Showing posts with label Improve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Improve. Show all posts

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.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Recipes to Warm Your Heart & Your Soul


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This time of year most of us are thinking of ways to keep warm. What could be better than recipes which come straight out of our grandmother's kitchen? Whether you are a star chef, culinary arts student, home cook or foodie your passion for delicious food most likely stems from childhood memories of grandmother's cooking. Who can forget the smells and tastes of the foods which came out of her kitchen? If you are lucky enough to have those childhood memories, you are very lucky!

Nowadays it is referred to as "comfort food" and it is just that. It is food that will comfort us and nurture us. Let's face it, at the end of our busy days all of us could use a little of both. For many it is easy to rush home from a busy day and throw something in the microwave for a quick meal to serve the family. But there is something about cooking up a pot of homemade soup and baking fresh biscuits which just can't be beat. It may take a little longer to get dinner on the table, but in the end it is worth it and your family will thank you for it. Perhaps the soup could be made on a Sunday afternoon and will be ready to eat come Monday. When the aromas of home cooking fill the air our bodies begin to relax and are soothed by it. So in a sense home cooking nourishes us in two ways: it nourishes our soul by soothing us and nourishes our bodies when it is eaten.

I don't know about you, but I love to reminisce about being in my grandmother's kitchen. Her country cooking style learned many years before as a child came second nature to her. She could whip up a pot of Vegetable Soup with Dumplings with no effort and bake a tray of Buttermilk Biscuits with her eyes closed! It was a treat to watch and of course, always a treat to eat in grandmother's kitchen! Wouldn't you love to create those kinds of memories for your own family? With that thought in mind, I want to share with you my grandmother's Vegetable Soup with Dumplings and Buttermilk Biscuits recipes. They are sure to warm your heart and your soul! Enjoy!

Vegetable Soup with Dumplings

Use a nice piece of shin meat with a marrow bone in it. Put the meat into a 4 qt. pot. Fill with water and cook until boiling. Turn down to simmer. Add all of the diced vegetables. I use everything, 2 carrots, a piece of turnip, 2 stalks celery, 1 large fresh tomato or ½ cup stewed tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 bay leaf, 3 cloves, a few slices of cabbage leaves, some green pepper, a package of mixed frozen vegetables, 1 tablespoon salt and a dash of pepper. I also like to add 2 tablespoons barley or rice, whichever you prefer. Let it all simmer together for at least 2-3 hours. When it's done, add the dumplings.

For the dumplings: In a bowl mix 1 cup flour, a pinch of salt, 1 egg and enough water to make a stiff dough. Take a teaspoon and cut off ½ teaspoon size of dough and drop into the soup. Cook about 5 minutes until they rise and are done. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and put back into the soup. Sprinkle a little chopped parsley on top before serving. This soup is a meal in itself.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Sift 2 cups flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon baking soda. Cut ½ stick (¼ cup) of butter into it with a knife or use your hands. Then add ¾ cup buttermilk. Blend into a ball. Roll out 1/2" thick. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter or a glass. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Cabbage Soup Diet - Improve Your Boring Soup


Image : http://www.flickr.com


The cabbage soup diet is a "miracle" diet will make you lose up to 10 pounds in a period of 7 days.

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

In fact, the basic recipe (white cabbage, peppers, carrots, has onions, celery and tomatoes), a sweet taste, which is not always appreciated. In addition to tomatoes and peppers a certain acid that could affect our digestion.

Therefore, wemust peppers and / or replace the tomatoes with zucchini, for example. The cabbage soup, normally red, green, but not the fact that food like a soup that is always changing and always boring.

However, there is the possibility that the cabbage soup, without any adverse impact on improving the quality of the diet.

For many years I followed the diet of cabbage soup every summer to lose some Pounds.

But I soon tired and I started to look in bookstores for some alternative recipes and discovered three recipes created by great leaders who completely change the flavor of this soup boring.

Unfortunately I do not like eating vegetables and ingredients of these recipes I liked so I adapted the recipe to my personal taste and prepared each recipe for two days - to maintain the surplus in the freezer for the last day of> Nutrition.

Here are the recipes that I adapted to my tastes:

Southern France Cabbage Soup:

1 / 2 white cabbage,
2 sliced green peppers
4 carrots,
3 large white onions, chopped
4 stalks celery
2 zucchini, chopped
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
100 mashed mixed green and black olives
3 anchovies, crushed
50 g mashed capers
1 small red pepper
Thyme, basil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Chinese Cabbage Soup Recipe:

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

The Cabbage Soup Made In Spain:

1 / 2 white cabbage,
2 slicesred pepper
3 carrots cut
3 large white onions, chopped
3 stalks celery
1 or 2 cans of peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 or 2 turnips, chopped
1 / 2 pound green beans
Garlic, coriander and cumin
Saffron
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 or 2 teaspoons of vegetable soup mix
Salt and pepper to taste

These three recipes will help you to change the taste of cabbage soup diet. Preferably, eat differentlyEveryone two days.

Bon appetit.