Hearty Vegetable Soup/Diet Soup

Have all these holidays done you wrong?


Here's a soup plan to restore your outer beauty.

SERVES 10 -12

Ingredients
• 3 cups crushed plum tomatoes
• 2 1/2 cups pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup tomato paste (1 small can)
• 6 green onions
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 bunch celery & tops
• 2 cups fresh green beans
• 2 green bell peppers
• 2 lbs carrots (9 to 10 carrots)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
20 to 30 Brussels Sprouts

Directions
1. In a very large stock pot, combine tomatoes, pasta
sauce, tomato paste and beef broth.

2. Over med/high heat, bring mixture to a boil.

3. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes.

4. Wash and rough chop carrots, celery (including tops),
and green peppers into 1 inch cubes.

5. Wash, trim and cut green beans into 1 inch lengths.

6. Chop green onion into 1/4 inch lengths.

7. Add all vegetables to simmering pot.

8. Stir to combine.

9. Add chili powder, cayenne, mustard, salt, black pepper
and paprika to soup mixture.

10. Stir and simmer on low for 60 - 90 minutes

Personal note: I had just purchased Brussels Sprouts to make Brussels Sprout Soup then came across this recipe and wanted to try it so I threw in 22 cut in half Brussels Sprouts into this recipe but I forgot the cayenne pepper.

This recipe was supposedly created by a major Toronto Ontario hospital to rapidly and safely reduce a patients weight prior to surgery. I've tried to authenticate this information but have not been able to as yet. I don't think this is true. The recipe is delicious and very healthy.....

the plan below however is suspect.

I've discovered it's the same eating plan that was with the Cabbage Soup Diet in the 80's which was NOT A HEALTHY DIET. I will leave the plan on site - you decide what's best for you. I will comment on each day and just share my experience.

It's a very tasty soup with a bit of a bite. Here's the rest of the plan.

Day #1.
Eat as much of any fruit you want EXCEPT BANANAS.
Eat only soup and fruit today but eat all you want.
Easy day - like the soup -

Day #2.
All Veggies.
Fill up on fresh vegetables (salads etc).
Eat all the soup you want and have a large baked potato with butter at dinner time.
But NO FRUIT TODAY.
Pretty good day - I missed something sweet - poured the soup over the baked potato.

Day #3.
Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want,
but NO POTATOES.
If you haven't cheated you will have lost.
5-7 lbs by tomorrow morning.
Still like the soup - good day but towards the end the candy in the house temptation got me - I succumbed. Ugg!

Day #4.
Bananas and skim milk.
Eat at least 3 bananas and all the milk you want today.
Remember, you can have soup anytime you want.
Down 4lbs. Still love the soup, not fond of bananas, don't like milk - made a really frosty smoothie with the two ingredients which was refreshing. BUT my husband was coming home from out of town and I made him a tenderloin, roasted asparagus and purple potatoes dinner and I ate it too. Rats foiled again!

Day #5.
Beef and Tomatoes.
You can have up to 20 ounces of beef and 6 tomatoes in any style you like.
Remember to eat soup too.
This was an easy day for me. I thrive on protein.

Day #6.
Beef and Vegetables.
Eat all the beef and veggies you want today.
You can have 2-3 steaks if you want, with green leafy vegetables.
But NO POTATOES.
Don't forget to have soup.
This also was an easy day for me BUT I went out to lunch with a girlfriend and didn't order beef.
I ordered Vietnamese spring salad with chicken at Pho 88.

Day #7.
Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, and veggies today.
Eat all you want whenever you want and have soup as often as you can.
The soup is the key –

Just didn't do the last day - did the first day all over again.
I'm not sure I understand the purpose of the dietary changes each day
but the soup I can handle.

If you haven't cheated, you should have lost 10 - 17 lbs.
That should take care of
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valintine's Day. :D
Remember;
The more soup you eat,
the more weight you will lose.

I don't know if that's true - I have to take steroids to breathe so I battle edema
amongst other gastly problems like growing fat cells that redistribute in tribes.
I'm down 5 lbs. but it's all water weight so this isn't an eating plan for me but it's
a great soup recipe.

Cupid’s Cupcakes

Courtesy of http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~rbeckett/Our%20Favorite%20Recipes.htm

If you're helping out with a school or Scout Valentine's party, you'll want to be sure the guests get their just desserts--like these heart-shaped cupcakes. They're easy to make and require no special pans or molds.

To make some, line your cupcake tins with baking liners. Then prepare a batch of your favorite batter and fill the cups halfway. Place a small marble or a 1/2-inch ball of aluminum foil between each liner and one side of the tin (a great job for kids). This will push the paper into the batter to form the notch in the heart.

Bake the cupcakes at the temperature specified by your recipe but check for doneness a few minutes early. Let the cupcakes cool, then remove the marbles or foil balls. Frost with icing and top with colored sugar or sprinkles.

And the BEET goes on.......

A healthy Valentine?

Roasted Beets and Jasmine Rice Salad
Or you could substitue couscous and call it
B'couscous I Love You


1 pound red beets (3 or 4 medium)
2 1/2 Cups Cooked Jasmine Rice
2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Raspberry Vinegar, more if needed
1/4 tsp. Salt, plus more if needed
2 Tbs. Thinly Sliced Scallion Greens (optional)
2 Tbs. Pine Nuts, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Trim off any beet greens, leaving about a half-inch of stem intact. Rinse the beets. Wrap each beet individually in a tightly sealed aluminum foil packet. Set the beets on a foil-lined baking pan and bake until you can easily pierce them to the center with a paring knife, approx 60-90 minutes. (You can pierce the beets right through the foil.)

When they are cool enough to handle, gently rub the foil of each still-sealed packet against the beet. Slip off the beet skins along with the foil. Trim off the tail and stems ends. Cut the beets into 1/4-inch dice and set them in a bowl or storage container. Add the rice and toss until the rice is “dyed” beet red.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Toss the dressing with the beets. Adjust the seasonings, adding more vinegar and or salt, if needed, to intensify the flavors.

Let the salad sit until the grains absorb some flavor, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the scallion greens (if using) just before serving.

Garnish with pine nuts.

Serve at room temperature.





Buraczki ze Smietana
Pronunciation: boo-RAHCH-kee zheh shmeeyeh-TAHN-ah
Beets with Sour Cream



Ingredients:
• 4 cooked beets or 2 cups canned or jarred beets, drained
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and black pepper
• Chopped dill for garnish

Preparation:
1. Cut beets into strips or julienne. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except for dill.
2. Heat just to the boiling for hot vegetable,
OR refrigerate if serving cold.
3. Garnish with chopped dill.





Spiced Pickled Beets


INGREDIENTS
• 2/ 14.5oz cans sliced canned beets, juice reserved
(Or 2 ½ cups of fresh heart-shaped chiogga beets which would be 3 or 4 medium size beets)
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 small onion, sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the beets into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar and 1/2 cup beet juice and bring to a boil. Add sugar, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, salt and onion, and return to a boil. Remove from heat, and pour mixture over the beets. Toss until coated, cover and chill. Serve the beets very cold.

MASHED POTATO PANCAKES

Pictured without surprise

I had some left over mashed potatoes so added a few ingredients and a surprise and made a wonderful side dish.

Pretty, very tasty and snuck a little nutrition in for good measure.

2 cups Leftover Mashed Potatoes
½ cup Italian Bread Crumbs
½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Eggs
Parsley flakes to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil for Frying

Mix mashed potatoes with the two different types of bread crumbs, eggs, parsley flakes, salt and pepper. If mixture is too soft add more bread crumbs until mixture will hold a pancake shape.

The Surprise/Optional but delicious: Add two ribbon carrots: wash and peel your carrot. Then, putting your carrot flat on the cutting board, take your peeler, and run it top to bottom creating a “ribbon”. Continue to do this until you are about half way down the carrot, then turn around and do the same on the other side. As long as your peeler is sharp, you should be able to use most of the carrot. Now finely dice the ribbons and add to the mashed potato mix.



Dust hands with flour and shape into patties (using a half cup measure for size). In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add potato pancakes and reduce heat to fry slowly. When pancake is golden brown, turn and fry the other side.



Served with the left over (reheated) pork roast tenderloin and a tossed salad.