ProLon Soup Tips – How to add some flavor and spice to the soups

Whilst the ProLon diet may be great for our health, it’s somewhat limited in its scope of taste and ingredients. But it doesn’t always have to be – in this article I will share with you some ways to ‘spice up’ these soups.

L-Nutra’s official guidelines on herbs/spices is 1 teaspoon (max) per day.

In light of that, these recipe’s all limit their ingredients to 1 teaspoon. This means that in any given day you would only be able to “spice up” 1 of your 2 soups for the day – which seems a worthy compromise.

I’d imagine once you see these suggestions, you’ll quickly see ways to customize them to suit your own palate.

If you’re someone who’s on the go all the time, and has limited time in the kitchen, perhaps pick just one or two soups to experiment with when you find yourself with time at home. My personal favourites from the recipes below were minestrone with quinoa (from “soup variety 1”) and curry flavored butternut squash with quinoa (from “soup variety 2”).

Note that all recipes have been made according to the packet instructions and cooked within the specified timeframes. However, if you find these either too thick or too thin, please adjust the amount of water as you see fit.

We’ll begin with the soups from the original ProLon, and then move on to the soups from “Soup Variety 2”.

“Original” ProLon (Soup Variety 1)

Minestrone with vegetables

This recipe gives the soup an “Italian” twist.

Ingredients:
– 1/2 teaspoon of chopped fresh basil
– 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
– 1/8 to 1/4 fresh squeezed lemon juice (adjust to taste)

Instructions:
– Combine the soup powder with water in a saucepan
– Add a pinch of oregano
– Heat on the stove as per the instructions
– Just before serving, add the chopped basil (this preserves the flavor and freshness of the basil)
– To finish, add a squeeze of lemon and serve

Calorie Count – Minestrone with vegetables

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/2 teaspoon of chopped basil	0.5g	1
1/4 teaspoon of oregano powder	0.5g	1.5
1/4 fresh squeezed lemon juice	~20g	4.5
Total		7 calories

Minestrone with quinoa

This recipe has a peri-peri kick.

Ingredients:
– 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika powder
– 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
– 1/8 teaspoon of chilli powder
– 1/8 teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:
– Combine the soup powder with water
– Add the smoked paprika, oregano and chilli
– Heat on the hob as per the instructions
– To finish, add a squeeze of lemon and serve

Calorie Count – Minestrone with quinoa

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika powder	0.75g	2
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano	0.25g	0.7
1/8 teaspoon of chilli powder	0.5g	1
1/8 teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice	~20g	4.5
Total		8.2 calories

Vegetable

This recipe goes for a curried flavor.

Ingredients:
– 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
– 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
– 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder (optional)
– 1/8 teaspoon of smoked paprika powder
– Squeeze of fresh lime juice
– Touch of fresh cilantro

Instructions:
– Add the turmeric, cumin, paprika (and if using, add curry powder also) to a dry saucepan and gently heat (this is referred to as ‘toasting’ the spices). Keep an eye on the spices at this stage, you want to heat them until they smell fragrant but not burnt
– Mix the soup powder and water in a separate bowl, add to the pan with the now toasted herbs
– Heat to the instructed amount of time
– Stir in fresh cilantro and serve with a squeeze of lemon

Calorie Count – Vegetable

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder	0.5g	1.5
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder	0.5g	2
1/8 teaspoon of curry powder (optional)	0.5g	1.5
1/8 teaspoon of smoked paprika powder	0.27g	0.75
Squeeze of fresh lime juice	10g	3
Touch of fresh cilantro	0.33g	0.5
Total		9.25 calories

Tomato

Ingredients:
– 1/4 clove of garlic
– 3/4 teaspoon of cilantro
– Dash of tabasco sauce

Instructions:
– Chop 1/4 clove of garlic as finely as you can and heat with a splash of water in a pan (avoiding oil) until it smells fragrant
– Separately mix the soup powder with water and add to the pan when the garlic is ready
– Cook on heat as per instructions
– Add finely chopped cilantro and a dash of Tabasco, then serve

Calorie Count – Tomato

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/4 clove of garlic	1.5	2.5
1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped cilantro	0.33g	0.5
Dash of tabasco	2g	0.25
Total		3.25 calories

Mushroom

Admittedly, for some palates, the mushroom soup a bit of a hard one to “tweak”. But, after rounds of testing, we’ve discovered a combination that works.

Ingredients:
– 1/4 teaspoon of dried sage
– 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
– 1/2 teaspoon of fresh parsley

Instructions:
– Combine the soup powder and water in a saucepan and begin heating
– Add sage and thyme
– Heat as per instructions
– Add chopped fresh parsley and serve

Calorie Count – Mushroom

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/4 teaspoon of dried sage	0.25g	1.5
1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme	0.25g	0.75
1/2 teaspoon of fresh parsley	0.25g	0.5
Total		2.75 calories

ProLon (Soup Variety 2)

ProLon offers 2 different boxes, each with different flavor soups. This one swaps out:
– Minestrone with vegetable
– Vegetable
– Mushroom

Replacing them with the soups in the section below.

Butternut squash

Ingredients:
– 1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chilli
– 1/4 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime juice
– Small piece of ginger
– 1 fresh mint, basil and cilantro leaves

Instructions:
– Combine the soup powder and water in a saucepan and begin heating
– Grate the ginger straight into the soup
– Finely dice the chilli and add to the soup
– Heat according to the instructions on the packet
– Just before serving, add a squeeze of lime and stir it in to the soup
– Add the fresh herbs (tip: roll the leaves together and chop, so they mix in the process)
– Serve

Calorie Count – Butternut squash

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chilli	4.5g	2
1/4 teaspoon fresh squeezed lime juice	20g	6
Small piece of ginger	8g	6.5
1 fresh mint, basil and cilantro leaves	1.5g	2
Total		16.5 calories

Butternut squash with quinoa

Ingredients:
– 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala powder
– 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
– 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder
– 1/8 teaspoon of dried chilli
– 1/8 teaspoon of fresh lime juice
– 1 mint and 1 cilantro leaf

Instructions:
– Heat all the spices in a saucepan to dry warm them – pay close attention so that they don’t burn!
– Combine soup powder and water in a separate jug
– Once the spices have been heated for a couple of minutes, add the soup to the saucepan
– Heat the soup for the amount of time indicated on the instructions
– Once cooked, add a squeeze of fresh lime
– Add 2 small leaves of fresh mint and cilantro (tip: roll the leaves together and chop, so they mix in the process)
– Add the chopped leaves and serve

Calorie Count – Butternut squash with quinoa

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/4 teaspoon of garam masala powder	0.65	2
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder	0.5g	2
1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder	0.5g	2
1/8 teaspoon of chilli powder	0.5	2
1/8 fresh squeezed lime juice	10g	3
1 mint & 1 cilantro leaf	1g	1
Total		12 calories

White bean and spinach

Ingredients:
– 1/4 of a (small) garlic clove
– 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes
– 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
– 1/8 teaspoon of dried cilantro powder

Instructions:
– Heat 1/4 of a (small) garlic clove in water (no oil), and remember to top up with water if it dries out while heating
– Add 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes
– Add 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika
– Add pinch of dried cilantro
– Separately combine the soup powder with boiling water
– Then add this to the saucepan with your ingredients
– Now heat soup for duration on the instructions, then serve

Calorie Count – White bean and spinach

Ingredients	Weight (g)	Calories (k/cal)
1/4 of a (small) garlic clove	1g	1.5
1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes	0.6g	2
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika	0.77g	2.2
1/8 teaspoon of dried cilantro powder	0.33g	0.1
Total		5.8 calories

Final Words

So hopefully the above recipes provide you options for adding some (extra) flavor to the ProLon soups.

Let me know how you get on with them in the comments, and if you’ve any suggestions for further improvement!

If you’d like to read more on the ProLon diet, see these further posts I’ve written:

• ProLon Review – My 5-Day Fasting Experience – Pros & Cons
• ProLon Cleanse – Will I Lose Weight? What to Expect?