Totally agree.

I read an article years ago that summarized a dietary study where they divided people who wanted to lose weight into three groups:

The first group ate a calorie restricted diet, with entree and a couple of sides, presented normally on a plate.

The second group ate precisely the same diet, but rather than having them on a plate, the same foods were cooked together into a soup.

The third group was the control group, and could eat what they wanted, with no restrictions.

The first group lost a small amount of weight.

The third group, with no restrictions, predictably lost little or no weight.

The second group, though, that ate their meals as soup, lost over twice as much weight as the group eating the exact same diet not made into soup. As you said, they digested the nutrients more completely, and with better hydration, the digestive system had less work to do overall.

Pretty cool! I've made LOTS of soups ever since, and am known among friends and family as the soup queen, since I love it so much. ;-)