My friend Amie says she lost 12 pounds by eating this soup every day for a week. Cabbage is ridiculously inexpensive and is supposed to help detox your body if you've been retaining water.
I've had three children. I'm always retaining water. :-) Anyway, there is no easier way to make the Cabbage Soup Diet recipe then by plopping everything into your crockpot slow cooker.
enjoy!
Day 65.
Dude. I've been eating a lot of food lately. And we're going away for spring break. To swim.
Which means swimsuits.
Which means I best be chilling on this and this and this and this.
Not forever. Just for a few days.
I've made the cabbage soup from the cabbage soup diet a bunch of times----I know there's a lot of controversy about it.
I don't follow the whole "eat as many bananas on day whatever" that the "original" diet tells you to do.
I just drink the soup for a few days to clean out and somewhat detoxify.
Cabbage is supposed to be helpful in reducing water retention, and by all means, I'm up for some of that right about now.
The Ingredients.
small head of cabbage
handful of baby carrots
bunch of celery
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic, or 4 cloves, smashed and chopped
1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning blend (lemon pepper, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
The Directions.
--chop all vegetables into bite-sized chunks and plop into crockpot
--cover with liquid
--add spices
cook on low for 8-10 hours
The Verdict.
This doesn't taste very good.
It's bland.
I could have added more salt, I suppose, but that would make you retain water and cabbage is supposed to be a natural diuretic.
So that sort of seems stupid to counteract that component.
I've added onion soup mix or a can of tomatoes in the past-- but I didn't this time.
I also like adding a few dashes of Tobasco Sauce to my serving -- it doesn't add calories but really adds a nice kick.
All in all, this is not a long term solution for anything.
But I'm feeling vain, so I'm going to eat it for lunch for a few days anyway.
PS:
I have 2 ebook cookbooks that have 30 days of recipes in them.
and recently I've written a book on Intermittent Fasting called 2 4 6 EAT.
because after turning 40 I found that my hormones were a bit out of whack (technical term) and my joints were achy and I was retaining belly fat --
Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at March 05, 2017
Labels: crockpot, gluten free, soup, summer cooking, vegetarian,
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What they say about this article
Been following your exploits for about 3 weeks now (of course going back to Jan to see what I missed :P), and I wanted to drop a comment expressing my thanks for keeping me so entertained. We made the Pomegranate Beef,a definite hit.. well accept for my 3 year old (maybe if we had called it pomegranate "chicken nugget" beef, she would have tried it).
I'm surprised that you find it so bland, with the spices you put in, the garlic and the red pepper flakes. Hmmmm...
I like a good soup every once in a while too, it's always so healthy.
thank you, Holl! That pomegranate beef was amazing. The sauce was out of this world.
CS, I'm eating some now (with a cup of coffee--I'm two-fisting my mugs!) and it's not horrible. I like spicy things, and so that makes it bearable to me.
but it's still a bunch of veggies floating around in thin broth...
it needs some potatoes. and beans. and chicken. and heavy cream.
bwhahahaha
stephyou know i'm now singing that song...
you're so vain. you probably thing this song is about you. you're so vain....
I love,love, love your honest verdicts. They usually crack me up. Over the weekend I made your Pomegranate Beef and loved it. In fact, the whole family loved it. May blog about it soon and plan to link to your post . . . OK?
I followed your "this and this..." links and saw your comment in the sun-dried tomato dip about your 1.5 qt crockpot. I worked at Rival a few years ago (before they transferred all manufacturing overseas) when we made that little crockpot for Wal-Mart's Black Friday sale. The price was SO low that there were no graphics added. So although it doesn't say so, it was most likely a Rival crockpot.
Anonymous3/05/2008
I just found your blog, and I love it! I read the whole thing....while at work...while I should have been working.....
I love my crock pot too, although it appears not nearly as much as you do! I can't wait to try some of your recipes....especially the creme brule...that looks amazing!
kay, you're right. I'm totally singing the song.
dana, I hope you like the beef!
deb, I like that mug too. it was an xmas gift from my bro and his wife.
kathy, that is so interesting---I love my rival and am not interested in trying a different "slow cooker"--gotta stick with the original, and therefore best---just like the taco soup! lol
becky, get back to work!
bwahahahahaha. I'm supposed to be working too...xoxo
stephOH dear this is how I lost 50 pou nds 4 years ago. I weill never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever eat it again. Ever. Ever.
THANK YOU for not only posting the recipes, but whether you liked the final product!!
I love an honest cook.
I tried this when I was a teenager// I remember my sister telling me it is what they fed the prisoners of war during Vietnam.. It was a fad back then.. Anyway.. I wouldn't do it as a diet, but if it's flavorful, maybe as a side soup..
Have a great week...For the "1 t seasoning blend" I used Soul Food blend...hahaha...it made my soup spicy and not bland.
I like it, about as much as you could like cabbage soup :)Anonymous2/17/2009
Hi,
First of all I love your blog. I'm French, live near Paris, and there are very few Crock-Pots around and it's hard to find recepies.
About the cabbage soup diet, what do you do about protein ? You must take in lots when dieting so that you dont lose muscle (the hart loses weight fist, then liver and then muscles). Those who lost weight, did you put it back on after ? I'm very tempted, so thanks for any info.steph, I just found ur blog. I was lookin for a cabbage soup receipe for my crock pot. I am a over the road trucker and my crock pot is so helpful when I know I will have a long day. Its a small one so I have to figure out how to resize the amounts so it fits in my crockpot. thanks, crystal
I do a variation of this based on this soup. I add a large can of crushed tomatoes, cubed turnip to the soup, Italian seasonings, Accent for those not MSG challenged, four heaping tbls of Splenda, and a good 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. This turns that bland soup into t into a sweet/sour concoction with a spicy aftertaste to it. It gets better as it sits in the fridge
There is a really good Cabbage Soup Recipe in The Joy of Cooking, that uses caraway seeds. You also top it with a bit of Blue cheese at the end but a tablespoon of cheese will not ruin the health effects. I am for one a very big cabbage fan which puts me in the minority, but a nice cabbage soup or a cabbage roll...comfort food defined!
Anonymous10/18/2009
Try using V8 for some or all of the liquid... good for you and adds some of the flavor you noted was missing, Steph.
Barb10/22/2009
I like stirring about a tablespoon of plain whole milk yogurt in each serving; it helps the body digest the nutrients as well as enhancing the flavor. I also add a can of pork and beans to the entire pot--I guess it's not a diet soup then, though.
Anonymous4/16/2011
I just found your blog! Your funny and I love your pros and cons about recipes; I haven't any other sites that give this kind of opinion about their recipes. I'm bookmarking your page! Thanks a bunch !
Wow! From never posting too 2 in one day...LOL!
I LOVE the cabbage soup recipe. The only thing I add is V8 Spicy juice.
Frummie
Jane11/04/2011
I agree the Cabbage soup can be too bland. But it works so well I have to go on it every so often. My recipie is different with no carrots, just cabbage, green onions, green peppers, celery, canned diced tomatoes and chicken bullion flakes and of course V8 juice. I've found if you add curry powder it makes it so much more yummy and after looking up curry on the internet it didn't look like it spoiled the diets effectivness one bit. Give it a try.
Cene'1/16/2012
I am so pleased to have found your blog on pinterest!!!!!!! I have literally wasted half a day reading and running to cabinets to check my ingredients stash..... as for the cabbage wraps, on my grocery list! I also want to tell you if you throw a whole pitted jalapeno and/or some roasted green chile into soup it livens it right up!!!!!
Haven't tried this yet, but will add a package or two of G.Washington seasoning and broth (rich brown or golden), and some Braggs aminos at the end of cooking if its still kind of bland.
Thanks for sharing your recipe..i will try to make it this night..
We had this for dinner tonight because I got a 10 pounds cabbage in my CSA box. I used low sodium V-8 instead of the stock and only added 3 ribs of celery rather than the whole shebang. My 5 yo loved it with some parmesan -- shocking b/c she thinks she hates cabbage.
I spiced mine up with some cayenne and parm also -- might add a bit of vinegar to the leftovers.
It's a good basic veg soup that is easily seasoned to taste in the bowl. I'll definitely make it again! Perhaps soon as I wasn't able to use my entire cabbage! ;-)Adding onion soup mix to it defeated the purpose of eating it to lose fluid. It's so high in sodium it would tend to make you retain lots of fluid, plus the fact that you are ingesting lots of fluid, so that just won't work! Try a salt substitute instead. I lost 40 pounds on the diet years ago and I need to do it again.
Anonymous4/15/2016
I have made this cabbage soup a few times now and took the advice of some of the previous posters.... I add a small can of tomato paste, beef broth, curry powder, ginger, plenty of garlic and red pepper flakes. I find the flavor pretty yummy! :)
I make this all the time in the cold months.. just add some fresh basil and parsley and lots of fresh garlic and onion for great flavor without all the salt.
