While I don’t recommend the cabbage soup diet plan, the soup itself is very nutritious and tasty — and is great to eat any time on a low carb diet. You can tailor the recipe to your likes and dislikes; for instance if you don’t care that much for green peppers, use green beans instead. If you want to make it even heartier, you could add a protein source such as ground or cubed beef or chicken. I’ve modified the recipe to include only organic ingredients.Serves: 4
Healing Nutrient Spotlight
Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, copper, and manganese
Good source of iron, vitamin D, thiamin, folate, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, and selenium
Ingredients*
6 large green onions
2 green peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 or 2 cans of organic tomatoes (diced or whole)
3 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
10 oz. of fresh or canned mushrooms, thick sliced
1 bunch of celery, chopped
Half a head of cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cubes of organic bouillon, beef, chicken, or vegetable
1 48-oz. jar Very Veggie organic tomato and vegetable juice (optional)
Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc.
*Select organic ingredients for optimum nutrition.
Preparation
Slice green onions, and sauté with cooking spray. Add cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and celery to pot. If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now. You can limit your seasoning to the bouillon cubes if desired. These have all the salt and flavors you need. Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the Very Veggie juice). Cover, and simmer on low. Let soup cook for a long time — about two hours works well. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you like.
Nutrition
230 calories, 1 g total fat, .5 g polyunsaturated fat, 170 mg cholesterol, 45 g carbohydrate, 12 g fiber, 27 g sugar, 9 g protein, 24000 IU vitamin A, .2 mg thiamin, .4 mg riboflavin, 4 mg niacin, 1.4 mg pantothenic acid, .5 mg vitamin B6, 70 mcg folate, 220 mg vitamin C, 55 IU Vitamin D, .4 mg copper, 255 mg calcium, 1820 mg sodium, .4 mg manganese, 690 mg potassium, 3.5 mg iron, 8 mcg selenium
Recipes by Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD
[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute (formerly part of Living Longer Institute). She offers personal nutritional counseling at LMI for clients who need help with their diet in relation to illness or disease. Laura also provides educational services in the areas of health promotion, wellness, and disease prevention.]