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VARIATIONS ON WEIGHT LOSS CABBAGE SOUP
- Meat: There are a lot of ways you can change up the recipe. To make it more filling, try adding in some meat like chicken, turkey, or beef. It may not be as low in calories, but it will still be healthy and delicious. If youre starting with raw meat, youll want to sauté it for a few minutes ahead of time to get it browned. If you dont want to add meat, but still want to make the recipe more filling you could cook in some lentils with your Cabbage Soup.
- Broth: You can exchange the vegetable broth in the recipe for chicken broth or beef broth if you prefer. You can also use low-sodium broth if youre trying to reduce sodium.
- Add-ins: There are lots of vegetable and spice/herb add-ins you can put in the soup if youd like to change up the taste. Try adding some bell peppers, green beans, green peppers, or seasonings like red pepper flakes, paprika, and Italian seasoning.
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Pros & Cons Of The Cabbage Soup Diet
The cabbage soup diet does have some advantages:
- Its very high in fiber
- It focuses on fresh, real, unprocessed food
- Its inexpensive and doesnt require fancy ingredients
- Unlimited cabbage soup means you wont be hungry
- It works in the short-term
Unfortunately, the disadvantages outweigh the pros:
- Low protein intake leads to muscle loss
- Very low fat intake leaves the body unable to absorb fat soluble vitamins and minerals
- Very low calorie intake can slow metabolism and lead to feeling weak
- Most of the weight loss is from glycogen depletion and is temporary
- Many days of the diet are very unbalanced, especially the day of unlimited bananas and skim milk
- Its pretty boring and bland
- Its a fad diet and does not work in the long-term
Do you know whats way better than a cabbage soup diet? A healthy, low carb way of eating that you can maintain in the long term. Seriously.
Health Benefits Of Cabbage
Not only is this cruciferous vegetable easy on the wallet, but its chock-full of health benefits! The list is pretty extensive, but heres a few notes that highlight why everyone raves about cabbage:
- Jam-packed with nutrients: These leaves have a mighty dose of Vitamin C , along with fiber, potassium, magnesium, and a variety of other nutrients.
- Loaded with antioxidants: Aside from Vitamin C and manganese, cabbage really shines with phytonutrients, which are natural compounds that help prevent damage to your bodys cells.
- An anti-inflammatory superstar: With its strong strong anti-inflammatory agents such as sulforaphane and glutamine, cabbage can reduce irritation, pain, fever, and other bodily disorders.
- Great for digestion: Cabbage has 1 gram of fiber for every 10 calories. That helps fill you up, in a good way. It also keeps you regular, and it could help lower your bad cholesterol and control your blood sugar.
- Helps with weight loss: Because cabbage is low in calories, the cabbage soup diet has been known to help shed a few pounds. Butyou know Im not a fan of detox diets and quick fixes. Your body still needs more nutrients from other foods. So just enjoy this soup for the vegetarian goodness that it offers.
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Can I Make Ahead And Freeze Cabbage Rolls
You can make ahead and freeze the pork stuffed cabbage rolls, without the sauce or sauerkraut. Place the individual raw cabbage rolls, space apart so they are not touching, on a large baking pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Put in the freezer.
Once frozen put the cabbage rolls in a freezer bag and remove as much air as you can from the bag. They’ll last about a month in the freezer.
Let them defrost overnight in the fridge before cooking with the sauerkraut and tomato.
Variations On This Cabbage Soup:
- Add some protein: can easily add ground Italian sausage or ground beef to this recipe simply saute in the pan before adding your vegetables and continue on with the recipe. Some of this Crockpot Shredded Chicken or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken would also make a great addition!
- Add more veggies: throw them in when sauteeing the other vegetables ., when simmering the soup or throw them in just before serving .
- Add more herbs and spices: you can easily bump up the herbs and spices in this recipe by adding some additional garlic or Italian seasoning , or even dill or other herbs you enjoy. Want it spicy? Add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.
- Add in some cooked rice and ground beef for cabbage roll soup.
- Add in pasta or beans to make this soup even heartier.
- Add in crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce to thicken the soup and give more tomato flavor.
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How Much Weight Can You Lose On The 7
There are many factors to consider such as gender and age, if you follow the diet strictly or cheated, and to what degree. But most people reported losing up to 10 or more pounds in one week on the weight loss cabbage soup. Keep in mind that the weight that youll lose is a combination of water, fat, and even muscle.
What Is The Cabbage Soup Diet
The Cabbage Soup Diet has variations, but it is mainly:
Yet it is not vegetarian or vegan because limited amounts of beef and chicken are allowed on a couple of days. This is a rigid diet with not a lot of room for tweaks, just like the military diet.
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Instant Pot Cabbage Soup:
Cabbage Soup Serving Suggestions
When youre ready to eat, ladle the cabbage soup into bowls, and garnish each one with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Enjoy the soup on its own, with good crusty bread for sopping up the flavorful broth, or pair it with a sandwich or salad for a larger meal. I love it with a classic grilled cheese or this Sweet Potato Salad.
Leftover cabbage soup will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, and it also freezes well. Allow it to cool completely before transferring it to airtight containers and storing it in the freezer. Frozen cabbage soup will keep for up to 3 months.
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A Simple Red Cabbage Recipe
This classic German red cabbage recipe is one of our favorite ways to prepare red cabbagesautéed with butter, sprinkled with sugar and balsamic vinegar and simmered until tender. The sugar and balsamic vinegar give the sautéed cabbage a delightful sweet and sour glaze.
When the holidays come round, we take the cabbage up a notch, adding chopped apples, onions, and if we have them, roasted chestnuts. It’s wonderful served alongside pork chops or a pork roast!
How To Customize The Spice Level
As written, this soup is quite spicy, at least we though so in our family.
It definitely depends on the spice level of the tomatoes and chilis youre using, as well as the red pepper flakes !
If you are sensitive to heat, Id suggest leaving out the red pepper flakes altogether, and using regular diced tomatoes .
This will make for a very mild soup, and you can always top with red pepper flakes or ground pepper at the end for a tiny bit of heat.
For medium heat, skip the red pepper flakes, or reduce to ¼ teaspoon, and use tomatoes with green chilis.
And if youre looking for an even spicier option, you can always add more red pepper flakes into the soup, or finish with the hot sauce of your choice.
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How Do You Do The 7
On the 7- day cabbage soup diet, you follow a specific eating plan every day. Along with eating these foods, you can have cabbage soup as often as youd like. This soup is also called wonder soup, weight loss soup, miracle soup, and weight watcher soup. So many names for this soup!
This unlimited soup rule is what drew me to the 7-day cabbage soup diet. I love that I can eat this soup in unlimited quantities. I HATE being hungry, and I will not stick to any diet if Im hungry. Point. Blank. Period. Dont forget you MUST drink eight glasses of water each day. My results vary if I slack on water.
How To Make Cabbage Soup In The Instant Pot
- Turn on the sauté function. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and ground beef, stirring until beef is browned. Remove and set aside.
- Add remaining butter with cabbage and onions, and cook until they start to soften.
- Add beef and all other ingredients to the instant pot and stir together. Close and seal the lid of your pot and close the pressure valve.
- Cook on high for 8 minutes, then naturally release.
- Stir in rice before serving.
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Any Top Tips On How To Make Cabbage Soup Delicious
- Taking the time to slowly sweat the onion, carrots and celery will provide a sweeter more rounded backbone to your soup. Make sure you are cooking them on the lowest heat possible and with a lid on, so the precious steam stays inside the pot and helps to soften the vegetables before they begin to burn. Stirring them from time to time so they cook evenly ensures they wont catch.
- It might sound obvious, but making sure the vegetables are all cut to a similar size will help them cook evenly.
- If you think they could do with longer than 15 minutes, dont be afraid to cook them for longer. Use your judgement, they should be sweet and translucent and almost falling apart, but not browned.
- Cabbage soup calls for a good balance between the amount of liquid and that of softened vegetables. The vegetables will slightly thicken the stock and give you that slightly viscous texture a soup needs, as opposed to just chopped veg bobbing about in water.
- If you prefer to use fresh tomatoes, simply chop the tomatoes and add to the vegetables with the cabbage so they get sautéed and not just boiled. You might need to add a little more liquid to compensate later in the process.
About This Spicy Cabbage Soup Recipe
Can I just say that I think cabbage is one of the most underrated vegetables out there?
I know kale gets all the hype these days but I personally love cooking with cabbage!
Its packed with nutrients, is generally inexpensive, easy to find in almost any grocery store, and cooks down into a silky, luscious texture.
Plus it pairs well with lots of other ingredients making it just the thing to add to hearty veggie-loaded soups like this one.
And dont let the ingredient list fool you.
It may look simple at a glance, but the rich tomato broth is so flavorful !
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What Are The Ingredients Of The Diet Cabbage Soup
Although most recipes have bouillon/water and veggies in common, there are different recipes for the diet soup. Our diet cabbage soup is low-fat and has low carb veggies, among other ingredients that are detox and anti-inflammatory, such as spinach, garlic, turmeric, tomatoes, and lemon juice. It is similar to Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup!
Here are the ingredients for the diet cabbage soup that maximizes weight loss while detoxing:
- Olive oil
- Spinach
What Is The Cabbage Soup Diet Plan For Weight Loss
The original cabbage soup diet plan gained popularity in the 80s and 90s. It was a fad diet, which I generally do not support. That term alone should tell you that there are issues with it.
But, that doesnt mean that cabbage soup isnt great as part of a healthy eating plan. That is a much better way to enjoy it.
For those that want to know, Ill still go over what the cabbage soup diet involves. You start with a huge batch of homemade cabbage soup, which you can have in unlimited amounts. There are recipes to make it in the Crock Pot, Instant Pot, or the stove top. Also, each day of the week allows certain other foods.
In a nutshell, here is the summary of the 7-day cabbage soup diet:
- Day 1: Unlimited cabbage soup and fruit .
- Day 2: Unlimited cabbage soup and non-starchy vegetables. One baked potato with butter or oil.
- Day 3: Unlimited cabbage soup, fruit , and non-starchy vegetables.
- Day 4: Unlimited cabbage soup, bananas, and skim milk.
- Day 5: Unlimited cabbage soup, 6 tomatoes, and 20 oz beef or chicken.
- Day 6: Unlimited cabbage soup and non-starchy vegetables, plus 20 oz beef or fish.
- Day 7: Unlimited cabbage soup, non-starchy vegetables, brown rice, and unsweetened juice.
As you can see, it involves a lot of cabbage soup! Its also far from low carb, especially with the bananas, potatoes, milk, and rice in there. In fact, it much more closely follows the old premise of a low-fat, low-calorie diet.
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How To Make Cabbage Soup In An Instant Pot
How To Freeze Cabbage Soup:
This is also a great soup for freezing!
I prefer to freeze in large freezer bags as they dont take up a lot of freezer space and they can be thawed quickly.
Pour into a freezer bag, seal and freeze flat. To thaw, leave at room temperature for 3-4 hours, or place in a sink of shallow, room temperature water for 30-45 minutes.
You can also freeze in freezer jars or any freezer safe container.
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What Can I Eat On The Cabbage Soup Diet Plan
This diet consists of cabbage soup, eaten 2 to 3 times a day with other allowed foods as follows:
- Day 1: Fruit , except bananas
- Day 2: Vegetables, especially leafy greens and low carb veggies , and no fruit
- On Day 3: Fruits and vegetables
- Day 4: Bananas and skim milk
- Day 5: Beef and tomatoes
- On Day 6: Beef and vegetables
- Day 7: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, and vegetables
What Spices Do You Put In Vegetable Soup With Cabbage
Cabbage Soup boasts a custom blend of Italianseasonings. You will need:
- basil
- bay leaf
CAN I USE FRESH HERBS?
I prefer dried herbs in the actual soupbecause they get added to the soup at the beginning which infuses the brothwith flavor. You may use fresh herbs, but you will need three times thenumber of fresh herbs to dried herbs which can distract from the soup. Takecare to add fresh herbs towards the end of cooking so they stay fresh andflavorful.
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An Understated Yet Warm Experience
Mum has always said that Grandmas soups were the best. After almost three decades of enjoying many full bowls for dinner, I can say that shes 100% right.
All of my favorite soups have a few things in common: theyre humble, comforting and made with love. In my eyes, that makes a winning combo.
But theree just something about Grandmas Chinese Cabbage Soup that makes my body cheer with barely contained excitement whenever I see it brewing on the stove.
Maybe its the silky leafy green that all but melts in your mouth as soon as it touches your tongue. Maybe its the gentle savory undertones that have been unearthed from hours of slow simmering.
Or maybe its the fact that such a simple soup will complement any dinner spread so that all youre left with are great conversations around the family table!
How To Make Cabbage Soup With Hamburger
Okay, so weve covered what the original cabbage soup diet was all about, why this cabbage soup recipe with ground beef is even better, and the various methods for cooking.
Now, how do you make cabbage soup with ground beef? Its easy!
And, all you need are simple, common ingredients. Its yet another reason I think its the best cabbage soup recipe ever.
First, saute the onions in avocado oil. Feel free to use another oil or even grass-fed butter, if youd like. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. These steps are done directly in the Instant Pot if youre using that, or otherwise on the stove.
Next, all thats left is to mix all the ingredients together and simmer the cabbage soup. The remaining things to add include shredded coleslaw mix, diced tomatoes, bone broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and bay leaves.
Either dump these into the Instant Pot, or transfer everything to the Crock Pot. Simmering the soup takes 20 minutes in the pressure cooker or a few hours in the slow cooker. Either way, it takes almost no effort.
Thats all it takes! Whether youre looking to try a low carb version of the cabbage soup diet, or simply wanting an easy cabbage soup recipe to have as a healthy meal, this one is a must-try. And, I highly recommend the latter option!
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