Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Cabbage Soup Diet - Improve Your Boring Soup


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The Cabbage Soup Diet is a "miracle" diet supposed to make you lose up to 10 pounds in a 7 days period.

But eating the cabbage soup each and every day, several times a day may end up tiring.

Indeed, the basic recipe (white cabbage, green peppers, carrots, onions, celery and tomatoes) has a sweet taste that is not always appreciated. Moreover, tomatoes and green peppers may provide some acidity that will harm our digestion.

That is why we are allowed to replace peppers and/or tomatoes by zucchini, for instance. The cabbage soup, normally red, will thus become green but that does not change the fact that eating such a soup, over and over again, is boring.

However, there is a way to improve the cabbage soup without having an adverse effect on the quality of the diet.

For a few years, I have been following the cabbage soup diet each summer in order to lose a few pounds.

But I have been quickly disgusted and I started to look in bookstores for some alternative recipes and discovered three recipes created by great Chefs that can completely change the taste of this boring soup.

Unfortunately, I do not like to eat vegetables and some ingredient included in these recipes did not suit me so, I adapted the recipes to my own taste and prepared each recipe for two days - keeping the excess in the freezer for the last day of the diet.

Here are the recipes that I adapted to my taste:

Southern France Cabbage Soup:

1/2 white cabbage,
2 sliced green peppers
4 carrots,
3 large white onions, chopped
4 celery stalk
2 zucchini, chopped
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
100 mashed mixed green and black olives
3 mashed anchovy
50 g mashed capers
1 small chili
thyme, basil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Chinese Cabbage Soup Recipe:

1 chinese cabbage, chopped
2 sliced yellow peppers
3 sliced carrots,
2 large white onions, chopped
1 stalk celery
1 can peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 can bamboo shoots
1/2 pound sliced lotus root
1 small chili, lemon grass
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 chopped red pepper if you like
1 or 2 teaspoon vegetable soup mix
Salt, pepper, garlic, herbs to taste

The Cabbage Soup Made In Spain:

1/2 white cabbage,
2 sliced red peppers
3 sliced carrots,
3 large white onions, chopped
3 stalks celery
1 or 2 canned peeled tomatoes, chopped,
1 chili pepper, chopped
1 or 2 turnips, chopped
1/2 pound green beans
Garlic, coriander and cumin
Saffron
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 or 2 teaspoon vegetable soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste

These three recipes will help you to change the taste of the cabbage soup diet. Preferably eat a different taste every two days.

Bon appetit.

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