Today I have a really healthy and easy recipe for you, especially if you’re interested in losing some weight, feeling better and eating more home cooked food. It’s a delicious spin on cabbage soup. No this is not the recipe from the Cabbage Soup Diet (which after looking at makes me think it kinda sucks…) Mine features whole homemade ingredients without any packages of soup seasoning, V8 or chemical flavour enhancers.
The point of the cabbage soup in the cabbage soup diet is to fill you up on broth and vegetables in place of one meal a day so that you can lose weight fairly easily without crash dieting or being hungry.
A Healthier Alternative To The Cabbage Soup Diet
If you wanted a healthy guideline to lose some weight a safe and manageable way it would be to just eat fruits, lots of vegetables (even baked potatoes, sweet potatoes and squash are ok) and homemade vegetable soup (should be oil/cream free). You want to fill up on lower calorie high fibre nutrient dense foods. You could also have some beans or homemade hummus to go with your meals if desired as well. People gain weight because they eat too many rich foods like fried foods, meat, cheese, cream, butter, pastries, and bread products with oil in/on them. Even eating a diet of just potatoes wouldn’t cause you to gain weight, but if you slathered every potato in butter, sour cream and bacon it would become far too rich to achieve weight loss.
Actually I put a friend of mine on a fat free (and also no bread or flour products) diet back in September and she’s lost 50 lbs already just by eating more homemade meals and making sure they were based on foods like potatoes, vegetables and even rice instead of meat, bread, pastries and dairy products. She’s doing great and still enjoys eating this way every day.
One thing people think when it comes to alternative “healthier” lifestyles it that they will always hate it, never be able to do it or even starve to death (maybe even get bored to death too!). Let me tell you that is not the case. I started eating more raw and vegan for health reasons, not because I didn’t like how steak or chicken tasted. (Hey I’m being honest!) But now I’ve been eating vegetable based dishes for so long that I actually don’t miss or crave any animal foods at all. I really couldn’t imagine eating them again. I actually enjoy the food I eat now even more than the food I used to eat. (Whatever you do most often now, you tend to like even more than what you used to do back then. It’s just the way the brain perceives things. Recent events tend to be better than past events a lot of the time because their more clear in our minds.) I like vegetables so much that if I go to a regular restaurant and get a pasta dish or soup that has hardly any vegetables in it, I get sad and want more vegetables! I could never just eat a big plate of plain spaghetti and sauce anymore, I love putting vegetables or lentils in it to give it more flavour.
People may think all vegans eat are carrots, broccoli and celery, but that is simply not true. In fact I eat a much wider variety of ALL plant foods now than I ever did before. I can’t even say I have a favourite fruit or vegetable. I love many of them like cherries, mangoes, watermelon, white peaches, Hawaiian papayas, pineapple, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, eggplant, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, Thai pumpkin, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms and more. I wouldn’t be able to choose any of those as my favourite. I eat an even bigger variety than these, but these are some foods I really enjoy eating regularly and never get sick of eating. (This doesn’t even includes all the beans, legumes and whole grains I enjoy as well!)
I made 2 batches of vegetable broth and 2 batches of this cabbage soup last week, it was that good. One day I had 3 bowls of it for dinner! At 108 calories a bowl there’s really nothing to worry because you couldn’t possibly gain weight by eating this soup.
Fat Free Vegan Cabbage Soup Recipe
Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet onions, diced (like Vidalia, Walla Walla etc. They have light coloured skin and a slightly flattened top and bottom)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
10 oz./283 g package of mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
6 large stalks of celery, leaves removed and sliced
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 lb/454 g (1/2 head) of green cabbage, shredded or cut with mandolin
28 oz/793 g (or 2 16oz cans) fire roasted diced tomatoes (I use Muir Glen Organics)
10 cups/2.5 qtss/2.3 L fresh vegetable broth (my recipes are here) or low sodium packaged vegetable broth
Herbamare/Sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in 2-3 cups of vegetable broth for 5-6 minutes until the onions are tender. (Mushrooms take longer to cook than the rest of the veggies, so we’re cooking them first.)
- Add the rest of the vegetables, the thyme, the canned tomatoes, and the vegetable broth.
- Cook the vegetables over medium heat for 30-40 minutes or low heat for 1.5-2 hours until the vegetables are tender.
- Season to taste with Herbamare or salt and pepper. Add a little cayenne or chili pepper if you like the soup spicy. If you like your soup a little thinner you can add a little more vegetable broth or water if desired. But don’t add too much or you will dilute the flavour.
- Serve!
Additional Tips:
This soup is almost like a cabbage stew because it’s so full of vegetables. I prefer to have lots of veggies in my soup and a little less broth. You can add a little more broth if you like really watery soups. (But this is already so low calorie you don’t really need to water it down if you’re looking for a diet-friendly meal.)
I found I didn’t need to add much salt to my soup as I made homemade broth that was naturally sweet from the sweet onions, carrots and thyme and the fire roasted tomatoes have enough salt in them already.
This is a great recipe that you can use for a soup base and just change out some of the veggies for different ones for variety. You can also experiment with different salt free seasoning blends. Just make sure you always add a little, let it cook for a few minutes and taste test before adding more, so you don’t end up with an over seasoned soup!
If you use a bowl or two of this soup with some fruit or a salad every day instead of your normal meal it will help you lose weight just like any other meal replacement plan. But this is much more nutritious because it’s homemade and packed full of vitamins and minerals from the veggies. Even more so if you make your own vegetable broth. There is no comparison for me between store bought and homemade broth, so give it a try sometime and you will enjoy homemade soups even more!
Even if you changed a few of the vegetables in this soup it would be around the same calories. Overall it’s a very low calorie nutrient dense soup.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Have you ever made cabbage soup before or tried the Cabbage Soup Diet?
I got this cabbage soup email as I was reading it a window popped up to sign up for a vegan recipe every day. I tried to sign up but I couldn’t types anything in the box. Wondering if it’s still possible to sign up? Any information would be greatly appreciated
You can subscribe to the list in the newsletter subscription option at the side pink box or the pop up
Why is it recommended to only be on the CSD for a week? How often can this be used? I have a lot of weight to lose and this is such an easy meal plan.
This was delicious. I substituted water for 6 ounces of broth because I didn’t have it and it turned out great!!! I also used fresh tomatoes instead of canned and threw in some red and yellow peppers that I needed to use up. Loved this and bookmarked it!
Can the vegetable stock be substituted for water? I know it affects the taste, but I really can’t see buying all that produce that you can’t use again after making the stock, and buying store vegetable stock can get expensive. Maybe once I have the space for a compost pile, or figure out a recipe that can use the vegetable stock leftovers…
You really don’t want to make any soup with water instead of vegetable stock trust me. It’s going to taste pretty bland. When you make vegetable stock you are NOT wasting the veggies you have cooked out all of the nutrients and flavor into the vegetable stock to use in other recipes. It’s just like juicing, you drink the juice and compost the fibre. I wouldn’t consider it a waste at all. If you don’t want to make stock and have the nice taste and the health benefits, you can buy store bought stock but it doesn’t taste as good as often comes with a lot of added sodium, so it’s up to you.
I freeze any pieces that I cut off veggies and use them to make a stock when I get enough. Carrot and celery ends, root veggie trimmings, any leaves left over, whatever. It makes a really rich tasting stock and I don’t have to sacrifice any veggies that I paid good money for and like to eat.
That’s great. I simply do not have space in my freezer to save vegetable scraps, as I have frozen vegetables, frozen home cooked meals and pre soaked beans in there. I have found a huge difference in flavor using scraps versus fresh chopped veggies without peels (which leads to a bitter broth). So when I really need a superb flavorful broth I will make one using whole vegetables instead.
Hey Veronica! Halo from south africa! I have recently adapted to this lifestyle and loving it but still struggeling with weight here and there, one question, Do you eat the following foods- Oats \oats meal, dried fruits, Rye bread, health rusks, I see you mentioned pasta- white pasta?noodles? I ate too much fruit in the beginning. Do you eat Nuts and seeds? And how much beans is TOO much? I dont want to have a protein deficiency.
Thank you for your Time Love your site!
Hi, from UK, we don’t seem to sell fire roasted tomatoes here. Would roasting a tin of chopped tomatoes work or have you any other suggestions please.
You can search for recipes online where you put canned tomatoes on a baking sheet in the oven and roast them. I’m sure they would be sold somewhere, i find many health food stores have them.
I just made this- but added rosemary, bay leaves, cilantro. I didn’t include mushrooms, but I added zucchini and jicama!! Have you ever had jicama? It’s cooking right now- so excited to eat this! Thanks Veronica! 🙂
Hi…having trouble finding the recipe for vegetable broth that is a base for the above recipe. Thanks for your help.
I listed my recipe in a hyperlink by the broth listed in the ingredients. http://lowfatveganchef.com/how-to-make-homemade-vegan-vegetable-stock-easily-on-the-stove-or-in-a-pressure-cooker/
Lol OMG I forgot about that soup. We used to use it to crash diet but since we just eat healthy and plant-based 99 percent of the time now (and my normal weight has lowered) I don’t even think about it. I just think of your soup recipes as awesome and delicious things that I like to eat! Going to go make this right now–Just because it sounds good and i have all the ingredients!
Hi Veronica
Am in the UK and your email came through
Thank you. Will give to my daughter Emma
too as she is a great vege and soup fan.
Will try this soup when I return to Nz at end
of May after my wonderful holiday.
Many Thanks again.
Warmest wishes,
Margaret
Love the recipe, but when using dried thyme instead of fresh, it’s a bit strong. I’d opt for 1/2 tsp or even 1/4 tsp. 1 full tsp was a bit much for my taste.
I have not found dried thyme to be stronger than fresh thyme. Is that what you meant?
Love this soup!
Is a serving 1 cup? 2 cups?
I measured it by bowlfuls, so it will be closer to 2 cups. It makes a good amount.
In your recipe, when you describe how to saute the onions, you say to do it in 2-3 cups of vegetable broth. I believe you mean 2-3 tablespoons.
No this is a SOUP so we are sautéing the onions so they flavor the start of the broth. 2-3 tablespoons will evaporate and some of the onion flavor with it as well. So I always sautéing my onions in a lot of broth for soup to flavor it.
Sautéing refers to cooking food in a very small amount of fat. Cooking the vegetables in 2-3 cups of broth is simmering rather than sautéing 🙂
However, I definitely want to try it, it looks so great and I have all ingredients but the mushrooms at home. Now I know what to do with my leftover half cabbage head!
The whole oil free plant based movement uses the term sauté so people understand it’s just a little bit of broth or water as opposed to a few cups of it.
Can this be made in a pressure cooker?
I don’t make vegetable soups in the pressure cooker as it’s extremely easy to overcook the vegetables, and I’m not sure if you save time. As it takes about 20 minutes to come up to pressure and then 5-10 minutes to cook, you can cook it on the stove in about the same time and not overcook it.
Don’t want to assume…can this also be frozen for later use? I definitely want to try it. Soups are GREAT!!!
Yes i do it all the time! Make bowls full and store for rainy days!
I need to make this soup soon as I attempt to go completely Vegan. I recently want Vegan for a little over 2 months and was feeling great. It has been hard to maintain with my busy life with a 4 and 9 year old and gained the weight I lost quickly. I need soup recipes that I can prepare ahead of time. I also worry I will not get enough protein. Thanks for the recipe:)
You can’t not get enough protein. That is a myth that really should die. Protein is in everything, even lettuce. Animal protein is harmful, plant protein is protective. If you are eating enough calories you are getting enough protein., even if you ate nothing but potatoes. Seriously.
Hi Veronica, Would really like to try out this recipe. It sounds great. My only problem is the mushrooms. A lot of recipes call for mushrooms and I know the are extremely healthy, but I just cannot do mushrooms. Is there any good substitutes for them?
Hey guys, can’t source fire roasted tomatoes where I am (little island off Australia), should I just use normal canned tomatoes? Will it change the taste much? Or what else should I use to get the flavour? Cheers!
Hi Maddie,
You can use regular tomatoes, or you can make your own fire roasted tomatoes, I have previously seen this recipe over at FatFreeVegan you can use larger tomatoes as well, it just needs to cook longer. It just adds a little more flavour and so that’s why i use them if I can find them. 🙂
Hey! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thank you
Sure
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on cabbage.
Regards
hi,
i’m planning to try this diet for a week. i want to lose 10 kgs. in 2 weeks. will this diet help me. i have been on a sedentary lifestyle and recently started brisk walking for 30 minutes daily. can i make a smooth soup by blending the veggies after they are cooked and then add some herbs and spices?
Yes you can blend the soup if you want. But I would add the herbs first and cook those, and add other powdered spices at the end. Herbs are harder and will be better cooked and blended.
Made this when the recipe came out and loved it. Ready to make another batch, but was wondering- do you think it would work if I just threw it all in the crock pot?
I don’t see why not. Crock pot soups and stews are super easy, and since you don’t have to worry about dried beans cooking properly you can try it. Just check it after 5 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
What about using a pressure cooker? Can you give me an idea as to how long to cook the soup with your ingredients? Fixing this for dinner tonight. Lots of veggies to use B 4 they go South! Thanks Veronica!
All pressure cookers are slightly different. Since it’s just vegetables I imagine it would only need to be pressure cooked for 5 minutes or so. I pressure cook my vegetable brother for 7-10 minutes and the veggies are very overcooked by then.
I wasn’t planning on making soup but when this email recipe came the other day, I realized I had all the ingredients already in the refrigerator. Made it today and it is really good. I didn’t have thyme so just did without and it still tastes wonderful. (I added some no salt chili seasoning and a bit of hot sauce.)
Hi Veronica, this recipe came at the right time, you know when you just don’t know what to make and this just was the perfect thing, I made my soup with added beets and just used a low sodium bouillon cube. Delicious. thank you Eva
Sounds great! I love adding beets to soup.
Adding beetroot sounds like a great alternative – though I’ve never done it before…how many/much would you add for this quantity – and would you add them chopped before adding the other vegetables?
Btw, I love this recipe! It’s so simple but so delicious.
Thanks V:)
HY , dear V eronica !
This one might be Great ! Thank You . I would have one now , if I could .
1 ) Its Cold just now hier where I sit at the Window and 2 ) I need Strengh , as always .
I often say I would prepare them … but at the End I dont do it .
I eat RAW VEGETABLES and BREAD .
The other Things which are Fat Makers , I dont . OK . Once a Month , IF .
I need to loose Weight still . Have already , a bit , with Spices + Hot Water .
I love all Ingredients here at this Soup . The Combination of Cabbage and Celery … is very Healthy .
And Tomatoes ? I see them at the Photo .
And I love Champions . I love them pure … they are so Delicate .
But Carrots … cooked , we get Weight !
Lets see whether I prepare this one . My first Casserole , I bought this Year . I had only RAW , at Home alone . Its easier . And I eat directly . And also , alone , I ‘ ve always lived in Studios_One Room Apartments , so , its not agreabble to cook . Not hygienic .
But … maybe I will try this one . Its so Simple !
Thank you again !
Teresa
I LOVE veggies and Very much so cooked cabbage..how much more calories would it be if I added a 16oz can of garbanzo beans ( rinsed of course)? or what about 16 oz can of black beans? Thank U love u girl
Hi Geri, just check the back of the can, it has nutritional info on it and divide it by how many servings.
Thanks for the recipe – can’t wait to try it. I do have a question though – the recipe says a 1 lb head of cabbage and in parenthesis it says 1/2 head. So does that mean we only use half of the 1 lb head for the soup?
Hi Maggie. I weighed my half a head of cabbage and it was 1lb. So use half a large head of cabbage, or find a small cabbage that is about 1lb only.
Hello, i like this soup,cos it so versatil…I put bok choy,nappa cabbage,for variety,curry,or italien sesoning,and different texture,I take a thunderstick and make it smooth and creamy looking.this way i’ll never get tired of it.
Thank you so much for all your easy-to-follow recipes! I made this last night and my meat-loving husband and 7 year old son both loved it! I had never eaten cabbage soup before (always thought it sounded gross) and am new to vegan eating/cooking. This was delicious! You are helping me along my journey, introducing me to new spices, ingredients and making it easy to succeed with this lifestyle change with your clear instructions. Thank you!!! I already have your soup recipe book but will definitely be buying more to support your efforts!!
Made 1/2 portion of this soup tonight and it is great. I was concerned that there wasn’t enough spices in it to make it delicious, but I was wrong. The broth had a great flavor. I will freeze the leftovers since we will be gone for a week. I will definitely put this on my rotation of soups. Great way to get mega amounts of veggies into your meal. Thanks.
eating this right now… it’s delicious!!!
Awesome!
I have used the cabbage soup dieting the past. I got tired of eating it so to change it up I put it in the blender a.dade it creamed soup and loved it.
Thanks for this recipe, Veronica; it looks yummy and — being very new to the kitchen — the level of detail in your instructions is very helpful!
My wife and I started our plant-based, low-fat plan about four months ago and I find that I’m inundated with recipes that I want to try, so I note each one in my calendar so that I can slide it along until the right time presents itself. (For example, I’ve queued this one up for early September, when it cools down.)
Thanks again!
That’s great Andy! I’m glad you like the details and are organizing your recipes. I think a lot of people would benefit from that. I know I just make whatever I feel like having, but having a set menu each week is so much easier.
I Love Cabbage Vegetable Soup! I love steamed and raw cabbage. Your soup looks like a winner and I can’t wait to try it
Joy
Thanks Joy 🙂