NCG minersota
It would be true to say that I am not a fan of soups. I have always liked the idea of soup (especially when I am trying to go on a diet) but they always fail to fill me up. Soups are very watery in consistency, even the creamy ones and this makes me feel as though I am drinking liquid and so my brain doesn't register it as food leading me to feel empty. I have also been unsuccessful in trying to find a good vegetarian soup but when I found the New Covent Garden Minnesota soup I hit gold.

I have found it on offer in sainsburys for £1. They are 600ml cartons and they are fresh so they shelf life is similar to that of milk. They are normally priced at £1.99 for 1 carton. They are sometimes on offer at 2 for £3 or 2 for £3.50. Compared to other fresh soups they are comparative in price. Half the pack which is 1 serving contains only 102 calories and 2.1g of fat of which only 0.3g is saturated. So this is a good soup for those on a diet as it contains a lot of veg, beans and pasta and good for the waist.

The pasta has a slightly more watery base than most soups and largely consists of tomatoes and basil. To me it reminds me very much of pasta sauce and when heated up it tasted smells a lot like pasta sauce. There is beans, courgettes, peppers and pasta. The vegetables are quite chunky and the beans and pasta give the soup a lot of substance without adding a too much calories. It is because of the chucky vegetables that make this soup very filling. Also there is no thickening agent such as cream or potatoes which I don't like at all. I eat the soup warm but it can be eaten cold in the summer. I give it a 8/10 for flavour and 10/10 for filling by stomach up. The vegetables taste much better than the tinned soup but that may be because of all the preservatives in the can version.

The carton is very easy to open - the sides are pulled in two directions and I have never spilled the soup which is very good for someone who always has a tendency to make a mess. If only using half the soup then the other half should really be placed into a container and then the fridge as I don't really think it would be a good idea to leave the soup in a cardboard container without covering it. It does have to be consumed within 3 days of opening it. I tend to have one half for lunch and the other half for dinner the next day so it doesn't really cause a problem.

This is a very filling, low cal minestrone full of flavour and punch.