Price: $1.19
Serving: 2.5, 1/2 cup (120ml) per serving
Calories: 90 per serving
Fat: 1%, 0.5g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 33%, 790mg
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 6%, 18g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Sugar: 6g
Weight Watchers Points: 1

Cambell’s says: This is one of Campbell’s delicious Vegetable Soups. Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable soup is an easy way to get one of your daily vegetable servings. Vegetables are essential for a balanced diet.

Paige says: Campbell’s Condensed Vegetarian Vegetable soup is an old standby. It’s good for cold, blustery days when you want something warm and soothing. This is a tomato-based broth, hence the “Vegetarian” in the title. And seeing as how I’m not a big fan of chicken- or beef-broth based soups, this one is perfect for me.

I have a bit of an issue with the nutrition content. The packaging says that this one can, with a can of water added, is 2.5 servings. I can totally see this whole can as being one serving for a hungry person. If you supplement your serving with a sandwich or a salad, then I can see how this could be more servings. But 1/2 serving? Who gets the 1/2 serving? Why not just call it 2 servings?

Anyway, I heated it on the stove simply out of habit. As I ate my single serving (after all, I want to experience the soup accurately for the readers), I took note of the vegetables in this soup. Carrots and potatoes were plentiful. There were also lots of peas, onion, corn, celery, green beans, alphabet pasta, and a few pieces of tomato. The beauty of condensed soup is that you can add as much or as little water as you like, thus making the flavors stronger or weaker, depending on your preference. I never feel as if additional seasoning is needed in this soup. The tangy tomato broth stands alone. I do wish there were more pieces of actual tomato in the soup, as they really enhance the flavor for me. Of course, you can always add pieces of chicken or your own veggies or croutons to add to your canned soup lunch.

Sure, there are plenty of better and more expensive soups out there, but this one is always consistent. It’s also plenty cheap. I’ll probably always buy a few cans every season because there are just some days that you want something hot and simple and inexpensive, and this just fits the bill.

Price: $1.50
Serving: 8 oz.
Servings per package: About 2
Calories: 110 per serving
Fat: 4%, 2.5g
Cholesterol: 3%, 10mg
Sodium: 20%, 480mg
Protein: 6g
Carbohydrates: 6%, 17g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving

Campbell’s says: Introducing new Campbell’s® Select Harvest™ soups, made with delicious ingredients like farm-grown vegetables, wholesome grains and 100% natural white meat chicken — with no artificial flavors or MSG*. Savor the goodness.

* Except for the small amount naturally occurring in yeast extract.

Daria says: I really enjoy this low calorie chowder, and have found only two bad points about it, neither having to do with the food itself. First, the convenient microwaveable bowl packaging contains “about” two servings, but the nutrition information is for only one, so the above values need to be doubled. Why they don’t just count the whole bowl as a serving is beyond me. Who is going to put this bowl away, half full, in the fridge, covering it with the vented lid? Second, the peel back metal top for this particular packaging format does not always come off easily, and that last wiggle to get it off can result in spilled soup.

There, bad part’s over, now on to the good!

I’m a Maine gal, and I love my clam chowder. While I wouldn’t list this on top of my list of “authentic” chowders, it is very delicious, and the 98% fat free-ness qualifies it to be most excellent fare for the chowder loving Weight Watcher. The broth is just thick and creamy enough, without being too viscous, and has a wonderful briny flavor no doubt imbued in part by the clam extract listed in the ingredients. (It might border on being too salty, if you aren’t a salt lover). I’ve eaten condensed chowders before, which need to be mixed with milk, and the broth does not usually transform itself into an authentic chowder very well during the heating process – you end up with a milky soup instead. This, however, is chowder.

One ingredient (besides yeast extract, soy protein concentrate, mono and diglycerides, mixed topopherols and other industrial necessities**) that I would not call authentic to Maine chowders is celery, but it is not an overpowering flavor. (I understand that there are hundreds of different chowder recipes out there. I’m just saying that the way my grandmother taught me to make chowder does not include celery or tomatoes for that matter.) There are a few specks of parsley in there, and a little bit of ground black pepper. The potatoes have a good texture, perhaps are a little soft, but they hold together well and need a tiny bit of chewing. The clams have been ground into small but recognizable bits; they are chewy and taste the way clams should. There are also plenty of small onion bits. None of the chunks are as big as you’d expect them in homemade chowder, but the food-to-broth ratio is reasonable.

The entire 15.3 ounce bowl is a very satisfying portion. On a chilly fall or winter day, heat this up and sprinkle some fresh-ground black pepper on top (they never include enough pepper for me. I recommend that you get one of those little pepper mills for your desk at work – disposable or regular. A bit of black pepper makes almost any microwaved meal a lot better), and you’ll be toasty warm and full before long. If you don’t have access to quality homemade or restaurant chowder, this might just be the next best thing!

**Conveniently, Campbell’s has provided an explanation of these ingredients right on the package:

“Real Ingredients” are ingredients you understand. IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW: Dextrin is a carbohydrate that comes from potato or corn starch. Mono and Diglycerides, Mixed Topopherols, and Soy Lecithin are a blend of ingredients that helps maintain quality in microwaveable packages. Potassium Chloride is a type of salt that adds flavor but not sodium (see Nutrition Facts for sodium content). Citric Acid is naturally present in many fruits and vegetables.

I guess you learn something new every day!

Price: $1.89
Serving: ~1/2 can, 1 cup
Calories: 130
Total Fat: 4%, 2.5g
  Saturated Fat: 5%, 1g
  Trans Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 3%, 15mg
Sodium: 20%, 480mg
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 20g
Fiber: 7%, 2g
Sugar: 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving

Campbell’s says: This robust soup is inspired by a classic Mexican favorite. Bold flavors are highlighted in a medley of tender chunks of white-meat chicken, rice, red peppers, corn, black beans, and tortilla in a hearty tomato-cheese broth, seasoned with chilies, cilantro, garlic, and lime. Now seasoned with lower sodium natural sea salt.

Morgan says: Along with promising a zesty Mexican experience, Campbell’s soups are all supposed to be “Mmm Mmm Good!” This actually was delicious, despite being Healthy Request and reduced sodium. I have to admit, I did kind of want to dump more salt in it, especially since I’m not watching my sodium. The flavors aren’t “Bold,” as Campbell’s said, but the flavors that were there blended together nicely. It could have been a little spicier, but not everyone likes flames coming out of their mouth like I do.

The chicken in this soup tasted like actual chicken, unlike the scary little niblets found in Campbell’s chicken noodle soup (What ARE those?). Each piece was nice and firm, and un-slimy. The soup definitely did not skimp on the rice, and the small chilies floating around in the broth added some flavor, although I didn’t really think that the other little green bits tasted much like cilantro. There could have been more black beans, but then again, I love beans. I didn’t see any of the aforementioned tortilla or cheese but the broth was flavorful, and what was present in the soup was really very good, especially when more red pepper flakes and salt were added.

I’ll probably buy this soup again, especially since I’m a college student who is desperate for food that isn’t prepared in a dining hall and served on a foam tray.

Serving: ~1/2 can, 8 ounces
Calories: 100 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
  Saturated Fat: 0%, 0g
  Trans Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 20%, 480mg
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 22g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Sugar: 12g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving
Weight Watchers Points: 3 per can

Fat Free, cholesterol free, trans fat free

Campbell’s says: Introducing new Campbell’s® Select Harvest™ soups, made with delicious ingredients like farm-grown vegetables — with no artificial flavors or MSG*. Savor the goodness.

Abi says: I do not enjoy plain tomatoes. Whether in a hamburger or salad, the plain tomato does not appeal. You might think that maybe I’ve never had a truly incredible tomato. Or that I haven’t tried fresh from the vine, in-season tomatoes. Or that it’s been so long since I’ve tasted a tomato that I must have lost all sense of knowledge about the fruit.

But I am intimately familiar with the tomato. In fact, when I find that I don’t like eating something, I still make it a point to try it every few months to see if some switch in my brain has flipped. After all, I spent years not liking onions and now I adore their astringent and sweet versatility. But every summer I am hit again with disappointment as my tastebuds reject grape tomatoes plucked from a garden and slightly salted heirloom tomatoes glazed with olive oil and basil.

This dislike explains why I didn’t have a single drop of tomato soup until I was in college and living off of tips from my job at Starbucks. Made right, tomato soup is cheap and healthy. Made incorrectly and you’ve got a big bowl of sugar and salt without many vitamins.

Without doing a side-by-side comparison of the cheap and expensive versions of Campbell’s Tomato soups, all I can say is that the iconic, Andy-Warhol one doesn’t have basil. This one has loads of basil. Not loads of basil flavor (its present yet weak), but lots of flecks of once-fresh greens.

Other high points for this soup are the noticeably brighter red than one gets from a can of condensed and nice little notes that explain how there are some forms of sodium that add salty flavor without adding sodium. Even with the extra-special non-salt salt, I find it disturbing when something that has just 200 calories also has 40% of my sodium for the day. However, the condensed version has nearly 70% of my salt in 200 calories of soup so at this point I’m starting to see where Campbell’s is coming from with their fancy-pants no-salt salt.

So if you absolutely, positively need some canned tomato soup and also want to cut your sodium intake, I can see how this might be an appealing option. However, if you’re feeling the pinch of the economic downturn and really just need some tomato soup to pair with your grilled cheese sandwich, go condensed.

[And yeah, the word 'Harvest' is in the title twice. On purpose. Way to go, Campbell's. - Editrix]

*Except for the small amount naturally occurring in yeast extract.**

**Which is completely unnecessary for making this product but lets Campbell’s say that they don’t add MSG. It’s like saying I don’t eat chocolate except for the amount naturally occurring in Hershey Bars.