New Years Resolutions

Now that we are a couple weeks into the New Year some are resolutions are slipping away. I tend to stay away from the gym in the month of January, it's crowded, and I can't get on the machines I want. So, I usually do a cleanse in January to flush out all the punishment I have put my body thru since November. My sister Debbie turned me on to this diet/cleanse a couple of years ago, and this was my second time doing it with great success. Now why they call it the Cabbage Soup Diet I have no idea seeing as there is only 1/2 a head of cabbage in the soup. It should be called the Yummy  Vegetable Soup Diet. Its quick, simple, inexpensive, and no you are not running to the bathroom every 15 minutes. All in all I have felt great at the end of this process, so I wanted to share it with you.

Cabbage Soup Recipe

 

§  6 large green onions (also called “spring” onions)
§  2 green peppers
§  1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
§  3 carrots
§  1 container (10 oz. or so) mushrooms
§  1 bunch of celery
§  half a head of cabbage
§  1 package spice only soup mix (In the US, Liptons is a good choice)
§  1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
§  1 48oz can Low Sodium V8 juice (optional)
§  Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc. (Little to NO SALT!)

Directions:

Slice green onions, put in a pot on medium heat and start to sauté with cooking spray. Do this until the onions are whiter/clearer in color (about 4-6 minutes).
Cut green pepper stem end off, then cut pepper in half to take out the seeds and membrane. Cut the green pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.
Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.
Clean carrots, mushrooms, and celery, cut into bite size pieces and toss them in. Add tomatoes now, too.
If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.

For seasonings, you can use a spice soup packet of your choice (no noodles!) or use beef or chicken bouillon cubes. These cubes are optional, and you can add spices you like instead (make sure not to add much salt, if any at all).

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the 48 oz of Low Sodium V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. Let soup simmer for a long time – about 2 hours or until vegetables are tender.

This is what you do everyday on the diet

Remember: This diet should only be followed for 7 days at a time, with at least two weeks in between.

Day One:

Fruit: Eat all of the fruit you want (except bananas). Eat only your soup and the fruit for the first day. For drinks- unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.

Day Two:

Vegetables: Eat until you are stuffed will all fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. Try to eat leafy green vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today.

Day Three:

Mix Days One and Two: Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want. No Baked Potato.

Day Four:

Bananas and Skim Milk: Eat as many as eight bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets.

Day Five:

Beef And Tomatoes: Ten to twenty ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin-on chicken). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for beef on one of the beef days (but not both).

Day Six:

Beef and Vegetables: Eat to your heart’s content of beef and vegetables this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green vegetables. No Baked Potato. Eat your soup at least once.

Day Seven:

Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables: Again stuff, stuff, stuff yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day.