What Soups Can You Eat On A Clear Liquid Diet?

Not every diet is for weight loss purposes, but some diets are purely designed for medical reasons such as a clear liquid diet. It emphasizes the intake of clear liquids for a certain time period and needs you to avoid solid foods. But among those clear liquids, you need to be careful about your choices. While you can even have soups on this diet, which soups are allowed, you should know. Let’s find out which soups will not ruin the essence of the clear liquid diet.

What is a clear liquid diet?

A restrictive variation of a liquid diet that allows only the consumption of clear liquids due to medical purposes. It includes the intake of any food that stays liquid at room temperatures like water, plain gelatin, broths, and juices. In this diet, solid foods are strictly prohibited.

Who needs a clear liquid diet?

This diet is specifically used for medical purposes and for a short period only. It is usually recommended for the patients who need to undergo certain surgical procedures or tests, that require a patient to have no food like a colonoscopy. People who often experience various digestive issues are also recommended to follow this diet routine. Being on a clear liquid diet helps them in cleaning their digestive tract and keeps them hydrated as well during that short period.

If someone is suffering from any gastrointestinal symptoms like inflammation, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting; physicians suggest they go on a clear liquid diet for some time to give rest to their digestive system. Other than that, people who undergo surgeries also put on clear liquid diets post-surgery to help in the recovery and to fulfill their nutritional needs.

Some people also try this diet to lose weight, but it is not recommended at all. As it does not provide enough nutrition as per the requirement of the body and also includes consumption of a lot of refined sugar, which can only cause more weight gain.

What foods does a clear liquid diet allow?

As the name indicates, it requires you to consume liquid foods that are pure and do not contain any processed items. The foods do not have to be clear in terms of color, that’s why there is a variety of options available from which you can choose what you want to have on a clear liquid diet. The most common and easy to consume are:

• Water- it could be plain, flavored, or carbonated
• Strained fresh fruit juices, without any pulp
• Carbonated drinks such as cola, sprite, and others
• Clear broths and soups
• Coffee or tea (free of any sort of milk and cream)
• Gelatin (Jell-O)
• Pulp-free lemonade
• Strained vegetable juice (mostly tomato)
• Clear sports or nutritional drinks
• Hard candies
• A low-sodium broth that is fat-free
• Honey and sugary drinks
• Popsicles that are free of fruit chunks

Which soups can you eat on a clear liquid diet?

Soups that can be consumed on a clear liquid diet should be in the form of a broth and fat-free. Avoid consuming soups that have thick consistency or might contain chunks of meat or vegetables. It may include soups with vegetables, cream soups, small and soft chunks of rice, meat, and other food items. Let’s take a look at some of the soups that you can have while on a clear liquid diet.

1: Chicken broth/soup

The most common, full of nutrition and easy to make is chicken broth or soup which is a rich source of protein. Just boil the chicken in plain water to extract its taste and nutrients and have it.

2: Thai coconut curry lentil soup

While you cannot have coconut or lentils on a clear liquid diet, you can have their soup. Boil them in water to get a protein and fiber-rich soup. 

3: Yogurt soup

Yogurt can fulfill your needs for protein and calcium, that’s why consuming yogurt soup on a clear liquid diet is a good idea. Just add some yogurt, along with boiled rice and a pinch of salt to the water, and cook until you get your soup.

4: Cream of broccoli soup

To add flavor to your boring clear liquid diet routine, this soup can be consumed. Add broccoli to water until it boils, along with the flour. After simmering, remove the broccoli and add cream to the hot soup and enjoy. Broccoli is full of vitamins and minerals that can speed up the recovery process.

5: Tomato basil soup

Tomatoes are not just good for the skin but are rich in a number of vitamins and minerals that are good for the heart’s health. For this soup, you just need to roast your tomatoes, then simmer them and lastly blend them to make a perfect soup.

Conclusion

While you can follow many diet plans just by looking them up on the internet, a clear liquid diet should not be followed randomly. It is strictly a medical diet and is only recommended to patients who do not have the option of consuming solid foods, that too only for a short period of time. To make this diet bearable, a number of liquid food options are available including a variety of soups, that can help the cause.