With the temptation to over indulge over Christmas time, a lot of us look to regain our vitality and get back into shape in the new year. One way you might be able to achieve this over the summer is by ditching sugar-laden juices and embracing the trend towards summer soups — and in particular chilled soups. If you're looking to shed a few kilos and get back on track with a healthy diet, soup is a great option as it is often lower in kilojoules and sugar than sweet juices and often has more nutrients. Research has shown that consuming a low kilojoule soup prior to eating a main meal can reduce the amount of food eaten at that main meal sitting. This in-turn can lead to more effective weight management. So, consuming foods with high water content, such as soups, can effectively reduce overall kilojoule intake at mealtime. Cold soups, which are very popular in other parts of the world such as Europe and the UK, are a bit of a novelty here in Australia, but offer a refreshment or snack option that is often higher in nutrition than sweetened fruit juices. Juice often contain a lot of sugars and the use of vegetables alone, or even with some fruit, provides similar fibre, vitamins, minerals and nutrition content without the excessive sugar intake. Chilled soups are a great way to increase your fluid intake with the warmer weather and with less heat applied in the preparation it can mean that nutrient integrity is maintained. Browse our chilled soups here