht (and not the shitty stuff in a jar, I’m talking with all the various other stuff in it), Minestrone, potentially Gazpacho. All are very filling soups which would easily constitute a meal,” another person wrote.
It also seems like the type of soup factors into its status as a meal, as one person explained on Reddit: “I think, perhaps, you mean broth alone is not a meal. Soup covers a ton of variety, such as noodle soups. Pho, ramen, and the like can be quite filling and robust meals. You might argue that without the noodles it wouldn’t be filling, but then it wouldn’t be pho, ramen, or the like, which are definitely noodle soups.”
