Diet and Nutrition

All You Need to Know About the Cabbage Soup Diet

All You Need to Know About the Cabbage Soup Diet

Most people today are interested in finding the best and most effective ways to keep them healthy. Everyone around has become health-conscious and wants to know more about the easiest and most effective ways to overcome health-related issues and enjoy a happy and healthy way of life.

The Cabbage soup diet is a highly effective, time-tested experiment which many people have followed in the past and have succeeded in losing weight, which was their main aim.

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Weight Watchers May Be Worth a Shot

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The Cabbage soup diet was first tried and tested in the year 1980. It was an experiment done on obese patients in an American clinic, which did a unique experiment to reduce weight without doing any surgery.

How Does the Cabbage Soup Diet work?

The cabbage soup diet is mainly an program, wherein a person has to eat vegetables for a week. Earlier, the diet consisted of only soup, but then it was revised and certain healthy food items were included, which are easy to eat and digest.

Benefits of the Cabbage Soup Diet

The cabbage diet helps to effectively reduce weight rapidly and substantially in a short span of time. The weight loss is estimated to be approximately 10 pounds in one week, if you follow the instructions well. The advantage of the cabbage soup diet is that it allows you to eat as much food as you want with very few restrictions on the type of food to be consumed, unlike most other diet plans.

Cabbage diet is full of vegetables which keeps the hunger pangs at bay and because the cabbage soup is rich in water, vegetable and fruits, it has a diuretic effect on the human body, that cleanses the body internally. It helps to eliminate body waste including toxins and reduce weight which motivates a person to move towards a healthy and disciplined lifestyle.

Cabbage soup is also highly beneficial for a number of reasons like:

  • Cabbage soup is a low-cost food which is easily available in almost all seasons. 
  • Cabbage soup, unlike many other soups, is easy to prepare without wasting much time, with or without using additional ingredients.
  • It is considered to be extremely low in calories, but it can fill you up with its taste and content.
  • Once you have cabbage soup, it will deter you from having any other high calorie food.
  • It is inexpensive compared to many other high calorie soups. It can fit into your budget very easily.
  • The taste of cabbage soup can be adjusted by using additional vegetables, herbs and ingredients.
  • Cabbage soup can be prepared in many different ways.
  • Cabbage soup can be served as soup or it can become part of the meal, if required.

Cabbage soup offers a range of health benefits such as:

  • One cup of cabbage soup is packed with nutrients and vitamins.
  • One cup of cabbage soup can provide your daily requirements of vitamin K and vitamin C.
  • Cabbage soup is full of fibers and also, Vitamin B.
  • Cabbage soup is highly recommended for gastrointestinal health and for all types of health issues in women.

Precautions for the Cabbage Soup Diet

One has to take certain precautions before starting the cabbage soup diet. One should remember that following the cabbage diet daily may lead to a lack of carbohydrates, which can cause a risk of hypoglycemia in the form of headaches, fatigue, dizziness and weakness. Always be ready to listen to your body and find out your limits.

If you feel that you cannot bear the health problems anymore, then you should immediately change your diet plan. The lack of protein makes your body weak and to overcome the weakness, you should add proteins in the form of protein shakes, along with skimmed milk. The protein shake should be taken depending on the weakness. It is generally recommended to have it twice a day. 

Also, the low celery intake sometimes reduces the metabolism. It is necessary that you eat foods which contains proteins, but the diet should be restricted and as per the instructions else it will result in weight gain instead of weight loss.

The Course of the Cabbage Soup Diet

The vegetable soup should be prepared as per your taste and liking. You could add a variety of vegetables like carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and also green beans, tomatoes and zucchini to the soup. You can also include mushrooms and peppers. 

The timetable below will help you to follow the activities of the week:

  • First day 
    You can drink as much soup as you want.
    You can have as many fruits as you want except for banana.

  • Second day 
    Drink as much soup as you want.
    Eat as many vegetables in raw, cooked or grilled form.

    It is recommended to have green vegetables and salads except legumes, peas and corn. You can have  a baked potato along with butter at night for dinner.

  • Third day
    Have unlimited soup.
    Have fruits and vegetables as much as you want.
  • Fourth day
    Have soup as much as you want to drink.
    You can have skim milk(without sugar) along with 3 bananas.
  • Fifth day
    Soup can be unlimited.
    You can have proteins such as beef/chicken breast without skin/fish.
    You can have potatoes.
  • Sixth day
    Have soup as much as you want to drink.
    You can have proteins such as beef/chicken breast without skin/fish with vegetables. Have up to 20 ounces of protein with vegetables.
  • Seventh day
    Drink soup as much as you want.
    You can eat brown rice with green vegetables at night.

Additional activities recommended are :

  • Drink lots of water everyday.
  • You can also drink herbal tea or unsweetened juices or beverages.
  • You can have additional vitamin supplements.
  • You can also have protein supplements, which help to further strengthen the muscles.
  • Actively participate in physical activities such as walking or yoga.

Avoid the following activities and foods during the diet week:

  • Never indulge in intense physical activities.
  • Banana (except for a day) and peas, corn, potatoes (except for 2 days).
  • Coffee along with sugar.
7 Day Cabbage Soup Diet

How to Prepare the Cabbage Soup?

The cabbage soup should be freshly prepared everyday using fresh vegetables and the required ingredients. While preparing the soup, you can add your favorite vegetables into it to make it more flavorful. It is also recommended that you keep changing the taste of the soup everyday, so you can consume it everyday without losing the taste.       

Cabbage Soup Recipes

The following steps will help you to prepare the cabbage soup according to your taste and liking.  

Asian version Cabbage soup

This soup preparation is based on Asian style of cooking and the vegetables commonly used in Asian cuisine.

List of Ingredients required are:

  • Medium-size cabbage - 1
  • Two pieces of cauliflower
  • Carrots (4 or 5)
  • Celery stalks
  • Tomatoes (2 or 3)
  • White onion (1 or 2 if small in size)
  • Leek sliced  (only 1)
  • Tomato sauce (200 ml)
  • Vegetable broth (6 cups)

Following are the herbs and spices added into the cabbage soup:

  • Small chopped peppers - 2  or Siracha - 2 tbsp
  • Garlic cloves - 2
  • Chopped fresh ginger - 2 of size 3 cm
  • Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
  • Cumin - 1 tbsp
  • Curry ­- 1 tbsp
  • Bay leaves - 2 
  • Lemongrass stalks - 2
  • Soy sauce - 1 tsp
  • Coriander and chopped fresh parsley

Preparation of Cabbage soup

  • Add sesame oil in a big sized pot. Keep the flame medium while cooking. First add curry and cumin to the oil.
  • Add the tomato sauce and stir it well and add the vegetables.
  • Let it cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Then add the broth, chopped cilantro, hot pepper, bay leaves, ginger and lemongrass.
  • Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes
  • Now, simmer the mixture and let the vegetables cook.
  • Add the fresh herbs along with soy sauce.

Mediterranean version Cabbage soup

Required Ingredients are:

  • Few pieces of large-size cabbage
  • Red pepper - 1 (diced)
  • Yellow pepper -1 (diced)
  • Sliced carrots - 4
  • Celery stalks in small pieces
  • Snap beans or green beans - 250 gms
  • Small tomatoes - 4
  • Large Spanish onion -1
  • Garlic cloves - 4
  • Pitted black olives - 75 gms
  • Dry chillies - 2 or 2 tsp chilli powder
  • Balsamic vinegar - 2 tbsp
  • Olive oil -  4 tsp
  • Vegetable broth -1 liter
  • Sprigs of thyme - 2
  • Sprigs of basil - 2
  • Branch of sage - 1
  • Sea salt as needed

Preparation of Cabbage soup

  • In a big-sized pot, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and the onion and garlic.
  • Add the vegetables(carrots, celery, beans) and the cabbage together.
  • Also add the peppers and cook the mixture for a few minutes.
  • Salt, peppers and broth should be added to the mixture and allow it to boil.
  • Add thyme, basil and sage to the mixture and simmer it for about 15-20 minutes.
  • Also, add pieces of chopped garlic and tomatoes.
  • Simmer the mixture till it gets mixed and cooked well and lastly, add balsamic vinegar and olives.

Final Thoughts About the Cabbage Soup Diet

The cabbage soup diet is highly effective for reducing weight, but it is not meant for long-term weight loss. It is highly recommended for people who want to control their weight in a short span of time.

The Cabbage soup diet is one of the highly recommended diet plans which is quite popular. Most of the people prefer it because it allows fresh, green vegetables and the whole idea of the diet plan is about having a tasty cabbage soup with different flavors. Most of the people who try the cabbage soup diet the first time prefer to do it again because it certainly helps in reducing weight effectively.