Souper SLIMMING!

Comfort eating your way through winter? Get back on track with our warming meal plan no calorie-counting required

If you want to lose weight but don't fancy a salad, soup could be your solution. Not only does it keep you feeling fuller for longer and provide an easy way of getting your daily ration of vegetables, but it can aid weight loss, too.

Overwhelmed by the prep? Don't be - on those busier days, you can opt for shop-bought instead. Here's everything you need to know...

Buying ready-made? Scrutinise labels so you can pick products that won't sabotage your diet.

Here's what to look for...

Don't assume luxury is going to be healthier

Ingredients, such as mascarpone, Stilton, bacon, cream and crème fraiche, can push up calories, fat, saturates and salt.

Get salt savvy We should eat less than 6g salt a day and soup can make a big contribution to this. It's hard to find low-salt soup - one with less than 0.3g salt per 100g so compare salt values and choose products with the least.

Go big on fibre We should have 30g fibre a day but most of us only manage 19g. Vegetable, lentil and bean-based soups can make a good contribution to daily fibre intake.

For three days, simply have four bowls of soup a day - one for breakfast (yes, really, our breakfast soups are so tasty!), one for lunch, another late afternoon and a final one an hour or two before bed. You can mix or match the recipes and repeat them over the three days and they will keep in the fridge for reheating later. If you’re stuck for time, you can substitute shop-bought soups

Celeriac and apple

(2 servings)

• ½ onion, peeled and chopped

• 450ml made up reduced-salt vegetable bouillon