Health Valley Super Broccoli, "Fat Free Carotene" (Whole Foods)

140 calories, 780 mg sodium, 14 g fiber

Favorite so far! Thin liquid, but so crowded with unmushed pieces that it seems thicker than it really is. Prominent, pleasant flavor, mildly enhanced with vigorous application of black pepper, might have been mildly improved by Parmesan, but hard to tell since the cheese really clumped up.

365 (Whole Foods) Creamy Broccoli Soup

This isn't a can, it's a 4-serving carton. These numbers are for two servings/half a carton:

160 calories, 760 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

Hmm, pretty good. It's muddy and smooth--no chunks, flakes, etc. Pleasant taste, but not really remarkable. This is the first soup to show NO CHANGE AT ALL when parmesan was added. weird. I didn't think to try adding pepper; I will for the second half of the carton.

Health Valley Minestrone "Fat Free Soup" (Whole Foods)

195 calories, 691 mg sodium, 12 g fiber

A better alternative to the Health Valley Vegetable soup. More flavor, more bits... but definitely inferior to the previous "new" minestrone, Amy's Organic Soups Low Fat Minestroni. Amy's minestrone is the clear favorite among these two soups, both of which outclass the HV Veggie soup.

Health Valley Vegetable "No Salt Added" (Whole Foods)

159 calories, 124 mg sodium, 7 g fiber

Bland, bland, bland. Good amount of stuff, except for the stuff that creates flavor. Thin, watery liquid. Better with parmesan, but that's not saying much. Edible, but not desirable.

Walnut Acres Hearty Black Bean Soup (Whole Foods)

255 calories, 901 mg sodium, 14 g fiber

Weird occasional tang in the odor which caused flashbacks of school gym locker rooms... not encouraging at all.

As advertised, it's got a hearty, muddy texture. The major visual components are the beans and corn kernels. The corn gives a unexpectedly resilient chew to the soup, which I initially didn't like.

But I kept eating it. Somehow, after adding parmesan, I started to enjoy it. I'm not sure what that says about me (paging Kim Cattrall...), but it's true.

The smell really is something, so if I buy it again it'll definitely be for those times with no guests around to bother. Weird.

Health Valley Vegetable Barley, "Fat Free Soup" (Whole Foods)

159 calories, 691 mg sodium, 7 g fiber

Good body due to population density, not thickness, good with parmesan, plenty of veggies, barley feels kind of noodly. Try it again.

UPDATE: Tried it again, and it's a winner. There's something almost stew-like about it, even though it's not about the viscosity. Hard to explain. Seems heartier than the Super Broccoli, aspiring to the Amy's Minestroni. Parmesan clumps in it, but it's still a good addition.

Health Valley 5 Bean Vegetable (Whole Foods)

248 calories, 850 mg sodium, 16 g fiber

Pretty good; I would buy and eat it again. Very high population density and hearty, cloudy, thick liquid. A bit like a minestrone. It simmered for a while, so I was surprised to find some beans that were still very firm. That may been a negative, but it was a small one. It was at least as good without the addition of parmesan, perhaps better. I think I would have traded some beans for green veggies.

Amy's Organic Soups Low Fat Minestroni (Whole Foods)

150 calories, 900 mg sodium, 5 g fiber

Wow! Very yummy. Closest I've found to the old-style Progresso Minestrone, including new-style Progresso. Outstanding flavor with or without parmesan. Good population density of veggies and beans. Medium clarity without parmesan, really fills in with it. I could live without the chunks of tomato, but they didn't get distracting. A winner, with less than half the sodium of the Progresso soup.

Health Valley Pasta Cacciatore, Fat Free (Whole Foods)

177 calories, 850 mg sodium, 7 g fiber

It's unspectacular, but might go for it again. Tomatoey, smells a bit like Health Valley chile, somewhat thick, about as good with or without parmesan.

Trader Joe's Lentil Vegetable

~250 calories, 1160 mg sodium
good with a smaller amount of parmesan cheese